Getting Around on the Wrong Side of the Road Driving on the right side of the car on the left side of the road turned out to be more challenging than I thought it would be on a recent trip to Ireland. Basically, a driver and a front-seat passenger need to be on constant alert…
A Hint of Home in Rome
Why would a tourist bother to visit McDonald’s Rome? The Bashful Adventurer finds out.
On a Clear Day, You Can See Chicago
Chicago is the sort of place you visit for a limited purpose, to see an exhibit at the Art Institute, to tag along on a companion’s business trip, to attend the Blues Festival, to shop the Magnificent Mile. In short, it’s a town that tends to be taken in smaller bites. You might mix your…
Stasis in Sculpture
David Stands, but Unique Forms of Continuity in Space Rocks As much as I love Michelangelo’s David (that stone! that body!), it’s a work of art that’s made to be adored. And indeed it is. David just stands there, commanding our attention. But what I love about more contemporary sculpture is its potential for action….
Notre Dame Then or Now: How Would You Draw It?
Notre Dame Cathedral has long inspired artists. How should the newest version of Our Lady of Paris be drawn?
Madison Square Convenience
The Bashful Adventurer checks out a hotel desirably close to Madison Square Garden. But will it be any good?
The Matisse Dance: Practice/Perfection
The Dance of Matisse in New York and Russia Henri Matisse’s Dance works appear in practice form in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and in their final version in its Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The work was commissioned in 1909 by a Russian patron. Which do you prefer?…
Manhattan Blue Man
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….
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…