People just can’t seem to get enough of wonders. First were the Seven Wonders of the World, which really were the seven wonders of the ancient world, recognizing some incredible human achievements. Next came medieval wonders, underwater world wonders, industrial wonders and, of course, natural wonders, among other categories.

Since the July 2007 announcement of the “New Seven Wonders of the World,” other lists are being updated. The 28 finalists for the New7Wonders of Nature contest were announced last week in Zurich, Switzerland. Front runners? The Grand Canyon, the Great Barrier Reef, Iguazu Falls, Galapagos and other equally awe-inspiring attractions.

I’ve personally been to only three sites on the list, so far—the Black Forest in Germany, the Dead Sea in Israel and Halong Bay in Vietnam. If I were to vote today, the latter would get it, though I plan to visit many more of these sites before voting concludes in 2011.

How many have you visited, and which one will you vote for? www.vote7.com

Traveling to a foreign country and don’t know the language? No problem! Thanks to the BBC, you can take a crash course in the essential phrases of 36 different languages. So whether you’re rubbing elbows with Chinese businessmen on a work trip or trying to impress your significant other on a weekend getaway to Spain, you’ll be able to practice the basics of the language—enough to make you not look like a haughty tourist—and navigate your way around a foreign city.

From Albanian to Ukrainian, and many languages in between, the BBC’s Quick Fix site offers printable phrase sheets and audio pronunciation guides that you can download as MP3s. (You can also just study off the Web site.) Learn how to say “Do you speak English” in Norwegian (Snakker du engelsk), “red wine” in Italian (il vino rosso), “goodbye” in Polish (Do widzenia) or “where is the swimming pool, please?” in French (Où est la piscine, s‘il vous plait?).

If I had known such a resource existed, I probably wouldn’t have been wandering aimlessly through the streets of Paris looking for a public restroom and kicking myself for having opted to take Spanish instead of French in high school.  

Visit www.bbc.co.uk/languages/other/quickfix to brush up on your language skills today.

Want to walk across the United States? This hikers’ dream is fast becoming a reality after Congress designated the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail (PNT) on March 29, 2009—the first addition to the National Trails System since 1983. The 1,200-mile trail extends through some of the country’s most rugged terrain, from the Continental Divide to the Pacific Ocean on Washington’s Olympic coast.

For the past 30 years, the nonprofit Pacific Northwest Trail Association has maintained and erected signage for the trail system. But with federal backing comes money for real improvements, trail extensions and bridges to help more trekkers utilize and discover the route. It also helps close the gap of a future transcontinental trail system.

On the Pacific Northwest Trail. Photo: nordique

A Sea-To-Sea Route

The well-known Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) runs from Mexico north to Canada, where it connects with the PNT. Ron Strickland, longtime trail system advocate and one of the early backers of PNT creation, says the next step is to designate the undefined 900-mile section that will connect the PNT to the 4,200-mile North Country National Scenic Trail and on to the Appalachian Trail (AT)—creating a massive 7,700-mile “Sea-to-Sea” trail.

Congress designated two other trails along with the PNT this year: the Arizona and New England National Scenic Trails. For more information the National Trails System, go to www.nps.gov/nts. To learn more about Ron Strickland’s work and trail news, go to www.ronstrickland.com.

It’s a week away, but I’m already starting to think about what to pack for my trip to the Bay Islands of Honduras. This isn’t my first time there, so I already have an idea of what works and what doesn’t. While I have a running list of items in my head, I like to avoid last-minute packing madness, so it’s best for me to write it down. Anyone going to the Bay Islands (Utila, Roatán or Guanaja) or other Caribbean islands can easily use this list as well.

Photo of beach in Roatán: magnusfranklin

Three Tips to Begin

•    Pack lightly. You can always wash things in the sink or use a laundry service if you’re staying more than a week.
•    While there are stores, they may not carry exactly what you want, so make sure you bring appropriate camera gear and things that you’re particular about.

•    As with all international travel, remember to bring a photocopy of your passport.

Clothing

Swimsuit
Shorts—For a weeklong trip, I’ll usually bring three pairs.
Lightweight pants—Wear a pair on the plane, and you only need to pack one extra.
T-shirts/tank tops—Mix it up. About four total should be fine.
Lightweight long-sleeved tops—Two will probably do it.
Lightweight jacket—Helpful in case of rain, especially if you’re in a boat and out in the open.
Underwear
Sandals—I wear my Chacos, which means I don’t have to bring water shoes.
Water shoes—Even if you’re not a big diver, having water shoes for walking out into the water will help protect your feet. Some beaches have shells or rocks, which aren't pleasant to walk on.
Hat

Gear

Sunglasses—If you keep them on a leash around your neck, you won’t have to worry about losing them in the water.
Toiletries and small first-aid kit—Include Benadryl (or an allergy medicine), antibiotic ointment, hydrocortizone cream and Band-Aids.
Sunscreen—When you’re there, remember to re-apply throughout the day.
Insect repellent—Bug irritants can include sand flies and mosquitoes. If it’s breezy, you won’t be bothered much, but it’s always good to have something on hand just in case. I rarely have problems when I use Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, which doesn't have DEET.
Camera and power cord
iPod and speakers—I stay at the home of friends, so I like having my music to entertain.

Extra Considerations

If you’re planning a diving or snorkeling trip, check in advance with the shop or resort you plan to use to determine what gear is provided and what you’ll need to bring. Beachgoers may consider bringing a beach towel, as not all hotels provide them.

For more information about traveling to the Bay Islands, read The Bay Islands: Old-School Caribbean.

After a recent trip to the Vail Valley in Colorado, I was able to experience firsthand a delicious trend among the culinary world: sustainable dining. Many fine-dining restaurants have begun to adopt the mantra that “fresh is best,” and use locally sourced products as main ingredients in the dishes.

Vail Famers’ Market

The Vail Farmers’ Market is the place to get the latest and greatest in locally grown produce and goods. Whether you’re looking for bell peppers, freshly baked bread or homemade salsas, the market has a huge assortment of locally made products that will tantalize your taste buds. I picked up some avocado vinaigrette from a local vendor, as well as peach salsa and chipotle-stuffed olives from another.The market is held every Sunday from the end of June until the beginning of September. Several restaurants make a “harvest menu” on Sundays, when you can be sure that nearly every ingredient in your dinner came from the farmers’ market that morning.

8100 Mountainside Bar & Grill

The 8100 Mountainside Bar and Grill located at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek and Resort opened in December 2008 after the resort completed a $30 million renovation. Meat eaters will appreciate the regional menu, featuring buffalo steak (which I had), elk loin and trout. My favorite sides included the creamed corn and mashed potatoes, but the quinoa looked delicious as well.

Splendido at the Chateau

Situated on the ground floor by what appears to be a French chateau in the middle of Beaver Creek, Splendido could be perhaps one of the most amazing culinary experiences of my life. My group visited Splendido on a night when Chef Walford was offering his popular off-the-menu special lobster stuffed with Yukon gold mashed potatoes. Since few words can properly convey how delicious the meal was, I will leave you with a picture.

The lobster special at Splendido.

La Tour

French-inspired La Tour is a Wine Spectator “Award of Excellence” winner, featuring more than 300 wines to perfectly compliment your dinner. Each month, Chef Paul Ferzacca adjusts the menu to reflect what is new and fresh in the region. On Sunday, he features a harvest menu that comes straight from the Vail Farmers’ Market that morning.

Kelly Liken Restaurant

Lauded by Bon Appétit and Wine Spectator, Kelly Liken Restaurant is the brainchild of up-and-coming chef Kelly Liken. Thankfully, I visited the night of the restaurant’s harvest menu. From my onion and nettle soup to an entrée of Alaskan halibut and fresh, local vegetables, Kelly Liken Restaurant delivered a dinner that was divine enough to blog about.

The halibut from Kelly Liken's harvest menu.

If you would like an unparalleled dining experience outside of the normal foodie destinations, consider heading to the Vail Valley during the summertime. Its proximity to both the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains means that you will be eating fresh ingredients assembled by skillful and talented regional chefs.

For my final post on TravelMusings, I leave you with information about a great new walking tour company in New York City—The Wall Street Experience.

Andrew Luan is your guide on this journey through the canyons of New York’s financial district, arguably the most important financial center in the world. And he’s a tour participant’s dream—an inside expert. He has lived and worked on Wall Street for years, most recently at Deutsche Bank (until he was one of thousands laid off due to the financial crisis), where he was a vice president trading structured credit bonds and collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), a type of asset-backed security that has been blamed for the industry’s troubles.

In front of Federal Hall, looking at the original J.P. Morgan building. (Photo: D.M. Airoldi)

Luan offers four types of tours, but the signature Financial Crisis Tour ($45, 2 hours) is the one to take if you’re interested in insider information about what factors led to the financial collapse; how and when those on The Street realized it was imminent (months before it actually happened); perspective on the culture inside a large investment house; and how the industry and area might look in the future.

You’ll also get easy-to-understand explanations of CDOs and tranches, securities, ratings—Luan says Standard & Poor’s gets paid by the very companies it rates, making for a conflict of interest—asset, credit and equity markets and more, with copies of actual reports, charts and graphs, and bond sales sheets used by traders and analysts.

The tour starts at 15 Broad St., in front of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Today only 10 percent of the floor is now used for trading, with the remaining 90 percent taking place online. Our group also learned that the equity asset class traded at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) represents just $10 percent of the $100 trillion financial market industry.

You’ll see several of the area’s other key financial sites—including the Merchant’s Exchange, Bank of the United States (the first bank to collapse during the Great Depression), J.P. Morgan & Co., Deutsche Bank, AIG, Goldman Sachs and, of course, the Federal Reserve—as well as many historical attractions. Be sure to check out the marks on the original J.P. Morgan location, made from dynamite when the building was bombed in 1920, and I learned that Maiden Lane was so named because it used to be a stream where young women came to wash clothes.

Andrew Luan showing equity market charts used by analysts and traders. (Photo: D.M. Airoldi)

Luan is a font of knowledge—not just about the finance industry and historical attractions, but also of architecture—and he clearly enjoys sharing his insights to help people better understand the finance industry, Wall Street and human behavior, at least when it comes to investing. He even hands out laminated cards to remind participants of the lessons learned on the tour. “My goal is to give visitors a real understanding and sense of Wall Street, while also providing a historical context,” says Luan, who developed the tour after having given an informal one to visiting friends and family members who kept recommending it to others.

One thing I would like to see added to the tour is the ability to enter some of the buildings we learn about, not just view them from outside. But I know that’s a tall order for an industry and area of New York City that requires high levels of security. Otherwise, the Financial Crisis Tour exceeded my expectations, with Luan sharing more insider info than I thought would have been possible, taking us to an extra site that isn't typically included and sticking around for any additional questions from participants.

“This is just about the best walking tour I’ve ever taken,” said Harriette Shakes of Palo Alto, Calif., who was in my group. I have to agree.

The Wall Street Experience, Financial Crisis Tour. Cost: $45 per person + tax, 2 person or $90 minimum; children under 15 free. Hours: Mon., Wed., Fri. at 10 a.m.; Sat. at 1 p.m. www.thewallstreetexperience.com