New Orleans is known best for its festivals, particularly Mardi Gras, but there are more...many more. I have good friends who go live there for a month every spring to catch the French Quarter Fest and the Jazz & Heritage Festival. In between, they catch the Easter parades, and eat and drink their way across the city. It's a great place to party, whether it is an intimate crowd of 20 or 475,000 of your fellow music-loving friends.

When you hear the phrase “Grand Resort Hotels” in New Hampshire, four hallmarks still exist: The Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, The Balsams Wilderness in Dixville Notch, the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield and the Wentworth By The Sea in New Castle.

Hike this site, adventurers! Do you have all of the UNESCO sites on your bucket list? Well, we do. So Machu Picchu is on there. We did it. It was amazing.

We’ve never seen so much sea life in one place! We did 14 dives and saw 12 whale sharks; the gentle giants. (So endearing. When they get scared, they close their eyes! Is that adorable or what?) On the serious side, diving in the Galapagos Islands is not for the faint of heart nor for the inexperienced diver.

Costa Rica is amazing, and perfect for adventure (and for the post-adventure spa experience). You can go horseback riding, zip lining, SCUBA diving, whitewater rafting, kayaking, surfing, climbing, biking, tubing, and paddle boarding, just to name a few of the dare-devilish experiences to be had. THE thing to do in CR is ziplining and we have a spot you can do it.

Skip the Caribbean this year and head to the center of the North Atlantic for ultra clean and sophisticated island life. Expect ultimate 5 Star beaches in Bermuda with perfect days in store at iconic Horseshoe Bay. This bay has lovely beaches and Horseshoe Bay Beach is the must-visit on many travelers’ lists and is in the top 5 of beautiful beaches we have ever seen. 

Yes, there are many musts when visiting the City of Angels but this is a quick checklist of our favorite picks. All these are “must dos” but note a personal favorite for all of you “actives” is taking a 5 Star Hike. I happen to be a local in LA, and it’s a regular daily activity for Angelenos to take to the trails.

A great escape when you come to visit Southern California, USA on vacation or for a day or weekend getaway for LA or San Diego locals like me, is to head to the beautiful island of Catalina just off our SoCal coastline.

In Part 3 and a final installment on this months “Italy’s Hidden Gems” is just a taste of things to come. In 2017, I will dedicate an entire month of special posts around this mysterious and breathtaking city of Venezia (Venice, Italy) home of today’s post.