10 Things to do on a Layover in London!

London is a huge city filled with many important tourist attractions, but what happens if you only have a short layover and want to see the city? Here are 10 Treasures Of Traveling and things to do on a short layover in London.

Top Things to visit in London

London is a huge city filled with many important tourist attractions to visit, but what happens if you only have a short layover and want to see the city. I suggest for you to review the following 10 things to see in London and pick around 5 of them to visit on your short layover. I would suggest that you need a minimum of at least 6 hours, basically half a day, to travel from any one of the major airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick or Luton Airport to the city center and back in order to catch your flight. Having a full 24 hour layover would give you more time to see the following tourist attractions and ease your mind that you won’t miss your flight. If you had a full 24 hour layover, you would probably be able to go and see each of these attractions, but you won’t be able to spend enough time fully exploring each of them. If you have a desire to explore one of the London attractions, then it would be best to pick two or three and focus your time on becoming familiar with those locations as the city is huge and you only have a short amount of time to explore the city on your layover. Read about the top 10 things to do on a layover in London on the Treasures of Traveling website. 

-- Luke Keeler

Portland Head Light is a Lighthouse Not to be Missed!

Portland Head Light is an iconic lighthouse not to be missed if visiting Portland, Maine, along with the stunningly beautiful shoreline of Fort Williams Park that surrounds it. Make sure to experience all the natural beauty and Treasures Of Traveling this park has to offer!

Portland Head Light

Maine is the most northern state of New England and is full of beautiful Treasures Of Traveling including Acadia National Park and the Portland Head Light! Take a few hours in the morning or a few hours in the afternoon to explore the lighthouse and surrounding park. Or better yet, go to watch the sunrise or sunset. You will not be disappointed!

First and foremost the Portland Head Light is famously beautiful! It is also informally known as the Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse because it is located in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. This lighthouse was actually built in 1791 and is the oldest lighthouse in the state of Maine.

Read more about Portland Head Lighthouse on the Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

8 Reasons to Visit Acadia National Park!

Check out these 8 reasons to visit this national treasure and see what makes Acadia National Park such a splendid place to explore! Make sure to experience all the natural beauty and Treasures of Traveling this park has to offer!

Acadia National Park should be on anyone’s list of places to visit because it is one of the jewels of New England due to its pristine wilderness that is gorgeous all year round! It is definitely a place you should make sure and visit if you are traveling in the north eastern part of the United States. Acadia National Park was one of the places we stopped while on our road trip through New England. Our previous stops included Niagara Falls and the Adirondack Mountains in New York.

Check out the Treasures Of Traveling Website to read about the 8 reasons why you should visit Acadia National Park and the surrounding area.

-- Luke Keeler

Check out these 8 reasons to visit this national treasure and see what makes Acadia National Park such a splendid place to explore! Make sure to experience all the natural beauty and Treasures of Traveling this park has to offer! 

3 Things to do Around Rome, New York!

From visiting Fort Stanwix, a National Monument, to hiking in the Adirondack Mountains, Rome is a great starting point of any adventure to explore the surrounding area of upstate New York! Check out these 3 things to do!

Rome is a city in upstate New York, located in the central part of the state off of Interstate 90.
We made this our second stop after Niagara Falls, along our road trip to the North East as this
was the hometown of a college friend. I enjoyed spending time in Rome and getting to explore
this part of New York State. There are multiple activities and things to explore around Rome,
but I have narrowed them down to the following three.

Read more about Rome and the Adirondack Mountains on the Treasures Of Traveling website.

-- Luke Keeler

From visiting Fort Stanwix, a National Monument, to hiking in the Adirondack Mountains, Rome is a great starting point of any adventure to explore the surrounding area of upstate New York! Check out these 3 things to do!

Battle of Niagara Falls: The American Side vs the Canadian Side! Which is Better?

The Niagara River is a natural barrier that separates the United States from Canada and the mighty Niagara Falls is a spectacular sight to visit to experience the roar of the falls! Is the American side or the Canadian side the best place to view the 188 foot vertical drop? Find out in the Treasures Of Traveling article about Niagara Falls!

The mighty Niagara Falls is a major tourist destination for both the United States and Canada as the Niagara River is a natural barrier that separates the United States from Canada. The river acts as a natural border between the two countries and because there is a massive waterfall between them, it inevitably leads to people asking which side is better to view the falls from? Is the American side or the Canadian side the best place to view the 188 foot vertical drop?

You have probably heard most people say the Canadian side is better as you can see the full panoramic view of all the falls, while others will say the American side is better because you can get up close and personal with the falls by walking beneath them while getting sprayed by the mist. Some people like the Canadian side better because it’s more like Disney and Las Vegas, as there are many activities for the family and also casinos to spend some money and possibly to win some money, where as the American side has been kept as a State Park and has more of a natural setting. Some say the Canadian side has the best photographic possibilities, while the American side is better for nature shots. Whenever there is a difference of opinion, there will always be a debate, so let Treasures Of Traveling lay out the information for you to decide which side you would like to visit!

Read more about Niagara Falls on the Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

4 Must Visit Places in Aarhus, Denmark!

Den Gamle By, (The Old Town), is an open-air town museum located in Aarhus, Denmark.

After starting our journey in Copenhagen and spending a week at the Viborg Gymnastics and Sports Academy College, and another week at Ågård Efterskole, a High School Boarding Academy in Kolding, focusing on secondary education and gymnastics, we continued our month long journey of exploring Danish culture through the study of Danish Gymnastics in the city of Århus, located in the central eastern part of Jutland. Århus is Denmark’s second largest city and calls itself the “World’s Smallest Big City”. If you haven’t noticed, Denmark’s Second City, Århus, can also be spelled as Aarhus in the Danish language. Either spelling is correct.

While enjoying the immersion experience of living at the gymnastics boarding academies the past few weeks, we enjoyed spending our last week in Denmark living with a host family and exploring the beautiful city of Aarhus! From the Old Town to the Deer Park and the Queen’s Palace, Aarhus is filled with lots of interesting things to see and do. Check out some of those treasures on the Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

The City of Kolding and Gymnastics in Aagaard, Denmark!

Kolding is a wonderful Danish city to visit and is located in Jutland Denmark! From the Royal Kolding Castle towering above the town, to the old houses and city hall scattered throughout the town, along with the botanical gardens, Kolding is full of treasures of traveling and has much to offer the foreign traveler.

After starting our journey in Copenhagen and spending a week at the Viborg Gymnastics and Sports Academy College, we continued our month long journey of exploring Danish culture through the study of Danish Gymnastics outside of the city of Kolding, at a High School Boarding Academy called Ågård Efterskole, which is in a small town called Aagaard, located in the southeastern part of Jutland. If you haven’t noticed, Ågård can also be spelled as Aagaard in the Danish language. Either spelling is correct. Ågård is not only the name of this boarding high school, but it is also the name of the small town in which it is located and Ågård also happens to be a common surname of many Danes! While enjoying the immersion experience of living at the gymnastics boarding school, eating with the students and participating in their classes, we also were able to have a little free time to explore the city of Kolding.

There are multiple interesting sites to see around the city of Kolding from the castle to the church, from the town hall to the old city center and the botanical gardens. Read more about Kolding and the Ågård Efterskole, the school of gymnastics, on the Treasures Of Traveling website. 

-- Luke Keeler

Danish Gymnastics in Viborg, Denmark!

Viborg is a wonderful Danish city to visit and is located in Jutland Denmark! From the Gymnastics and Sports Academy, to the cathedral and its bustling city center, Viborg is full of treasures of traveling and has much to offer the foreign traveler. Check out some of those treasures below.

After visiting Copenhagen, we continued our month long journey of exploring Danish culture through the study of Danish Gymnastics in the city of Viborg which is located in central Jutland! Viborg is actually one of the oldest cities in Denmark.

City of Viborg

Looking over Søndersø Lake to the city of Viborg and its Cathedral.

Viborg was actually settled by vikings in the late 8th century due to being so close to the Lim Fjord, which was once considered an important waterway through Jutland. Due to the central location of the city, Viborg was important both politically and religiously during the middle ages. Also, the elections of all the Danish monarchs occurred in Viborg. Viborg actually gets its name from two old Norse words. They are ‘vé’, which means holy place or sanctuary, and ‘borg’, which means a type of fortress. The word ‘borg’ originally came from another Danish word ‘bjerg’, which basically means a hill or a mountain so technically, Viborg means a sanctuary on a hill, which helps to sum up Viborg nicely! It is believed that the city existed when King Harald Bluetooth (yes, our current electronic capability of connecting wirelessly to other electronic devices is named after King Bluetooth of Denmark) formed the first Danish Kingdom in the tenth century. Today, Viborg is a vibrant city and is known as one of Denmark’s leading cities for sports and is a great place to visit!

Read more about Viborg, the cathedral and the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Academy on Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

5 Places to Visit on a Short Trip to Copenhagen!

There are so many treasures of traveling to discover while visiting Copenhagen, but if you are short on time, here are 5 interesting places to explore while touring the capital city of Denmark.

Copenhagen was the start of our month long journey of exploring Danish culture through the study of Danish Gymnastics! Berea College made all students participate in what is called a short term course of study during one month of the year. Two other students, along with myself decided to complete our independent study by immersing ourselves within multiple Danish Gymnastics Schools throughout the country over a four week period. It was one of the most physically demanding experiences I have ever participated in, but also a fantastically fun experience that I will never forget! I loved Denmark, the people and the culture, but I will advise anyone to visit the country during the summer months as the winter was just too cold for me. It always seemed to be grey and gloomy and snowing off and on over the entire month. I was also not a fan of the extremely short days where the sun would rise around 9:00 am and set around 3:30 pm.

Luke and Greg waiting for the next train at Islev station in the cold and snowy weather.

We chose to study Danish culture because our college participated in a Danish American Cultural Exchange Program where a Danish Gymnastics Sports Instructor would come and teach the students at Berea College for the entire year while some students would also have the ability to travel to Denmark to experience Danish culture through the help of the Danish Gymnastics and Sports Association (DGI) which is a national organisation, working through sports and other cultural activities to strengthen the work of local amateur associations in an endeavor to promote the education of both youths and adults in a community based sports environment. I thank DGI for supporting our independent study and allowing us the opportunity to experience Danish Gymnastics by immersing ourselves into multiple schools throughout the country!

Luke and Sarah Beth finally warming up on the S-train after waiting in the cold snowy weather at Islev station.

We arrived to Copenhagen after a long delayed flight where all of our luggage had been diverted to another airport so it did not arrive on the same plane as us. It was unfortunate that our luggage had been lost, but what made it worse was that we didn’t have any clothes to change into or basic necessities like our toothbrushes, soap and shampoo. Luckily, Air France gave us a t-shirt and a small toiletry kit. We each wore that same shirt for three days until our bags finally arrived in Copenhagen. I was so happy to finally get my suitcase full of warm clothes so I wouldn’t have to walk around everywhere and be so cold all the time!

Eating Breakfast with the Host Family

After that ordeal, we settled in with our host family in Copenhagen who were part of DGI and who were absolutely fantastic. They lived near the Islev train stop where we would catch the train into downtown Copenhagen for our different activities. They showed us around so many interesting places throughout the city! 

To discover what these five treasures of traveling while visiting Copenhagen are please visit Treasures Of Traveling website! 

-- Luke Keeler

Jungle Expedition in the Amazon Rainforest!

Reflections along the Amazon River!

Iquitos is surrounded by the Amazon River on one side and the Amazon Rainforest on all other sides so the only way to reach Iquitos is to either fly there or travel by boat. Therefore, Iquitos is the world’s largest city that can not be reached by any roads. For this reason, Iquitos is also an important port city for this area of Peru as many goods and supplies arrive by boat after a week long journey floating up the Amazon River from the Atlantic Ocean. A journey of over 2,200 miles. 

Transportation along one of the Amazon River tributaries to a local jungle lodge.

There are so many things to see and do in Iquitos and you can read about all of those things in this post about Iquitos, but If you would like to venture deeper into the Amazon rainforest there are many tour companies that offer jungle expeditions down Amazon tributaries to jungle lodges which allow you to visit tribal villages where you can stay and experience the local culture of the local indigenous Indians of the region. Take a look at some of the pictures below to see what visiting a jungle lodge and tribal village is like and let me know in the comments below what you think about it!

Read about and see more of the pictures from the jungle expedition in the Amazon Rainforest on Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

Treasures of Traveling on the Amazon River in Iquitos, Peru!

Floating Houses change height with the tide of the Amazon River in Iquitos Peru! These houses float on the river.

We had quite the adventure traveling from our last stop in southern Peru, the beautiful mountainous and colonial city of Arequipa to the hot and humid jungle of the Amazon in Iquitos; the gateway and access point to the Amazon Rainforest in Peru! I write about that adventurous experience on the previous rock slide post. Iquitos is surrounded by the Amazon River on one side and the Amazon Rainforest on all other sides so the only way to reach Iquitos is to either fly there or travel by boat. Therefore, Iquitos is the world’s largest city that can not be reached by any roads. For this reason, Iquitos is also an important port city for this area of Peru as many goods and supplies arrive by boat after a week long journey floating up the Amazon River from the Atlantic Ocean. A journey of over 2,200 miles. We didn’t have the time to travel by boat up the Amazon River as it takes a week, so we decided to fly.

Flying over the Amazon River and Amazon Rainforest was a once in a lifetime type of experience and it was awe inspiring to see just how large it actually is! May I remind you that we were only flying over the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, much smaller than the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. Once we landed, it was clear to see we were in a completely different world from where we had been just a few days earlier in Arequipa. Peru is such a diverse country in land, people and language and there is no better place to see that than Iquitos, which is fairly isolated as it is inaccessible by road. We arrived to Iquitos on a smaller aircraft so we walked directly off the plane and down steps onto the tarmac and one of the biggest changes from Peru’s Coastal Region and the Andes Mountain was the temperature difference. When we stepped out of the plane door, the heat was oppressive. The heat and humidity hit us like a smack in the face and we immediately started sweating and we didn’t stop until we left Iquitos.

Read more about the city of Iquitos on the Treasures Of Traveling website!

-- Luke Keeler

Rock Slide Adventures from Arequipa to Iquitos!

Seeing the rock slide up close for the first time after waiting 48 hours for the rocks to be removed!

We had quite the adventure traveling from our last stop in southern Peru, the beautiful mountainous and colonial city of Arequipa to the hot and humid jungle of the Amazon in Iquitos; the gateway and access point to the Amazon Rainforest in Peru! Iquitos is surrounded by the Amazon River on one side and the Amazon Rainforest on all other sides so the only way to reach Iquitos is to either fly there or travel by boat. Therefore, Iquitos is the world’s largest city that can not be reached by any roads. We didn’t have the time to travel by boat up the Amazon River as it takes a week, so we decided to fly.

We had purchased our plane tickets to Iquitos weeks in advance and just had to make sure we arrived in Lima before our flight departed. We had decided to travel from Arequipa to Lima by bus and even though the bus journey is about a 17 hour trip and wouldn’t save us time traveling, we would be saving money as a bus ticket is less expensive than flying. We had the extra time for bus travel scheduled into our itinerary, but what we didn’t have scheduled into our itinerary was a rock slide. It would have been a great trip viewing the entire southern coastal landscape of Southern Peru along the Pan American Highway, but it actually turned out to be a disaster because of the rock slide. The Pan American Highway is the most important highway in Peru, as it connects all major cities in the country's coastal area from the most northern part of the country to the southern most part, so you can imagine all the traffic that uses this highway that abruptly came to a stand still.

Read more about the rock slide on the Treasures Of Traveling Website!

-- Luke Keeler