Places bertshetler Wants to Go

This stunning sea creature-shaped home blends into the landscape like a fantasy villa.

For over 20 years, Lil Toot has delighted guests with narrated boat rides between Stearns Wharf and Santa Barbara Harbor, becoming a beloved local legend and top-rated experience for visitors.

At 130 years old and 126 feet tall, it is the largest known example of the rare Torrey pine tree.

Inky sludge oozes to the surface of this beach thanks to a rare natural tar seep.

Happy harbor seals frolic and snooze on this warm, sandy stretch of coast.

A massive Celtic cross secretly growing in an Irish forest.

You can see three Irish counties from this Neolithic hillside fort, once the seat of the Kingdom of Ailech.

This World War II relic let Allied pilots know they were entering neutral airspace.

A spectacular hidden beach in Ireland has the dark, disturbing nickname of "Murder Hole Beach."

A tree that defies gravity grows in an ancient ruin.

The Bourbon royal family had this unique octagonal hunting "cottage" built on a tiny islet in Lake Fusaro.

A mushroom-shaped outcropping that has come to be the symbol for an entire town.

Italy's "New Mountain" rose from the ground in a volcanic eruption in 1538.

Italy's third-largest Roman arena gives a peek into the underground operations beneath the ancient spectacles.

The Emperor Tiberius' palace of debauchery.

The glowing blue Nymphaeum of Emperor Tiberius.

The Neapolitan Cult of the Dead still cares for the skulls at this mini-Fontanelle.

These "anatomical machines" are only one of the many strange items in this Italian crypt.

The remains of the left arm of the levitating philosopher-saint are kept in a 13th-century Neapolitan basilica.

Pompeii's less famous neighbor is still revealing her secrets.

An Italian crevasse filled with abandoned buildings gives visitors a look at the world without humans.

Erotic art covers the walls of the largest ancient pleasure palace.

Ancient snack bar of the Roman Empire re-opened.

This medieval Italian town is a sheer (and beautiful) cliffside defense.