In these three settlements, “living on the edge” gets a literal meaning. Ronda (Malaga, Spain) is a popular tourist attraction, because of El Tajo, a 100-meter deep gorge separating the old town form the new one. El Tajo is spanned by three bridges, each built in a different historical age: Roman, Moorish and 18th Century. Bonifacio (Corsica, France) is a beautiful port town set in the south-most point of Corsica, on white limestone cliffs eaten away by the wind and waves they had to endure. A naval haven throughout the century, Bonifacio is now a small marina, for expensive yachts from around the world. Castellfolit de la Roca (Catalonia, Spain) is one of the smallest towns in Spain, set atop of a 50 meters-high basalt formation stretching out for a kilometer. The edge is a result of the erosion of two rivers that flow right near the town.

One think I’ve never done is eat in the toilet, well it seems many people would love to do that and pay for it. A new Toilet Restaurant has opened in Hangzhou, China as a result of the impact the first Toilet Restaurant, from Taipei, Taiwan had on the public. Now, the company is thinking of opening a whole network of Toilet Restaurants across the world and I’m pretty sure they are going to be successful. Toilet Dining concept is about sitting on a toilet seat, serving your food from a toilet bowl or a bidet and wiping your mouth with toilet paper-looking napkins, practically everything you see around you has nothing to do with a real restaurant or kitchen, it’s all toilet-wear. I wouldn’t try it, I’m sure my appetite wouldn’t be the same in that place, but tourists love this stuff, so Toilet Restaurant is a sure hit. Image source

Dating back to as early as 1150 ., the ruins of Mesa Verde are one of the oldest in America. They are set in the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado, USA and are all that is left of the ancient Pueblo people, also known as the Anasazi. Around 600 houses dug in the cliffs of Colorado can be found through the park, most of them very small, but some are absolutely huge, able to house more than 250 people. The Anasazi came to these places around 550 A.D., but only started digging their dwellings into the canyon cliffs around 1150.

Set in Haukadalur valley, in the south part of the country, Geysir is one of Iceland’s largest geysers. Geysers are quite a sight to behold when they erupt and they are also one of Iceland’s most precious resources. Geysir is one of the lazier geysers, it only erupts 4-5 times a day, while others do it at intervals of 5-10 minutes. Here are some photos of Geysir’s eruption caught on camera.

The melting of Briksdal Glacier in photos shot over the years. Briksdal Glacier used to be the largest glacier on the European mainland, in Norway. But due to global warming it has been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self. Once a great tourist attraction of the Scandinavian peninsula, Briksdal Glacier is now no longer available for glacier tours. As you can see from the photos the effects of global warming are undeniable and they say you can here the ice melting because of the caverns formed between the glacier and the rocks. It’s a tragedy, but, as always, nobody gives a damn and no one with some real power does anything about it. 2001 Read More »

A swimming pool on water, there’s something you don’t see every day. Called the Badeschiff (that’s German for “bathing ship”) this floating swimming pool is really just an old barge transformed into a public pool last year in Berlin, on the Spree river. Unfortunately, the river itself is much too polluted for people to swim in, so this idea, as crazy as it looks, makes some sense. It was first spotted in 2007, during a very hot Summer and during the off-season it’s covered and closed to the public. But the hot Summer is here again and the Germans in Berlin will once again be able to enjoy a swim in the cool water of the Badeschiff. Would’ve been cool if it had a glass bottom though, so you could see the river. Read More »

Coober Pedy is a place where people like to live underground. Coober Pedy is a small Australian town, famous for being the opal capital of the world because of the large quantity of opal stones that are mined here. What people don’t know about this place is that the locals mostly like to live underground. A tradition that goes back to the early 1900, when the first miners arrived in the area, cave-boring in the hillsides is still popular. The temperatures here during the Summer are unbearable for some, so they opt for underground living quarters, at approximately the same price as a surface-built house. The first one keeps a constant, cool temperature during the Summer while the second needs air-conditioning. It can get quite cold during the winter, though. One of the most popular attractions in Coober Pedy are the underground churches. Read More »

Angel waterfall in South America is the highest waterfall on Earth Set in Canaima National Park, Venezuela, Angel is also one of the most beautiful falls on the planet. It’s a clear 802 meter drop right into the Kerep River flowing at the base of the falls. The water falls from so high an altitude that it’s turned into mist by the powerful winds, before it even reaches the bottom. This incredible place was unknown to the outside world until aviator James Crawford Angel spotted it in 1933, while he was looking for a precious ore bed. He tried to land his plane on Ayuan-tepui in 1937 but it got stuck in the muddy ground, so he and three other companions had to descend by foot. It took them 11 days but they finally made it down and were able to tell the world about their incredible adventure, which eventually became popular and the falls were named Angel in his honor. ‘s plane remained there for another 33 years before being lifted out by a helicopter. Read More »

A building partially covered with real gold. Built in 1397 as a retirement villa for Shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Kinkaku is a three-story building, with the last two, fully covered with pure gold leaf. The temple was set on fire by a monk in 1950, but it was restored and the new gold coating dating from 1987 is much thicker than the original one. Kinkaku is one of Japan’s most beautiful attractions and it serves as a “shariden”, a place where relics of Buddha are stored. Read More »

Oh my God, the Chinese have stolen Venice. Well, not literally stolen, but they copied it on a smaller scale. I’m talking about the Venetian Macao in China, the world’s largest casino and the third largest building in the world. It has more than 1000 slot machines and over 600 gaming tables open 24/7. So it’s safe to say you’ll find a table to lose your money at. The Venetian is a huge complex with the central building standing over 40 stories high and costing $1,8 billion to build. It also has a smaller replica of the famous, romantic city of Venice which proves once again that Asians love to copy western culture. Read More »

This is one of the most beautiful glaciers in the world. Named after explorer Francisco Moreno, Perito Moreno glacier is one of only three Patagonian glaciers that are not retreating. The 30 km-long ice formation sometimes advances into the L-shaped”Lago Argentino” acting as a natural dam and separating its two halves. The water on one side of the river rises with up to 30 meters higher above the normal level of the lake, in its attempt to brake the icy barrier. The enormous amount of pressure produced by the pushing waters sometimes breaks the frozen dam in an extraordinary event. This glacier rupture cycle isn’t regular, it occurs between once a year and once in more than a decade, but if you happen to see it, it’s totally worth the wait. The Perito Moreno Glacier is part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the world’s third largest fresh water reserve. Read More »

One of the oldest chapels in all of France. But age is not what makes it special, but it’s placement, on an 85 meters-high volcanic spire. Christians have to walk up 268 steps carved in the small mountain, to reach the place where Joan of Arc’s mother Isabelle Romee supposedly came to pray once. Saint Michel d’Aiguile was built in 962 in Le Puy-en-Velay, a beautiful little French town also popular for its Notre Dame cathedral and it looks like it’s watching over it from above. It is quite a sight to behold. Read More »

Would you let someone jump over your infant like this? Known as El Colacho in Spain, the Baby-Jumping Festival is a popular event that takes place in Castillo de Murcia near Burgos, every year since 1620. It’s basically all about infants laying on a blanket and adults dressed as devils jumping over them i a procession that’s supposed to cleanse the little ones of all evil doings. Doesn’t sound like it works, but hey who am I to contradict tradition? I just wonder if in history any of the devils tripped and fell over the poor babies… I for one wouldn’t have my kid jumped over by a grown-up like this, even if they’d allow me to keep my hand over him as protection. If that guy falls my hand isn’t going to break his fall, the baby might though… Read More »

The Sedlec Ossuary ( Kostnice Sedlec) is a Roman Catholic Church in Sedlec, The Czech Republic, famous for its unusual, organic decorations. Unlike other churches that like to use religious paintings and religious jewelery as decorations, this one uses between 40,000 and 70,000 human bone. Built especially as an ossuary in 1400, the macabre decorating started in 1870 when the Schwarzenberg family hired a woodcarver to arrange all the heaps of bones in order. You can see the result in the photos, but just so u know, there are 4 giant bell-shaped mounds in each corner of the chapel, an enormous chandelier which contains at least one of every bone in one’s body in the center of the chapel, and a signature of the artist, executed in bone, of course, and other “works of art”. Read More »

Didn’t know they had deserts in Europe. La Dune de Pila, as the French call it, is the largest sand dune in Europe. It’s located in the Arachon Bay, 60 km from the city of Bordeaux, and it is a very popular tourist attraction in France. The dune is 3 km long, 500 m wide and it has a maximum height of 117 m above sea level. The Dune of Pyla is a recent formation, born in the XVII century through accumulation of Aeolian sand on a transverse dune. Each year, the dune covers about 8,000 square meters and at this rate, in 40 years the camping and the road at the bottom of the slope will be completely covered by sand. Read More »