Côte d’Ivoire

The Côte d’Ivoire, or the Ivory Coast is beautiful! About 22.7 million people live here (2015) and the capital is Yamoussoukro. The Côte d’Ivoire is a religiously secular country, with roughly equal split between Islamic and Christian followers. The official language is French. . The time zone is 4 hours ahead of EST.

In the capital, check out the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace, an architectural feat and the record holder for the largest church in the world. It is absolutely stunning and worth a visit. Many people use their cameras regardless of whether they paid the fee, so it is up to the visitor to decide whether to pay or not, though the fee will go towards keeping the church well-maintained. The stained glass inside is mind-blowing when light filters through the windows just right.

Travels looking to get out of the city life can head to the well-maintained Banco National Park in Abidjan, though be prepared to plan in advance as there are a lot of mosquitoes. Bring food and water, too, if planning to be out for a while (water is a must). This is a relatively untouched jungle area, making it a great place to see different plant, bird, and butterfly species.

Luxembourg

In front of Patton's tomb (2022) Country Information: In Luxembourg about 650,000 people live here (2022). The country was founded in 963 and its capital is Luxembourg City. The official languages are French, German, and Luxembourgish and the dominant religion Roman...

Indonesia

Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia. There are approximately 260 million people living in Indonesia. The official language is Bahasa, but English, Dutch, and Javanese are also widely spoken. There are more than 700 hundred languages spoken in Indonesia! The majority...

New Zealand

New Zealand is one of my favorite places in the entire world ... particularly the southern Island city of Queenstown. This is the world's adventure capital and I just love the place! When I first traveled there in 1992, I visited AJ Hackett's bridge, where bungee...