10 Gibsonton – A Town of Retired Circus Workers
Gibsonton, also known as Showtown, is 12 miles from Tampa and was the winter home to many circus and carnival workers (thousands by the 1960’s), and the place where many decided to retire. The town has a giant statue of a boot to commemorate a previous resident, giant Al Tomaini who had size 27 shoes. People who live here are encouraged to leave their circus trailers and ‘pets’ on their lawns as a sort of badge of honor. While you’re there you can visit the Museum of the American Carnival or stop by the Showtown Bar and Grill and maybe run into some of the more famous town folk.
9 Nameless
With a name that sounds like the center for people with dark and dangerous pasts that they’re looking to escape, this town in Jackson County, Tennessee is more famous for an unusual name than anything else. There is debate over how the town’s name came to be – some say an application for a town post office was left blank, hence the name, whereas others believe the name was created from an early resident of the town who said, “This here’s a nameless place if I ever seen one, so leave it be.” Nameless is featured in the Elvis Costello song, “My Dark Life”. This is an Instagram worthy signpost should you ever pass it on a US road trip. Other runner-ups include Ugly, Texas, or Peculiar, Missouri.
8 Rennes-le-Château – the town of the da vinci code
The town that birthed the popular book The Da Vinci Code is a wonderful visit for anyone in France who considers themselves to be a bit of a conspiracy theorist. This hillside village has many secrets, one being the legend that this is where the Holy Grail is hidden. Back in the 1800’s a local church was able to fund major renovations and some believe that the priest discovered a treasure map inside the altar which led him to the fortune that funded the churches impressive facelift.
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