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The Illustrated Awesome Places in the World to Hang Out In List (and Small Gems of the World List)
As 2019 comes to a close it’s time to update the Awesome Places list. This past year I visited El Salvador, Mexico, Pakistan, France, Italy, Switzerland and Portugal. Several places were worthy of inscription into the main list and the Small Gems of the World list.
Mexico City is fantastic. The walkability, the food (listed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage – skip the scorpions, though), the sites, the people, the history, and the Ballet Folklórico de México. I nearly put the Museo Nacional de Antropología on the list as a separate must-see Awesome Place, but opted to add it to the Gems list.
The Mexican Secretary of Tourism created a list of Pueblos Mágicos dotted around the country – towns noted for their beauty, history, cultural significance, cuisine (!!), etc. Surprisingly not on the list were towns I visited such as Oaxaca, Guanajuato, Puebla, and San Miguel de Allende, though I think the idea of the list was to promote less well known areas. (San Miguel was on the list, but was dropped having committed the sin of inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage list… Guanajuato is more colorful, but San Miguel has a better vibe.)
The pre-Columbian ruins of Monte Alban are a Gem just outside the city of Oaxaca.
In Pakistan I joined a trek led by The Mountain Company up the Baltoro glacier to the base camp of K2, the second tallest mountain in the world which is on the Pakistan/China border. The trek continued over a high pass, the Gondogoro La, and down the Hushe Valley. Awesomely worth the 20+ day walk.
Moving on to Europe, I joined another UK outfit, Exodus, and completed the Tour du Mont Blanc – a walk around the Mont Blanc massif from Chamonix, France into Switzerland, Italy and back to Chamonix. An awesome 12 day walk, this time accompanied by French pastries (Les tartes aux framboises nearly made the Gems list.)
I wrapped up the European trip with my first ever visit to Portugal. Nice place, and how. Stops included Porto, the ancient university town of Coimbra, Lisbon, and Évora. Each place at least a Gem and the country as a whole on the Awesome list. Lisbon’s ambience puts it at the top of my list for European capitals. It doesn’t have the art or culture of Paris or Rome, and it lacks the attraction to young British drunks of Prague, but what a great city to wander around enjoying people watching while enjoying a pastel de nata in a sidewalk café!
Small Gems are those bits and pieces that may not be worth a special journey, but if you’re in the neighborhood you should drop by. Small museums, an individual work of art, a pastry shop (not yet, though there was a mighty good lava cake in Evora), etc. fill this list. This time I’m adding the music of the Portuguese fado which features the 12 stringed Portuguese guitar. Links to some of the music can be found below.
Newly listed places are included at the end of each section. As always, if you want to see more pictures of these and other places, this link will get you to my albums page on flickr where you can find pictures grouped by country/region/activity, etc.
AWESOME PLACES IN THE WORLD TO HANG OUT IN
Asia and the Pacific
Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, China (No photos allowed)
Bahktapur, Nepal (no photo)
Africa & the Middle East
(The town of Luxor heads up my “worst” list)
Central & South America
North America
Redwood Grove, California (no photo)
John Muir Woods, California (no photo)
US National Parks & Monuments
Yosemite Valley, California (no photo)
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky (no photo)
Mt. St. Helen, Washington (no photo)
Europe
(The city has so many gems.)
(So many places on the island deserve their own spot on the list.)
Antarctica
SMALL GEMS OF THE WORLD
National Museum in Beirut, Lebanon (no photo)
(particularly the Sidon Sarcophogi)
(No photos inside)
(Pompeii treasures)
(Mayan archaeological site)
The Illustrated “Awesome Places in the World to Hang Out In” List. Oh, and “Small Gems of the World” List.
It was probably 20+ years ago when I first started compiling the “Awesome Places in the World to Hang Out In” list as competition for UNESCO’s World Heritage List. It is a work in progress as I discover new places. The criteria are simple:
- I must have visited the place.
- I must have been awed by it.
Sites inscribed into the list are worth a journey (to steal from Michelin’s guides). At some point I created the “Small Gems of the World” list which includes items that may not warrant a special trip, but are certainly worth seeking out if you’re in the neighborhood.
Illustrating the list has been a not completely successful adventure in digging out old photos. Some seem to be missing. But then in the search I was also reminded of how special many of these places are, and I found some omissions which have been corrected.
Oh, gee. I nearly forgot. If you want to see more pictures of these and other places, this link will get you to my “albums page” on flickr where you can find pictures grouped by country/region/activity, etc.
Enjoy!
Asia and the Pacific
Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, China (No photos allowed)
Bahktapur, Nepal (no photo)
Africa & the Middle East
(The town of Luxor heads up my “worst” list)
Central & South America
North America
Redwood Grove, California (no photo)
John Muir Woods, California (no photo)
US National Parks & Monuments
Yosemite Valley, California (no photo)
Mammoth Cave, Kentucky (no photo)
Mt. St. Helen, Washington (no photo)
Europe
(The city has so many gems.)
(So many places on the island deserve their own spot on the list.)
Antarctica
SMALL GEMS OF THE WORLD
National Museum in Beirut, Lebanon (no photo)
(particularly the Sidon Sarcophogi)
(No photos inside)
(Pompeii treasures)
(Mayan archaeological site)
becklectic Tales 