My Favorite Places

I greatly enjoy traveling, and thankfully have had the opportunities in the past to see many different areas from Central America, around the States, and Europe. This summer I will have the privilege of accompanying my uncle around Scotland and London, but I wanted to do a post on three of my favorite places.

The first is Ambergris Caye in Belize. Located off the eastern coast, the 25 mile island has a very familiar feel to it. The streets are sandy, and everyone rides a bike or drives their golf cart (no joke!). The beaches are lovely, and there's the largest Atlantic coral reef about half a mile out. Then, on the mainland there are Mayan ruins, and wonderful jungles. It's a very relaxing place, and I hope to go again one day.

My sister on a large vine at the ruins.

One of my uncles at the foot of the ruins.
We rented a little two bedroom house for the week, and this was our private patio and courtyard. It was a very nice house, in a simple way, with open air windows and within feet from the ocean. Shown are two of my uncles, my sister in the hammock, and my cousin trying to crack open a coconut with a hammer.

My second favorite place in the world, thus far, is Tivoli, Italy, more specifically Ville d'Este. Ville d'Este is a house built just east of Rome, with beautiful murals. However, there is a greater surprise waiting when you step into the gardens. There are tons (can't find the exact number) of fountains and the gardens are extensive- I'm sure I didn't make it through all the paths. I don't have many pictures from our trip on this computer, but unless cited otherwise, they're mine.

Sign at entrance.

One of the pathways.

My favorite fountains. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them, and the only one I could find online in the creative commons was this one, which, though beautiful, doesn't show off the fountains that well. For a better picture, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:One.hundred.fountain.at.villa.d'este.arp.jpg(http://flickr.com/photos/mgrimaldi/1311926010/)

My third favorite place would have to be Johnston Canyon. It's a lovely hike in Banff National Park next to a series of falls, and up to "the inkpots," which are pools of water in a valley, where you're surrounded by mountains! I've been there several times, and love it each time.



The sign at the beginning of the walk with the distances. Part of the falls- not the most impressive ones by any means, but you'll have to go for yourself to see those. :)A sampling of the trail. It's quite a hike, especially if you go all the way to the inkpots!