Word: mediterranean
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Chances are you've done Paris, London, Rome, the better-known resorts in Hawaii, Mexico--even the Mediterranean. But what about those vacation destinations you dream about but never quite find? Here is a handful of hidden gems chosen from the notebooks (and expense reports) of TIME's far-flung team of journalists. With this little nudge and some practical advice, we might even get you there this year...
...first rays of a Mediterranean morning bathe the island in languid warmth, its unique features emerge in gentle relief: towering megalithic monuments, colonial facades, a pristine expanse of beach. Along the palm-fringed harbors, sailboats nudge their moorings, and beach lovers prepare for another round of sun, sea and sand. This is an island of captivating contrasts...
...this is not Majorca, the all-too-famous Mediterranean resort. It is Minorca, the lesser-known jewel of the Balearic Islands. Its attractions tend to be subtler but are often deeper. Over 4,000 years of its inhabited history, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Arabs, French and British have come and left their various imprints on Minorcan life, enriching its language and architecture. More than a beach vacation, Minorca is a 270-sq.-mi. museum, filled with ancient treasures. As many as 1,000 archaeological sites dot the countryside. Most of the monuments--including Bronze Age structures and early Christian basilicas...
Minorca has largely avoided the excesses of other Mediterranean resorts. In 1993 UNESCO declared it a Biosphere Reserve, thereby protecting some 50% of its remaining land from further development. It is hoped that the emphasis on quality, conservation and restoration will enable locals and visitors alike to enjoy the island's diverse heritage. The plan is to ensure that Minorca is not ravaged by modern-day invaders. But they, like many before them, remain in danger of being captivated by Minorca...
...vacation on the French Riviera usually evokes visions of the Casino in Monte Carlo, topless celebrities in St.-Tropez or glamorous hotels like the Negresco in Nice. But I like to get away from all that and head for a tranquil monastery on an island in the Mediterranean Sea a mile off the coast of Cannes. The monks at the Abbaye de Lerins on Ile St.-Honorat have, I admit, always been my kind of guys. Early to bed and early to rise, they lead simple, structured and disciplined lives. Silent and humble, they meditate and chant and are ecology...