The Perfect Book for a Traveler of the Mind or Vacationer

 

I recently finished reading ‘Where to Go When’ by DK Eyewitness, and the immediate things that make the book fabulous are it breaks up locations by what month is the best time to visit them, they tell when else to go, and all about planning your trip. Each ‘chapter’ is month by month. The other months each location may mention may mention off-seasons, concerts, holidays, ect. In the planning your trip section they mention getting there, getting around, the weather in that month, and the average weather in Fahrenheit and Celsius. For any and all travelers that is extremely important, the Fahrenheit and Celsius because you don’t want to have to take your phone out to translate that on your own all the time. 

While reading the book a few places stood out to me as research places for my work like Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Kyoto and Tokyo, Japan, and Galway, Ireland. Rio de Janeiro was in February, Kyoto was in April, Galway was in September, and Tokyo was in November. As I was always interested in these places from back when I was a kid: Rio de Janeiro because of a favorite character and an art class as a freshman in high school, and my dad went to Ireland and Japan on business, so I've always been curious. I also saw Copenhagen, Denmark there, and as one of my close friends lives in Denmark (not that part) that was cool. For Rio de Janeiro, they have the world’s greatest street party from the Friday before Ash Wednesday to the following Thursday. In December-January, Reveillon (New Year’s Eve) there’s partying at Copacabana Beach. Kyoto has cherry blossoms in spring, and in November there’s koyo (fall leaf viewing) season. Galway has a foodie festival, and in July the Galway International Arts Festival brings actors, musicians, and artists to the city. For Tokyo, not only is the weather great, but it’s a perfect combination of the past and future colliding. When it came to Tokyo, Japan the book also gave us a Top Five list of where to get the best pictures, and they are very different places. There are plenty of summer activities to do in Copenhagen, Denmark including parks, canals, and a lot of music festivals. In October there’s Halloween and fall colors throughout the city. I should note that my friend who lives in Denmark says Halloween isn’t as huge there as it is in America yet. 

As a forced nomad, some of my states were mentioned as well. California was mentioned for their California Coast in October because driving down the coast down this time is quieter. Other times to go are April-May because of great weather and quiet beaches before summers. Colorado offered up the Colorado Plateau in May because it’s the perfect time for hiking and long drives as the parks. They also shared the Top Five hiking trails. Other times to go are September-October because the temperatures drop after the summer. And now that I’ve been a New Yorker for over a decade I was glad that New York City was mentioned in May. In May, New York City has so much going on like few festivals like the Tribeca Film Festival. June is also a great time to visit New York City for Pride and the Puerto Rican Day Parade.  December also mentions Christmas and our lights. There was another New Yorker I was mentioning it too, and she was sad November wasn’t mentioned in the book because she says New York’s fall is gorgeous. 

Other great features before I leave you is if you know where you want to go, or you know what you’re feeling like the book has a destination in mind. You want to go hiking? We have that: hiking tips and multiple hiking trails in certain destinations. You want to see whales? There’s places for whale watching. Want to see National Parks? The book’s got your back on that as well as if you want to see wildlife encounters. There are even very few language lessons from other countries. I don’t know if you’ll appreciate it, but I do.