Seven Wonders of My World

Here at Paper, our first stop before heading to the Barnes & Noble travel section is always Gary Pini's desk. After giving Gary the basic parameters of your trip (seven days, southern Spain, July), you'll be met the next day with half a dozen dog-eared magazine articles, a ferry schedule and a hand-drawn map with directions to some obscure dilapidated castle that Gary swears is the coolest thing in Cadiz. In other words, Gary is probably the best-traveled person we know and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things off-the-beaten-path. Which is why we asked him to compile the Seven Wonders of Gary Pini's World.

1. [Top] When you're in Barcelona at sunset, look off to the west and you can see what looks like the Land of Oz on a mountaintop. The mountain is called Tibidabo and the main buildings visible from downtown are a catholic church and a TV tower designed by Norman Foster. The real gem up there, however, is the Tibidabo Amusement Park, built at the turn of the last century. The rides are a little primitive, but when you're spinning around on the ferris wheel, the view is great. Be sure to take the long way up via an old cable car and a funicular railroad for the full experience.

2. [Bottom left] Everyone in the art world knows that the Venice Biennale happens every two years and Documenta in Kassel, Germany, every five. For the truly patient tourist, there's Floriade, a massive world horticulture expo that takes place every ten years in the Netherlands. The 2002 edition included hundreds of tacky Venus de Milo garden statues, an exhibit of cemetery plots designed by artists and the world's largest collection of water lilies. Floriade 2012 takes place in Venlo, a city in the southeastern Netherlands, and the theme is: "Be part of the theater in nature; get closer to the quality of life." Start packing.

3. At one time Gormaz, Spain, was the largest citadel in Europe. Built around 756 AD, this Moorish stronghold guarded the trade routes through the Pyrenees, and it's the perfect spot to read the Spanish classic, The Poem of El Cid. Stand on the ramparts and look out over the vast plains of Soria and the valley of the Duero River. You'll probably be the only one there since there's no ticket booth, snack bar or postcard shop in sight and castles are a dime a dozen to the locals.

Photo credits: (top) Oscar Alarcon Lopez; (bottom left to right) Theo Kelderman, César Carazo.

[Clockwise from top left]

4. Feel like going to the beach? How about the largest sand dune in Europe? The Dune du Pilat, located about a half-hour outside of Bordeaux on the southwestern coast of France in a town called Arcachon, is almost two miles long and over 300 feet high. Climb the 200 stairs to the top where you can take in the view of the Atlantic Ocean, the Bassin d'Arcachon, acres of pine forests off to the east -- and then roll down.

5. The Ronald McDonald House in Essen, Germany, is one of the best buildings designed by the eccentric painter and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It's actually a reproduction of something he worked on just before he died in 2000, and all the more special since so few of his designs were ever built (he thought straight lines were "the devil's tools"). The Ronald McDonald House makes Gaudi look conservative. It's located in Gruga Park and hard to find -- but worth the hunt.

6. Volcanoes have attracted tourists for years, and two of the best -- and safest -- are in Sicily: Stromboli and Mount Etna. Stromboli looks like a location straight out of the '50s film Lost Continent as it rises out of the Mediterranean, spouting smoke and gurgling. Walk up to the top at night and look over the rim if you dare. As long as you're in the 'hood, take your yacht a few miles over to Taormina, grab a cocktail and gaze at Etna. No, you won't be the first tourist to visit Etna -- images of Liz Taylor and Richard Burton line the walls of the local watering hole, Wunderbar -- but no photo can capture the spectacle.

7. Buenos Aires is a beautiful city, and still has one of the best exchange rates for the dollar in the world. Strangely, two of the biggest tourist attractions are a cemetery (Recoleta) and a flea market (San Telmo), but if you venture a little north of downtown, there's a municipality called Tigre that also shouldn't be missed. On the delta of the Rio de la Plata, Tigre is a river-boater's dream with several rowing and yacht clubs, a nautical museum and lots of old wooden water taxis that carry locals to various destinations along the river islands. You can hop on, ride around all day and check out the vacation homes, and you might even see a water-skier coasting along the muddy water.

Photo credits clockwise from top left: José Luis Muñoz Criado, Hans van der Boom, Mike Blanchette, sergioacevedovalencia.com

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