What to See in Yucatán, Mexico One of the oldest cathedrals in the Americas may be found in Mérida, Mexico. Known as the Cathedral of San Ildefonso, the cathedral dates back to 1598. Commissioned by Pope Pius IV, the cathedral was built on the Mayan site known as T’hó. Construction began in 1561. (The Cathedral…
Author: BashfulAdventurer
An Afternoon in Copala, Mexico
Day Trips from Mazatlán Looking for excursions from Mazatlán? Consider the tiny little town of Copala, also in Sinaloa state like Mazatlán is. Travelers concerned about the little issue of overtourism—where historical monuments and other must-sees suffer greater wear-and-tear simply because so many people make them a destination—need have no such worries in Copala, Mexico….
Books on Oscar Romero: The Scandal of Redemption
Reading Up on El Salvador’s Saint You don’t have to be Catholic to be curious about who Oscar Romero was and the impact he had—especially if you happen to be embarking on a journey to El Salvador. For those looking for a quick introduction to Oscar Romero, The Scandal of Redemption: When God Liberates the…
Classic Cocktails at the Baccarat Hotel
Feel Like a Princess from the Moment You Enter the Baccarat Hotel Slip into the black-walled vestibule of the Baccarat Hotel on West 53rd Street, and you’ll be tempted to look for a talking, singing candelabra. It’s all high ceilings and mirrors and crystal chandeliers, which will both leave you wondering if you are…
Balanced Rock NY: North Salem’s Stonehenge
Is the Balanced Rock in North Salem, N.Y. a mere geographic anomaly or something more magical? The Bashful Adventurer investigates.
Graveyard in Saratoga: Death on a Clam Shell
I have a penchant for dramatic graveyard art, those winged but bent angels, the weeping women clinging to crosses, the monuments that stretch toward the heavens. One stone in the Greenridge Cemetery in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.that has me wondering about its bearer’s past is in the shape of a clam shell. This seems like an…
Russian History: Anastasia for Tweens and Up
Reading Anastasia and Her Sisters by Carolyn Meyer In some ways, Anastasia Romanova is like any teenager anywhere, replete with crushes, squabbling sisters, working parents, the inability to cook, concerns about her weight. Then, of course, she is actually one of a very small set—one of the overprotected, sheltered daughters of a czar who is…
McDonald’s Paris for a Pulp Fiction Royale with Cheese
The burger John Travolta made famous, the royale with cheese, really is on the menu. The Bashful Adventurer experiences a “Pulp Fiction” moment at McDonald’s Paris
The Paris Panthéon
Worshipping the Republic at an Almost Church Like the Pantheon in Rome, the Paris Panthéon has a mixed history, although not one that takes it from paganism to Christianity. Rather, the former Ste. Geneviève Church became, not long after the French Revolution, a tribute to notable secular figures, a number of whom happen to be…
Hoofing It
Get to Know a City by Walking It The best way to learn a city, see its inhabitants, and begin to understand a place is by walking it. Catching a cab, taking a bus, hopping on a subway are all perfectly viable means to get a traveler from one point to another, but the dusty…