San Francisco, California
Silicon Valley, one of the leading areas of technological advancement in the world — what better place for the most ambitious sign to thrive and flourish than San Francisco? This city is full of innovation, with a deep, rich culture and heritage, so you’ll find plenty of ways to occupy your time. Of course, you’ll have to walk across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, ride the famous cable cars, and traverse the streets of one of the biggest and most diverse Chinatowns in the US — not to mention tour the original trilevel Ghirardelli chocolate and ice cream shop!
But you should also visit the iconic Ferry Building Marketplace, one of San Francisco’s most famous landmarks. The Ferry Building is home to some of the best locally-owned food merchants in the city! You can take a Ferry Building food tour or simply peruse the shops on your own to find the best local delicacies. If you stop by on a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday morning, the marketplace is enriched with one of the best farmer’s markets in the country! (Tip: Saturday is the best day to go to learn about fresh food and agriculture!) You can stop by to find the freshest of local produce, delectable and diverse artisan street food, fresh flowers, and much more!
While in San Francisco, you simply must embrace your inner foodie and coffee connoisseur. For the latter, there is The Coffee Movement, with its clean, modern lines and 5-star rating — the No. 1 top rated coffee shop in San Francisco. There’s Equator Coffees near the Golden Gate Bridge with its single-origin coffees, or Goody Café with its $2 coffee and panini specials. There are also the technologically precise pour overs found at Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, which comes in at the No 4 top rated coffee shop. And you won’t want to miss Mazarine Coffee on Market Street! Inspired by the lovely, old-school culture of Paris’ oldest library, it serves an extensive list of pour-over coffees, teas, drip-coffee, and nitro cold-brew. Here, try pairing one of their signature fancy toasts (like fig jam & ricotta or beet hummus & avocado) or their house-made Liege waffles (small, uneven Belgian waffles made with pearl sugar, which caramelizes the waffle as it cooks!). Whatever your flavor, there is a coffeehouse for you in this beautiful, historic city.
San Francisco is home to a lot of incredible food, and one of the best ways to experience it is to take a food tour. There are a wide variety of options, ranging from Chinatown, Little Italy, to chocolate tours, but we recommend you check out the tours with Edible Excursions, an award-winning, 100% locally-owned, woman-run business that prides itself on showcasing the best local eateries the city has to offer! They can get a little pricey, but they have lots of in-depth knowledge and know-how to share. You can take one of their pre-organized tours, or book a private, customized tour suited to any family adventure or social event. It will be a fun way to quickly master all things coffee!
Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Ever say to yourself, “I can’t wait to explore a breathtakingly gorgeous desert landscape while learning about a technologically advanced ancient civilization”? Yes? Well, a trip to the Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado sounds like the dream for you, my efficient Capricorn!
The Mesa Verde National Park was once inhabited by the Ancestral Puebloan peoples — the Anasazi. Around 1400 years ago, they moved to and flourished in the difficult climate of Mesa Verde, eventually building elaborate communities and shelters of stone in the alcoves of the canyon walls (fun fact: Pueblo is Spanish for “village dwellers”). They thrived here for over 700 years, then left their homes and life in the canyons to move on. Mesa Verde National Park preserves the historic remnants of the Ancestral Puebloans who were once a vibrant part of this park. It’s also a World Heritage Site meant to protect the cultural heritage of 26 Pueblos and Tribes who are related to the Mesa Verde people, and it’s home to over 900 species of plants and animals, many of which are only found here.
You can hike, bike, or walk the park’s self-guided tours through all the major overlooks and loops. A favorite of artists and photographers, Park Point is the highest point in the park — it has a 360ᵒ view and a paved trail that is wheelchair accessible. For an easy afternoon hike, the 4.6‑mile Mesa Top Loop Road includes an audio tour you can download as a podcast or directly to your phone! However, you can only get up close and personal with the ancient cave dwellings by booking a guided tour with a ranger — these are protected historic sites. Tickets are available here and can only be purchased two weeks in advance. They sell out pretty quickly, so you’re going to want to be on your a-game as your trip approaches. The tours offered change each season, but all are relatively inexpensive — ranging from only $8-25, so you don’t have to be as choosy with which one(s) you do. You can even do multiple tours in one day, as long as you allow yourself enough time to travel between each starting point.
If you miss the window of ticket sales with the National Park Service, you can always book a half-day tour on TripAdvisor or Viator with the surrounding tour companies. The tours aren’t as in-depth, but they offer round-trip transportation and shuttle you to all the park’s major highlights with knowledgeable guides to still give you a great experience!
The park was also certified in 2021 as the world’s 100th International Dark Sky Park, which makes it ideal for camping and stargazing. If you like a homier experience, the hotel Far View Lodge is within the park and provides a semi-rustic stay — true to the Mesa Verde Park spirit — with no in-room TVs and no cell service. The park takes pride in being in the center of some of the darkest skies in the country and actively works to protect it from light pollution. They want to preserve the naturally dark sky, so that all visitors will have the opportunity to see the same sky the ancient Pueblos saw a thousand years ago.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
If Dubai was a zodiac sign, it would definitely be a Capricorn. Since the turn of the 21st century, Dubai has been striving to become the biggest, most modern city in the world, and they’ve already made impressive strides to be admired by even the most go-getter of Capricorns. I mean, they don’t call this ambitious capital of the United Arab Emirates, the City of Gold for nothing!
Dubai is home to a lot of the world’s “biggests”! You can visit the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, soaring up to 2,717 feet! To put that in perspective, the One World Trade Center in New York City — aka the tallest skyscraper in the United States — stands almost 1,000 feet lower at 1,776 feet. The highest of the observation decks is located on floors 124 and 125, and it features glass walkways and views of… everything! The observation deck located on floors 52 and 53 offer a glass slide and a new virtual reality experience where you can walk along the glass floor and it appears the glass is cracking with every step you take — surely something to get your blood pumping, if you’re brave enough to try.
Dubai’s largest indoor theme park at 1,500,000 square feet — IMG Worlds of Adventure — is the emirate’s first character-themed amusement destination, featuring characters from Marvel, Cartoon Network, and more! A theme park probably isn’t the first thing you’d think of when you picture Dubai, but the park offers plenty of fun for the whole family! From the Haunted Hotel, the Lost Valley Dinosaur Adventure zone, and even the luxurious Nova Cinemas with 12 futuristic, ultra-modern screens and 3 VIP screens with Nova’s famous 7-star service (includes a personal butler, fine-dining menu, and cushy, fully-reclining, automated seats!), this park provides you the perfect opportunity to max out your carefully scheduled free time with fun and luxury!
You can test your scuba diving skills in the world’s deepest pool at Deep Dive Dubai or traverse the futuristic wonders of virtual reality in the world’s largest VR Park at Dubai Mall. Or, if you’re looking for something a little more traditional, be sure to take a hot air balloon tour to experience a desert sunrise or take a camel tour through the desert with companies like Platinum Heritage, who pride themselves on the ethical treatment of their camels.
All that exploring can surely make you work up an appetite, and taking a food tour to expose yourself to the rich Middle Eastern culture in the city is a must. Frying Pan Adventures specializes in serving you the local favorites. If you don’t want to take a guided tour from an experienced local, they also offer scavenger hunts where you “crack a deadly and delicious crime case” by walking from culinary clue stop to culinary clue stop as you solve the crime! This takes around 5 hours, so wear comfy shoes — and enjoy discovering all Dubai has to offer!
