I made my first trip to Quebec City (population, just under 3.5 million) in 2019, and despite having been to many other destinations in Canada several times apiece, Quebec City had eluded me.  And I can honestly say, shame on me. The city and its environs offer the sensation of a more "exotic" trip abroad, and yet, it is in our backyard—and everyone (and I mean everyone, including the bus boy clearing your restaurant table) is bi-lingual. There is much to see and do in this appealing town, not merely in the Old City (Vieux-Québec), which is a UNESCO World Heritage site (and the only walled city north of Mexico).

My dream was about to become a reality. Based in Los Angeles, I was used to taunts from my otherwise wonderful East Coast friends, who were never shy about battering me with people in Southern California don’t know what REAL pizza is. Though I had eaten my way through New York, Boston and Philly in the past and had sampled their delicious pies – I would ask them countless times why it was a REAL pizza and others were not.

The sweeping Maya culture of Guatemala, full of boundless mystery and intrigue, left behind in its ruins a complex enigma that can lay hold of the sensibilities, fulfill a longing for adventure and discovery, and inflame a strange sense of tragedy and lingering spirits. Never a single all-encompassing empire, the Maya flourished between AD 250 and 900 and, like creeping jungle vines, spread across the Yucatan, Guatemala, and Middle America. A culture developed in its own unique way embracing aspects of life that were unpredictable.

I’ve seen many castles and fortresses on my travels, but none stick in my head like the fortified Old Town of Dubrovnik, Croatia. If I didn’t actually walk upon its marble streets and touch its historic stone wall for myself, I’d swear it was a modern recreation of another time. 

The classic South American tradition of enjoying restaurants and cafes is evident in Quito. The Quitenos with a vibrant dining scene enjoy time around the table, exploring the art of conversation and lingering over steaming coffee. The city at a whopping 9,350-feet above sea level, surrounded by steep-sided hills, volcanoes, and the Andes Mountains, affords the opportunity for adventurous outings.

Traveling Boy Photographer Allan Smith Focuses His Camera on Washington State’s Stunning Mount Baker Every UNESCO World Heritage Site in the UK Courtesy Ferne Arfin, TripSavvy UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, has been identifying and listing World Heritage Sites of special cultural, scientific and natural importance to humanity for more than thirty years. Today, of the …