Dawn of A New Day

In keeping with the theme of “My Top 5” I wanted to list 5 places that you should visit (I’ve even included pictures). It is impossible to narrow the list to 5 places so this segment may have up to 10 parts.

#1 The Underwater Waterfall, Mauritius Island

Mauritius is located in the Indian Ocean off the southeast coast of Africa. Sand and silt on the ocean floor run off in a way that makes it look like they’re pouring down a waterfall — or like the entire island is being sucked down a vast drain. It’s really just the flow of underwater currents that create the dramatic image. The ocean water is spectacular from the shore, but to see this particular view requires a helicopter ride. Tours are set up just for that.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/mauritius-underwater-waterfall-must-see-attractions/index.html

#2 Hollywood Walk of Fame, California, United States

The Hollywood Walk of Fame is found on the sidewalks along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA. The Hollywood Walk of Fame serves as an entertainment hall of fame for achievement in theater, the movies, radio, recording, and TV. A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is a much sought-after accolade along with others such as an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a BAFTA Award, or a Golden Globe award. The sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street is embedded with more than 2,500 five-pointed stars featuring the names of not only human celebrities but also fictional characters honored by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce for their contributions to the entertainment industry. http://hwof.com/about/hwof

#3 Keukenhof Garden, The Netherlands

Be sure to visit Keukenhof in the spring, where you will experience the gorgeous views of blooming Dutch tulips and other flowers for which Holland is famous. Keukenhof is the most famous and largest flower park in the world and lies not far from Amsterdam. Keukenhof is a park where more than 7 million flower bulbs are planted every year. Gardens and four pavilions show a fantastic collection of: tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, orchids, roses, carnations, irises, lilies and many other flowers. You will be overwhelmed by a spectacle of colors and perfumes. https://www.holland.com/global/tourism/plan-your-holiday/events/keukenhof.htm.

#4 Sistine Chapel, Italy

The Sistine Chapel is one of the greatest treasures of the Vatican City, of Rome and of the world in general. It is known as much for its decoration, as for being the temple in which popes are chosen and crowned. The construction of the building was carried out between1473 and 1481during the mandate of Pope Sixtus IV, to whom it owes its current name. Some of the most important artists who worked in the chapel are Botticelli, Perugino, Luca and Michelangelo. All of the frescoes of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are the work of Michelangelo, who spent four years painting the vault. There are nine stories from Genesis that occupy the central area: https://www.rome.net/sistine-chapel.

#5 Northern Lights, Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Lights are actually the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere. Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding. Northern Lights can be seen in the northern or southern hemisphere, in an irregularly shaped oval centred over each magnetic pole. The lights are known as ‘Aurora borealis’ in the north and ‘Aurora australis’ in the south. Scientists have learned that in most instances northern and southern auroras are mirror-like images that occur at the same time, with similar shapes and colors. Because the phenomena occurs near the magnetic poles, northern lights have been seen as far south as New Orleans in the western hemisphere, while similar locations in the east never experience the mysterious lights. However the best places to watch the lights (in North America) are in the northwestern parts of Canada, particularly the Yukon, Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Alaska. Auroral displays can also be seen over the southern tip of Greenland and Iceland, the northern coast of Norway and over the coastal waters north of Siberia. Southern auroras are not often seen as they are concentrated in a ring around Antarctica and the southern Indian Ocean. https://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html

Whew!! If you don’t have a passport, you need to get one (and save a few dollars) and book a flight out of the country to see these beautiful places.