A jaguar thinks it over. START THE JOURNEY HERE This site is designed to let your imagination fly. It will introduce you to some unusual travel experiences. It doesn't suggest the best hotels or restaurants, but it will lay out the territory where you might be able to find one interesting adventure and link up with some of the finest travel companies on the planet and others like yourself. So dream a lot, plan a little. Then go. Enjoy!

L'Abbondonza: The sun slants across a Tuscan farm. Photo: Smithsonian Journeys.   CITY EXPLORERS:  SIENA   Relax for 2 weeks in the early fall in Tuscany, staying at a bed and breakfast in Siena.  Of all Tuscan cities Siena is different -- its Gothic past soars above city streets in slim towers, and the passion of horse racing dates from way back when. But the timeless warmth of love-of-life penetrates everything from its wine to the horse races.   Traveling with guides from the Smithsonian Institution, you will learn a lot about Siena's cultural past. From each meal to every event, you will have a language lesson, and with your Italian at full bore, you will have a chance to meet some modern-day Sienese and join them in their activities -- a movie, shopping, a picnic.   On one occasion, cookbook author Pamela Sheldon Johns will give a Sienese cooking lesson. Free time, you can bike in the country, learn more about the deep importance of horses and races, attend Chianti tastings, or take your paints or your camera and do your own thing.    Two weeks, September 30 to October 13; about $5,300 or $5,600 for whichever bed and breakfast you choose. Includes two meals a day. http://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/tours/siena

The Tigers' Nest, Tsaksang Monastery, Bhutan. Photo@nomadicexpeditions.org. BHUTAN, LAND OF THE THUNDER DRAGON Award-winning Nomadic Expeditions invites you to join them at the foot of the Himalayas for a journey to the last remaining Tibetan Buddhist kingdom, Bhutan.   Built among dramatic peaks and spires of the snow-covered mountains, Bhutan extends into mysterious deep forests and lush valleys. The centerpiece of this trip is the colorful and ancient ritual of the founder of Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Rinpoche, the Jambay Lhakhang Festival, celebrated with dancing, music, brilliantly colored costumes, and masks.   Twelve days with expert guides will allow for hikes and visits to the National Institute of Traditional Medicine, as well as citadels, like the one pictured, and temples, including the sacred temple in the holy Valley of Bumthang, as well as the experience of being in one of the happiest and most unusual countries in the world.   October 23 to November 3, 2013, about $6,000 double occupancy; an additional $800 if you travel alone. Please call 800 998 6634 or see http://www.nomadicexpeditions.com/group-travel/expeditions/item/7-bhutan-land-of-the-thunder-dragon

Under sail, the new Sea Cloud II is as inspiring aboard as from afar. (Photo: amnhexpeditions.org)   EUROPE BY SEA   This unusual trip slips in and out of history at port calls, always touching base with tall-ship luxury and the benefits of four onboard history experts.    It begins in Dublin with dinner at Trinity College. Next day, the three-masted sailing yacht Sea Cloud II sets sail south to the Scilly Islands, then rounds Cornwall to the historic naval port of Dartmouth, UK, of interest not only for Agatha Christie's home, but the locus of American D-Day preparations during World War II.   Sea Cloud II then crosses the Channel to Normandy, with land visits to battle commemorations separated by 900 years, the Bayeux Tapestry and Omaha Beach.   A day at sea down the Channel enroute to France's Atlantic coast gives passengers choices of lectures from the experts onboard, including anthropologist Kenneth Mowbray from the American Museum of Natural History who will join the past to the present when the ship anchors at La Rochelle, once home to the beleaguered Knights Templar; and Paulliac, which serves as a stepping-off point for trips to modern markets in medieval towns or ancient cave art in the Dordogne region.   The final day at sea takes you to Bilbao and its Basque energy among architectural splendors including Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum. From here you fly home, or not, if the Sea Cloud II has worked its magic.   Thirteen days, July 28 to August 10; rates vary according to berth, from about $9,500 (129 sq.ft and 2 portholes) to abut $18,000 (290 sq.ft. and a panorama window). Please see: www.amnhexpeditions.org/expeditions/2013-07-28/europe-by-sea/overview.

Check out ANIMAL ADVENTURES