Renting a car in Croatia is one of the best ways to see the countryside and get around. The roads are good, and directions are easy to follow. My friend Beth and I drove from Plitvice Lakes National Park a couple of hours down to the small city of Zadar, which is near another national park called Krka (yes, that’s how it’s spelled, although it may seem to us English speakers to be missing a vowel or two). Zadar is filled with...

Plitvice Lakes is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It is one of Croatia’s 8 national parks, a series of 16 stunning turquoise lakes strung together by a series of cascading waterfalls. The colors of the water are reminiscent of jewels – aquamarine, blue topaz, emeralds and sapphires. Plitvice Lakes is the largest of Croatia’s national parks, as well as the oldest, and it’s included in the UNESCO...

On the outskirts of Kyoto lies a place of amazing beauty, a place so green and silent it speaks to your heart and soul…at least before or after the hordes of tourists pour through… According to Wikipedia, Arashiyama is a nationally-designated Historic Site and Place of Scenic Beauty, and deservedly so. I’ve never seen anything like it anywhere. There’s a hush in the place, a special feeling, that is hard to put into...

One of my favorite parts of New Zealand was the scenery in between the “big” destinations. The South Island, where I took a 22 day journey in a loop, covering about 3000 km, or 1864 miles, is one of the most scenic places I’ve ever been. The colors of the water are unreal, varying from bright, clear aquamarine to sea green to turquoise to powder blue to ultramarine and cobalt, with too many shades in between for even an artist...