I was in town to learn about the witches, and maybe just a little bit about author Nathaniel Hawthorne (with whom I spent so much time in freshman English class in high school), when I discovered a marvelous place: Derby Square Book Store. Paths between shelves were just sufficient for one person to walk through;…
Author: BashfulAdventurer
What We Used to Think of Paris, and Women
Get a few glimpses of 1960s Paris—and New York—in A New Kind of Love, starring Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward playing, respectively, a ‘newspaper man’ and a career-gal fashion designer who meet not-so-cute on a plane headed toward France. Newman’s character, a boozing, womanizing charmer with an ironclad contract (did those ever really exist for…
Want to Visit Old Penn Station? Watch 1942’s ‘The Palm Beach Story’
I picked up a copy of the 1942 film The Palm Beach Story, starring Claudette Colbert and Joel McCrea, hoping to see some of old Florida, but I got something better instead: a view of the original Penn Station in Manhattan. I’d always heard that the Beaux Arts station, built in 1910 but bulldozed in…
Adventuring “In July,” in October, Infinitely
I watched the 2000 German film, In July (Im Juli), again, hoping to catch scenes of Hamburg. I’d first watched the movie long before I thought about going to Hamburg, or went to Hamburg, and didn’t remember how much of Hamburg was showcased. A cute love story about taking risks and going on an adventure…
Beyond the New York Public Library: The Morgan
The Bonus Adventurers (teenage stepchildren) and I were drawn to the Morgan Library at 36th and Madison because of the Edgar Allan Poe exhibit (through Jan. 26, 2014). Who wouldn’t want to see handwritten scrolls of Poe’s handiwork? What we most enjoyed were working drafts. The kids marveled at what writers had to do in…
Reason to Visit Hamburg: WWII Bunker Transformed to Green Energy Plant
The IBA Energy Bunker in the Wilhelmsburg section of Hamburg, Germany, officially opened this week. The monstrous bunker, built by slave labor during World War II to shelter residents from Allied air raids and to defend Hamburg, was an imposing—and crumbling—reminder of darker times. With walls thicker than a man’s wingspan, it was too big…
Unexpected Treasures of Lubaantun
On the first full day of our stay at the Cotton Tree Lodge on the Moho River in the Toledo District of Belize, we haven’t yet learned which plant leaves to rub on our skin so the mosquitos won’t bite us. We have heard the howler monkeys but haven’t yet seen one. We’ve not gotten…
Making Our Way to the Cotton Tree Lodge
A getaway is so much better if it’s somewhat challenging to reach. The Brawny Sherpa and I wake up in the middle of the night to get to JFK in time for our flight to Miami only to be delayed because our plane is experiencing mechanical difficulties. We wait, we fret, we’ve got to get…
Visiting Mount Kisco’s Invisible Church
It’s easy to cruise right past the tiny little cemetery at the corner of St. Marks Place and Main Street in Mount Kisco without noticing the Revolutionary War-era grave markers. Situated just across and down a bit from Friendly’s at the corner by Conte’s Fish Market, on the way to the bagel store and T.J….
On My Knees at the Scala Santa
Will the Bashful Adventurer, who is not exactly a church-goer, nevertheless be transformed by a visit to the Scala Santa, or Holy Stairs, in Rome?