What to Look for in the Manhattan Train Station To visit New York City’s Grand Central Station with the eyes of a tourist, rather than the blinders of a daily commuter, look for what is memorable. Of course, we’ve all made arrangements to meet at that Grand Central clock at some point in time, but…
Author: BashfulAdventurer
Postmarked Hyannis
Post Office Tourism in the Land of Kennedy Remember the days when post offices had unique designs? When they weren’t generically and homogeneously crafted buildings designed, if only aspirationally, for some sort of efficiency? Remember when going to the post office and buying a stamp and sending a letter was fun? When the entire event…
Dining at Ryder Farm in Brewster
Ryder Farm in Brewster, N.Y. has been in existence since at least 1795. Hundreds of years later, it’s still a special place to visit.
Books about the Great Depression: Mont Saint Michel for Changing Times
Looking for a book about the Depression? Roger Vercel’s 1938 novel about the mount still entices What I like about Mont Saint Michel is that the closer you climb to the top of the mount, the farther you are from the touristy crappiness that can accompany any highly popular destination. Ascending the mount in France…
Finding Ulysses in the Big Apple
Who knew that Civil War General and, later, President Ulysses S Grant had ties to New York beyond West Point? The Bashful Adventurer investigates.
Will Iceland Be Too Cold for You?
Dark Days and Snow Still Lure Tourists Opting to visit Iceland on a whim, in December when the days are dark and cold, I fret that maybe the weather will be so miserable I won’t have a good time. Snow, cold, darkness. . .what am I thinking? To prepare, I buy a long down coat…
The Master Works of the Opera Duomo Museum
Beyond the Uffizi in Florence So much airspace is taken up by the Uffizi Gallery in Florence that a visitor there might overlook a newer museum sited just behind the Duomo. Although the Opera di Santa Maria del Fiori, which runs this new museum, has been around since 1296 when it became responsible for managing…
Romance, Good Food, and History at Ristorante da Raffaele
Eat Like a Local in Venice In a town full of tourists, service at a restaurant can sometimes be a bit aloof, a tad uncaring. After all, everyone knows that you are unlikely to be back after this current meal anytime soon, if ever. Why put a lot into it? Year in, year out, dealing…
Overthinking the Algonquin
Dorothy Parker Is Long Gone I sit down at the Round Table restaurant in the Algonquin Hotel in New York City with no one but long-dead writer and wit Dorothy Parker spinning through my head. Who wouldn’t admire what might have been the original tough woman, a hard-living writer who would blow past deadlines, drink…
Ann Leary’s Good House: Too Many Cocktails & a Bit of Witchiness near Salem
Trying to decide what to read on a trip to Salem, MA? Give Ann Leary’s Good House a look.