World Heritage Sites

Photo Source

Throughout my international and even domestic travels over the past years, I've been working on two distinct lists when it comes to deciding what to see in various cities and countries. That being said, they aren't the only resources, but they do help!

Stonehenge

The main two lists that I use are the World Heritage Sites and the list in the book, "1000 Things to See Before you Die."  I plan on posting later about the book. The World Heritage List does get updated, and at the moment, there are 981 different locations listed. Crazy, huh?

Edinburgh

The other day, I was really interested in seeing what progress I had made. My total? 39. I have a long way to go until I get to 981, and there could be more and more added. #wanderlust

Verona

Some argue that the challenge of keeping up with a list such as this one makes a traveler or tourist not enjoy the moment. I disagree. The same argument often implies to those who spend a lot of time taking photos or videos of the location that they are visiting. Again, that's a subject for a different time. Going back to the argument, I love using lists such as the World Heritage one in order to find gems and historical places.  I'm a huge lover of history and having the guidance of what historical gems are in a city of an area is a plus!

Venice

Take a look at what I've seen below! What locations have you been to that are on the World Heritage Site List?


Palace and Gardens of Schonbrunn
Semmering Railway
Historic Centre of Vienna
La Grand- Palace, Brussels
Historic Centre of Brugge
Flemish Beguinages
Historic Distric of Old Quebec
Historic Centre of Prague
Palace and Park of Versailles
Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct)
Romanesque Monuments
Cathedral of Notre-Dame
Paris, Banks of the Siene
Histoic Centre of Avignon: Papa Palace, Episcopal Ensember, Avingon Brdige
Loire Valley
Palace and Parks of Berlin
Museumsinsel (Musuem Island), Berlin
Acropolis, Athens
Historic Centre of Rome, The Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritoral Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura
Vatican City
Venice and its Lagoon
City of Verona
City of Luxembourg: its Old Quarters and Foritifcations
Seventeenth- Century Canal Ring of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht
Historic Centre of Krakow
Auschtwitz Birkenau
Wooden Churches of Maramures
Giant's Causeway and Causeway Coast
Steonehenge
Blenheim Palace
City of Bath
Palace of Westminster and Westminster Abbey includng St. Maragret's Church
Tower of London
Old and New Yowns of Edinburgh
Maritime Greenwich
Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Dorset and East Devon Coast
Statue of Liberty

Edinburgh Weekend Recap

Greetings! I'm back in Londontown after these four weeks of travel! Here's a quick recap of Edinburgh; Italy posts will becoming this week!

The day after my Dad left Paris to go back to the USA, and I got back to London, I took the train up to Edinburgh for a weekend escape! Edinburgh has been on my list of places to visit since I was little. I ran out of weekends in 2010 to visit.  And, as a huge advocate of traveling alone,  I went by myself.

Coffee in hand for the train ride!

Having a rail pass for students saved me around 50 pounds roundtrip on my train tickets. I pre-booked, so I could reserve both a table seat and an outlet in a quiet coach. I highly recommend doing that! The journey took around four hours. But, I forced myself to do some schoolwork on the train ride. 

The hotel I stayed in was located in the "new town" of Edinburgh.  It was about a ten minute walk to Princes Street and the Waverly Train Station.  It was a boutique hotel called the Place. The standard room I got was perfect for the weekend getaway. It was tuck into a corner in the renovated Georgian house. 

Holyrood Palace

By the time I got settled into my hotel (I got lost on the way...), I decided to grab some coffee and become a tourist. I had pre-booked a Hop On Hop Off tour for the day. Since I knew I had limited time to see things, I wanted to get an overview of the entire city, first.  Some of the things that I got to see from the outside that I had no time to go inside for were Holyrood Palace and Edinburgh Castle.  Part of my afternoon, I spent in the National Museum of Scotland.  

Scott Monument 

Of course, I did happen to stop by and snap a photo at the birthplace for Harry Potter. Just for all my crazed friends...

On Friday, I spent the day at One Spa. It was my escape from reality day, and it was highly needed. 

My goal for the Saturday of my trip was to find the Loch Ness Monster. I did not succeed. Not even anything unordinary in any of my photos. Nessie, are you really there? 

Despite not seeing Nessie, the Highlands are amazing!  The day trip started at 8am and did not end until around 7pm, but it was well worth it. I got to see numerous lochs (lakes) and the mountains of Scotland! We got to see some of the smaller towns as well including Fort Augustus where we had lunch. 

Loch Ness

All in all, it was a great weekend getaway full of shortbread, relaxation, and even some cashmere! I cannot wait till I return to Edinburgh and go to the other places I did not have time for. 

Upcoming Travel Plans!

Exciting News!

I'm headed to Prague for my 23rd birthday this year! I cannot travel the weekend of my actual birthday due to a group project being due, but I'm headed there the weekend prior. I've always wanted to go to Prague, so I'm excited to check the city out while celebrating. 

Spring break plans are also coming together. My Dad and I are going to be traveling for three weeks, but I wanted to spend some time traveling to other places before my summer term begins! 

After my Dad leaves, I'm going to be taking a solo trip up to Edinburgh, Scotland. I just booked the hotel for four days of exploring the city as well as a day trip to find the Loch Ness monster! From there, I'm headed home to London for an evening before Nicole and I head off to Verona, Italy. We're spending several days in Verona before heading off to Venice! 

I'll essentially be traveling for a month to a wide range of towns, cities, and countries. I'm super excited to get traveling again in Europe. I cannot wait to see these places and see what I stumble upon!