In the city of Cádiz, on a peninsula in the Bay of Cádiz northwest of Gibraltar, southwestern Spain

 "I love the dancing and the music from Latin cultures. I went to a Flamenco show in Spain once, and it completely took my breath away!" -- Torrey DeVitto

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(in southwestern Spain) From the majestic peaks of the Pyrenees to the sun-splashed plazas of Andalusia and the modernist masterpieces of Catalonia, Spain’s rich cultural heritage encompasses its distinct regions -- each preserving its own traditions, flavors, and history.

+ Featured here is the city of Cádiz (the main seaport of Cádiz province in Andalusia) on a peninsula in the Bay of Cádiz northwest of Gibraltar. Founded as Gadir by Phoenicians from Tyre around 100 BCE, it was later ruled by Carthage, Rome (as Gades), and the Visigoths. It was held by the Moors beginning in 711 CE. In 1262 Cádiz was captured by Alfonso X of Castile-León. (The city now has naval and mercantile shipbuilding yards.)

+ Situated on a long, narrow peninsula extending into the Gulf of Cádiz (an inlet of the Atlantic Ocean), Cádiz is hemmed in by the sea, from which it is protected by walls; the city has only one land exit. Notable landmarks include the 13th-century cathedral (originally built by Alfonso X of Castile and rebuilt after 1596) and the Baroque cathedral (begun in 1722 and completed in 1838), where the composer Manuel de Falla is buried -- and which holds a magnificent collection of art treasures. Other landmarks include San Sebastián and Santa Catalina castles, numerous museums, and the famous Torre de Vigía (100 feet [~30 meters]), a signal tower in the center of the city. Cádiz’s lively annual carnival, held the week leading up to Shrove Tuesday, includes processions, costumes, music, dancing, and contests. The celebration is modeled after the renowned carnivals of Venice, which had an active trade with Cádiz in the 16th century.

+ One could write several weighty tomes about Cádiz and still fall short of nailing its essence. Cádiz is generally considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in Europe. Now well into its fourth millennium, the ancient center, surrounded almost entirely by water, is a romantic jumble of sinuous streets where Atlantic waves crash against eroded sea walls, cheerful taverns fry up fresh fish, and salty beaches teem with sun-worshippers.

+ Spain's first liberal constitution (La Pepa) was signed here in 1812, while the city's distinctive urban model provided an identikit for fortified Spanish colonial cities in the Americas. Enamoured return visitors talk fondly of Cádiz' seafood, sands, and its intriguing monuments and museums. More importantly, they gush happily about the gaditanos, an upfront, sociable bunch whose crazy Carnaval is an exercise in ironic humor -- and whose upbeat alegrías (flamenco songs) warm their hearts.

+ In the fascinating city of Cadiz one can enjoy fantastically fresh seafood in tavernas next to the ancient seawalls, marvel at the many monuments, or enjoy flamboyant flamenco long into the night.

In the Isles of Sicilly, an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England

 "...Islands in the stream

That is what we are
No one in between
How can we be wrong?
Sail away with me
To another world...."
-- Islands in the Stream, lyrics by the Bee Gees
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(in England) The Isles of Scilly, an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, has one island (St Agnes) that is the most southerly point in Britain -- some four miles (~6 km) further south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point.

+ Just 28 miles (~49 km) west of the mainland, in many ways the Isles of Scilly feel like a different world. Life on this archipelago of about 140 tiny islands seems hardly to have changed in decades: there are no traffic jams, no supermarkets, no multinational hotels, and the only noise "pollution" comes from breaking waves and cawing gulls. That is not to say that Scilly is behind the times (you will find a mobile-phone signal and broadband internet on the main islands), but life ticks along at its own island pace. Renowned for its glorious beaches, there are few better places for a great escape. Only five islands are inhabited: St Mary's is the largest, followed by Tresco, while few hardy souls remain on Bryher, St Martin's, and St Agnes. (Ferry boats run between all five islands.)

+ The Duchy of Cornwall owns most of the freehold land on the islands. Tourism is a major part of the local economy, along with agriculture, particularly the production of cut flowers. A group of about 50 small islands and many more islets, the The Isles of Scilly lie near Land’s End, the most westerly point of mainland England. Because the islands’ climate is exceptionally mild (the mean monthly temperatures range from 45 to 62 °F [7 to 16 °C]) their fauna and flora are quite different from those on the English mainland. Many subtropical plants flourish. Seals live on the rocks and islets. Among an immense variety of seabirds that visit the islands, the roseate tern is the rarest British breeding tern, and the Manx shearwater has its only British breeding site in the islands.

+ Most of the people live on St Mary’s (shown here), which has a harbor at Hugh Town and a museum of Scilly history and prehistory. Bishop Rock Lighthouse, at the islands’ western end, is a notable example of 19th-century civil engineering. Though the economy is based on tourism and on commercial flower growing and vegetable farming, the latter is made possible by the prevailing climate. Fishing is also important. There is ferry service to Penzance, on the mainland, and flights connect the islands to the Land’s End, Newquay, and Exeter airports.

+ In summary, the Isles of Scilly are a world apart in every way -- a natural wonder, like a cluster of precious ocean jewels, where nature thrives and the soul is inspired. Everything looks and feels different on Scilly -- simpler, kinder, and more innocent. Life moves at an easier pace. (With the space and freedom to do everything, or nothing, this archipelago offers visitors quite a magical experience.)

In the city of Delft, province of South Holland, Netherlands

 "Whenever I found something remarkable, I have thought it my duty to put down my discovery on paper, so that all ingenious people be informed thereof." -- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek

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(in the province of South Holland, Netherlands) The city of Delft is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, and The Hague, to the northwest. Together with them, it is part of both the Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area and the Randstad. A popular tourist destination, Delft is famous for its connections with the House of Orange-Nassau, for its blue pottery, for being home to the painter Jan Vermeer, and for hosting the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft). Historically, Delft played a highly influential role in the Dutch Golden Age. (In terms of science and technology, thanks to the contributions of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek and Martinus Beijerinck, Delft is considered to be the birthplace of microbiology.)

+ In western Netherlands, Delft lies along the Schie River. Founded in 1075 and chartered in 1246, it was damaged by fire in 1536 and by the explosion of a powder magazine in 1654. Delft was a trade center in the 16th and 17th centuries and was famous for its tin-glazed earthenware, or delftware, but was superseded in trade by Rotterdam in the 18th century. Principal manufactures are now ceramics, spirits, oils, penicillin, yeast, and machinery.

+ Delft's technical university was founded in 1842 as the Royal Academy; its hydraulic laboratories designed the Delta Plan for the restriction of the Rhine and Meuse estuaries. The medieval Old Church contains memorials to the admirals Maarten Tromp and Piet Heyn -- and to Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a native of Delft. The New Church (formerly St. Ursula’s) contains tombs of the members of the house of Orange-Nassau and of the jurist Hugo Grotius, whose statue is in the marketplace. The Prinsenhof, where William the Silent was assassinated in 1584), was a convent before it became his residence; it is now the town museum. Other landmarks include the Renaissance-style Town Hall; around a medieval tower, the Armamentarium (a 17th-century armory), the Paul Tetar van Elven Museum, and the Huis Lambert van Meerten Museum, with an international collection of earthenware tiles. (Johannes Vermeer is the best known of the many painters born in Delft.)

+ An amalgam of austere medieval magnificence and Golden Age glory, Delft's exquisite town center is a hugely popular Dutch day-trip destination, crowded with visitors strolling its narrow streets and central Markt. The center is time-capsule-like, having changed little since Golden Age artist Johannes Vermeer, who was born in Delft and lived his whole life here, painted his famous View of Delft in 1660–61.
+ In the 15th century a canal was dug to the Maas river, connecting it with the small port of Delfshaven and increasing trade. In the 17th century, artisans started to produce Delftware, the distinctive blue-and-white pottery originally duplicated from Chinese porcelain.

In the city of Munich, capital of Bavaria, southern Gemany

 “I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer.”-- Abraham Lincoln

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(in the capital of the Bavaria Land [state], in southern Germany) Munich, Bavaria’s largest city and the third largest city in Germany (after Berlin and Hamburg), lies about 30 miles (~50 km) north of the edge of the Alps and along the Isar River, which flows through the middle of the city.

+ Munich, or München (“Home of the Monks”), traces its origins to the Benedictine monastery at Tegernsee. In 1157 Henry the Lion, duke of Bavaria, granted the monks the right to establish a market where the road from Salzburg met the Isar River. In 1255 Munich became the home of the Wittelsbach family, which had succeeded to the duchy of Bavaria in 1180. For more than 700 years the Wittelsbachs would be closely connected with the town’s destiny. In the early 14th century the first of the Wittelsbach line of Holy Roman emperors, Louis IV (Louis the Bavarian), expanded the town to the size at which it remained up to the end of the 18th century. Under the Bavarian elector Maximilian, Munich increased in wealth and size and prospered until the Thirty Years’ War. It was occupied by the Swedes under Gustav II Adolf (Gustavus Adolphus) in 1632, and in 1634 a plague epidemic resulted in the death of about a third of its population. The third Wittelsbach who left his mark on the community was Louis I, king of Bavaria from 1825 to 1848, who created modern Munich, and his architects established the city’s characteristic appearance in the public buildings they designed. The 19th century was Munich’s greatest period of growth and development. Protestants became citizens for the first time in what had been until then a purely Roman Catholic town. Munich’s cultural importance in Europe was enhanced when Louis II, by championing the composer Richard Wagner, revived its fame as a city of music and the stage.

+ With its tall tankards and high-tech cars, edgy art, and Lederhosen, this is a city where traditional and modern sit side by side like few places on earth. Beer has been part of Munich life for at least seven centuries and the brewing tradition remains very much alive today. The Bavarian capital boasts six mammoth breweries pumping out world-class suds to hundreds of beer gardens and beer halls. And the climax to the Munich beer year is, of course, the famous Oktoberfest, attended by more than six million people.

+ Before heading off to the nearest pub, however, take some time to savour the local art scene. The Kunstareal, Munich’s art quarter, is the place to start, with four major venues displaying everything from Dutch masters to 1960s design. The city also boasts some world-class museums focusing on topics as diverse as Oktoberfest, porcelain, and BMWs. There are also royal palaces to be explored here -- the legacy of 700 years of rule by a single family, the Wittelsbachs.

In the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon, England

 “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”

– William Shakespeare
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(in the West Midlands region of England) The market town of Stratford-upon-Avon, commonly known as just Stratford, is a civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, on the River Avon, 91 miles (~146 km) northwest of London, 22 miles (~35 km) southeast of Birmingham and eight miles (~13 km) southwest of Warwick. Most of the district lies within the historic county of Warwickshire, but the parish of Oldberrow and an area along the River Stour from north of Alderminster to south of Shipston-on-Stour belong to the historic county of Worcestershire, and an area south of the River Avon (Upper, or Warwickshire, Avon) and west of the Stour, including Welford and Upper Quinton, belongs to the historic county of Gloucestershire. In the vicinity of Alcester, an old village of Roman origin, are several large country houses open to the public; they include Ragley Hall and Coughton Court. Stratford is in the southern part of Warwickshire and occupies almost half of the county. (The town is the southernmost point of the Arden area on the edge of the Cotswolds.)

+ Stratford was originally inhabited by Britons before Anglo-Saxons and remained a village before the lord of the manor, John of Coutances, set out plans to develop it into a town in 1196. In that same year, Stratford was granted a charter from King Richard I to hold a weekly market in the town, giving it status as a market town. As a result, Stratford experienced an increase in trade and commerce as well as urban expansion. Between 1793 and 1816 the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal was built, to link the Avon at Stratford with Birmingham. By the early 19th century, Stratford was a flourishing inland port, and an important center of trade, with many canal and river wharves along what is now Bancroft Gardens. Stratford is quite a popular tourist destination, due to its status as the birthplace and burial place of the poet and playwright William Shakespeare; it receives approximately 2.7 million visitors a year. The Royal Shakespeare Company resides in Stratford's Royal Shakespeare Theatre.

+ The author of some of the most quoted lines ever written in the English language, William Shakespeare was born in Stratford in 1564 and died here in 1616. Experiences linked to his life in this Tudor town range from the touristy (medieval recreations and Bard-themed tearooms) to the humbling (Shakespeare's modest grave in Holy Trinity Church) and the sublime (taking in a play by the world-famous Royal Shakespeare Company). 

+Stratford-upon-Avon is steeped in the history of its most famous resident, William Shakespeare. This Warwickshire country town not only contains the home where Shakespeare was born, but also the cottage where Anne Hathaway resided before their marriage, and the church where the couple is buried. (Stratford-upon-Avon also boasts Europe's largest butterfly farm.)

In the town of Mostar in the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina

 “A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew.”

– Aberjhani
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(in the western Balkan Peninsula of Europe) The country of Bosnia and Herzegovina has often felt the influences of stronger regional powers that have vied for control over it, and these influences have helped to create Bosnia and Herzegovina’s characteristically rich ethnic and religious mix. Islam, Orthodox Christianity, and Roman Catholicism are all present, with the three faiths generally corresponding to three major ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Serbs, and Croats, respectively. The larger region of Bosnia occupies the northern and central parts of the country, and Herzegovina occupies the south and southwest. These historical regions do not correspond with the two autonomous political entities that were established by the internationally brokered Dayton Accords of 1995: the Republika Srpska (Bosnian Serb Republic), located in the north and east, and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, occupying the western and central areas. The capital of the country is Sarajevo; important regional cities include Mostar and Banja Luka.

+ Featured here is the town of Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mostar is the chief city and, historically, the capital of Herzegovina. It is situated in mountainous country along the Neretva River and lies on the Sarajevo-Ploče rail line. First mentioned in 1452, Mostar became a Turkish garrison town in the 16th century. In 1566 the Turks replaced the town’s wooden suspension bridge over the Neretva with a stone arch one, whence the name Mostar (from Serbo-Croatian most, “bridge”). This stone bridge had a single arch 27 meters wide, and was a masterpiece of Ottoman engineering. In November 1993, during the Bosnian civil war, the bridge was destroyed by artillery fire from Bosnian Croat forces. A major rebuilding project was undertaken to restore the bridge and nearby buildings that had also been damaged; the bridge reopened in 2004. (The bridge and the surrounding area were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2005.)

+ Mostar, the largest city in Hercegovina, has an enchanting old iown center. At dusk the lights of numerous millhouse restaurants twinkle across gushing streams, narrow Kujundžiluk bustles joyously with trinket sellers and, in between, the Balkans' most celebrated bridge forms a majestic stone arc between medieval towers. The town served as a center for crafts and trade, and its coppersmith’s bazaar is a tourist attraction. While under Austrian rule (1878–1918), Mostar became a center for Serbian scholars and poets, and for a strong nationalistic movement. The region is noted for its quality wines (žilovka and blatina), tobacco, fruit, and vegetables. (Mostar University was founded in 1977.)

+ Between November and April most tourist facilities go into hibernation, while Summer here is scorchingly hot. Spring and Autumn are ideal times to visit.

In the town of Assissi, city of Perugia, central Italy

 “Start by doing what is necessary, then what is possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” ― St. Francis Of Assisi

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(in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region of central Italy) The town of Assisi lies 12 miles (~19 km) east of the city of Perugia and is famous as the birthplace of St. Francis (the founder of the Franciscan order here in 1208) and St. Clare (Chiara d'Offreducci), who (with St. Francis) founded the Poor Sisters, which later became the Order of Poor Clares (after her death). The 19th-century Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows was also born in this town.

+ Assisi is situated on a spur of Monte Subasio at an elevation of 400 meters and overlooks the valleys of the Topino and Chiascio rivers. The town has narrow, winding streets and is surrounded by medieval walls. It developed from the Umbrian, Etruscan, and Roman town of Assisium, of which the temple of Minerva (now a church) is the most notable survival. Subject to the dukes of Spoleto in the early Middle Ages, Assisi became an independent community in the 12th century and was involved in internal disputes and wars with Perugia before passing to the Papal States in the 16th century. (It became part of the Italian kingdom in 1860.)

+ Depiced here, is the the town’s most notable landmark, the Basilica of San Francesco (St. Francis), which was begun in 1228, just two years after the saint’s death, and was completed in 1253. The two-story basilica consists of an upper church and a lower church. The crypt in the lower church was added in 1818 when the tomb of St. Francis was opened. The basilica is one of the greatest repositories of Early Renaissance fresco painting in Italy. Saint Francis is buried in the lower church, which has frescoes by Giovanni Cimabue, Pietro Lorenzetti, and Simone Martini. The upper church has frescoes representing episodes from the life of St. Francis by Giotto (and his followers), and others depicting scenes of the Old and New Testaments by Cimabue, his pupils, and Jacopo Torriti. Earthquakes on 26 September 1997, seriously damaged the basilica, collapsing several vaulted ceilings of the upper church and destroying frescoes by Cimabue and others.

+ The 12th-century Cathedral of San Rufino in the town has a fine Gothic façade with three rose windows. Just east of the Old Town is the Church of San Damiano, where Francis renounced the world (in 1205) and where St. Clare died (in 1253). After 1212 the nuns of the Poor Clares lived in a convent at San Damiano. The Eremo delle Carceri (or Prison Hermitage), given to St. Francis by Benedictine monks, and the 16th-century Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, enshrining the Romanesque church of the Porziuncola (the cradle of the Franciscan order), are both nearby.

+ As the place where St. Francis was born, founded his order, and died, Assisi is still a famous Roman Catholic shrine and a popular pilgrimage site. (The town derives considerable income from pilgrims and tourists.)