If you follow these insider tips，your photos will look like you had the place to yourself at the popular tourist attractions.

Vatican Museums:Vatican City

The Vatican draws more than five million people each year，and queues can reach four hours during peak season.Christie Hudson，senior communications manager at Expedia，recommends，choosing a skip-the-1ine tour.“This not only lets you avoid the ticket counter，but also includes the use of a private partner entrance.”Extra time to visit the Sistine Chapel? Yes!

Bamboo Forest:Kyoto，Japan

Bamboo Forest is the most worthy sight in Kyoto.If you’re longing to enjoy the pathways and take pictures in total quietness，Kyoto Arashiyama Travel Guide recommends hitting the famous Bamboo Grove Path as early in the morning as possible—think 7 a.m.if you’re up for it.Don’t miss these hidden treasures you can only witness in Japan.

Chichen Itza:Yucatán，Mexico

Home to E1 Castillo and the Temple of the Warriors，Chichen Itza is a must-see.Want to beat the rush? Schedule an early tour that takes place before a site opens to the public.Led by an archaeologist guide，it’s full of fascinating insights and facts—without tons of pack-wearing tourists.

Louvre Museum:Paris，France

The Louvre is one of the most popular museums on the planet.If waiting around in line to get in isn’t the way you prefer to spend your time in Paris，consider purchasing a reserved ticket.This will give you entry to the pyramid within a half-hour window.The Louvre is also open until 9:45 p.m.on Wednesdays and Fridays，if you’re up for some late-night art visits.

An“adulting conference” (AC)this week allowed Kentucky high school seniors the chance to learn how to change a tire，how to cook and other basic life skills—things that they may not have learned at home or in classes.A series of photos posted by Bullitt Central High School on social media shows students taking“adulting conference”are learning about personal finances，resumes and other essential skills at the event，which has been widely reported on the local and national news outlets.

“I saw a Facebook post that parents passed around saying they needed a class in high school on taxes and cooking，”AC organizer Hardin told Louisville’s WAVE 3 News.Those skills are taught at school theoretically，she said，but the event gave students a chance to fill in gaps in their knowledge.

Students could choose to attend three workshops out of 11 total options，the school says.The workshops were held in cooperation with numerous community partners.

Some young people have left home and graduated school without having those gaps filled，according to a report this week from CBS New York，which documented a trend of young people seeking outclasses to learn basic life skills.

While attending a cooking class，29-year-old Elena Toumaras told the station she’s struggling with“simple things.”

“I was so used to，when living at home，my mom always cooking，”she told the station.

An“Adulting School”in Portland，Maine，aims to use a new online format to teach the youths skills like conflict resolution，sewing and appreciation for all，the station says.

Students’financial literacy has been of particular concern to some experts，as financial education in schools has stagnated(停滞)in the U.S.，with only 17 states requiring students to take classes in personal finance—a number that hasn’t risen in years.

“The majority of U.S.states are failing our students by declining to offer these fundamental courses which are critical to their financial stability and security later in life.And this will be changed.”Nan J.Morrison，president and CEO of the Council for Economic Education，told CNBC.

The Spanish sculptor Isaac Cordal sees the city as his playground.He specializes in miniature，a street art often representing a social commentary as a critical observation on capitalism，power and so on.

Cordal first models the sculptures in clay then reproduces them in cement(水泥)about 15cm in height.

“As a material，cement seems very symbolic because it is one of our most recognizable footprints against nature.”he says.“Today we have been too used to cement city habitat.”

For several years he’s been working on the project，Cement Eclipses，referring to the state when a building covers the sun:“It’s a critical reflection on the idea of progress.”

These tiny cement figures have appeared in cities across Europe，found sitting on top of bus shelters or drowning in the grass land of the big city.“The street became a perfect setting in which I could find enough landscapes for them.Due to their small size and color，they go really well into the urban environment.They even normally go unseen by passersby.I’m very interested in that moment of surprise when someone accidentally discovers them.”he says.

“Nowadays there is a fear of not being seen in the public area，so everything is always big and bold.We become a product of this and do not focus in as much.I think it is good to pay attention to small details.My work is a reward for those who do and it allows us to understand and change the world we have created in a different angle.”Cordal says.

If American waterways had ever been voted on the yearbook，the Buffalo River could easily have been named Ugliest.It could be hard to find hope there.It took decades for public perception of the river to shift.But activist citizens，who collaborated with industry，government，and environment groups never gave up on their polluted river—the Buffalo River gradually went from being considered a lost cause to a place worth fighting for.And by now the cleaned—up water is one of Buffalo’S biggest attractions.

By the 1960s，the river was seen as one of the worst sources of pollution pouring into the Great Lakes.The Buffalo River had caught fire many times.The surface had an oily layer，and any fish caught there were not eatable.

The waterway’s fate started shifting in the mid-1960s.Stanley Spisiak was a local Polish—American jeweler by day，but by evening he was the kind of guy who’d chase down dumpers(垃圾车)he spotted on the Buffalo River.By 1966 he found himself winning the National Wildlife Federation’s“Water Conservationist of the Year”award.And before long he got a nickname:“Mr.Buffalo River.”But there was only so much he could do—the river was still declared biologically dead in 1969.

Jill Spisiak Jedlicka is his great-grandniece.She picks up where he left off by directing the river’s protector organization，Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper.Professor Schneekloth and seven friends founded the organization as an all-volunteer nonprofit in 1989，after organizing the first river cleanup that year.Today the group employs 27 full-time workers and has helped oversee the Buffalo River’s $100 million restoration.

So far，the Buffalo River’s water quality has restored，but it is still an ongoing issue，as sewage(污水)can overflow into the river after storms.Habitat restoration continues as well；fish and plantings are still being sampled to measure how well it’s gone.