Newmark's Door

"15 Stunning Sunrises and Sunsets"

Pretty pictures. The ones of Ocean City, Florence, and San Francisco are particularly striking.

Top 10 "Paradises on Earth"

Your mileage may vary. Number one is supposedly Tristan da Cunha.

"Drives of a Lifetime: The World's Greatest Scenic Routes"

National Geographic lists 52. I think I can claim full credit for three and partial credit for another three. Maybe when I'm retired . . .

And here's ABC News's "10 Most Spectacular Drives in the World". Almost no overlap with the Geographic list.

"The Most Shocking McDonald's Locations in The World"

The best, most surprising one is the Museum of Communism in Prague.

"Lost cities of the world"

From Babylon to Machu Picchu to Angkor.

"Ten Things Not to Do in New York City"

Each thing not to do is followed by a reasonable-sounding suggested alternative.

"Research: The Traveler’s Best Friend"

In time for summer, a review of helpful Internet links for travel. (New York Times, 5/14.)

And more links: "Forty Most Useful Travel Websites That Can Save You a Fortune".

More on the "best views"

After I posted a link to the "The 20 Best Views in the World", reader Pat Sullivan commented that several on the list were not as good as ones he had witnessed. I asked him for details and he kindly e-mailed this information (reprinted with his permission):

Being from the Pacific  NW, I've got a lot to choose from.  You can drive, in the summer, to the summit of Mt Olympus in the Olympic Mountain range.

The top is about 8,000 feet, and really is an inverted V.  Looking south you see all the other peaks, to the west is the Pacific Ocean. To the north, Vancouver Island, west is Puget Sound.  All visible to the naked eye.

In addition, watching the sun set behind these mountains from Seattle is pretty spectacular.  As is Mt Rainier, to the south of Seattle, on a sunny day.

And we have 'lowlights' too.  Lots of great views of the Columbia River, like this one on I-5 between Seattle and Spokane:

Further from home, the train between Zurich and Saltzburg has spectacular sights in the spring/early summer.  I've never seen grass as green as in an Alpine meadow. 

Montserrat in Spain; which was featured in the movie 'Barcelona', was cool too:

Man made sights, would be the view from balcony of my room at the Parador across the river from the walled city of Toledo: (Especially in the early AM when the rising sun shines on the walls.)

And the view I had of the gardens of the Alhambra, Granada, from the balcony of my room there:

A few pictures of an underseas restaurant

In the Maldives. It looks tiny, but it offers a view you can't get in too many other restaurants.

"Hotels to Stay In Before You Die"

List here.