A Must-See in Pushkin, AKA Tsarskoye Tselo To the list of places I don’t know I need to see when I head to Russia is Pushkin, also known as Tsarskoye Tselo (‘czar’s village,’ I am told). Not far from St. Petersburg, it is home to the Catherine Palace (named for Catherine I of Russia, not…
Author: BashfulAdventurer
A Visit to Manhattan’s Churchill Tavern
History for Hungry Adventurers in the Flatiron District When, shortly after we place our food orders, one of the Youthful Adventurers returns from the restroom at Manhattan’s Churchill Tavern quoting Winston Churchill (whose recordings are apparently running on a continuous loop in the bathrooms), I begin to wonder whether taking the kids to a tavern…
Meeting the French in Cold Spring
Dining at Brasserie Le Bouchon I don’t know how many times the Brawny Sherpa and I walk past Brasserie Le Bouchon in Cold Spring, N.Y. Hey, it’s French, it could be good, it could be full of butter, meh, let’s keep going. It’s a friend who insists we go there, says it’s fantastic, try it,…
Benjamin Franklin for Any Age
Finding a Founding Father at the National Postal Museum U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin offers something of interest to just about everyone. The younger set tends to be drawn to his kite-flying exploits, elders might explore his history with bifocals, and anyone in the workforce might appreciate his endeavors as perhaps one of the founder…
Parking, Central, Hotel, Naples
Where to Stay for the Convenience On a quick trip to the west coast of Florida for a family wedding, the Brawny Sherpa and I need someplace convenient to stay. For us, that means a hotel with parking that is centrally located and also reasonably priced. Cleanliness and safety also factor in for us, although…
Tea Partying in the Eternal City
A Visit to Babington’s Tea Rooms As if we needed a break from our vino rosso and carb-filled Italian vacation, the Brawny Sherpa and I decide at the bottom of the Spanish Steps that it is time for tea—and carbs of a slightly different sort. Here in the land of espresso and grappa, in we…
Dust, Chariots, Spas, Pompeii
A Visit to the City Buried by a Volcano The first time I go to Pompeii, the journey is work: a missed train from Salerno to Pompei, followed by a train that surely must be the local rather than anything direct, followed by an arrival at a train station a healthy distance from the ruins….
The Mystery of Volcanoes
The Lure of Hot Lava Living in New York State, as I do, I haven’t historically had to worry much about volcanoes and the possibility that they might at some point obstruct my way, or worse. The first time I came across their devastation was on a long-ago trip to Italy where I toured Pompeii,…
Le Penseur Two Ways
In New York or Paris, Rodin’s Sculpture Charms What sculpture might be as well-known as the Statue of Liberty? Could it be Auguste Rodin’s Le Penseur (The Thinker), accessible at the Musée Rodin in Paris and, with a contemporary twist (Le Penseur avec Smartphone) on the streets of New York City in the form of…
The South Street Seaport’s Titanic Memorial Lighthouse
A Reminder of New York City’s Past as “Sailortown” Down at the South Street Seaport in Manhattan is a little reminder about a big ship that never made it there. The Titanic Memorial Lighthouse, at Fulton and Pearl Streets, was originally placed at the Seamen’s Church Institute at 25 South Street, a little factoid that…