Russia is a big country, the biggest in the world by area. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. If you want to tour Russia, you have two big challenges. The first is infrastructure, and the second is time. Infrastructure is being upgraded quickly, but time is still a problem. Russia is so big! Tourism to Russia is becoming quite popular. There are many natural areas in Russia. The Trans Siberian Railway goes through or near many of them like Lake Baikal. There are many old cultural sites like the State Hermitage Museum and the Russian Museum St. Petersburg. There are also many “Red” tourist sites like Red Square and the Kremlin in Moscow.
Traveling to the Western US is a treat as the Great Plains slowly rises as you go west into the Rocky Mountains. These go very high. In Denver Colorado you may see some real cowboys. There are more mountains and great skiing as you go west to the Cascade Mountains in the north up to Idaho and Seattle, Washington. The Sierra Nevada leads to the Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Lake Tahoe and Las Vegas in Nevada. California has the Central Valley agricultural area, and San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Spain is becoming a very popular travel destination because of its beauty, history, architecture, and food. Spain is in the southwest of Europe, bordered by Portugal on the west, and the Pyrenees Mountains in the east. These divide Spain from France, and are home to the Basques, who speak a language like no other on earth. Madrid is the capital in the center of the country. Valencia and Barcelona are on the Mediterranean Sea coast. Cadiz, Malaga, and Granada are across the Straights of Gibraltar from Africa, so they have Moslem influence. Granada has the Alhambra castle.
Australia is far south of Asia. It is a huge area with not that many people. Most of Australia’s large cities like Sydney and Perth are near the coast. These cities, and the Great Barrier Reef, are the best for tourism on the coast. Australia has many unique animals, including kangaroos, koala bears, and wild camels. Much of the center is dry and even desert. This area is often called the Outback. The Aboriginal people have lived in Australia over 50,000 years and mostly live in the Outback. Ayer’s Rock is at the center of the country.
If you travel to Greece you will see beautiful weather, ancient cities like Athens, and wonderful islands around the blue Mediterranean Sea. In Athens you may see Greece’s most famous site, the Acropolis. Going to the islands you may see Crete, Corfu, Mykonos, and Rhodes. Greek history is the history of their islands. There are many island groups in Greece with hundreds of islands. The Greek mainland includes Athens, but also beautiful cities like Sparta, which had some of the ancient world’s toughest soldiers.