Central America is where American school buses go to retire. In the balmy tropical climes of places like Guatemala and Honduras, they're given a new, colorful lease on life.
It's the jail at the end of the world. It would have been very cold, very drafty, and, even compared to the low bar set by late-19th-century prisons, altogether rather unpleasant. But if you could sneak to a window, what a view!
One of the world's most visited museums, the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum has an incredible array of original artifacts from the history of flight and space exploration.
Granada's market is especially good. It's large and colorful, pungent and bustling. And it's the only show in town, so everything is concentrated here.
Known to the locals as "Straddie," North Stradbroke Island near Brisbane separates southern Moreton Bay from the Pacific Ocean. With miles of spectacular ocean beaches and an abundance of local marine life such as whales, sharks, turtles, and dolphins, it's a popular summer holiday destination.
Hagia Sophia is old. Very old. The building that currently stands on the first of Istanbul's famous seven hills dates back almost 1,500 years and has had a remarkable and colorful history. It's also a beautiful place to visit.
If God and the government had their way, Antigua wouldn't exist. But it's a good thing it does. With charming Spanish colonial architecture, cobblestone streets, and a vibrant cultural life, it's a wonderful place to visit.
That the Lemaire Channel is nicknamed "Kodak Gap" is a pretty good indication that it's reliably scenic. When the conditions are right, it's spectacular.
In Istanbul, new is relative. The New Mosque might be newer than the Blue Mosque or Hagia Sophia, but having been completed in 1665 it is historic in its own right. And it's also stunningly beautiful.
Guatemala City isn't a popular tourist destination, in large part because of the scourge of violent crime, but there are some things worth seeing in this otherwise crowded and poverty-stricken city.
We've made it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. 19,341 feet. We're on top of Africa, far above the clouds. And though we're right next to the equator, it's very, very cold and there are thick ice glaciers.
Newark, New Jersey, isn't exactly known as a jewel of the American northeast. But from certain vantage points, it can actually be quite pretty. Glittery, even.
You don't have to be a fan of Downton Abbey to appreciate the beauty of Highclere Castle sitting on a stately hill in the English countryside of Hampshire about two hours west of London.
Heavy snow shuts down Washington DC, but it also transforms the National Mall, its monuments, and other Washington landmarks like the White House into a winter wonderland.
Quebec City is a kind of Paris-in-miniature, set on a beautiful spot on the Saint Lawrence River and full of old-world charm. At Christmas it really shines.
Covered from head to toe with thick white dust, crouching low on their launches, the young men and boys use angle grinders to carve statues of the Buddha out of solid blocks of white marble.
Constructed entirely of teak, the Bagaya Monastery (Bagaya Kyaung) in the old royal capital of Amarapura has fared much better from the region's earthquakes than its stone neighbors.
I took this photo last spring during the very brief blooming of the tulip magnolias (or saucer magnolias) in Washington DC. They're one of the spring's first dramatic blooming varieties in the DC area, usually beating the more famous cherry blossoms by a couple of weeks.
One of the most famous attractions at Kronborg Castle, Holger the Dane sits sleeping in the tunnels below the castle. Legend has it he will awaken when his country needs him.
Known as Hamlet's Castle because Shakespeare's play was set there, Kronborg Castle is a 16th-century castle on a strategic peninsula on the Sound, just north of Copenhagen.
Formerly known as the Spitsbergen Airship Musuem, Longyearbyen's North Pole Expedition focuses on several attempts around the beginning of the 20th century to reach the North Pole by air.
Originally designed to house the national theater, the Palacio de Bellas Artes has become a cultural hub in arguably the most beautiful building in Mexico City.
Dating to around the end of the 11th century, Nagayon Temple lies just south of Myinkaba Village. Its dark interior hides some impressive frescoes and interesting design features.
With several oversized statues of The Buddha crammed into spaces barely big enough to hold them, Manuha Temple is one of the easiest temples in Bagan to visit. It's also one of the oddest.
Apeyadana Temple is dedicated to an 11th-century chief queen consort of King Kyansittha of the Pagan Dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) and maternal grandmother of King Sithu I of Pagan.
This small but ornate pagoda lies deep in Taungbi Village, just to the northeast of Old Bagan and not far from the much better known Htilominlo Temple.
