The northern lights hit the West, San Francisco’s best shops, and more great travel finds

The Northern Lights over Colorado.
(Photo by Bryce Bradford, via Flickr.)

Summer is officially underway, and it’s Friday—time to pack our bags and hit the road. Here are our 5 favorite travel finds of the week.

Look upWere you one of the lucky few who caught the northern lights this week? Color me jealous if so. That said, nobody had a better view than astronaut Scott Kelly. Whoa. Now I’m more determined than ever to see that auroaro borealis at some point.

Look up (again)Speaking of fly-over beauty, these artful aerial shots are more terrestrial, just as gorgeous.

ShopSan Francisco gets a lot of love for being a great place to eat and drink—and I’ll add one more accolade to that list. It’s a fun, varied city to shop, too. Here is San Francisco Magazine‘s list of the best spots to drop your paycheck on everything from home goods to men’s wares.

ExploreInstagram just released a cool new search tool that, according to The New York Times, “can deliver a better you-are-there feeling“— sounds like a great way to armchair travel.

Eat, Drink, & DanceGyros, spanakopita, live music, Greek wine, and (my favorite) baklava are all on the menu this weekend (June 26-28) at Orange County’s  37^th annual Greek Festival.

Want more travel inspiration? You can find past travel roundups here, here, here, here, here, and here!