3 . Skiing holiday centers

Windy Pine

The ski and snowboard runs here are high in the mountains so you can be sure of lots of good snow, but they are extremely challenging and only for the expert. Skiers can relax after dark in a number of small restaurants. The airport is a two-hour bus ride away.

Ice Mountain

Come to this beautiful spot if you’re new to the sport. Try out easy ski runs under the instruction of qualified teachers-their services are highly priced and many speak several languages including English.   Classes are for adults only.   Guest houses provide accommodation with breakfast and evening meals. The center is reached by train.

Fairview

This historic mountain town has much for visitors to see. The slopes don’t attract expert skiers, but are suitable for those wishing to improve their basic skills.   English-speaking instructors charge a lot, and hiring equipment is very expensive. This center isn’t recommended for children. The airport is nearby.

Bear Point

This center is a favorite with skillful young skiers who have limited money. Accommodation is reasonably priced and there’s a variety of evening entertainment. However, it’s hard to find a good instructor and you can’t be certain of the snowfall. Cheap flights go to the local airport.

Mount David

There’s good open skiing here, without too many turns, making it suitable for intermediate(中级的) skiers. Equipment hi re is expensive. Accommodation is of a high standard and there are excellent restaurants, but prices are high. The airport isn’t far away.

4 . It was in 2008 when I was at one of the lowest points of my life that I decided to go to India. Never had I visited India. At 45, I was at an age when more rational people would be thinking mostly about settling down and playing it safe. But I knew I had to go. I was trying to recover from a deep sadness-losing my parents, and the only thing that had helped was yoga.

Eventually, three classes a week turned into teacher training, which led to a desire to visit the country where yoga was born. So on 5 December, I boarded a plane bound for Delhi - leaving my job as a writer behind.

Approximately, it took 11 months from the determined moment to lift-off. I sold about one-third of my belongings, moved out of my apartment and into a small one and saved as much money as I could.

As we landed in the Indira Gandhi International Airport, I had no idea what waited for me, no idea what India would look like, no idea how I would be able to handle these months of travel in such a different and challenging place.

I was met at the airport by an old friend who invited me to stay in his family’s home. They helped me get used to India. I felt very lucky to have such a soft landing. From that start, my trip unfolded with one journey after another. By the time my journey ended on 2 June, I was deeply in love with India and heartsick about leaving. India changed me. It gave me hope, inspiration and a new start in life.

Thanks to my travels, I developed the attitude that every incident I met with was meant to happen. Today, back to Toronto, I run Breathedreamgo. I make my living as a travel writer. As I write this, I am getting ready to leave for my seventh trip to India.

7 . The Jishou Art Museum is located at the center of an old town in the city of Jishou. A river called Wanrong runs through the old town, adding a touch of serenity to the historical site. The architects decided to build the museum on top of the river in the shape of a bridge. By making the museum into a bridge, they hoped that people in Jishou would encounter art on their way to work, school, or shops, instead of only seeing it on a special trip.

Typical contemporary cultural institutions, such as museums and grand theaters, are treated as freestanding monuments, far away from the communities. The Jishou Art Museum, however, is integrated into the existing urban framework and well-connected with shops, restaurants, and small hotels, often with owners living upstairs.

Covered bridge (廊桥) has a long tradition in this mountainous region of China. It is used not only for crossing a river but also as a public space where travelers can rest and vendors (小贩) can set up stands. As a modern interpretation of this building type, the Jishou Art Museum has introduced art as a new addition to the covered bridge.

The art museum is composed of two bridges, one on the top of the other. The lower level is an open steel structure that looks like a roofed street for passersby and allows the flow of crowds; the upper level is a concrete arch with a small gallery inside. In between the two bridges is the art museum’s main hall for temporary exhibitions. The entrance hall, administrative office, souvenir shop, and tearoom are situated at either end of the bridge.

The Jishou Art Museum Project was initiated and supported by Huang Yongyu, a contemporary Chinese artist. The museum was completed in 2019 and had its grand opening in the summer of 2021.

8 . In March 2020, when I stood alone in the middle of the main road to the Lake District, it felt like the end of the world. As a local farmer, I’ve grown used to the heavy traffic. But suddenly, everything changed. The lockdown brought quietness to the area, and I did feel a sense of relief to be done with the noise for a while.

Just off the main road is Matterdale, where I live with my family. We own a farm and our work focuses on tending farm animals. Like many who live in tourist attractions, we have been annoyed by some visitors. My farming would have been significantly easier without people parking in gateways, walking through the fields of lambs with loose dogs scaring them, or abandoning their tents along the river.

Despite my complaints, however, I would never reject visitors’ presence. I do understand their need for rest after months of urban life. In fact, I think I need them too. Of course, communities like ours rely on the income that tourism creates. But to me, there is something more personal. I once took my kids to the lake. Near the shore, we saw boys and girls playing together. A young dad was holding his kid’s hand as she tiptoed through the shallows. An elderly couple were sitting in the shade, admiring the view. I found myself content knowing that I was sharing this landscape with others.

As lockdown restrictions have relaxed and visitors started to come back, I wonder how we can coexist happily. For those who are reading this, I hope that my words can encourage you to respect the communities you visit, and understand the responsibilities that come with visiting those places. Our love can coexist, even if it sometimes makes life a little crowded.

9 . Best Beaches in Connecticut

With its sandy beaches, nesting seabirds, and a number of seafood stands, Connecticut’s coastline is a hot spot for summer vacations that you shouldn’t miss.

Rocky Neck State Park

If you’re after a place to set up camp near the beach, head to Rocky Neck State Park. The park has the perfect combination of easy beach access, nature trails (小路), and activities to keep your children entertained. Its campground has been built to preserve the natural appeal of the park. With hardly any seaweed (海藻), this is also a great location for crabbing and fishing.

Hammonasset Beach State Park

Characterized by soft sand and calming waves, Hommonasset Beach State Park is one of the state’s busiest parks. It’s the place to visit if you like your beach experience filled with fellow vacationers. Facilities in the park include Meigs Point Nature Center, an environmental education center which houses more than 50 species of wildlife from various habitats.

Calf Pasture & Shady Beach

Do you love the beach but find that you cannot sit still on the sand for more than five minutes? Well, Calf Pasture & Shady Beach is your beach destination. Here, you can spend the day by the water playing games like beach volleyball. For something more challenging, rent a kayak (独木舟) and get out on the water

Ocean Beach Park

Ocean Beach Park has plenty of entertainment for the little ones. There are water slides, a playground, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool. These are the stuff of childhood summer vacation memories. The parking fee includes admission to the beach area, but the pool and attractions all cost extra.

10 . What Is Your Next Destination?

One of the oldest cultural landscapes in China is chosen to become one of the country’s newest UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2022. The Ancient Tea Plantations of Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er features about 1.13 million tea trees. Located in China’s Yunnan Province, the region was a sating point of the legendary Ancient Tea Horse Road. Many of the region’s tea plantations remain, as do the four local ethnic minority groups — the Blang, Dai, Hani, and Wa people — who preserve their own languages, customs, and festivals.

When you arrive here, the stamp in your passport will include the Palau Pledge (誓约), which all visitors must sign, promising that “the only footprints I shall leave are those that will wash away.” The eco-pledge was drafted by and for the children of these remote western Pacific islands to help preserve Palau’s culture and environment from the negative impacts of tourism. Eighty percent of the nation’s waters is preserved as the Palau National Marine Sanctuary.

Green shoots of regeneration are appearing in Australia, of which some 72,000 square miles were, burned during the 2019-2020 bushfires, leading to the deaths of nearly three dozen people and more than a billion animals. Drive the Great Ocean Road, in Victoria’s Otways region, and then take a hike at Wildlife Wonders, an educational ancient forest and waterfalls. Wandering through bushes gives a chance to spot koalas unique to this ecosystem.

Mining and steel production once dominated the crowded Ruhr Valley, in Germany’s western state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Today, the region is repurposing previous industrial sites as parks and open air cultural spaces. The most famous is the UNESCO Word Heritage site of Zeche Zollverein, now home to an outdoor swimming pool, ice rink, and walking tails. You can rent a bike in Essen for a car-free Ruhr Valley trip along cycling routes.