Your Best World Spots

Loire Valley Castles, Chambord Castle

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:50:00 +0000

The royal Château de Chambord at Chambord, Loir-et-Cher in France is one of the most recognizable Château in the world because of its very distinct French Renaissance architecture that blends traditional French medieval forms with classical Italian structures.

It was constructed by King François I in part to be near to his mistress the Comtesse de Thoury, a member of a very important family of France. Her arms figure in the carved decor of the château.

Chambord is the largest castle in the Loire Valley, but was built to serve only as a hunting lodge for François I, who maintained his royal residences at Château de Blois. There are 440 rooms in the castle!!

The original design of the Château de Chambord is attributed, though with several doubts, to Domenico da Cortona. Some authors, though, claim that the French Renaissance architect Philibert Delorme had a considerable role in the Château's design.

The castle became the property of the Government of France in 1930, but restoration work was not begun until a few years after World War II ended in 1945. Today, Chambord is a major tourist attraction.

In a small aside, an image of the Château de Chambord is used in the Microsoft Windows computer operating system as one of the standard wallpaper selections!!

Travel in Europe for nothing with Ryanair !!

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 11:49:00 +0000

Ryanair is an Irish airline with headquarters in Dublin. Ryanair operates 729 routes across Europe and North Africa from 29 bases. The airline has been characterised by rapid expansion, a result of the deregulation of the air industry in Europe in 1997. Ryanair is the third largest airline in Europe in terms of passenger numbersand the world's largest in terms of international passenger.

As a part of my family is leaving in

Ireland

, I was using it quite regularly and the other, I went on the Internet site to book a flight and found that they have a special offer:

If you book before tomorrow night, for the period from Wed 15th Oct 08 till Tue 16th Dec 08, your ticket will cost you 1€ including Airport Taxes!!

So if you are lucky enough to be in Europe at the moment and have free time to travel, have a look to this offer on Ryanair.com.

I know that if you think about it, it seems impossible to have such low rates (it costs me more to take the bus!) but in a full plane, just a few tickets are that cheap! I must say that it’s not high quality fights (you have no space at all and the service is kept to a minimum), but for that price, no one can complain! And so far, this company has never had any plane crash!

Washington DC, The capital of the USA

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 10:35:00 +0000

Washington, D.C. is the capital of the USA, founded on July 16, 1790.

The City of Washington used to be a separate municipality within the District of Columbia until an Act of Congress in 1871 effectively merged the City and the District into a single entity. It is for this reason that the city, while legally named the District of Columbia, is known as Washington, D.C.

The city is located on the north bank of the Potomac River and is bordered by the states of Virginia to the southwest and Maryland to the other sides. The District has a resident population of about 590,000 but due to commuters from the surrounding suburbs, its population rises to over one million during the workweek!

Article One of the USA Constitution provides for a federal district, distinct from the states, to serve as the permanent national capital. The centers of all three branches of the federal government are located in the District, as are many of the nation's monuments and museums.

Indeed, Washington, D.C. hosts 172 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund for instance. The headquarters of other institutions such as trade unions, lobbying groups, and professional associations are also located in the District.

The United states Congress

The White House

The White House, formerly known as the Executive Mansion, is the official residence and principal workplace of the President. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, it was built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style and has been the executive residence of every U.S. presidents since John Adams.

The Washington Monument

The Washington Monument is the most prominent, as well as one of the older, attractions in Washington, D.C. It was built in honor of George Washington, who led the country to independence, and then became its first President. It was finished on December 6, 1884.
On the left side of the picture, you can notice the Vietnam War Memorial.

Thanks a lot to Dan for his picture of Washington DC.

Toronto at night

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 15:49:00 +0000

Toronto is the largest city in

Canada

and is the capital of Ontario. It is located on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America.

Toronto is also considered as

Canada

's economic capital. The Toronto Stock Exchange is the world's seventh largest!

Toronto's population is cosmopolitan and international, reflecting its role as an important destination for immigrants to Canada. Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, as about 49% of the population were born outside of Canada!

Because of the city's low crime rates, clean environment, generally high standard of living, Toronto is consistently rated as one of the world's most livable cities…

Thanks to Neel Fain for this lovely picture from his city. You can see the Canada National Tower, the World's Tallest Building (height of 553.33m or 1,815 ft., 5 inches) and the centre of tourism in Toronto.

Portovenere and the Golf of Poets

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Portovenere is a town located on the Liguarian coast of Italy in the province of La Spezia.

The city sits on a rocky peninsula on the Gulf of Poets (popular with writers such as Byron, Shelley and DH Lawrence).

In 1997 Portovenere was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

The ancient Portus Veneris is believed to date back to at least the middle of the first century BCE. It has been said that the name refers to a temple to the goddess Venus which was sited on the promontory where the church of Peter the Apostle now stands. The name has also been linked to that of the hermit Saint Venerius

Portovenere's harbour is lined with brightly colored houses and narrow medieval streets lead up the hill to a castle.

Thanks a lot to SIMONA for the nice pictures above!

The Taj Mahal, A Tribute to Beauty !

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Overlooking the River Yamuna, the Taj Mahal is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, that was built under Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal who died in 1631.

Agra was once the capital of the Mughal Empire during the 16^th and 18^th centuries. It’s only one and a half hour by train from New Delhi and tourists come from all over the world to visit India’s most famous architectural building.

The Taj Mahal (also "the Taj") is considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles.

More than 20 000 workers were involved in its construction, and the marble and semi-precious stones that cover the wall faces to give it its brilliant white appearance were brought from Rajasthan, Persia, Russia, Afghanistan, Tibet, China, and the Indian Ocean. It took 22 years to complete!

In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a Unesco World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of uslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."

While the white domed marble and tile mausoleum is most familiar, Taj Mahal is an integrated symmetric complex of structures that was completed around 1648. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal designer of the Taj Mahal.

Click on the picture below

This picture was taken by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Earth from the Air, Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:26:00 +0000

"The Earth is Art.The Photographer is only a Witness"

Yann Arthus-Bertrand (born in March 13, 1946) is a renowned and internationally-recognised French photographer.

He originally specialised in animal photography. Indeed, his wife was studying lions in Maasai Mara Reserve (Kenya) and he discovered a unique way of capturing the beauty of the natural world: flying over the landscape in a balloon. !

Later, he turned to aerial photography of subjects in many locations across the world. He flew over 76 countries and clocking up 3,000 flying hours by helicopter. Earth from the Air has taken him to Antarctica, Alaska, southern Argentina, Australia, Siberia and Africa.

Yann Arthus-Bertrand's work has often been published in the National Geographic magazine. He has produced 60 books of his work and holds the the most prestigious award in France, the Legion D'Honneur, for his photographic work on the environment. He now lives in France where he founded the Altitude Agency in Paris, specialising in aerial photogprahy (http://www.yannarthusbertrand.org/).

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:56:00 +0000

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

This one of the most amazing monument to see in Tallinn.

It is an ortodox church located in the highest part of Tallinn's Old Town. The church was built during the Russian domination and was dedicated to Saint Alexander Nevsky who won the "Battle of the Ice" in 1242...

Supposedly built on the grave of a legendary Estonian hero, Kalevipoeg, on the city's mighty Toompea Hill, the Orthodox cathedral was something of a Russian propaganda exercise at the time and still remains a subject of controversy amongst hardline patriots.

Indeed, the Cathedral is disliked by many Estonians as a reminder of Russian domination. It was even planned to be destroyed in 1924 but the decision has never been implemented !! It would have been such a pity !

OCEANIA

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:07:00 +0000

AUSTRALIA

General, Sydney

AFRICA

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:52:00 +0000

SOUTH AFRICA

General

MAROCCO

General

KENYA

Kaptuya, Nadunguru , Ngare Ndare Forest

ASIA

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:02:00 +0000

CHINA

General

INDIA

Taj Mahal

INDONESIA

Bali (1) , Bali (2)

ISRAEL

Jerusalem and Tel Aviv

MALAYSIA

Dong Zen Temple, Malacca Town

TIBET

Himalaya Mountains

TURKEY

General

VIETNAM

Phu Quoc Islands, Halong Bay

AMERICAS

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:46:00 +0000

The Americas or the "New world" can be divided into three parts : North America, Central America and South America.

This part of the world covers 8% of the Earth's total surface area and contains about 14% of the human population (about 900 million people).

NORTH AMERICA

CANADA

The best of Canada, Toronto

USA

San Diego, Lake Powell, Yosemite National Park, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Florida, Washington DC

MEXICO

Mexico

HAWAI

Island of Maui

CENTRAL AMERICA

GUATEMALA

Antigua Guatemala

FRENCH WEST INDIES

Saint Barts

SOUTH AMERICA

South America is a continent with great gegraphic and cultural diversity.

The two most famous countries of South America are Brazil and Argentina. It is also the most prosperous economies.

Other popular destinations are Venezuela, Ecuador, and Chile.

ARGENTINA

Buenos Aires

BRASIL

Amazon Rainforest, Rio de Janeiro

EUROPE

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:24:00 +0000

Enjoy some really nice pictures of Europe. Choose a country you would like to see or some cities or places you have never seen !

WESTERN EUROPE

FRANCE

Paris, Britany, Aveyron, Paris monuments,Loire Valley Castles, Yann Arthus-Bertrand

GERMANY

Palace of Bruschal

IRELAND

Galway

London

ITALIA

Portovenere

EASTERN EUROPE

ESTONIA

Tallinn, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

SLOVAKIA

West Tatras Mountains

NORTHERN EUROPE

FINLAND

Lapland (1) , Lapland (2) , Tampere

SOUTHERN EUROPE

CYPRUS

Ayia Napa

The amazing story of a globetrotter garden gnome

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 09:10:00 +0000

This is such an incredible story !! Seven months ago, when Eve Stuart-Kelso from

woke up, she realised that her leprechaun Murphy standing outside her Gloucester home had disappeared.

A few weeks ago, she found him back just in front of her door, carrying a note putting his world tour down to "itchy feet".

The album shows Murphy abseiling down a mountain, standing in a shark's mouth and riding a motorbike. He visited 12 countries: South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong and Laos.

Before he left, the Gnome left a letter: "There's more to life than watching daily commuter traffic and allowing passing cats to urinate on you," the letter said. This reminds me the French film Amelie starring Audrey Tautou in which a gnome belonging to Amelie's father is taken around the world and photographed to show him how much he is missing out on in life.

Seven months were enough to forget the missing gnome, and when Mrs Stuart-Kelso opened the door and saw he was back, she was quite shocked !!

Then, she opened the album the gnome brough and discovered his amazing trip....She then said, "It was the strangest gift I have ever received. I just keep thinking how funny it is. It makes me smile to see all the people he met on his travels".

Phu Quoc Island, Find a piece of Paradise !

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 08:14:00 +0000

Phu Quoc, the largest island in Vietnam , located on the eastern edge of the Gulf of Thailand , is also part of an archipelago consisting of 22 islands of all sizes.

The island covers an area of 567km2 and is 50km long. The island is well known for its beautiful beaches and high quality fish sauce.

Phu Quoc fish sauce smells particularly good since it is made from a small fish, Cá cơm, with a high level of protein. The island produces 6 million litters of fish sauce every year.

Phu Quoc has a monsoon sub-equatorial climate, with an average year round temperature of 270C. There are three seasons in the year: the rainy season (July to October), the dry season (November to March) and the shoulder season (April to June). Phu Quoc can be visited all year round, but the best is dry season when the sky is always sunny, clear and blue.

Pictures and comments are from Rob, thanks a lot for his contribution. I invite you to visit his very nice blog dedicated to Phu Quoc at the following adress :

www.discoverphuquoc.com

Vung Bau Beach

An Thoi Port

Fishing Boat

Duong Dong Market

Bai Sao Beach

Bai Dai Beach

A little trip to Buenos Aires?

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:08:00 +0000

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina. Buenos Aires city is located within the Buenos Aires Province on the southern shore of the Rio de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent.

Buenos Aires concentrates about 50% of the unhanbitants. It is the third largest conurbation in Latin America with a population of about 13 million.

Buenos Aires means “Fair Winds” or “Good Air”. People from Buenos Aires are called porteños (people of the port).

All the pictures below were taken by Julia who spent a 2 week trip in Argentina.

Panaorama of Buenos Aeres at night

The Obelisk

It is one of the main icons of the city, and a venue for various cultural activities and other events

Kavannagh Building

Corina Kavanagh, one of Argentina’s wealthiest women, invested all she had inherited – the story tells that she had to sell all her other properties to do so - to build her own skyscraper. The architects that carried out this ambitious project were Gregorio Sánchez, Ernesto Lagos and Luis Maria de la Torre.

Colon Theater

Opened in 1908 it is one of the world's major opera houses

Av 9 de Julio

Its name honors Argentina's Independence Day (July 9, 1816).
The avenue runs roughly one kilometer to the west of the Rio de la Plata waterfront, from the Retiro district in the north to Constitucion station in the south. The avenue has six lanes in each direction !!

June Poll Result: Malaysia is your favorite spot !

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 09:39:00 +0000

The result of the June poll is in favour of: MALAYSIA

Congratulation to the photographer Zzkang and thanks again for his contribution. I invite you to have a look again to the high quality pictures here.

As a winner, Malaysia will not be eligeable for July Poll.

July poll will start today. As we have a growing number of coutries, we decided to have one pool per geographical area (North America, South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, etc).

July poll will be dedicated to your favorite European country. Hope to see you soon and thanks for your votes!

Tallinn, the Baltic Silicon Valley

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sat, 31 May 2008 12:41:00 +0000

Tallinn is the capital and largest city in Estonia with about 400,200 inhabitants. It lies on the northern coast of Estonia on the Gulf of Finland. The city is an important industrial, political and cultural center and seaport.

Tallinn has recently seen a huge development of an IT sector, hence its nickname of “the Baltic” Silicon Valley. For instance, Skype is one of the most famous IT start-ups that is now known throughout the world.

I will present you in this post some photos I took during a 4 day trip to Tallinn that I did last year when I was living in Finland.

Our first view of Tallinn

We arrived from Helsinki. It took us only 2 hours to get there by boat and reach Tallinn's harbour

This harbour is the oldest of Tallinn. You can really feel the "communist" influence in the way those buildings where built, looking for hugeness. Today, due to the lack of care, it looks quite sad and cold!

Tallinn today

This is the view from our Hostel. One of the main street in the city center.

The old town

The market in the old town

San Diego, America's Finest City

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sun, 18 May 2008 13:24:00 +0000

San Diego is a coastal Southern California city located in the southwestern corner of the continental

USA

The city's population is estimated to be 1,256,951. It is the second largest city in California and the eighth largest city in the USA by population.

San Diego County lies just north of the Mexican border—sharing a border with Tijuana—and lies south of Orange County². It is home to miles of beaches, a mild Mediterranean climate.

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) make the area influential in biotechnology research. San Diego's economy is largely composed of agriculture, biotechnology/biosciences, computer sciences, electronics manufacturing, defense-related manufacturing, financial and business services, ship-repair and construction, software development, and tourism.

All the pictures below were taken by Stephan, you can visit his blog at this adress :

http://www.iliveherenow.com/

From Shelter Island, the downtown skyline

Coronado Island from Shelter Island

Balboa Park walkway

Building in the Balboa Park area of San Diego

A trip to Marocco

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:28:00 +0000

Morocco

, officially called the Kingdom of Morocco is a country in North Africa with a population of almost 34 Million.

It has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean. Morocco has international borders with Algeria to the east, Spain to the north (a water border through the Strait and land borders with two small Spanish autonomous cities, Ceuta and Melilla), and Mauritania to the south.

Morocco is an ethnically diverse country with a rich culture and civilization. Each region possesses its own specificities, thus contributing to the national culture

Culturally speaking, Morocco has always been successful in combining its Berber, Jewish and Arabic cultural heritage with external influences such as the French and the Spanish and, during the last decades, the Anglo-American lifestyles.

Thanks a lot to Haidaloup who is just back from her trip to Morocco and sent me the beautiful pictures below.

A man in the market ("Souc")

Spice Market

Potery Market

A view of Rabat, the capital city

Aït Benhaddou, an old village in the South

An Oasis

Ouzoud Waterfalls (110 m high)

Dong Zen Temple, Malaysia

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sat, 10 May 2008 11:09:00 +0000

The 15-year-old Dong Zen Temple is a recent Buddhist temple located in Jenjarom in

Malaysia

Jenjarom is part of the Selengor region in which Kuala Lumpur is located.

Thousands of local and foreign tourists visit it each month. For the past few Chinese New Year celebrations, the temple has been drawing millions of visitors from the eve of Chinese New Year to the 18th day of the Chinese lunar calendar.

Most of the visitors come to pray. However, there is a great number who come for the temple's peaceful ambience, the well-manicured temple grounds which was once a durian orchard and the art galleries.

All the pictures and comments are from Zzkang. You can visit his blog at the following adress : http://alcoveanggur.blogspot.com

Entrance of the Temple

One of the famous 18 LoHan...this is the most handsome one....

Tanglung Street...

The 'Paper' Pagoda...can be entered by limited number of people at a time

World of star....

Wall of Buddha

April poll result: France and Israel are your favorite spots!!

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sat, 03 May 2008 17:36:00 +0000

The result of the March poll are in favour of: FRANCE and ISRAEL

Congratulation to the photographers Juka 14, Nono, Laure for France and David for Israel and thanks again for their contribution.I invite you to have a look again to the high quality pictures we got for France and Israel.

As a winner, France and Israel will not be eligeable for May poll.

The second rank was occupied by 2 countries with the exact same number of votes:

Turkey

USA

The poll of May will begin today. At least 3 new countries will be presented: Japan, Thailand and Peru...Hope to see you soon and thanks for your votes!
JB

The beautiful island of Maui, Hawaii

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 10:10:00 +0000

The State of Hawaii is one of the USA, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia. The state was admitted to the Union on August 21, 1959, making it the 50th state.

Its capital is located in its major city, Honolulu on the island of Oahu.

This state encompasses nearly the entire volcanic Hawaiian Island chain, which is made up of hundreds of islands spread over 1,500 miles (2,400 km).

The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands.

All the pictures below were taken by Stephan, you can visit his blog at this adress :

http://www.iliveherenow.com/

Night sky at the Ritz Carlton, Kapalua Maui

Maui palm tree

Sunset from Lahaina

The twisting road of Hana

The view out to sea from the Road to Hana

View of the sunset from Kapalua

Turkey in a nutshell from Oscan

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:34:00 +0000

Turkey is a Eurasian country that borders eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west, Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaidjan, and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syrai to the southeast.

The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea and is to the west and the Black Sea is to the north.

Due to its strategic location astride two continents, Turkey’s culture has a unique blend of Eastern and Western tradition. A powerful regional presence in the Eurasian landmass with strong historic, cultural and economic influence in the area between the European Union in the west and Central Asia in the east. Turkey has come to acquire increasing strategic significance.

Turkey is a democratic republic whose political system was established in 1923 under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Since then, Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as NATO or OECD.

Blue mosque in Istanbul

Ishak Pasa Saray

Ruins of castle, Marmaris

The best of Canada

Yourbestworldspots@yahoo.com (DJIBS) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 15:22:00 +0000

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world’s second largest country by total area, and shares land borders with the US to the south and northwest.

Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored and later settled the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in 1763 and UK granted increasing autonomy through the 19th century.

Canada now comprises ten provinces and three territories. Canada is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state. It is a bilingual and multicultural country, with both English and French as official languages at the federal level.

Thanks to Bat for all the nice pictures below

Sunset at Indian Harbour, Nova Scotia

Winter Trees, Winnipeg, Manitoba

Ottawa, Canada

Mountains, Bylot Island near Baffin Island

Halifax harbour, Nova Scotia

Chateau Laurier, Ottawa

Capilano Suspension Bridge and trees, Vancouver, British Columbia