PLACES OF A LIFETIME

1. Test Your City I.Q.—Take the WorldWise Quiz: Chicago

“One of the great things about Chicago is that it has its ethnic neighborhoods,” says Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Chicago-based news quiz show Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! “Anywhere our kids want to go in the world, we have a neighborhood in Chicago.” This Midwest metropolis is home to 77 distinct neighborhoods, but how much do you really know about the Windy City? Do you know how tall the city’s Home Insurance Building, credited as the nation’s first skyscraper, was when it was completed in 1885? The name “Chicago” comes from an Algonquin term for what food? What famous author said “Chicago is an October sort of city even in spring”? Take Traveler’s WorldWise Quiz: Chicago to find these answers, and learn more from Chicago experts about where to eat, sleep, and see the sites in our online Places of a Lifetime guide to Chicago.

INTELLIGENT TRAVEL

2. Photo Tips: How to Shoot a Portrait

Traveler photographer Catherine Karnow is a master of capturing a unique sense of place. "Getting close to people is the best way to get close to a culture. The camera is a great tool for meeting people. I've found that in every country there are folks who love to be photographed. But there are secrets," says Karnow, who has been shooting for more than 20 years. One secret for a perfect portrait: “Learn a dozen words of the local language,” she says. “'Please' and 'thank you' are good places to start. And be sure to smile.” For more portrait tips from Karnow, check out the latest from Intelligent Travel, and subscribe to IT here. Also, perfect your photography skills and learn from other Traveler photographers at the June 1 Traveler photography seminar in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

THE REAL DEAL

3. Gate 1: One-Week Ecuador Land Tour from $759 per Person

Book your South American adventure by June 30 and save $200 on the seven-day Ecuador Explorer tour to Quito and through the Andes to Guayaquil. Price for land only (from $759 if booked before June 30; from $959 thereafter) includes: six nights accommodations (two nights Quito and Cuenca; one night each Riobamba and Guayaquil), eight meals, sightseeing, and services of a tour manager. Air-inclusive packages start from $1,249 if booked by June 30 ($1,449 thereafter) and provide airfare (from Miami) and airport transfers. Optional tours begin at $35 for a half-day to Gualaceo and Chordeleg, where travelers can see nearly 4,000 species of orchids, and shop for handwoven goods. Airport taxes and security fees of $57.52 and Ecuador departure tax of $27.15 are additional. Prices are for departures through December 28. For booking, visit www.gate1travel.com or call 800 682 3333.

GEOTOURISM CHALLENGE

4. Vote for Your Favorite Ecotourism Innovator

Here at Traveler, we're always looking to promote innovations in sustainable travel. And now, National Geographic and Ashoka Changemakers' Geotourism Challenge offers you a way to join the global dialogue on protecting the places we visit. Participate in the Geotourism Challenge, and vote for who you think is the top innovator in ecotourism worldwide. Go to National Geographic's Center for Sustainable Destination and hit "Vote Now" to express your view on who is best enhancing the environment and culture of a place being visited. Voting begins today and ends June 11 at 6 p.m. EST.

PHOTO GALLERY

5. Guatemala Photo Gallery

Two girls sell goods alongside a small hotel in San Pedro La Laguna, a village on the shores of Lake Atitlán. San Pedro, often reached by boat rather than road, offers a quieter place to admire the view of the lake than the more bustling tourist stops on the lake, particularly Panajachel. Photographer Peter McBride and writer Carl Hoffman join an expat living in Antigua and embark on a back-roads adventure to find the hidden Guatemala, taking them places off the tourist trail. Check out more of McBride’s photos in our May/June photo gallery, and get more worldwide tour tips in our Tours of a Lifetime roundup.

1. Read between the lines at a French house party

2. Earn your elephant driver's license

3. Thrill to the wildebeest migration on the Serengeti

4. Master the art of blending Scotch

5. Study tectonic plates

6. See the unreported side of modern Africa

7. Learn to gamble like Bond, James Bond

8. Study at the world’s oldest English-speaking university

9. Study marine biology on the Great Barrier Reef

10. Walk in the footsteps of Alexander the Great

For a limited time, get free shipping when you buy The 100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life.

“…echoing the Beatles’ song “Yellow Submarine”….they [brothers Daniel and Phillip Berrigan] built a 12-foot-long sub out of canvas and painted it yellow, decking it out with a peace symbol on its miniature conning tower [and] they marched through Manhattan to the Hudson River...”

—Ken Kolsbun with Michael Sweeney, from the book Peace

Visit our store to buy the book.