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Orkneys Islands, Scotland

The Neolithic village of Skara Brae is located near the Bay of Skaill, 15 km North from the city of Stromness, on the west coast of Mainland island (Orkneys Islands, Scotland).

Thanks to the layer of sediments that have hidden and protected the village until 1850, the Neolithic village is kept in perfect conditions despite 5000 years of age (its origins predate the construction of the pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge) and it is considered today one of the best-preserved prehistoric villages in the world.

In 1999 it was recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In the movie Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Indiana Jones talks about Skara Brae to his students during a class at Marshall College.

At Orkney Islands / Scotland’s Northern coast, you can watch orcas and whales and have a swim in awesome sandy beaches (…beware of the freezing water!).

Bangkok, Thailand

Capital and biggest city of Thailand, Bangkok holds the Guinness World Record for the longest name: his ceremonial name “Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahastan Amon Phiman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit” means “City of angels, the great city, the city of eternal happiness, the impenetrable city of God Indra, the magnificent capital of the world equipped with precious gems, the happy city, abounding in a great Royal Palace, which is similar to the divine house where reincarnated Gods reigns, a city blessed by Indra and built for Vishnukam”

Boundless, hot, smiling and animated by a vibrant nightlife, Bangkok has been elected by the magazine Travel + Leisure the “best city in the world in 2008”.

Don’t miss to taste the typical street food and watch a ping-pong “match”…

Lake Garda, Italy

Strada della Forra — photo © mytouristmaps

Defined by a correspondent of the Frankfurter Zeitung the most beautiful street in the world and by Winston Churchill the eighth wonder of the world, the SP 38 road, well known as Strada della Forra, is a panoramic route located along the West coast of the Garda Lake, in Italy.

The most spectacular point is the short track through the gorges formed by the Brasa river, crossing dark tunnels and overhanging rocks.
In 2008, the SP 38 was the scene of a car chase starring Daniel Craig as James Bond in the movie Quantum of Solace and in the past of many other films and TV advertisements.

Built between 1908 and 1913, it is still considered one of the most spectacular roads of Italy.

Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A.

Everyone knows Yellowstone, located in the northwest area of Wyoming, for bison, geysers, Yogi Bear and the beautiful natural formations, but one of the most fascinating aspects of this place is hidden under the ground: the Yellowstone caldera (volcanic crater formed after the collapse of an empty magma chamber) is one of the few supervolcanoes on the earth, formed after the Lava Creek eruption, approximately 630,000 years ago, and now located in one of the so-called earth’s crust hot spots, where the magma goes through the earth’s mantle and approaches the surface. The caldera measures approximately 50 kilometers long and 75 kilometers wide.

It is supposed that the destructive potential of the Yellowstone caldera is thousands – maybe millions – of times higher than the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.

22° Halo (Lunar Halo)

A 22° halo (known also as moon or solar halo) is an optical phenomenon, forming a circle with a radius of approximately 22° around the moon or sun, produced by reflected/refracted light interacting with millions hexagonal ice crystals suspended in the cirrus or cirrostratus clouds (troposphere, 6-13 km high).

No light is reflected towards the inside of the ring, giving it the impression of a big hole in the sky. As the sailors say, when the 22° halo appears in the sky, a storm is approaching.

In clear sky conditions the view of this phenomenon is spectacular: the one in the photo (taken in Thaba-Tseka, Lesotho) is a lunar halo, much rarer than the solar halo.

Stirling, Scotland

Sir William Wallace (1270-1305) was a Scottish knight, member of the lesser nobility and the main leader during the wars for the independence of Scotland. He became the national hero and the symbol of the Scottish people’s freedom.

The execution of Wallace was one of the roughest of the history: after his capture by the English army (5th August 1305), on 23rd August 1305, at the Tower of London, he was stripped naked and dragged through the city at the heels of a horse, then he was hanged but released while he was still alive, eviscerated (his bowels were burned), beheaded and then cut into four parts.

His head was placed on a pike on the top of the London Bridge; his limbs were displayed, separately, in Stirling, Berwick, Newcastle and Perth.

William Wallace was the protagonist of Blind Harry‘s epic poem “The Wallace” (1479) and Mel Gibson‘s movie “Braveheart” (1995), winner of five Academy Awards. The English heavy metal band Iron Maiden dedicated to the story of Wallace the song “The Clansman” (1998) and the German band Grave Digger dedicated him their song “William Wallace (Braveheart)” (1996).

The Big Five, South Africa

Known all over the African continent, the “big 5” expression refers to the five most dangerous animals at the time of hunting safari: LION, ELEPHANT, RHINO, LEOPARD and BUFFALO.

They all can be found in many African parks and reserves (particularly in South Africa, Botswana, Tanzania, Kenya, …) or, more simply, on the South African bills (with 380 Rand you will have them all).