February 7, 2020

Historical Museums in New York

bridge under construction

The museums in New York are as varied as the inhabitants of the city. Some locations ooze fancy molding and expensive lunch. Others are blue-haired and tenacious, clenching at their rest-controlled space with a death grip normally reserved for would-be victims of defenestration. Above all, this list is reserved for the elbow-patch wearing, history-obsessed professor set. These museums in New York are off-the-beaten-track. Instead of world class art or cinema displays, they focus on the more obscure aspects of the history of the city. For example, if you are curious about turn-of-the-century religious construction on the Lower East Side or the early life of Theodore Roosevelt, you will delight in…

December 19, 2019

5 Fun Spanish Christmas Traditions in Madrid

Christmas lights

Spanish Christmas is the best time of the year in Madrid! Granted, I’m a Christmas-cheer type of person, so for me Christmas is the best time of year anywhere (see related post here). But in Madrid, holiday beauty and tradition abound. Streets blaze with Christmas lights, markets and shops bustle with people and good food awaits at every turn. Of course, the chance to win absurd sums of money in the Christmas lottery also cranks up the holiday cheer. Read on for my five favorite holiday traditions in Madrid. Spanish Christmas Traditions in Madrid 1 Las Luces de Navidad (Christmas Lights) One of my absolute favorite things about Christmas in…

December 12, 2019

Malaga, Spain: Five Fabulous Things

view from Malaga Castle

The coastal city of Malaga, Spain provides a multitude of things to do all year long. Tourists flock to Malaga, the capital city of the Costa Del Sol, for sunshine, visits to the variety of light, airy palacios reformed as art museums and food, food, food. What’s not to love?! Read on for the best five things to do in Malaga, Spain. Things to do in Malaga Malaga is well-connected to the larger Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona by train. If you are traveling internationally, you can arrive at the Malaga-Costa Del Sol airport for easy transport into the city. You can easily appreciate the city sites in a…

November 17, 2019

The Thyssen Museum, Madrid: Five Fabulous Things

View of Madrid

The Thyssen Museum in Madrid provides one of three vertex points in the city’s ‘Golden Triangle of Art‘. This significant collection of art was acquired by Spain in 1992. The Thyssen family collection had previously been one of the largest private collections in the world. Baron Thyssen decided to house the museum in Madrid after finalizing his fifth marriage to Carmen Cervera, a former Miss Spain from Barcelona. (He also, by some accounts, decided to charge Spain $350 million dollars for the collection only after the government appropriated a building and paid to move the collection to Madrid, but that’s a story for a different day.) The current collection provides…

October 20, 2019

Valencia, Spain: Five Fabulous Things

Central Market Valencia

In the years I’ve lived in Spain, I’ve always been appreciative of the fabulous things to do in Valencia. As a result, I visit the city (Spain’s third largest) at least once a year. Actually, I like Valencia so much, I’ve actually written about it before. However, instead of focusing on fly-boarding and how I’m generally an annoying person to make plans with, this post will focus on all the best things to do in Valencia. I hope you enjoy! Five Fabulous Things to Do in Valencia The City of Arts and Science/Cuidad de Artes y Ciencias The first thing that is important to consider in your Valencian plans: They…

September 21, 2019

The Prado, Madrid: Five Fabulous Things

The Prado Museum in Madrid is viewed as the epicenter of the art scene for the city, if not the whole country. It’s with good reason-the Prado is Spain’s national art museum, and it contains more than 7,000 paintings and thousands of other important Spanish works of art. Now that I’m living back in Spain, I’m delighted to spend time at the Prado again, visiting my favorite paintings. While The Prado certainly has more than five fabulous things, here are my favorites: 1 Las Meninas by Velasquez (Room 12) One of the most important painters in Spanish history was Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velasquez (Spanish people have crazy last…

August 26, 2019

Mid-Coast Maine: Five Fabulous Things

picture of maine

Let’s ignore for a moment that summer is ending (see related post on previous summer reflections here) and talk more about fun travel destinations. For those who’ve never been, Maine (AKA Vacationland) is split into eight regions. (Note: I’m not sure how official the ‘regions’ are, but Maine Bed and Breakfast endorsed them, so that’s good enough for me. See map.) Obviously, there’s a lot of ground to cover (and on rather local roads), so it makes sense to review the regions one by one. I’ve spent the most time in ‘Mid-Coast Maine’, the region that stretches from I-95 down to the water between Brunswick and West Penobscot Bay. I…

August 1, 2019

St. John, USVI: Five Fabulous Things

Looking over USVI National Park

Something that I don’t talk about a lot on here: As my New York friends like to put it, ‘I’m sort of outdoorsy’. (see related post here) I like to go on long hikes, solo camping adventures and I’ve spent more than one day of my life in a 16-foot rubber raft, wedged next to a bucket of poop, floating around in some ridiculously beautiful places. One of my “outdoorsy” pursuits in life is to visit all the national parks in the US system. After the inauguration of Indiana Dunes National Park this summer , there are 59. In July, I visited my 45th. This meant two things: 1 I’m…

July 16, 2019

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam: Five Fabulous Things

busy city street

One of the perks of teaching at an international school is that you make friends that go teach at other international schools and you get to go visit them. This is how my boyfriend and I found ourselves in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam for the end of June and beginning of July. So without further ado, here are five fabulous things to do in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (aka Saigon) 1 Food (and coffee!!) Since Vietnamese food is a whole thing right now, I figured we should just start here. The food in Ho Chi Minh is amazing. The things you have to try are Vietnamese coffee (it…

May 20, 2019

Madagascar: Smile and Wave

smiling children gathering taken during daytime

I just returned from a two-week trip to Madagascar with my mother. It’s hard to quantify the important lessons I learned. I think on a very successful trip, you learn in two ways. First, there are facts about the country or area you’re visiting. Then, there are also feelings or cultural norms you understand better as a result of your journey. Madagascar: Facts I learned 1,213 interesting facts about lemurs, chameleons and the splitting apart of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. We drove for 743 hours on roads that could also qualify as Class Five hiking trails (well, it felt like 743 hours, see note above about the difficulties of quantification)….