Manuel Antonio National Park's beaches are beautiful, pristine, with clear aquamarine water and white sand. Playa Manuel Antonio is especially beautiful since it is an alcove, with mushy waves, great for swimming. Even in low season (I went in July), the beach gets very busy, with lots of families and couples - where it is impossible to take pictures without a ton of people in them. However, the beauty of the beach overcomes the constant hum of screaming children and touristy college students seeking a tan. It's best to get there in the morning when the weather is good because in the afternoon, the skies become overcast and the water not so brilliant blue. You can find smaller beaches around the park with less people such as Playa Escondido. The beach on the west side of the park is nice, but not as nice as Playa Manuel Antonio since it opens directly out to the Pacific ocean with lots of traffic of water sports coming from the "public" public beach directly outside of the park.

A great experience. If you can locate the tourist office, get a licensed guide who can take you around the whole day for about $20. It is the best money I spent in Morocco. The licensed guides are very knowledgeable of history, culture, and can tell you about all the different areas of the Medina and why it is organized the way it is. Getting lost is a fun experience, but I found that getting the guided tour helped in understanding how the city was laid out, when it is very difficult to navigate using Moroccan maps. The guide also took us to a wonderful, local, cheap place to eat lunch and introduced us to local shop keepers and artisans who taught us about how they make their wares (weave scarves, die leather bags etc.)

Absolutely amazing.

I think it is a fairly strenuous hike. The first 45 minutes are like a walk in the park compared to the last 15 minutes of the hike. After 45 minutes you come to a clearing, near the summit of the volcano where you are surrounded by lava rock that is sharp and jagged. As you climb the side of the volcano, it is like walking on the beach at a 50 degree incline, taking 2 steps up to go about 1 step.

Many travel books say that it gets cold at the summit, but I found the contrary, it is rather hot and you can see hot spots as you climb where rock is red, but do bring clothing when doing the afternoon hike because once the sun goes down, it gets cold.

On the way up, you pass the cloud line and all you can see are clouds and other volcanos in the distance. When you reach the summit where you can see the lava flow, it is almost too close for comfort. We tossed in a tissue to watch how quickly it ignited. This is a wonderful spot to watch the sun set.

Climbing down the mountain can only be paralleled to surfing. People climbing up have the grip of the jagged rock. However, coming down, the path is sandy and I was almost knee deep in it, sliding down the mountain, rather than stepping.

I highly recommend this for anyone who has never done anything similar and definitely wear sturdy hiking shoes to make your experience more enjoyable.

You might not know it, but there is a large Ethiopian population in Geneva. I was first taken to Awash by an Ethiopian friend became hooked. I have had Ethiopian food plenty of times before and the experience at Awash was definitely unique.

Awash is replete with culture, wonderful food catered to the Ethiopian palate, and Ethiopians themselves. The flavor of the food is not sugar coated for foreigners nor is the atmosphere. They have a decent wine list with wines from South Africa. On some nights, they have Ethiopian dancing, which is simply a man and woman dancing up and down the front of the bar, in this small restaurant, but still a fun cultural experience.

Among numerous restaurant choices in Geneva, Awash is one of the cheaper and worth every Swiss franc. The restaurant does not look like much inside or outside, and it's located right next to a tunnel where the train passes over. I have been back more than once, and will definitely be a place I go to whenever I am back in Geneva.

A tourist trap. Like most other tourist traps, it's riddled with street performers, cheap t-shirts, and few locals. I may be biased, having lived in the Bay Area, but I parallel the experience to being a Los Angeles resident, and venturing into the Hollywood tourist trap, once in a blue moon. If you're looking for culture, it's not here.

However, there are still points of interest. Boats launch here if you want to go to Alcatraz. The bush man is a one of a kind sight to see. If you want clam chowder, you can eat all your heart desires. You can check out some of the art galleries on the way to Ghirardelli square and the sea lions sunbathing at the end of the pier.

There cannot be just 2 reviews of this place! It is absolutely beautiful. Yes, it's contrived and planned, but that's the point. This is landscaping at its finest, and the installations only last for 1 month, then the flowers start dying.

If you are a lover of botanical gardens, this is a playground for you; and even not the biggest plant lover, the park is still a beautiful and colorful one to stroll through. Bring a picnic (buy it at Aldi in Leiden next to the bus stop to the gardens)  and eat in the grass. Climb the windmill which overlooks fields of tulips. You could spend a whole day here just admiring the park, or just a couple hours if you think you've had floral overload.

There cannot be just 2 reviews of this place! It is absolutely beautiful. Yes, it's contrived and planned, but that's the point. This is landscaping at its finest, and the installations only last for 1 month, then the flowers start dying.
If you are a lover of botanical gardens, this is a playground for you; and even not the biggest plant lover, the park is still a beautiful and colorful one to stroll through. Bring a picnic (buy it at Aldi in Leiden next to the bus stop to the gardens)  and eat in the grass. Climb the windmill which overlooks fields of tulips. You could spend a whole day here just admiring the park, or just a couple hours if you think you've had floral overload.

A place I describe as "complete mayhem"; and completely fascinating for this. Your senses are thrown awry by all the local smells and vast crowds of people. The square can take days to get used to, that's if it doesn't outright offend you the first time you see it. It's a mix of old and new, somewhat contrived since it's a UNESCO world heritage site, but also with plenty of local flavor to taste. The square has a life of its own and changes personality at various times of the day.  In the morning you can see the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. Then around 5-6 o'clock, the stalls clear out, and the food stalls come in for dinner. After dinner, the food stalls clear out, and then the locals stay. Some are telling stories or acting out theatrical comedies in small circles in their local language or belly dancers trying to trick you into giving them money. Of course the vast majority still around after dark, are men, and prostitutes, so you might feel uncomfortable.  As far as haggling, the shop keepers are spoiled by well off French tourists. I found that instead of naming my price and walking away, I did the complete opposite - named my price, and would not go away until they gave it to me.