Fireworks explode across the night sky. City streets and brick houses appear below shooting sparks and colors. Not a soul sleeps. We watch in awe and excitement as the clock strikes midnight; it’s Christmas morning.

For many, kirsch is simply a sharp-tasting liqueur that recipes require in a pot of fondue. For the Swiss it is their national drink. For me it was an excuse to tour the Dettling Kirschwelt distillery. To be honest, just the hour-long boat ride from the city of Lucerne to the idyllic village of Brunnen on Lake Lucerne would have been worth it.

Would you marry your partner all over again? If the answer is yes, start thinking about a vow renewal. There's no better way to celebrate an anniversary than with a trip capped with a joyful celebration. Unlike a destination wedding, no legal rigmarole attends a destination vow renewal.

Can you imagine enjoying a foreign destination not only for its scenery and inherent natural beauty, but also for stunning, eye catching “Artworks” that are painted and installed on, so it seems, almost everything you can see? It is one of the many joys of a vacation in Portugal where you’ll discover a profusion of Azulejos. What, you might say, are Azulejos?

Well, all my travel journalist colleagues seem to be doing it; so I thought it was about time for me to finally compile my own list of favorite travel destinations in 2018. I was blessed to experience such an array of edifying and diverse landscapes and cultures. Did I say diverse?

Shards of rain and near-freezing temperatures in the middle of December did not prevent me from making a desperate pact with Horace. As a financially hopeless traveling boy, I often asked dead authors for help. I showed up at their graves and pleaded, “I’ll keep writing, you just show me how to pay the bills. Show me how to make a living.” That’s what I said, or some variation thereof.

Have you ever visited a village that was a worldwide TV star? If not, I urge you to stay at the unique Port Meirion Village in North Wales. It became famous as the result of a decidedly offbeat British TV show and, as you will see if you go there, there’s a marvelous collection of eccentric houses, homes and other buildings that were not only shaped in unconventional sizes, but that were also painted in a multitude of garish colors.

The lovely Stefania whisked me away in her car and we were off to visit the quaint town of Ascona in the district of Locarno where we strolled along the promenade adjacent to beautiful Lake Maggiore. Along the way, we stopped at one of the charming cafes that dotted the path for a glass of wine. While enjoying our beverages, I admired the beauty of the surrounding buildings with their warm Mediterranean-style architecture.

Are you still looking for that unique, even offbeat present? What about a book? Aaaah, but not just any book, the travel related books featured here are ones you’ll wish you’d known about before you read this article. In all my travels and in what I read, I always seek out the truly distinctive and out of the ordinary, and the following 4 books are in that category

I joined Peace Corps knowing very little of what life or work would be like. Unlike some of my volunteer friends, I hadn’t dreamt of Peace Corps since I was little, and it was never part of some 10 year professional plan.