HOL Ravenclaw

As the days go by, you get back into the routine of school and class and breaks and homework and clubs. You enjoy the routine but it is very different from the laid back attitude of summer months or even the winter and spring breaks. You bring it up with your friends and discover that they feel the same way. As distracting as school life can become, it is nothing like the time spent during breaks doing anything and everything that you might want to do. You miss the freedom of choosing what to read and what to write and what to draw.

In the moments between all of your busy work, you try to come up with a way to lessen the stress of school life and wistfulness for longer breaks. Eventually you decide that the best way to do that is to look up different places to go on your next vacation, maybe with your friends instead of your family. Hogsmeade is a nice occasional getaway but it is the same every time. What you are looking for is something more exotic than the local town.

Task: Find pictures of or clips of text about popular vacation spots. They can all be about one location or multiple locations. Post at least 5 in total below with a short description about the location (20 words or more). Please keep the graphics not more than 600 x 600 pixels, per HOL rules.

Alternatively, you can write in 100 words or more about your ideal vacation. Where you would go, who you would go with, what you would do with your time, anything that seems ideal to you.

This task is worth 10 beans, with 15 additional beans available if all Week Two activities are completed. Everything is due by 11:59 pm HOL time on September 30th.

My ideal vacation would be a trip to Rome. I find Rome's history quite interesting, and they have a lot of attractions that I'd be interested in. I'd love to see the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, and Pantheon one day. I find the architecture stunning throughout Italy, so I'd find what I would view as treasures by simply exploring its capital city of Rome. I'd also love to see some of their museums and art galleries for a fuller experience. I wouldn't mind going with anyone, though I'd prefer my partner or our immediate family to be able to enjoy the city to its full potential.

1. Paris:
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Paris is also known as the city of love. It houses the Eiffel tower, the most iconic and worldwide known symbol of love, besides other attractions like boating on the Seine river for a romantic afternoon, visiting Disneyland for reconciling with our childhood love, visiting the Louvre museum, enjoying the sculptures near Arc de Triomphe, and tasting Parisian food at night.
2.London:
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London holds the iconic location in the nursery rhyme "London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady". Besides, the Tower of London is another huge attraction. London has good steaks. Monuments of historical, cultural, and political significance abound, and if you enjoy hustle and bustle, Oxford Street is the place to be. The royal palace is another attraction that draws many. Parts of the interior of Buckingham Castle, St. Paul's Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey are very iconic. Finally, of course, Harry Potter world in London has the Hogwarts Express, the Privet Drive, the Burrow, a replica of the Knight Bus, creatures from the Forbidden Forest, Hogwarts with the Great Hall and more, Gringotts, Harry Potter themed restaurants (look out for the one with floating candles), and statues of actors and their dresses from iconic scenes, which are worth a lifetime's experience. And oh! of course it is not to forget that it holds King's Cross Station and Platform 9¾ itself where you can click photographs.
3.Bali:
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If you are more into serene peace than chaos, there is no better place to go than Bali. From floating temples on rivers, to absolutely calming and relaxing villages on riversides populated by the kindest souls you will ever meet, the hub of shamanism and worship of forest deities, volcanoes, and beaches, you can find a bit of almost everything here. Whether you are looking for history, culture, food, love, kind people, magic literally, jungles, beaches, mountains, rivers, volcanos, adventure, religion, or spiritualism, Bali has got it all. A vacation for the adventurous as well as calm at heart. And oh, if you are more the beach and party kind of person, don't forget to taste the seafood which is cooked live for you and you actually get to choose the fish you want to eat when it is still alive and raw and literally swimming in the water.
4.Maldives:
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Maldives is full of sandy beaches, in- sea huts and cottages, beautiful romantic resorts, spa treatments, and snorkeling and scuba diving opportunities. Taste fresh and healthy food and rejuvenate yourself in the lap of nature, away, away, away from daily life. It is a very popular honeymoon destination for those who really want to escape during their honeymoon. Candle-light dinners are available, and of course, it is romantic and iconic.
5.Istanbul:
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The Ottoman Caliphate, one of the largest kingdoms in the world at one point of time in history, had their capital in Istanbul and lived mainly in the Topkapi palace, which is still available as a tourist attraction in the form of a museum, should you like to visit the palace and see the interiors to get an idea of the royal household life of the Ottoman Sultanate. There is a lot more to see in Istanbul, but this is something not to miss. You can take a look at the sea from one of the many windows and balconies of the seaside palace and wander around navigating plans in your mind about how the Ottoman navy would man the sea there and protect their own lands and capture other ships for trade and political purposes. You can also find some of the most iconic locations from Ottoman royal history and political battles of the Ottoman Sultanate. At the same time, you can enjoy Turkish food and take in the landscape there which is dotted with mountains, cliffs, and forests.

My ideal vacation (as an adult), would be to travel to Disney World and Disney Land. I have become a Disney park fanatic. I love going there every year. Seeing the park for the first time was amazing! I had been to other types of amusement parks but it did not prepare me for this. When you walk into Magic Kingdom for the first time, it is like stepping back into Walt’s childhood. From the trains he loved, to seeing Mickey, Minnie and all their friends on the Castle stag welcoming you every day to the most magical place on earth. In my ideal vacation I would be able to go see all the shows, meet all the characters I could and get autographs and pictures with them. I would shop till I dropped. I would ride all the rides so many times they would have to turn me away. After eating at several locations, I would curl up in a chair on the porch of Crystal Palace and watch the fireworks go off. Then go back to my Disney hotel, where there would be a character towel folded on my bed. I would drift off to sleep with all the good memories I had made that day.

My ideal vacation would be a trip to Edinburgh/the Scottish highlands. The first day we would walk down Victoria Street and the Royal Mile, making sure to look into as many bookshops and Harry Potter themed stores as possible! I’d also want to make time to pop into the Writers Museum and have a look at the Castle, before heading to Leith for dinner. The next morning we’d take a stroll around the Royal Botonic Gardens, then drive around the lochs to Fort William. We’d take the Harry Potter themed Jacobite Express over the Glenfinnan Viaduct the next day, then spending the day exploring the town once back. The last leg would be spent driving past Loch Ness and up to Skye, spending a couple of days there before heading home.

My ideal vacation would be anywhere, doing anything as long as my husband is with me. That being said I think I would immensely enjoy a trip to Ireland, Scotland and/or Norway. I find these places so beautiful and it being the opposite of where I come from, in order to be able to see the snow and northern lights. To live in a place with so much beautiful historical architecture. To be cosy in a cute cottage and have hot coco by a fireplace songs like the utmost ideal vacation for us. The fresh green landscapes and friendly communities. This to me is true fun and relaxation.

My perfect vacation would probably be theatre related - my first instinct was to say staying in London and filling the days with West End shows, but I'm very lucky to be able to see a lot there anyway, so I'd probably go with New York to visit Broadway. I'd see as many musicals and plays as I could, and visit lots of landmarks and other theatre-related things, like the Museum of Broadway or one of the diners with singing waitstaff that exist over there. I'd also do a bit of sightseeing whilst I was there, and try and visit as many landmarks as I could, like the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building.

Palma is the captitol of the Spainish island of Majorca (Mallorca) in the western Mediterranean. It is the eight largest city in Spain.

Italy is my dream vacation and one I've been going to for a little more than a decade. We rent a mobile house by the Mediterranean Sea, right by the seaside with a private beach, and enjoy two to three weeks there.

The best thing is to sit at a beach cafe or one that overlooks the ocean, with a cup of Espresso Romano, a scoop or two of gelato and just people-watch. Yeah, that's definitely my dream vacation.

I usually go with my family, but I’d go with close friends, though so far, we only explored Venice, Rome and Vatican City when it comes to Italy.