It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

neighbourhoods give true essense of travel[trip style = sightseeing]

One of my favourite things to do when I travel is walk through a city or town's neighborhoods. I love seeing how people live. Whether my walks have taken me into the densely populated city of Tianjin, China; the picturesque and swanky Mira Flores in Lima, Peru; the tower-filled residential Honolulu, Hawaii; or foot-access-only towns in the mountaintops of the Dominican Republic, these localized encounters have enriched my experience with and understanding of a place.

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I've categorized this post under local and sightseeing because walking in local, non-tourist neighborhoods always gives a real sense of a destination's beat, and in my humble opinion, sightseeing is at its best when you see the real sights of the area you're visiting.

If I have any goal with this post, it's to inspire travelers to engage in a few neighbourhood walks on their next trip. It's healthy, educational and worldview broadening all at the same time!

Have you ever neighborhood walked while traveling? Do you have the same experience?

Neighborhood Pics I haven't been very good at documenting my neighborhood walks in my fave destinations, but here are a few recent shots:

laguna neighborhood {Attempting to power walk in Laguna Beach, CA along a cliffy beach road}

walking in Laguna beach, Ca {On the same walk as above, loving the Hawaiian-style home on this corner lot overlooking the Pacific Ocean }

venice {Walking through the  fabulous maze that is Venice--I don't even know where I am in this pic}

Cinque terra, Italy {Walking through Riomaggiore in the Italian Riviera}

habitat 67 montreal {Not walking, but biking around the Habitat 67 neighborhood in Montreal}

ottawa neighborhood {Gelato store we walked to one night when visiting friends just outside downtown Ottawa}

seattle neighborhood {7.45am, Madrona Neighbourhood, Seattle}

seattle sidewalk {Same area as above, taken in Spring on an early Saturday morning walk with my husband and dog @nachoking}