For the 30th birthday of Fabio, I bought him an amazing gift, which turned out to be amazing for both of us: Ultimate Travel by Lonely Planet. They list 500 best places in the world to visit and we started counting how many we have visited so far from top 100 and top 500. Right before our trips to Krakow and Iceland, we used this list to get inspired and we kinda took the Tuscan road trip just to check San Gimignano off from the list! Sooo, right before moving to US, I studied the book for the places worthwhile for us to visit from the Ultimate Travel book and this is my bucket list.
San Francisco
We will be living in Palo Alto, which is really close to San Francisco. I heard this is an amazing city and I am sure that I will have many many future posts about it, so let's start the bucket list items around here:
- Golden Gate Bridge: The bridge is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and the United States. It has been declared one of the Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Not just during sunset, but the bridge looks amazing at any time of the day. It seems like it is a view I would NEVER be bored of!
- Redwood National Park: National park that preserves an area of over 110,000 acres of Redwood rain forest and 50 miles of scenic coastline in Northern California. Being so close to San Francisco, it is definitely a trip to see the world’s tallest trees requires a bit of planning.
- Alcatraz: Alcatraz is an island located in San Francisco Bay, about 2 km offshore from San Francisco. The small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a federal prison. Today, the island's facilities are managed by the National Park Service and are open to public. Visitors can reach the island in a little under 15 minutes by ferry ride from Pier 33 in San Francisco.
New York
Even though we are quite far away from New York and maybe we will not have more than 2 opportunities to visit here, being such a touristic attraction, New York deserves its own category.
- Empire State Building: The world-famous Empire State Building offers one of the best panoramic views for New York City. I am not sure how much it takes to enter the dock, but I am sure that it's gonna worth it!
- Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island: The Statue of Liberty is a figure of Libertas, a robed Roman liberty goddess. She holds a torch above her head with her right hand, and in her left hand carries a July 4, 1776, the date of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. A broken chain lies at her feet as she walks forward. The statue became an icon of freedom and of the United States, and a national park tourism destination. It is a welcoming sight to immigrants arriving from abroad. A half-day tour around the island and the statue itself is a must-see for first timers in New York. You might consider arranging your trip in advance to skip the line and organize your day better.
- Metropolitan Museum of Art: "the Met" is the biggest art museum in US. The main building is located on the eastern edge of Central Park in Manhattan's Upper East Side and even that is a convenient reason for a quick visit for those who are not art lovers.
- Times Square: Times Square is a major commercial intersection, entertainment center and neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue. Even though Times Square is selected as one of the most overrated and touristic destinations in the city, I wouldn't want to come back before visiting it and having a snap with my Polaroid there for Instagram!
National Parks
- Grand Canyon National Park: Grand Canyon is so famous with its layered bands of red rock. There are many viewpoints around it and appreciate the canyon and Colorado River, especially during sunrise and sunset. There are daily tours from Las Vegas with bus or helicopter, unless you want to have your own road trip. In the right season, you can even join a rafting group along the river here.
- Yosemite National Park: Yosemite Park is famed for its giant, ancient sequoia trees, and for Tunnel View, the iconic vista of towering Bridalveil Fall and the granite cliffs of El Capitan and Half Dome. It is located in North California and with all its shops, restaurants, museums, galleries and hiking trails, even a weekend wouldn't be enough to complete.
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- Yellowstone National Park: Yellowstone National Park is a nearly 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation area atop a volcanic hot spot. Yellowstone features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs and gushing geysers, including its most famous, Old Faithful. The volcanic potential makes the visit even more powerful and dramatic!
- Monument Valley: Monument Valley, a red-sand desert region on the Arizona-Utah border, is known for the towering sandstone buttes of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. You probably saw the valley in almost all of the Western movies! The famous, steeply sloped Mittens buttes can be viewed from the road or from overlooks such as John Ford’s Point.
- Big Sur: Big Sur is a rugged stretch of California’s central coast between Carmel and San Simeon. The route is well known for winding turns, seaside cliffs and misty coastline.
- Death Valley National Park: Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California, in the northern Mojave Desert bordering the Great Basin Desert. It is one of the hottest places in the world at the height of summertime along with deserts in the Middle East!
Others
- Walt Disney World: Walt Disney world is claimed to be the most magical and happiest place on Earth since 1971. The original one is located in Orlando, while the one in Los Angeles might worth a visit too to get into the mood. Get ready for a childish day and enjoy!
- Griffith Observatory: The Griffith Observatory is a facility in Los Angeles, California, sitting on the south-facing slope of Mount Hollywood in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. It commands a view of the Los Angeles Basin, including Downtown Los Angeles to the southeast, Hollywood to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Beside, you can reach the best view of LA!
The Lonely Planet book actually has further suggestions in US, such as Mt. Rushmore or art institute of Chicago, but some of the locations are too far away for us to reach or just not worth it. So, this is the sub-list I prepared for me. Plus, I actually have a further bucket list of my own, which I might share soon in the future as well.
How many have you visited so far?
Labels: Bucket List, United States
