Author: Ms. R.

There’s nothing spooky about the Rite Aid on Fairmount Avenue in Philadelphia. Inside, you’ll find bright fluorescent lights, neatly lined-up products, and happy signage reminding you to use your shopper loyalty card. This modern drug store is far from a place paranormal investigators might want to explore. They do, however, want to investigate the famous—and famously haunted—Eastern State Penitentiary just two blocks to the west. Nonetheless, while Eastern State Penitentiary certainly played host to many unjust and inhumane events,……

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“Whenever you are in Lagos, the streets are never silent and never still,” writes Yewande Komolafe of the 15 million-person metropolis where she grew up. In My Everyday Lagos (available October 24), the Brooklyn-based food writer, recipe developer, and food stylist for The New York Times leads readers through the streets, markets, and homes of this city by the sea. After decades spent in culinary school, restaurant kitchens, and test kitchens in the United States, Komolafe sees Nigeria and……

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Oginoya, now a major company known across Japan, was originally an inn adjacent to the Kirizumi hot springs, visited by such historical figures as Hirofumi Itō, Katsu Kaishū, and Akiko Yosano. Also among those luminaries was Katsura Tarō, who would later become Japan’s prime minister. During his visit to the Oginoya inn, Katsura mentioned the government’s plans to construct a railroad in the area. Hearing this, the innkeeper decided to shift his business, moving to the town of Yokokawa……

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Across America and around the world, cities, and towns are turning to public art as a potential engine of tourism–looking for something (anything!) eye-catching enough to convince people to spend more time in town. In Salina, Kansas, this intersection of art and commerce is driven by the Salina Kanvas Project, and their largest commission to date has been wrapping a historic mill with grand images of children at play. In Salina’s case, the building that comprises the canvas for……

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These centuries-old walls hold the gastronomical heritage of Mexico’s traditional sweets. Founded in 1874 by brothers Alfredo and Luis Guízar de Arias, this traditional confectionary store is one of the oldest in Mexico City. Around 150 recipes from the north, south, and central regions of the country are produced artisanally in copper pots using wooden paddles with traditional ingredients. Initially, the sweets were brought from different states all over Mexico, but as their popularity and demand grew, the family……

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The Atlantic coastline of County Mayo is full of dramatic features, but Dún na mBó is something not to be missed. Found on the Belmullet Peninsula just south of Erris Head, this remarkable place features a winning confluence of nature and public art: a natural blowhole accentuated by an evocative sculpture that doubles as a means of keeping spectators safe from tumbling into the hole. The blowhole at Dún na mBó (also known as Doonamo Point) is located near the……

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Take one look at a Poitou donkey and you will fall in love. Meet one and you will be in love for life.  About an hour west of La Rochelle, in the quiet village of Dampierre-Sur-Boutonne you can find the the L’Asinerie du Baudet du Poitou. It is a public center on a historic farm dedicated to the conservation of the Poitou donkey. In the 1970s, the Poitou population was down to only 44 individual animals. One of the largest……

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The Wat Mahathat is one of the medieval Buddhist temples that comprise the World Heritage site of Ayutthaya, an ancient city steeped in history. It’s home to what is perhaps the city’s most photographed, iconic, and haunting sight: the Buddha head in tree roots. A sandstone Buddha with a mild, merciful smile, the head sits perfectly positioned at the foot of a tall bodhi tree. Its roots, tentacular and vein-like, seem to swallow the Buddha head but fails to shroud……

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Valberget Utisiktspunt was designed to replace the nearly 200-year-old wooden version.  Construction of the 85-foot (26-meter) tall tower took place between 1850 and 1853 and was led by Christian Heinrich Grosch, Norway’s most famous architect of the time. From the tower, the watchmen could see from one end of Stavanger to the other. Early signs of fire were easy to spot from the tower’s vantage point on top of a hill. Residents of Stavanger were warned by the ringing of……

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Though a landmark of the town, the Gohon Keyaki or “Five Zelkovas” of Kami-Itabashi are often met with contempt, especially from drivers who consider them an eyesore and the cause of traffic problems as they take up quite a bit of space in the middle of a road. Despite that, they are unlikely to be removed anytime soon, and their historic status may not be the only reason. The Five Zelkovas once stood together on the premises of the……

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Built in 1906, Jamieson Dry Goods Store (later Jamieson Department Store) served what was then the booming border town of Trinidad, Colorado; selling everything from fine dresses to kitchen appliances and toys. The department store was converted into a museum in 1991 to display the works donated by Mitchell’s sister, Ethel “Tot” Mitchell-Erickson, after Mitchell’s death in 1977. Often called the “King of Western Pulp,” Mitchell is widely recognized for his western magazine covers, created for magazines like Wild……

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The Lancaster County Jail was designed by Robert Mills and built in 1823. The building was designated a national historic landmark in 1973 due to its connection to Robert Mills, who is recognized as the first American-born architect, and who is most famously known for designing the Washington Monument. The building incorporates several design features that are linked to jail reforms intended to improve living conditions for both prisoners and guards. A few of these changes included separate living……

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The beating heart of Bergamo’s historical center is Piazza Vecchia (Old Square). One side of this square is occupied by Palazzo Nuovo (New Palace), which is an outstanding example of a project that ran amok—construction began in the early 17th century and ended in 1958. The deconsecrated church by the name of Ex-Chiesa di San Michele all’Arco maintains its Baroque entrance beside Palazzo Nuovo, but the actual church is enclosed within the walls of the palace. When this church……

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Although this roadside museum in Big Timber, Montana, may sound wild, it’s actually a history museum sharing the story of Sweet Grass County and the nearby mountain range, the Crazy Mountains. The Crazy Mountains got their name from the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation, who would head to the area to pray and fast, sometimes receiving revelations in return. They called the region Awaxaawapìa Pìa, which translates to “Ominous Mountains” or perhaps “crazy.” There is a more outlandish—and apocryphal—story of a……

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