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On a balmy June morning, I found myself at the End of the World, eyes pressed shut, closely observing my breathing as it coincided with the rhythm of the crashing waves mere steps away. I had meditated before, my mind always maniacally wandering: Inhale, exhale, what’s for lunch? Inhale, exhale, how long is this going to take? Inhale, exhale, your inbox is getting longer. Read McKendree/Courtesy of Marram Montauk But this time felt different....

Despite what you’ve heard, Iceland isn’t always the land of ice and snow. According to The Telegraph, the mayors of two particular Icelandic towns are pretty tired of everyone believing what they see on Google Maps. Jon Pall Hreinsson, mayor of Bolungarvik, and Guðmundur Gunnarsson, mayor of Ísafjörður, have sent complaints to Google because the app’s satellite images consistently show their towns covered in snow. Iceland has become a hot destination for world travelers over the last few years, even with its icy weather....

Norwegian Cruise Line will not require passengers to book shore excursions through the ship when it resumes sailings this summer, a company executive said in an interview this week. “From our first voyage out of the gate, you are free to tour on your own in every port,” Norwegian’s chief sales officer, Katina Athanasiou, said on Travel Weekly’s podcast. “We anticipated needing to do this shore excursion bubble for the first month of operations....

Listen: Shay Mitchell knows travel. The jet-setting actress, known for her starring role in Pretty Little Liars (or more recently, Netflix’s mega-hit series You), is no stranger to globe-trotting, and she has the hashtag and YouTube travel series to prove it (it’s #SHAYCATION, if you’re wondering). Add to that her successful launch of new travel accessories brand Béis, where you’ll find a range of smartly designed bags and other essentials made with function and style in mind (we’re talking items like a travel backpack that unzips generously, just like a suitcase, so you can take it with you overnight, for the weekend, or on the plane)....

The one-piece swimsuit is made from a soft, stretchy nylon-spandex blend that wearers say keeps everything in place while running after little ones and swimming (one reviewer even put it through a burpee test and confirmed it didn’t budge). Along with a ruffled one-shoulder neckline, the cute one-piece also features ruching at the midsection, which fans say boosts confidence and “helps with any insecurities in that area.” The 12 Most Comfortable Flip-flops for Men and Women, According to Customer Reviews...

It’s one of the most spectacular events in the stargazer’s calendar, but in 2020, seeing the Perseid meteor shower will require some careful timing. Though scheduled to peak from midnight through dawn from Aug. 11 to 13, the shower will be competing with pretty bright moonlight. Luckily, the Perseids are known to produce incredibly bright shooting stars, meaning you should still be able to catch sight of them despite the lunar distraction....

Hidden Bar, the cult favorite underground hideaway beneath the historic Noelle hotel in Nashville, is officially bringing back its Home Alone-inspired holiday experience. And a grown-up Kevin McCallister would approve. This season, Hidden Bar has been transformed into a ’90s dream, meant to mimic the McCallister residence, starting with its red brick exterior. Moving inside, bar goers will be delighted to see a recreation of the family’s iconic living room, complete with plush floral chairs, a green couch, a decorated Christmas tree, and a roaring fireplace with stockings above the mantle to keep you warm, even if you did make your family disappear....

There are lots of perks to living in a small town versus a big city, but the one that people most often point out is affordability. While some towns can be just as expensive as major metropolises — and sometimes even more so — a new study by Realtor.com has ranked the most affordable small towns in the U.S. To create the list, Realtor.com’s data team looked at U.S. metros with a population under 50,000, then took into account a variety of metrics such as median home list prices, year-over-year list price changes, and ownership costs as a percentage of income....

The United States may have the Four Corners — a place where Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico intersect — but southern Africa has something even more special: the only place in the world where four countries come together. There’s no monument to mark the spot and no way to stand in all four countries at once. It’s on the water where crocodiles and hippos make their home and the Zambezi and Chobe rivers collide that Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe converge....

Advertised as “an ideal stopping point for ladies unattended,” Hotel Figueroa originally opened in 1926 as a safe haven for solo female travelers. White it’s difficult to imagine today, women were prohibited from checking into most hotels without a male chaperone. The hotel, created by the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), was financed, built, and operated by women, the largest commercial building funded by women at that time. Maude Bouldin, the first female managing director of a hotel in the United States, is said to have arrived for her job at the Hotel Figueroa after crossing the U....

It’s not every day that you can — quite literally — walk in the footsteps of one of the world’s most famous artists, but now the historic Le Meurice hotel in Paris is offering just that. The hotel, which hosted the iconic artist’s wedding banquet when he married Russian dancer Olga Khokhlova in 1918, is offering an overnight stay complete with an expert-guided walking tour of his favorite haunts in Paris’ bohemian Montmartre neighborhood....

Everyone has probably watched Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech on the old, black and white, grainy film. But what if you could hear this speech as if you’re actually there? According to USA Today, a new, high-tech exhibit in Chicago can actually make that happen. “The March,” an exhibit at Chicago’s DuSable Museum of African American History, allows visitors to use virtual reality technologyto step into the 1963 March on Washington where King gave his iconic speech....

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released a list of winter travel tips on Monday, helping Americans navigate flying during the COVID-19 pandemic, just in time for a potential holiday rush. With advice from mask-wearing and reducing contact, to more familiar tips surrounding how to wrap gifts for loved ones, the agency focused on how to expedite the security process. The tips come as the agency screened a record more than 3 million passengers at airports around Thanksgiving, despite experts saying people shouldn’t travel....

Lake towns have always provided a welcome reprieve from the stresses of city life. Surrounded by nature and home to diverse wildlife, natural and human-made lakes help us slow down and relax while enjoying various outdoor activities. Whether you’re a fishing enthusiast or enjoy ice skating in the winter, lakes are a year-round playground that keep your body active and your mind at ease. So if you’d like your weekend lake escapes to become more of a permanent situation, investing in a lakefront or lake-view property might be the way to go....

As one of America’s oldest cities, Boston is easily recognizable by its 19th-century brick row houses, narrow cobbled streets, and traditional gas streetlamps. But the city’s ubiquitous charm and character is just as apparent when viewed from afar. Stepping above it all brings a whole new perspective to the stacks of steely towers and maze of charming streets clustered in to this coastal locus on Massachusetts Bay. Lofty roosts allow you to glimpse the glowing city lights reflected in the rolling Boston Harbor waves, and see glossy skyscrapers—the Prudential Center, Hancock Building—in stark contrast with neighboring centuries-old facades....

You interact with so many things on a daily basis — both online and in real life, like picking up a book or choosing a movie based on its Netflix art — it’s hard to keep track of why you choose the things you do. While a lot of it is personal preference, of course, there is some science behind why you’re clicking on certain things and not others. Color, as it turns out, is a huge indicator for your brain....

Watching people, clouds, and birds pass your window is only entertaining for so long. After a while, a change to your limited, self-quarantined reality may be necessary. And while you can virtually visit museums and even national parks from your couch, they’ve got nothing on a brisk train ride through the Swiss countryside or journey around the Arctic Circle. Virtual train rides offer viewers the chance to zone out and calm the mind, while seeing new landscapes, some of which many people will never experience in real life, quarantine or not....

It’s difficult to put into words just how transformational travel can be. Thankfully, artists, authors, philosophers, and world travelers have captured that essence in inspirational travel quotes that remind us of our past journeys and serve as fuel for future trips. We’ve rounded up some of the best travel quotes from the likes of Anthony Bourdain, Oprah Winfrey, and more, so you can get excited about your next bucket list trip....

Life is different in northern Montana. Mountains carved by glaciers jut out of the earth in jagged formations, hidden alpine lakes remain relatively untouched, and mountain goats and grizzly bears roam the open landscape. Deep in the Rocky Mountains, a pristine 1,583 square miles of wilderness remains diligently protected while welcoming visitors from all over the world. This is Glacier National Park, home to the iconic Going-to-the-Sun Road, turquoise-blue Cracker Lake, and too many hiking trails to conquer in one trip....

After a long year, New Yorkers are looking for a safe escape. And there’s perhaps no place more in demand this spring than the Catskills and Hudson Valley, where the snow is melting, the blooms are breaking, and the air is crisp. Social distancing? It’s built right in. Fortunately, the region has seen a huge influx of new places to stay over the past few years. It’s so buzzy that Travel + Leisure named it one of the most exciting places to travel in 2021....