Whether visiting the city or countryside, there is charm for the photographer at every turn.

Iceland's landscape is like one big national park.

For a capital city, central Brussels is easily visited on foot. One of the most beautiful central squares in Europe, the Grand Place is located in the heart of the city. Architectural gems are on every side of the square. Bruges is said to be Europe's best-preserved medieval city, and rightly so; it is the main attraction of the country. A visit to Bruges is like visiting a 13th century "living museum" with a river running through its center.

Several groups of islands and atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean are collectively known as French Polynesia. The Society Islands which includes Tahiti, Boro Bora, and Moorea are the largest and of volcanic origin. Of those, Moorea is my favorite. I found the Marquesas Islands to be the most interesting. Only six of the twelve Marquesas Islands are inhabited. The two, Hiva Oa and Nuku Hiva that I visited, have beautiful mountains and valleys.

Flying directly to Chiang Mai, I found the Highlands more interesting that the southern parts of Thailand. The mountains provided a more temperate climate than the area south of Bangkok. Once an ancient kingdom, this land joins Burma (now called Myanmar) and Laos. The hill tribes comprise about 1/10th of the northern population and these hill tribes seem to be just barely clinging to some of the old ways of life. The town of Chang Rai makes a nice base while discovering the “Golden Triangle” portion of Thailand.