Beautiful City Names

When we named our first two children, Victoria and Austin, we realized that their names were names of cities. This was totally not an intentional thing - we just liked the names.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada:

Victoria, British Columbia is always in season! Victoria has the mildest climate in Canada, and is a place so green all year that flowers fall out of the sky and even the lamp posts bloom. It is no wonder that it is called The Garden City! The wild beauty of the Pacific coast and the adventure of the great outdoors are within the city limits and ocean and mountain vistas will follow you wherever you go. (taken from the Tourism Victoria website)

Austin, Texas, USA:
Austin is the seat of Texas' state government. The Texas Capitol is the largest state capitol(taken from the City of Austin Website).

Austin is just simply not like the rest of Texas. From the quirky cast of characters that populate Congress Avenue to burnt orange-clad University of Texas students, bats to Longhorns, four-star restaurants to down-home barbecue joints, corporate CEOs to struggling musicians, Texas' capital city stands apart from the rest.

It's hip and trendy, yet in a vintage sort of way. It's high-tech and laid-back. It's politically charged and culturally rich. It's eclectic by nature and creative by design. Most of all, it's a place where people like to have a good time (taken from the Austin, Texas website).


Well, guess what? Samara is also a city - in Russia:


Samara is located on the left bank of the Volga river. Most of the city area occupies the country between the Volga river and its left tributaries — Samara and Sok. The city length down the river front is 50 km from the north to the south, its northern boundary is formed by Sokolyi Hills ranging on the bank of the Sok river.

The city stretches out from the Volga to the east for 20 km and adjoins limitless prairies (known here as steppes). The land within the city boundaries covers 46 597 ha. From the heights of Samara one can see one of the most picturesque places of the Volga bend. Most of the Zhiguli Hills area is situated on the territory of the national park Samarskaya Luka.

Samara is situated in the zone where climate is of continental type characterized by hot summer and cold winter. The average temperature of the warmest month (July) is +23.2°C. In summer the temperature can be as high as +39°C, and in winter it sometimes drops to -43°C. (taken from the official website of Samara)


And Samara is also a beautiful beach!

Samara Beach, Costa Rica:

Costa Rica's hidden tropical paradise on the Pacific coast.

Samara has a superb coral reef and its own picturesque wooded island in the bay - Isla Chora. It's popular with swimmers and windsurfers, and it's an ideal beach for your kids. Samara is not only a charming beach resort, with a wide choice of friendly and attractive hotels, restaurants, bars and discos, but, unlike other Pacific Ocean resorts, it is also a thriving fishing and farming community (taken from the Samara Beach website).

How cool is that?