Let’s Make #NationalTacoDay Every Day So many tacos to choose from at Bedford’s Truck! In observation of National Taco Day, I choose a couple of fried oyster tacos and a side of beans and cilantro rice. Heavenly—and fresh! —Lori Tripoli ~Advertisement~ ~Advertisement~ Like Truck? Like tacos? Like tacos from trucks and from Truck? You might…
Ireland in a Week
Make a Plan and Get to the Must-Sees Long a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to traveling, I am a bit overwhelmed trying to put together an itinerary for a week-long stay in Ireland. So many castles, bluffs, beer tours. Sifting through a stack of guidebooks, it quickly becomes clear that I cannot accomplish everything I…
Galway Getaway
Using Galway as a Base for Daytrips Our time in Galway is limited—we will use the place as a base, a place to sleep and keep our gear while we explore nearby Cong. Staying at Flannery’s Hotel, we take a quick drive through Galway, checking off the Spanish Arch, built in the 1500s, peruse a…
Old Sturbridge Village for Grownups
Takeaways May Vary from When You Were 10 My memories of Old Sturbridge Village from a school field trip a number of years ago trend toward the role of women, how much time they spent in the kitchen back in the 1800s, and how long it takes to churn butter. Also, men with long hair…
Should You Take Joyce Maynard’s Cancer Book on Vacation?
Deciding Whether to Pack Maynard’s New Memoir, The Best of Us So many of us either have cancer, had cancer, or have a friend or a family member afflicted with same that we might be disinclined to bring along a book covering the cancer journey of someone else on our next trip. But still, this…
Menu for the Last Supper, Chelsea Edition
What Did Jesus Eat? Almost as interesting as observing how Jesus Christ is depicted in art (some places, he’s a white guy who looks a bit like a hippie; sometimes he is a Viking; sometimes he is shorter and a person of color) is seeing what exactly he ate during the Last Supper, at least…
Churches of New York City: Our Lady of Guadalupe at Saint Bernard
Spiritual Sanctuary on West 14 Street, Manhattan The bluish-greenish gates of a church on West 14 capture the attention of the Brawny Sherpa and me as we are heading vaguely back uptown after a visit to the High Line in Chelsea. Should we go in? Others are. The door is open. Let’s check it out….
The Best ‘No Soliciting’ Sign Ever
Seen in Salem Found on an entry to a house built in Salem around 1710 by Jonathan Archer, cordwainer, is the best ‘no soliciting’ sign ever—unless you are selling thin mints, do not knock! For the curious, cordwainers made shoes. Archer, who lived from 1671 to 1746, is buried at the Old Burying Point in…
Seeing Salem in a Single Day
How to Make the Most of Limited Time in Witch City An extemporaneous trip to Salem, MA gives us an adventure to look forward to—quickly—but it also means that we are too late to book a hotel in Salem itself. No matter, we will make the most of the time that we do have. This…
Side Yard to Table at Bedford’s Truck
There is something blissful about sitting beneath the Truck sign in the dining room of the restaurant of the same name in Bedford, N.Y. and looking out the window at the garden where some of my lunch comes from. I am not sure I have ever had any other food that tastes quite so fresh….