If you've been to Europe a few times already, chances are that you've hit all the big destinations: London, Paris, Rome,Berlin.On your next trip you can either visit those same cities a second time,or instead you can take a chance and walk the streets of some cities that are a little bit smaller,a little bit less famous,but still full of European grace and charm.Here are four European cities to visit that you probably haven't been to yet.

    Besancon,France

    This hidden French city has had a long reputation for being a well-kept secret.It can be at once sleepy with few tourists but abundant galleries,restaurants,and a wonderful Beaux Arts museum whose collection is second only to the Louvre.The city is wound by the River Doubs and also touts (吹捧) its own UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Citadel,home to several small museums and a zoo.

    Seville,Spain

    For the tourist who is already tired of Barcelona and Madrid,Seville offers a different take (意见) on Spain. Located on the Southern coast,it keeps beautiful signs of the long period of Moorish rule,nowhere more than in the Alcázar palace building,just one of the city's UNESCO World Heritage Sites.Seville has over a dozen museums, tropical parkland,and probably the best tapas (餐前小吃) culture in all of Spain.

    Ghent,Belgium

    Ghent is a city that looks like it should be the setting for a fairy tale. All of the typical Belgium features abound here-waffles and beer.Every year from Saturday before July 21,Ghent hosts a ten-day festival.This music and theater festival draws almost 2 million visitors,as the city streets transform into performance spaces for performers,buskers (街头艺人) and musicians.

    Palermo,Italy

    Palermo is the capital city of Sicily,the southern island off the coast of mainland Italy.The city has an ancient history,and the various cultures that have controlled the island through the years have all left their marks on it. You can see winding street markets,antique (古玩) fairs,and open air nightclubs here.

    The popular smartphone application Instagram (照片分享) has changed the way we look at photography, even our world. The photo-worthy moments we share serve as an important function in cultivating the photographic artistic eye.

    Instagram has got people to start noticing the art in their everyday life. It has also allowed us to share the artful moments in our lives with others. Clearly, making people focus on beautiful moments in their lives and how to share them is a positive takeaway from Instagram.

    Not only has Instagram changed the way we look at things around us, but it has also changed the way people view professional photography. Instagram has turned everyone with a smartphone into an artist. Opening up art to the general community is a groundbreaking (创新的) aspect of this application. Making artistic attempts accessible for everyone to discover their artistic talents and explore creatively is something that has made people find the beauty in the everyday. However, this accessibility has also created questioning around art and respect deserved by professional photography.

    The art in a professional photograph versus an Instagram can sometimes be hard to notice at a quick glance. But photographs taken by true professional photographers hold something that Instagram's can't match in terms of photographic quality, or advanced compositional knowledge.

    This is not to say Instagram is a lesser art. Aesthetic qualities of art are a personal matter and how good an artwork is depends on personal preferences. Good is a very arbitrary term in the art world. For example, I may find one photo more pleasing than another, but not everyone has to agree with me.

    The point I am trying to make is that professional photography should not be lost, but instead approached with a new, enhanced level of respect and admiration—despite how accessible, common and fun Instagram now makes the taking and sharing of photos.

    A few years ago, my wife, Sue had some serious health problems. She had suffered surgery after surgery and had also put on weight. Diets had not helped her and she suffered constantly from undiagnosed pain. One day the whole family sat down and drew up a “wish list”. To our surprise, one of Sue's items was to run in a marathon. Given her history and physical limitations, I thought her goal was completely unrealistic, but Sue became committed to it.

    She began by running very slowly and every day she ran just a little farther than she did the day before. Soon she could run three miles. Then five. Sue kept practicing and longed to run in the St. George Marathon in southern Utah.

    On the big day, I parked our van near the finish line, waiting for Sue. The rain was steady and the wind was cold. The marathon had started over five hours ago. The fast and strong competitors had finished already. Several cold and injured runners had been transported past me, and I began to panic. The image of Sue, alone and cold, off the road somewhere, made me sick with worry.

    Another hour passed and I spotted a small group running up. As they approached, I could see Sue, in the company of three others, and a woman in her twenties was near Sue. It was obvious that they had become friends during the race. I could see her begin to struggle. But when the finish line came into sight, she confidently even happily picked up her pace the last hundred yards to the finish line. Few people were left to congratulate my wife. They openly praised and embraced her, “She made us believe we could do it,” her new friend stated.

    From then on, she was carrying herself differently. Her head was more upright. Her shoulders were squared. Her walk had a new confidence. Her voice held a new, quiet dignity. It was not as if she had become someone new; it was more as if she had discovered a real self she had not known before. It was perseverance that made her realize she was an undiscovered masterpiece with a million things left to learn about herself. She truly liked her newly discovered self. So did I.

    Asia can boast(吹嘘) that it has some of the best beaches in the world. Sihanoukville, Cambodia is a seaside town located 200km or a four­hour bus ride away from the country's capital, Phnom Penh. With several beaches and small offshore islands, it is definitely not a place to miss out if you are intending to visit Angkor Wat, as the beaches there are stunning and still unspoiled by mass tourism.

    Serendipity Beach

    Serendipity Beach is the most popular beach for the masses, since it is the most accessible beach, being the nearest one from the main town area. There are plenty of bars scattered around the beach, so be prepared for the crazy parties every night.

    Ochheuteal Beach

    Ochheuteal Beach is located south of Serendipity Beach, and it's a bit of an improvement from Serendipity Beach itself in terms of the people that go there. Over here, there are bars and pubs, but at night, don't expect wild parties like at the Serendipity Beach area.

    Otres Beach

    All the way down south, near Moat Peam, lies a hidden gem called Otres Beach. This is where you can get your yoga suit on and practice meditation(冥想). This is the quietest beach in Sihanoukville and it is the least crowded, with very few parties. If your idea of a beach holiday is just yourself and the sun, sea and sand, this place is for you.

    Koh Rong

    Koh Rong is an island off Sihanoukville that is covered with beautiful sandy beaches. True relaxation lies at Long Beach, which is located on the other side of the island. Clear water surrounds the beach, and once you get there, you'll be greeted with fine white sand.

    Koh Rong doesn't have any roads, so there are no cars or motorbike rentals — everything is mostly on foot.

    A telescope, called Gaia, is being designed by astronomers in Europe, and it couldn't be more different from Pan-STARRS, which is another telescope being designed. While Pan-STARRS will be looking for asteroids (小行星) and comets headed for Earth, Gaia will be looking at our entire galaxy (银河系).

    Gaia is designed to draw a map of the Milky Way, our home galaxy. Just as a map of your town gives you a picture of where things are located, Gaia's map of the galaxy will tell astronomers where the stars are. Over five years, Gaia will observe (观察) about a billion stars and other objects in our galaxy. Each object will be observed about 70 times.

    Gaia will be sent into space connected to a rocket. It contains two telescopes, each focused at a different angle (角度). These two telescopes act like Gaia's “eyes”. The reason why humans can see things in 3D is that we have two eyes focused on the same object, at slightly different angles. By using two telescopes like eyes, Gaia can produce the first 3D map of the positions of the stars it views.

    Gaia, which is to be sent into space, will be a powerful telescope. If you were to use it on Earth, for example, you could stand 600 miles away from your best friends and still get a clear picture of their hair.

    Gaia is one of more than a dozen telescopes being designed by scientists right now. The next generation of telescopes will reveal new parts of our universe that will seem surprising. The universe, with all its planets, stars and other strange objects, is a puzzle with pieces that we can see by using powerful telescopes.

    Just what is a tiger mother？Amy Chua is a law professor at America's Yale University and her recent book on the subject is making waves. She's been called "dangerous", "outrageous", even a "monster" for her descriptions of how she brought up her two daughters.

    Her book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother describes fighting with a daughter for hours at the piano to ensure the child gets a piece of music right. She rejected birthday cards made for her by her girls because she didn't think they had made enough effort. She compared one child negatively with the other, threatening to burn their toys. Her rules include：schoolwork always comes first; an A ­ minus is a bad grade; children must be two years ahead of their classmates in math, and playing the violin or the piano is a must.

    Ms. Chua considers the Chinese hard work ethic(道德) as a way of creating happy, successful children—at least in her case. Although she's had a large amount of flak for her theories, one thing can't be ignored—the success of Chinese children in the education system.

    In Britain, shocking research shows that Chinese girls, for example, are outperforming all other foreign groups at GCSE—79 percent getting 5 A ­ C Grades, compared with 58 percent of white British girls. So what is it about Chinese parenting that's leading to high achievers？And how do Amy Chua's theories play into that success?

    She told me that if her daughter came back from school with 96/100 in a test, Chua would ask her what happened to the other 4 points. It's about always knowing "you can do better", she told me.

    Interestingly, in China, the birthplace of the tiger mother, people are moving away from traditional Chinese parenting. They are following more western parenting styles.