world best travel places

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Stone House of a Hobbit


In Portugal, not far from Fafe town, there is an amazing stone house, built in 1973. The house is built between two huge stones, which play the role of walls. The unique design of the house with its unsymmetrical windows, stones fleeced with moss, tiled roof and even stone barn very soon became a popular place of interest for tourists, that's why the owners had to move to another place and now the house is abandoned.

The Museum Of ... Pears


In Japanese prefecture Totori there is a museum devoted to the 20th Century Pear sort.
This sort of pears is a pride of Totori prefecture, and looking at this building, one won't even think that it's a pear museum.
The exposition of pears from all over the world.
There are no apples in the museum - all the fruits are pears!
The 20th Century Pears were cultivated in Tottori prefecture about 100 years ago and grow only on its territory.
The central exhibit of the museum is of course the pear tree itself. Here you can see its root system.
There are also lots computers, terminals and information centers which also contain different information about pears.
This museum is a perfect place for kids entertainment. They never want to leave...
Every day the museum holds degustations.
The 20th Century Pears can be bought by every volunteer. One pear costs about $4-6.






Dizzy Heights of Nepal


If you ever have a chance to visit Nepal, never miss it! This is an amazing country with breathtakingly beautiful mountainous landscapes. So let's walk around some of the most picturesque Nepalese places and admire the nature.
The roads leading to the mountains are very narrow thus drivers have great difficulties in passing each other on them. Here and there you can see buses slipped down in a ditch or even precipice at the side of a road.
The landscapes are just wonderful. It's summer in Nepal. The temperature is +25 and the mountains seem to be sunny and fresh.
Sometimes traffic jams appear on the roads for short periods of time. 
A rather fanciful landscape.
The road is hard and long but at the same time very picturesque.
In summer the Nepalese celebrate their own local New Year and decorate not only themselves but also their cars.
The height is about 2000 m. To walk is very difficult but to breathe is still quite easy - yet there is enough oxygen.
Some beautifully blossoming trees.
And this is one of the well-to-do Sherpas (an ethnic group from the most mountainous region of Nepal). Why is he well-to-do? Look at his shoes - these are sneakers. Besides, he often smokes and refuses to be photographed.
The road is covered with shining stones. It's quartz which is easily crumbled and divided into layers.
The higher you climb the more magic and shaggy the forest becomes. All the trees are covered with fern here and look quite unusual.
At an altitude of 3000 m there is the tea-house of a very hospitable Sherpa. In fact, there lives the whole family. This is father.
A couple of wonderful horses.
If you squint you can see a very nice bird in the middle of the picture.
Only one word comes to mind when looking at these pictures - beautiful.
But what can impress you even greater is the view of a praying man in the distance. 
Nobody's around... Only fog, silence and the praying man.
It turned out to be a very nice girl from Switzerland admiring the beauty of the landscape as all the common tourists but there was still some mystery in her eyes...
This is Mount Gosaikunda in the morning. An altitude is more than 3000 m. To walk and to breathe are unbelievably difficult here! It takes much effort to get over another hundred of meters. Amazing views are the only consolation for the tourists.
Not far from this place is a pass.
This is the man living in a tent on the bank of a river. His look is quite threatening. Do you know, by the way, why the Nepalese don't cut their hair? Because they believe there is some magic in it and if they cut them, it will disappear. They also smoke their Nepalese buns and try to see God while doing it. 
On your way uphill you can see some wonderful spots with Nepalese traditional colorful rags.
And this kind of pyramids. The local believe that if you build such a pyramid in the mountains, you will get a house in the paradise.
There are many beautiful waterfalls there as well. When passing by them all the clothes become wet at once. But the Nepalese sun makes wonders. It takes about 40 minutes to make them absolutely dry.
It turns out to be much easier and landscapes become more lively and colorful. Plenty of oxygen makes you happy again.
Goodbye, mysterious forest. 
Amazing clouds above the mountains.
The height is still quite dizzy.
Spiders are united and made a huge web between the two trees.
One more Nepalese girl who attracts tourists' attention at once. Unlike other Nepalese children she doesn't ask them for sweets and money and is very glad to pose for a photograph.
That was the beautiful country of Nepal and its wonderful Himalayas.






Climbing Machu Picchu Mountain


Machu Picchu Mountain is situated not far from Aguas Calientes town, Peru. At the bottom of the mountain there is an ancient Incan town with homonymous name. A ticket to Machu Picchu costs about $35 and can be bought only with passport submitting.
In this post there are no photos from the ancient city itself - it's devoted to the climbing the mountain and beautiful views which open from it.
This steep staircase paved with stones many centuries ago leads to the very top of the mountain.
The rise goes up higher and higher. Even if there are no steps the path goes up. The town itself is situated on the height of 2400 meters above sea level - this photo was shot 300 meters higher.
Everything around is nebulous and sometimes visibility does not exceed a couple of meters. Somewhere on the left in the gorge the Urubamba river flows.
From that point views of surroundings begin to open.
In the centre of the panorama there is Putucusi Mountain, about 2500 meters high.
And here is Huayna Picchu Mountain, also very popular among Machu Picchu visitors. Its height is about 2700 meters.
And that's how the empty Machu Picchu looks in the end of the day. As a place of interest it works only till 5 p.m. No, it's of course not padlocked - the thing is that the last bus from here departs at 5 p.m. So take it into account, if you decide to visit the amazing ancient Incan town!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Place Full Of Illusions: The Dali Theatre and Museum


The Dali Theater and Museum is located in the home town of Salvador Dali, Figueres in Catalonia. The museum opened in 1974, it houses the single largest and most diverse collection of Salvador Dali`s works, the heart of which was from the artist's own collection.
The way to Figueres.
Catalonia is famous for its wine. But sometimes vineyards may be in a sad condition.
It is rather easy to find the Dali Theater and Museum. Indications or a map will always help tourists. The museum has red walls decorated with golden details and a spherical dome that became a symbol not only of this town but also of all the country.
Previously this building was a ruined city theatre. The construction of the museum required 14 years and practically all Dali`s fortune.
"I want this museum to be a monolith, a maze, a huge surreal object. It would be an absolutely theatrical museum. Visitors would leave it thinking that they had seen a theater dream," - once said Dali.
The parquet and stage in the art deco style welcome visitors and invite them to the museum full of illusions and hints.
Not only museum but also every exhibit is saturated with abstractness and surrealism.
 The statue of painter Meissonier whom Dali admired.
Tristan and Iseult, 1944.
The yard with symmetric niches. There is a feeling of a world turned over, so you may feel giddy here.
The rainy taxi, 1938.
The museum has 2 floors, the upper one divides it into additional levels. The huge glass dome creates an atmosphere of an experiment, where a visitor is an experimental object.
The Barcelona model, 1927.
Picasso`s portrait, 1947.
Naked Gala
Abraham Lincoln, 1975. It was the first usage of digital methods in painting.
The decoration sketch for the Labyrinth ballet, 1941.
Another portrait of Gala.
Sex-appeal in ghost appearance, 1932.
Mae West`s face, 1934-1935.
Galatea with spheres, 1952.
The constancy of memory, 1931.
American poetry, 1943.
Saint Caecilia`s rapture, 1955.

Petra By Night


Back again we are in wonderful Petra. But today we'll tell you about a night show that is reguarly held in Petra.
The most famous construction of Petra - the treasure house that meets all tourists who come out of the kilometer-long canyon leading from the entry to the ancient city ...
This is how it looks in the daylight. Pay attention to the man to feel the dimensions...
At night it's dark here, and inside the canyon such paper boxes with candles are placed.
And thus they light up all the canyon more than for one kilometer long!
If there are no tourists around, you will feel that all this is unreal.
Occasionally the road is paved.

And so many stars in the sky.
Here is the place where many tourists will come soon and be treated with tea. Some guy will be playing the ancient bedouin instrument, and people will be discussing how unique Petra is.



Swim Together With Shark-Rays


Swimming with dolphins is not a thing to surprise you anymore, isn't it? But what about swimming with a stock of shark-rays? That's the pleasure you can pay for and try in the Cayman Islands.
Such a piratic ship is the first adventure...
Our destination is the Cayman capital - George town. And this is the local White House. It's a former British colony, so everything is neat, beautiful, but the driving, as it's supposed to be, left-hand. 
You won't be thinking how to entertain yourself. Day spent on the water gives much pleasure. One excursion costs $40 for a person, but soon you understand that in fact it might cost 100 times more...
The open waters of the Caribbean Sea.
The reef boundary. Unreal turquoise color of the sea...
Cruise liners
A guy has caught a shark-ray, would you dare?
Sweet kiss...
Everyone have been brought here, water is knee-high, and 20-50 shark-rays are swimming around, catch any you like ...
Unusual massage.
By the feel shark-rays are like dolphins below, and skin above is a bit tough.
Cayman numbers
Underwater world.
Hovering like a bird...