Dear Marieta, Hello from snowy Wisconsin! I arrived back in the US after completing my tour of the British Isles in time to spend Christmas with my family. I'm also slowly working my way through the 5,000 photos I took in Europe and getting ready for my upcoming trip to Antarctica. Also if you haven't heard, I also just announced my first photography tour which will be taking place in May 2012. I know many people have asked how they can travel with me, and this will be your chance. This will be a small tour (13 people max) which will be traveling through the American Southwest, visiting some of the most photogenic locations in the world. Stop include: San Francisco, Yosemite Valley, Death Valley, Las Vegas, Zion National Park, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon and San Diego! The tour will be run by G Adventures who is launching their Norther American tours in 2012. I'll be providing hands-on, one-on-one help with everyone on the tour to help them with their photography. You can get more information by visiting the website. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and that you are including travel in your 2012 plans! Keep traveling, Gary
New at the Website
Join Me on the First Everything Everywhere Travel Photography Tour: May 5-19, 2012!
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| Over the last several years I've had many readers comment on how they would like to be able to travel with me. Well, now you have your chance!
From May 5-19, I'll be leading a travel photography tour through the American Southwest with G Adventures. The 15-day trip will be visiting many of the most scenic and photogenic places in the American Southwest. [Read more...] | Paris Syndrome and Setting Travel Expectations
Daily Travel Photos
Dec. 21, 2011
 Potsdam, Germany
| Dec. 20, 2011
 Wittenberg, Germany
| Dec. 19, 2011
 Dresden, Germany
| Dec. 18, 2011
 Alexandria, Egypt
| Dec. 17, 2011
 Ko Tao, Thailand
| Dec. 16, 2011
 Czech Republic
| Dec. 15, 2011
 Toronto, Canada
| Dec. 14, 2011
 Monaco
| Dec. 13, 2011
 Grand Canyon, AZ
| Dec. 12, 2011
 St. Paul, MN
| Dec. 11, 2011
South Africa
| Dec. 10, 2011
Australia
| Dec. 9, 2011
 Doha, Qatar | Dec. 8, 2011
 Bulgaria | Dec. 7, 2011
 New Zealand |
This Week In Travel: Episode 103
This week's guests are Johnny Jet and Alastair McKenzie
This Week's News
Picks of the week
[Hear it now...]
World Heritage Site of the Week
UNESCO World Heritage Site #16: Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji Area
From the World Heritage Inscription: "There are around 48 Buddhist monuments in the Horyu-ji area, in Nara Prefecture. Several date from the late 7th or early 8th century, making them some of the oldest surviving wooden buildings in the world. These masterpieces of wooden architecture are important not only for the history of art, since they illustrate the adaptation of Chinese Buddhist architecture and layout to Japanese culture, but also for the history of religion, since their construction coincided with the introduction of Buddhism to Japan from China by way of the Korean peninsula."
If you are in Kyoto and making a day trip to Nara, make sure to stop in Horyu-ji on the way. Horyu-ji is only a 20 min train ride from Nara, but is often overlooked by tourists. The main temple is walking distance from the train station and the route to the temple has plenty of signs.
The wooden buildings in Horyu-ji are the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Achieving this feat is really more a matter of luck than anything else. Most wooden buildings over time fall to lightning or cooking fires. The main palace in the Forbidden City in Beijing has been rebuilt several times as have most of the significant buildings in Kyoto and Nara. The buildings of Horyu-ji are believed to also not be original buildings, but having survived from the 8th century, are still the oldest on Earth.
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