Author: Ms. R.

Shannon King’s first experience with the Los Angeles Breakfast Club was a presentation by Disney Imagineer Bob Gurr. Unlike most educational presentations, however, this one took place at the crack of dawn. Nevertheless, “I knew by the end of that first breakfast that I wanted to become a member,” she says. Nestled at the base of Griffith Park sits the Friendship Auditorium, home to the Los Angeles Breakfast Club. Every Wednesday, beginning at 6:45 in the morning, attendees are……

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The Royal Guernsey Light Infantry (RGLI) were the only French-speaking British battalion in World War I. It was also believed to be the last of the so-called “pals battalions” to be raised. The RGLI battalion came from the island of Guernsey, a self-governing dependency of the British crown located in the Channel Islands. Historically, Guernsey didn’t have conscription. When the island’s government created the unit in 1916, it did not accept conscientious objection as a reason to avoid being……

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In 1922, the discovery of King Tutankhamun‘s tomb captured imaginations all over the world and fueled a revival of architecture inspired by ancient Egypt. Even the potato farmers in Idaho got swept up in the excitement, as evidenced by the Egyptian Theatre in Boise, Idaho.  Opened in 1927, this theater features a detailed bas relief, columns covered in hieroglyphics, and Egyptian-style murals. A century later, the building remains examples of Egyptian Revival architecture in the United States.  By the……

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The reign of Alexander the Great (336-323 BC) marked a golden age for the city of Magnesia. Located in the middle of the triangle of Ephesus, Prynne, and Tralleis in Ionia, this site was a significant commercial and strategic location on the roads that connected these three major cities. Back then, the city was famous for its production of grains and figs, exports for which the area continues to be known even now.  The ancient ruins of Magnesia are……

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The pair of earthenware comal griddles fueled by smoldering oak coals at Tacos del Carmen are beautiful things, weathered by use and white from curing with lime powder. They impart a unique earthy smokiness to this street stand’s quesadillas, empanadas, and tacos. That primeval flavor of clay might be one reason why even in this city of endless street stands this one is always surrounded by crowds—including some of Oaxaca’s top chefs waiting their turn.  Open from 7 a.m…….

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Since early history spring water was considered to have healing properties, with many locations in Scotland becoming famous for their healing or holy wells. Brow Well is a chalybeate spring that flows with naturally iron-salt-rich water. This water was believed to cure a whole host of illnesses. During the 17th century it became fashionable to visit spas with mineral springs in the pursuit of health and beauty. When Scottish poet Robert Burns’ health began to decline in 1796, he……

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Located a few miles off of the main highway, near Oakville, Alabama, is a small but comprehensive museum dedicated to the greatest track and field athlete of all time, Jesse Owens. Owens, born in Oakville in 1913, became world-famous after winning four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Before that, he set three world records and tied another in the course of one Big Ten Championship track meet, a feat known as the “greatest 45 minutes ever in……

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Japan once had a historical period known as the Kofun period, circa 300–538 AD, which is marked by the popularity of burial mounds throughout the country. Many of them have been lost in time, abandoned and buried deep in history. At some later point, in western Japan—around today’s Hyogo, Osaka, and Nara in the Middle Ages—ancient sarcophagi were unearthed from oblivion, either from natural causes or from looting, and reused as new gravestones or as roadside objects of worship,……

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Bellevue Theater was built in 1933 in the burgeoning district of Paco, Manila. Spanish architect Abelardo Lafuente y Garcia-Rojo Jr. designed it for Dr. Jose Eduque, a University of the Philippines professor and the chief surgeon at the nearby Philippine General Hospital. Dr. Eduque owned two other popular theaters at that time, Elite and Prince. The theater was built in art-deco style inspired by Philippine Islamic patterns, which themselves were inspired by the Moorish architecture of Alhambra in Spain…….

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