Newport is outstanding for both nature lovers and birders! A variety of songbirds are found at Yaquina Bay State Park, while many ducks and brants may be heard and seen at Salley's Bend. Low tides rein in numerous shorebirds and Bald Eagles at the mudflats. Lastly, the Estuary Trail provides an observation shelter provided approximately midway. For more Information: Birding Trail Oregon Coast (Tour agency) 2127 SE Marine Science Dr, Newport 888.628.2101 http://www.oregoncoastbirding.com

A 20-minute drive south of Pristina lies the natural limestone cave known as the Marble Cave, once accidentally chanced upon by a local resident. Despite the research project now being financed by the EU, the cave remains largely unexplored. The entry fee is very moderate and includes a guided tour.

The beguinages of Flanders and the Netherlands are always oases of calm and stillness, where you might still expect to see an old beguine mumbling her prayers in a doorway. Two of Ghent’s three beguinages have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Although the Old St Elizabeth Beguinage, in Begijnhofdries in Ghent, is no longer enclosed by a wall, making it simply part of the city, it still has a unique atmosphere. Today the Old St Elizabeth Beguinage is known as ‘holy corner’, a place of religious tolerance, because it has no less than three different churches: one is Roman Catholic, one is Orthodox and the other is Protestant. From bleachfield to orchard This open beguinage grew into something of a ‘beguine city’ in the 13th century, with a church, the ‘Grootjuffer’s House’, an infirmary, a chapel, more than a hundred houses for beguines, a bleachfield (a field where linen was laid out to bleach) and an orchard. After the French Revolution, with increasing industrialisation, the inhabitants moved to their new beguinage in Sint-Amandsberg in 1873.

The Pier Head is a group of buildings on the banks of the River Mersey. Here you will find many different landmarks, and a perfect place to start a stroll and get to know the city.