The Beautiful Intersection of Home Organization and Travel
Is anyone else watching The Home Edit on Netflix? If you’re not, it’s time to start a new binge-watching obsession! On the show, expert home organizers Clea and Joanna help clients contain their clutter to create stunning spaces. The ladies are known for sorting everything, from bookshelves to pantries, into color-coordinated (and supremely Instagrammable) compartments.
If we can organize the apps on our phone by color (which is a great way to kill time in the car-rider pick up line, by the way), why not organize our travel bucket list by color? Rather than going for the full rainbow, I thought I’d ease into this rather wacky idea by selecting some of my favorite destinations for lovers of the color blue.
Without further ado, here are five gorgeous destinations where vivid blues dominate the scenery. Hopefully it will leave you feeling anything but blue!
5. Chefchaouen, Morocco
Chefchaouen, an ancient settlement high in Morocco’s Rif Mountains, is called the Blue City for reasons that become clear the instant you arrive. Every part of the walled city from the walls and doors, to the steps and flowerpots is painted a beautiful spectrum of every shade of blue.
The blue began to attract tourists when the town became part of a popular backpacking circuit in the 1960s. In recent years, visitors have flocked to the Blue City after seeing other travelers’ photos on Instagram, and that tourism spurs the residents to slosh more and more blue paint around the city.
4. The Exumas, Bahamas
While the blue waters of the Bahamas are legendary, none are more vividly hued than those surrounding the Exumas, a popular archipelago of 365 islands. The clear, aquamarine seas are breathtaking, whether seen from the window of a plane or at sea level. Although the water is certainly reason enough to visit the Exumas, most travelers are more likely to be drawn to the famous swimming pigs (ironically featured in another Netflix show about the Fyre Fest fiasco).
3. Lake Louise, Alberta
The 1.2-mile-long Lake Louise in Canada’s Banff National Park is boxed in on three sides by spectacular mountains and by the stunning Château Lake Louise hotel on its fourth. The lake’s famous turquoise waters result from melted ice from the surrounding glaciers. The surface of the lake is often a glassy calm, which makes it the perfect serene blue mirror to reflect the rocky peaks, forested hillsides, and blue skies around it.
2. Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland
Ilulissat Icefjord is called the Iceberg Capital of the world because of its waters filled with thousands of year-round icebergs. Many of these icebergs have been carved by the summer sun and rough Arctic weather so that you may see blue tunnels and sharply curved fins along their edges. Others are massive, squared-off towers, sometimes rising 300 feet above the sea’s surface. And, that’s the proverbial “tip of the iceberg,” — just 10 to 15% of the entire mass that remains unseen beneath the waves.
Feel free to skip ahead to our number one blue destination….or if you have a moment to indulge the former science teacher that still lives in me, read on at your own risk! 😊 It may surprise you to hear that bright blue icebergs are even more pure than their plain white iceberg brothers. This purity is hard-won, created by water frozen thousands of years ago and then subjected to tremendous pressure by the subsequent layers of water frozen atop it. The pressure pushes out all the air bubbles from the ice, increasing the clarity of the frozen water. Without these air bubbles, the blue icebergs are able to absorb waves of light and only the harder-to-absorb blue light will bounce back, so our eyes see the icebergs as a brilliant blue. Fascinating, right?!?
1. Oia, Santorini, Greece
You may have guessed this would be number one as Oia, Santorini is at the very top of my personal travel bucket-list! My family was supposed to visit the famous town built into the side of a cliff above the Aegean Sea until Covid happened, and our dream vacation was cancelled. Sigh.
Nearly all the buildings in Oia are whitewashed until they nearly blind in the Mediterranean sun, creating a striking contrast to the nearly unbelievable sapphire of the surrounding sea and the deeply blue Greek sky. The contrast is also notable in three domes that belong to the side-by-side churches of Agios Spiridonas and Anasteseos. Painted a brilliant blue, they sit on top of white stucco buildings at the edge of town, on a rocky cliff overlooking the sea.
So what do you think? Could you organize your travel wish list by color? Would you like to see another color featured on our blog? Let us know on our Facebook page or in the comments section below!
And of course, if you’re ready to chat about your perfect family getaway, book your complimentary Custom Vacation Planning Session now by using my online scheduler to find a time that’s convenient for you!
