Author: Ms. R.

Most of the world drinks brandy—if they drink it at all—as an after-dinner digestif, and in most of the United States, its popularity is limited. But Wisconsinites love the stuff. We use it instead of whiskey or gin in classic cocktails such as the Old Fashioned, Manhattans, and martinis. We freeze it and mix it with sweet tea and juice to make Wisconsin’s version of sangria, the Brandy Slush, and blend it with ice cream and crème de cacao……

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For Mardi Gras 2021, when the very idea of a large, tightly packed crowd feels years away, New Orleans has adapted. Instead of floats following parade routes, the city’s artistic verve has turned its attention to dozens of homes and businesses across the city. They’ve been transformed into Bourbon Street–worthy thematic “house floats,” made by artists and everyday citizens. The mood-lifting response to the cancellation of the traditional events also helps support artists who would typically have year-round work……

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Mani Vijay remembers his mother telling him how, as a child, he would move a measuring tape across the table, mimicking the movement of a train. The IT professional, who grew up in India and is now based in New Hampshire, says he has been passionate about trains for as long as he can remember. There is something about the Indian Railways (IR) in particular, he says—the romance, the chaos, the sounds, smells, and diversity, the nostalgia too—that has……

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Drive around the forest-laden Bainbridge Island and it’s easy to forget that downtown Seattle is just 30-minutes away. A well-to-do suburb across the Puget Sound, Bainbridge is home to a quaint downtown area, hiking, and biking paths. It’s also home to a garden labyrinth based on the 13th-century French Chartres Cathedral.  Designed by the Portland-based garden designer and stone artist Jeffrey Bale, the garden sits on a hilltop overlooking the Puget Sound. Consisting of 12 circles that tie the labyrinth……

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Next door to Antoni Gaudí’s Casa Batlló and comprising part of Barcelona‘s Illa de la Discòrdia is Casa Amatller. The building was designed by architect Josep Puig I Cadafalch for chocolate magnate Antoni Amatller. Cadafalch combined elements of Catalan Modernism and Catalan Gothic for this gorgeous, lavish dwelling. Tours take visitors up the monumental entry staircase with its stained-glass skylight into the apartments once inhabited by Amatller and his daughter Teresa. The apartment features beautiful tiled floors, stained glass, plaster,……

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The Monastery of the Most Holy Mother of God (Manastir Presvete Bogorodice), also known as Petkovača, was constructed between 1159 and 1168 by the Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja. During the 17th-century, the monastery was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire. Today all that remains are the ruins of the once magnificent monastery. However, it’s still a sanctuary and an important cultural monument. In 1979, the monastery was declared an object of Immovable Cultural Heritage of Exceptional Importance. Many Christians still gather at the……

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Mammoths once roamed across the Northern Hemisphere and their remains are scattered across the region. The Zoological Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia contains a large collection of mammoth remains, including some very exclusive specimens. Most are skeletal remains or tusks. Occasionally, entire skeletons have been unearthed. These are usually small mammoth infants. Some notable infant mammoth mummies can be found at The Zoology Museum in Saint Petersburg. They are known as Masha and Dima.  Masha was found in 1988……

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Nodens is a Celtic deity associated with the sea, hunting, and healing, chiefly worshipped in ancient Britain. Despite his obscurity, his name has become quite significant in literature over the years, especially in the genre of fantasy fiction. J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and its famous sequel The Lord of the Rings, was particularly fascinated with Nodens and published a philological essay in 1932 discussing his etymology. Tolkien theorized that it was cognate with the names of other (and……

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