Google Maps are the best not-kept secret on the web.  Nearly everyone uses them and has seen the fabulous street views where you can literally walk down the street with their rolling panoramic cameras and look all around. We’ve all looked at our homes or someone’s house on Maps and recognized a car parked in front or in the driveway if you have one.

Did you know you can travel the world with Maps?  Their trucks have been to many countries and have done an amazing thing with their “mapping” task.  One morning I was goofing around on the Maps before work and found myself teleported to Europe!  I was walking on the streets of France, zipping around from town to town.  What a fantastic discovery.   On a mere whim I was able to shoot over to Nice, France for a tour of the beach.  With the street view feature I turned and gazed out over the ocean before turning back and walking along the beach by clicking the ‘advance arrows’, passing runners out for a jog.   Then, faster than Scotty could send Kirk,  I zipped over to Positano Italy and walked the mountain paths and could almost sit at a sidewalk cafe overlooking one view Manhattan could never offer – and I never left my desk.

If you have a minute to kill, try visiting the country of your imagination and see if it is just as you pictured it. The best part is no choking jet exhaust or car fumes is expelled getting there. 

My only wonder is how they are going to keep the Maps up to date?