One of North America’s Oldest Cities – Quebec City

Quebec City today is one of the most European feeling cities in North America, with its beautiful Château Frontenac hotel, French influences on architecture, and fortified city walls. Located on the St. Lawrence River, Quebec is northeast of Montreal, and north of New Hampshire and Maine. Settled in 1608, Quebec City is one of North America’s oldest cities — only a handful of other North American settlements outdate the Canadian city.

Lensmaster Squidster has created an excellent resource on her lens, Quebec City Today. The lens features a list of fun things to do in the city, links and live feeds from web cams in Quebec, videos, and reviews.

Fall Foliage Sightseeing in New England

One of the major reasons to visit New England is for its brilliant fall foliage and the sightseeing that comes along with it in these cool autumn months. Sort of like a distraction from the rough oncoming winter, fall brings about a beautiful change in leaf color throughout the entire six states, and throughout the country. While color does change all over the United States and throughout the northern hemisphere during the fall months, New England and the northeast of the USA has some particularly colorful displays of color.

Each area of New England has its own peak leaf change time. Much of the six states experience peak fall foliage during the 2nd and 3rd week of October, but higher elevations will peak much sooner. Along the coast and further to the south, foliage will peak later. Outside of New England, it isn’t unusual in the southern states for the most attractive autumn color to come about throughout November.

Here are five places you can visit in the United States to experience some brilliant fall color, as well as take up some of the local history and culture while you’re there.

1. Boston. The city of Boston has beautiful fall foliage displays. Unlike many other cities throughout the country, Boston has plenty of trees lining the streets and along the Charles River. Just outside the city, you can find great walking trails in the Blue Hills, complete with some spectacular overlooks of the city and harbor.

2. Killington. My personal favorite place to see autumn foliage, Killington is one of New England’s biggest ski resorts, but an underestimated place to see some beautiful sites in the fall.

3. The Berkshires. The western edge of Massachusetts has some incredible, isolated towns and peaks to peep more leaves. Towns like Lenox, Lee, and Williamstown are just a few miles from both Vermont and New York, making it an interesting vacation or weekend getaway.

4. Kancamagus Highway. The North Conway region of New Hampshire is probably the busiest part of the state during leaf peeping season, and its busiest highway is the scenic backroad highway, the Kancamagus. If you can, try to avoid the weekends and visit a few hours before sunset or an hour or two after sunrise for the best views.

5. Mount Monadnock, New Hampshire. The Monadnock region of New Hampshire is fairly isolated, and that’s the best part. Nearby is the town of Hancock, NH, one of the prettiest towns in New England, along with plenty of deserted backroads to travel and enjoy. If you’re looking for a more commercial route with plenty of stores, towns and rest stops, this isn’t it. For that experience, you might want to head to the middle of New Hampshire or to some of the more traveled coastal towns of New England.

Also, be sure to check out lensmaster Jazzodog’s lens on fall foliage in New England, where users have voted on and submitted their ideas for the best places to visit and see foliage in the six states.

Fun Things to Do While Visiting Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland… the biggest city in New Zealand, and the most recognizable upon first sight. It’s chock full of fun things to do in the city, which is actually quite big. It’s fast growing, fast paced, and beautiful.

If you’re looking for a good list of things to do in Auckland, this lens is a good start. Whether you’re looking for a scenic scuba diving trip to the Coromandel Peninsula, or if you’d rather experience some of the natural beauty the Rotorua Thermal Area has to offer, there’s much to do in such a relatively compact area.

As for man-made attractions, Auckland isn’t lacking in those either. The Auckland Zoo is home to Operation Nest Egg, an ongoing program to help preserve and protect the kiwi population in New Zealand. A trip to the city wouldn’t be complete without a trip up the country’s tallest building, The Sky Tower. Panoramic views offer up miles upon miles of long distance viewing of coast and NZ landscape.

New Zealand is also rich in maritime history. One of the best marine museums can be found right on the shorefront of Auckland at the New Zealand National Maritime Museum. Rather have an up close and personal experience on the coast? Coast to Coast Tours will do just that (and they’re very experienced at what they do!).

Read more about what Auckland has to offer, and what things there are to do in this beautiful city of the southern hemisphere:
Things to See in Auckland

You might also be interested in…
* Kiwi T-Shirts from Kiwisoutback
* New Zealand Photographs
* Take a Trip to the Philippines
* My Kiwi Apparel store

Tour the Oldest City in Germany: Trier

Have you heard of Trier, Germany? This beautiful city along contains Roman ruins – yes, Roman Ruins, in Germany. It’s often referred to as the “Second Rome” because of its deep history of Roman settlement and buildings. Settled thousands of years ago, the city claims to be the oldest, and has the ruins to back it up. Squidoo lensmaster RoamingRosie has a great introduction and guide to this amazing German city on her lens, Trier: A Guide to Germany’s Oldest City. On this guide, you can find some of the best sightseeing, churches, fountains, ruins, photographs, and tips for traveling this city from one end to the other.

The city contains many things to see of historical significance, like the oldest Roman gates, the Porta Nigra. The center of old town, Hauptmarkt, is surrounded by Gabled houses with medieval facades and architecture. The center of the marketplace has the large cross faced buildings. The House of the Three Magi, or Dreikönigenhaus, is one of the oldest stone buildings in Germany, and is close to some of these other destinations.

Porta Nigra, Original Roman City Gates, Trier, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

The Imperial Baths of Trier are complicated ruins that have different rooms that were made by the Romans (in Germany). Each room had a different purpose, and was actually never completed. Underneath the baths there is a tunnel complex leading to additional ancient rooms.

Don’t have much time to see the city? There’s even a quick synopsis of the must-see areas of Trier if you’re pressed for time. Go ahead and have a look!

Other European destinations covered by the ExSquidition Travel Journal:

* The Netherlands
* Paris
* London
* County Cork
* Bournemouth

Travel to New England’s Popular Road Trip Destinations

If you’re looking for variety in your road trip, New England might be the place to find it. The cold Atlantic waters have carved beautiful beaches along Cape Cod, while Maine’s coast has miles upon miles of steep ocean cliffs. Further inland, Vermont’s Green Mountains and New Hampshire’s White Mountains change every season to provide us with a different view of their forested slopes.

Boston Lighthouse, Boston Harbor, MA
Premium Photographic Print

Lensmaster Kiwisoutback has written an entire guide to taking a road trip to New England, which delves into the more popular destinations like Franconia Notch in Vermont, the Connecticut wine trail, the shore of Cape Cod, and the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts. You’ll also find a list of recommended things to do in each state, where the major cities are in New England, where the lighthouses are located along the coast (also rivers and lakes), and the interesting regional food.

Have you ever visited New England? You can also add a Twitter update to the lens tweeting out your favorite destination in these six states, whether it’s a roadside diner, ski resort, bed and breakfast, or just a secluded beach that’s worth seeing.

Related Road Trip Posts:
* Take a Road Trip Across the United States

Also visit the road trip blog to see more U.S. travel destinations you can visit by car.

Tourist and Travel Information on the Netherlands

Nestled between Belgium and Germany on the cold North Sea is the country of The Netherlands. Natives call it Nederland, but the country is also widely known as Holland. Lensmaster Spirituality lives in the Netherlands and has some inside information for anyone who is traveling to the country. In fact, she’s created an entire group dedicated to all things Holland, which features her Lens of the Day recipient, Little Known Facts About the Netherlands.

Windmill, Schermerhorn, Netherlands
Photographic Print

On the group page, you can find out more information on various activities and attractions within the country, like Keukenhof Gardens, Leiden University, and some famous Dutch people which you’ll surely recognize (Do Vincent Van Gogh and Anne Frank ring a bell?).

Starry Night over the Rhone, c.1888 Poster

The biggest tourist destination in all of the Netherlands would be Amsterdam, which the Netherlands group also has covered. The Top Ten Things to Do in Amsterdam lens is beautifully illustrated with photos of the canals, museums and famous windmills, while providing information and opinion on places like the Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, the Floating Flower Garden, and of course, the notorious anything-goes Red Light District (which is just a small part of Amsterdam).

Other European destinations from the ExSquidtion Travel Journal:
* Paris
* London
* County Cork, Ireland
* Bournemouth, England

Touring the Tall Ships

The Tall Ships are a welcome throwback to the history of sailing. Something about the Tall Ships just looks right on the open ocean, especially in comparison to the modern speedboats and giant ocean barges you’ll often see. The Tall Ships are works of art, entrenched into our history in many important ways. Some of the most famous naval wars and discoveries were on board tall ships, from Columbus’ famous voyage, to the Revolutionary War in the United States.

Tall Ship coming into Morro Bay, California during strong winds. Photo by Mike Baird on flickr licensed under Creative Commons 2.0.

These ships are always on the move, docking in various cities across the world as lensmaster Mac33 points out on the “Tour a Tall Ship” lens. On the lens, you’ll find various resources to find where ships are currently in the world via a live map, as well as links to some of the famous ships worldwide that you can tour.

Here are some other seaside destinations this blog has reviewed that have been known to have some tall ships visit now and again:

• London
• Paris
• The Oregon Coast

A Vacation to Hawaii, from a Kid’s Perspective

Sure, kids all love Disney World and Disneyland, but what about those other spots the grown ups might like to visit? Is Hawaii to grown up for them? Will the kids love Hawaii or hate it?

Photo by NJScottAway on flickr, licensed under Creative Commons 2.0.

Lensmaster Treasures by Brenda has let the kids take the reigns on her Squidoo lens, Hawaii for Kids, by a Kid. Written from a 4th grader’s perspective, the lens also has photos and real thoughts of what this child thought of the vacation to Hawaii.  Before you dive in and invest money into your own vacation, give it a read! It will give you some great insight on how your kid might look back on the trip (and this kid loved it!).

Brenda has also written a tourist’s guide to the best souvenirs that can be found in Hawaii, a top ten list of items that you might find on the island from the traditional Hawaiian shirt and lei to cookbooks and photo albums. Which souvenir does she recommend the most? It’s one that’s stood the test of time, but you’ll have to visit the lens to see what that might be.

You might also like Kona Girl’s lens on the Big Island of Hawaii, home of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Road Trips Across the United States: A New Blog

I love to travel, especially by car, so it was only a matter of time before I started up another blog on road trips. The Road Trips Across the 50 States of America blog will feature some of the great sightseeing destinations across the United States, all of which are accessible via the good old automobile. Over the past month, 30 of the best National Parks, The Grand Circle of the southwest, and some road trip preparation tips have been given as a little teaser of some of the things to come on this blog.

Road trip everywhere in the U.S.!
Photo by Caveman 92223 on flickr under Creative Commons 2.0

So what’s coming up in the next month? Here’s a sneak preview:

• Palm Springs
• The Everglades
• A road trip to Rhode Island
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Boston

Back here on the ExSquidition Travel Journal, next up will be a lens on Hawaii.. from a kid’s point of view. That’s all I’m saying right now, but expect to see it soon!

The Top Things to Do in Paris

The Eiffel Tower, photo by Al Ianni under Creative Commons.

It’s hard to find a good one page review of some place as complex that has such a rich history as Paris, France. Lensmaster Janices7 has pulled it off with her lens The Top Ten Things to do in Paris France. I’ve never been to Paris, but after reading Janice’s post, I feel like I’ve been there.

The lens is beautifully illustrated and gives some insider tips on when to see the top attractions like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, and The Louvre. I’ll give you a hint: go early, late, and avoid the weekends.

The Louvre at night. Photo by Zigar on Flickr under Creative Commons.

Of course, the lens covers the traditional tourist activities that you would expect (like the Eiffel Tower), but also the equally impressive Musee d’Orsay, Les Invalides (Napoleon’s Tomb), and suggested bus tours and river cruises.

Also check out Janice’s lens on Chateaux Loire Valley France, a guide to the region’s wine, village and landscapes.