Sculpture on the City Streets Some days, I think I see Batman everywhere. Some days, I just see the man in blue. It’s not always Batman. This blue man, at Sixth Avenue and West 53rd Street in Manhattan, is called Jean-Marc, named for the artist Jean-Marc Bustamante. The creator of the statue is Xavier Veilhan….
Author: BashfulAdventurer
Part Batman, Part Bismarck
A Tell-All Statue in Hamburg Reveals Everything Now that Hamburg is more than a footnote in travel guidebooks, thanks to the recently completed wind-in-its-sails Elbphilharmonie building, Hamburg’s status as a green city, and the fact that it is easily navigated and offers plenty of fun activities and attractions with historic significance, visitors might be interested…
A Lesson in Colonialism at Cusco Cathedral
Of Gold, Guinea Pigs, Last Suppers, and a Somewhat Swarthy Jesus So many visitors are in Cusco, Peru either on their way to or from the nearby main attraction, Machu Picchu. My own stay in Cusco is little more than an afterthought, an interim point as I make my way back from Machu Picchu and…
Shirley MacLaine’s Camino Adventure
A Journey of the Actor’s Mind, Body, and Spirit in One Volume Actress Shirley MacLaine—of Downton Abbey, Terms of Endearment, Steel Magnolias, and Postcards from the Edge fame—also has a bit of a New Age-bent. She takes quite an interesting mind journey as she walks the Camino de Santiago, also known as the Way of…
Strolling Fifth Avenue in New York City
NYC Sites to See on a Day Trip or a Longer Visit The Big Apple, a city of dreams for visitors of all ages, is also a city so vast that there will never be sufficient time to see everything no matter how long a vacation might be. Fortunately, New York City is very walkable….
Extraneous Learning at Duarte Square
History from the Dominican Republic to New York City On a walk from Soho to Little Italy, apropos of nothing, I come across a statue of Juan Pablo Duarte, the founder of the Dominican Republic. Why here? I wonder. I don’t particularly associate this neighborhood in southern Manhattan surrounded as I am by Sixth Avenue,…
There Really Is a House of the Seven Gables
Surprises at the Salem, Mass. Building that Hawthorne Made Famous It has been a long time since I have read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables, but I am still excited to learn that he based his book on his cousin’s gabled house in Salem, Mass., and that the house today is open to…
Destinations Worth a Second Look
Deciding on Places to Visit in the Coming Year ’Tis the season for reflection. Here are some destinations worth considering in the coming year—along with some different ways to contemplate them. United States: Where We Should All Be on July 4th Graveyard tourism of the most important sort Adventuring: Watch with a Tourist’s Eyes…
Bashfully Appreciated Places, 2016
What readers liked to visit over the last year Should it be any surprise that the bashful adventurers visiting these pages have eclectic taste? Their reading habits show their interest—in learning, in history, in practical matters. The most popular posts of the past year spanned the globe, from South America, to Central, to North, from…
Spooning in Florence
Discovering Contemporary Art in a City of Masterpieces Taking the scenic route from the Ponte Vecchio back to the Soggiorno Battistero in Florence, the Brawny Sherpa and I become a little lost. Wandering a bit aimlessly, we try to work off cappuccinos and gelato and our overwhelm from the art in the city generally and…