So, you are going on holiday. You’ve finally chosen your destination and now you’re going to make the most of your trip. Speaking of destination, how do you describe it? You might use adjectives like popular, exotic or beautiful. But there could be more to your description than that. So, let’s get a bit more eloquent and dream of a wonderful holiday!

Text 1:

We try to get away in winter and go somewhere warm, but this year we decided to stay in Scotland, and it turned out to be a great success. We didn’t plan anything in advance – we just set out in the car, took our time, and stopped off whenever we found somewhere nice. After 10 days we’d been all over the place, having enjoyed the pine-clad mountains and other areas unburdened by development. The highlights included mesmerizing historic sites and the great outdoors. Getting around was easy with few tourists about, and, it being out of season, we never had a problem finding a hotel. In fact, I got more out of this holiday than sand-between-the-toes days out. I hope to have the same uplifting experience next year. Perhaps, hiking will enliven it even more.

• to get away – to go away for a period of time in order to have a holiday
• to set out – to leave a place and start a journey
• to stop off – to make a short visit somewhere during a longer trip
• pine-clad – covered with pines
• unburdened by development – there is no process of making the area more useful or profitable taking place
• highlight – the most interesting or exciting part of something
• mesmerizing – fascinating
• the great outdoors (informal) –  the countryside, considered as enjoyable and healthy
• uplifting – making one cheerful and happy
• to enliven /ɪnˈlʌɪv(ə)n/ – to make (events/people/situations) more lively or cheerful

Text 2:

Last year I went away on my own, so this year I thought it would make a change to go with a group. I chose a camping and riding holiday in France with 4 other people. I’m not very good at roughing it, and although I’d ridden once or twice before, I’d never spent a week on horseback. But I thought, “Why not?” As it happened, the camping was very enjoyable. Everyone did their bit with the cooking, and riding’s a great way to see the countryside. You get off the beaten track so easily, and it’s lovely being in the open air. Moreover, you get to experience a lifestyle and landscape overseen by warm hospitable people living mostly in villages. I was happy to acquire myself with the local cuisine and it certainly turned out to be a mouth-watering delight (don’t forget, we had to cook ourselves most of the time – this fact turned sampling the local cuisine into a culinary feast, for those dishes really tantalized our taste buds). All in all, the holiday did me so good, and I’d definitely go again.

• to go away – to leave a place and spend a period of time somewhere else, especially as a holiday
• to rough it – to live with only basic shelter and necessities for a short time
• as it happened/happens – the phrase is used when you comment on something that is unexpected
• to do one’s bit with sth. – to do an equal amount of a task or job as others
• off the beaten track – far away from buildings and other people
• to oversee – to watch over and direct
• mouth-watering delight – food looking and/or smelling extremely nice
• to sample – to taste a small amount of food/drink in order to find out if you like it
• to tantalize – to make you feel hopeful and excited about getting what you want
• taste buds – little points on the surface of your tongue which enable you to recognize the flavor of a food or drink.
• to do sb. good – to have a useful and positive effect on somebody

Would you like some more? Watch the video about beautiful Los Angeles and increase your vocabulary even more:

Useful vocabulary from the video:

• to wander down (a street) – to walk in a casual way
• déjà vu /deɪʒɑː ˈvuː/ – the feeling that you have already experienced the things that are happening to you now
• sheet music (uncountable) – music that is printed on sheets of paper without a hard cover
• to hail a taxi – to wave at a taxi in order to stop it because you want the driver to take you somewhere
• to span the ages – to last throughout the ages
• edgy (street art) (informal) – innovative, daring, unconventional, etc.
• most folks are content to window-shop – most people are happy to look at goods in shop windows without buying them
• bling (US slang) – flamboyant showiness, glitz
• to delight in sth. – to get a lot of pleasure out of something
• frigid waters (formal) – extremely cold waters
• breakwater – a barrier to break the impact of waves, as before a harbor
• gold prospector – a person who searches for the natural occurrence of gold
• to epitomize sth. – to be a perfect example of something
• bizarre – odd, strange
• convertible – see the picture below

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