Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik, Croatia was one of the destinations that my family and I visited while on the cruise we went on a few summers ago. It has to be one of the most amazing places I have ever seen. The weather there at the time that we went was so beautiful. It was perfectly warm outside, the water was a crystal blue/green color and it was so perfectly still. The people in Dubrovnik were beautiful too! They had such perfectly tanned skin and beautiful eyes. I had never even heard of Croatia before I went there. But, I highly recommend it as a vacation destination. I couldn't even count the amount of yachts that I saw while I was there. While we were there we ate at a restaurant and ordered a native wine drink that they have there. It was a very interesting drink, it was good though. I'm not sure what it was called, but, Croatia is known for their wines. Also while we were there we took a cab around the city to try and see the local aspect of the city rather than the touristy area. The cab took us to an area where the local people like to swim. It was amazing, the water was such a pretty color and people were just jumping in everywhere. I would love to go back to Dubrovnik, Croatia again.

Santorini, Greece

A few summers ago I went on a cruise to several different destinations; Santorini, Greece being one of them. Santorini is unlike any place I have ever visited. My family and I went to a black sand beach while we were there. It was very interesting and very beautiful. It was very hot outside when we were there, this may have been partly because the sand was black. It was almost too hot to walk on; so, built on the sand there were walkways leading to each umbrella area. It was very tourist oriented at the beach we went to, but it was still nice. Even while just lying on the beach, someone would come and take your order for food or drinks. It was an interesting experience for a beach. It was also quite a party destination, there was a restaurant/bar near the beach that was very busy. The architecture in Santorini, and Greece in general is so different from anything I have seen. In Santorini all of the buildings were some sort of white stone. It is beautiful. Santorini was also an interesting experience because I met some kids my age that were in Santorini to go to school abroad from the United States. I considered doing that because it is a beautiful place. I guess I still could!

Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

I went to Rio De Janeiro, Brazil in 2004. It was a place like nothing I had ever seen. My first experience off of the 18 hour flight to Rio, was the coffee. The coffee that they have in Brazil is amazing. It has such a unique and rich flavor. They also make a coffee called "cafe con leche". This is simply coffee with milk in it, but it tasted much more flavorful than just coffee with milk. But, the coffee is not nearly the only amazing thing about Rio. The people in Rio De Janeiro are so absolutely beautiful. Pretty much all of them are too, not even just a select few. They have amazing bodies. This is probably partly caused by the sport that they play that is similar to volleyball except they use all parts of their bodies. It was a crazy thing to watch and very cool. They played it all along the beach of Rio. The beach of Rio was beautiful. Everyone wore practically nothing! Which was kind of weird coming from the U.S., because we cover up pretty well compared to foreign places. My parents actually let me buy one of the "brazillian" cut swim suits from Rio. Not that they would ever let me wear it. Rio De Janeiro is a big city alongside a beach, with many buildings and high-rises right next to the ocean. It is an amazing place to visit and there is so much to tell, I could go on for hours about it. But I will spare you.

Iguazu Falls, Argentina

Okay, so I know that Iguazu Falls is not a beach. But, they are absolutely exquisite and I think that they deserve some recognition. I traveled to Argentina in 2004 when I was 14. I was kind of too young in my opinion to be able to appreciate something of such beauty, but they were so amazing that I could take most of it in. Iguazu Falls are taller than Niagara Falls. They are so enormous it is almost unfathomable. Even standing yards away from the falls you can feel the mist from them. There were pathways leading through the jungle around the falls and you would walk on the paths, through the jungle, getting misted by the beautiful falls.

 

When my family and I visited Iguazu Falls, we not only walked a good ways around the top of the falls; we also took a small boat around the bottom of the falls and looked at them from that point of view. It was breathtaking. I have been to Niagara Falls before but those didn't even come close to Iguazu. Getting the chance to see something of this extravagance is an experience I will take with me to the grave. I will never forget seeing these mammoth falls.