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ORLANDO, Fla. It seems like everybody knows somebody coming here for vacation. And that鈥檚 no illusion. Orlando is the No. 1 U.S. destination booked by travel agents, according to a fall survey by the giant travel agent group Travel Leaders.

LENNO, Italy Silvia Givera is standing on the picturesque bank of Lake Como. She winds up, underhand, to throw a tennis ball to her dog, Diego. The dog stands transfixed until the ball sails far out into the lake, and then he happily swims after it.

The first sign that it was going to be a weird day was the taxi driver鈥檚 name: Elvis. Elvis had a shock of red hair and a battered Lada.

Paris celebrates Christmas with its typical urban flair: extravagant lighting, yummy window displays and ice skating in the heart of the city. If you go, here are 10 ways to have a Joyeux Noel in the City of Light 鈥� without breaking the bank.

In Alberta鈥檚 high country, where the Trans-sa国际传媒 Highway unfurls between Banff and Lake Louise, the Rockies march shoulder to shoulder flanking the road, peaks bristling, glaciers sparkling.

From a traveller鈥檚 perspective, Nurnberg 鈥� Bavaria鈥檚 second city 鈥� has it all: excellent museums, thought-provoking history, glorious red-sandstone Gothic architecture and a charming Old Town encircled by a nearly intact medieval wall.

If all of Turkish history were on this bus, I鈥檇 be sitting next to sultans, whirling dervishes, Silk Road caravanners, Greek shopkeepers, apostles and olive growers. Instead, I鈥檓 sitting next to a guy from New York and a couple from Toronto.

Big box, luxury vacations got you down? If the thought of whiling away another uninspired vacation under an umbrella is less than motivating, you may need to rethink your travel strategy.

The outfitter calls this the 鈥淓verest of sea kayaking,鈥� but as I paddle through a sea cave on the Na Pali coast of Kauai, I quickly realize the day鈥檚 peak experience will have nothing to do with a high mountain. It鈥檚 all about the sea caves.

It鈥檚 a crazy story but it鈥檚 true. It was 1964, and the Vancouver Aquarium wanted to display a life-size sculpture of an orca.