The 5 Most Obscure Places I’ve Visited
-Originally published January 14, 2020-
While travelling in LA last month, my Dad introduced me to Atlas Obscura, a website that tracks the most obscure places in the world. I went through the website to track all of the places I’ve been to and add in the ones that I want to visit. I thought it would be fun to write about the 5 weirdest and obscure places that I’ve travelled. There will be a part 2 where I talk about the 5 most obscure places on my bucket list.
The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles, California, USA
According to Atlas Obscura, The Last Best Bookstore is an iconic bookstore housed in an old bank. It features amazing art made from books, beautiful books for purchase, and obscure rooms to find. My dad and I popped by here during our trip and I think we both agree that it is a must-see for those staying in DTLA. The bottom floor is a normal bookstore adorned with large columns and bank features. The top floor houses artists’ shops and is filled with book-related art, sculptures, and my personal favourite, the horror and dystopian rooms. It’s a beautiful escape from the business of downtown and an amazing exhibit of modern art.
Spreckels Organ Pavillion, San Diego, California, USA
Photo Credit: Balboa Park Website
The Spreckels Organ itself is beautiful and unique, but it is more the area around it that I love. The organ is the world’s largest outdoor organ and it is played weekly. The only people who are allowed to play it are civic musicians from across the United States. While I didn’t have the privilege of actually hearing the organ, the stage itself is absolutely gorgeous. It is housed in Balboa Park, a beautiful park in San Diego that houses multiple museums and the San Diego Zoo. You can take in a free concert every Sunday at 2 pm. While you’re there, be sure to explore the surrounding park, it’s so beautiful and there’s so much to do.
Old Country Market, Coombs, British Columbia, Canada
Photo Credit: goatsontheroof on IG
The Old Country Market in Coombs is a regular destination when I’m on Vancouver Island. I rarely visit Nanaimo without making a stop in Coombs. Not only is it a super cool area to visit, but there are GOATS on the roof. That’s right, the roof has grass on it and the goats live up there to eat the grass. They also have their own little field to live in as well. You may have seen the goat pooping off the roof icon that the market uses as their branding. The shopping area has changed a lot since I started going there and they have moved to some more local and trendy stores. However, the market itself is still the same. It offers amazing foods from all over the world, beautiful art, sculptures, and toys as well as amazing locally made bread and goodies. There’s a reason I go here every year!
The Monkey’s Paw, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Credit: mopaw_toronto on IG
In Toronto, I was trying to come up with some fun things to do nearby where I was staying and I came across this bookstore. The Monkey’s Paw is an antique bookstore that has the world’s first “biblio-mat”. A Biblio-mat is a book vending machine. That hooked me and we took a visit to the Monkey’s Paw. The book selection is quite obscure but it’s definitely a cool place to see. The book vending machine is unreal, I still think about it a lot. I’ll likely never read the book that I got, but it was so interesting to have a book just shot out of a machine for me. If you do have an antique book lover in your life, it’s a great place. I was able to purchase a super old copy of a book that I knew one of my English teachers would enjoy. Definitely stop by if you walk by it and grab a random book from the book vending machine!
The Diefenbunker, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Photo credit: diefenbunker on IG
I saved the best for last. The Deifenbunker is one of the most amazing places that I’ve ever visited while travelling. If you know me, you know that I’m a huge history nerd, so I loved visiting the underground nuclear war bunker that was built for John Diefenbaker. During the Cold War, this bunker was built to house the Prime Minister in case the cold war escalated to a nuclear conflict. Going into it is super surreal and cool (literally and figuratively). The bunker is still underground and it has now been turned into a museum. There are tons of artifacts and the bunker is still set up as it would have been during the war. You can even buy the guide that was once given to Canadians to be prepared for the nuclear war… let me tell you, everyone would have died. It is such a cool place to visit if you’re in the Ottawa area!
What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever visited? Stay tuned for Part 2 where I talk about the weirdest places I want to go.
