Author: Ms. R.

James Turrell’s first cosmic Skyspace artwork was installed in the Guggenheim Museum in New York City in 1974. Since then, he has installed some 48 other variations of Skyspace around the world — in museums, galleries, sculpture gardens, and in a few private residences on five continents. One of the best of those is “Secondwind 2005,” which was installed on the natural grounds of the NMAC Foundation sculpture park, located in southern Andalusia, Spain, not far from the Atlantic coastline…….

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Every day, in a nondescript building in Amman, a cast of cooks, pastry makers, mothers, and grandmothers work to churn out take-away orders and meals for diners at Samawer. For many of the women, dressed in blue, this is their first job. Young and old labor side by side to lay out, cut, and fold pastries called haleva, sprinkling their table with flour as they work. Others stuff kibbeh, a traditional Arabic dish, at different stations. Samawer is known……

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The Churches and Convents of Old Goa are a group of religious monuments located in Old Goa and are a World Heritage Site. Among the numerous churches, chapels, and cathedrals in the area, there is one particular church that is located on a hill, a short distance to the west of the other churches that stands out. This hill is called Monte Santo (Holy Hill) and the church is called the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary. Since……

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It was William Faulkner, the great American author, who said, “Pouring out liquor is like burning books.” At Lo Pinyol in Barcelona, customers are encouraged to drink the liquor and read the books. The traditional wine bar and library specializes in Spanish vermouth alongside a selection of drinks from local Catalan producers. In 2013 longtime friends Carels Poy and Pau Raga teamed up to restore the bar, which had been operating since 1934. Hoping to preserve history and a……

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Château de la Mothe Chandeniers is not just a monument, it’s truly a timeless place. Located in the Loire Valley in France, it is a romantic and mysterious masterpiece that fell into ruin after a devastating fire in the early 20th century. The oldest parts of the castle date back to the early 13th century, when it was owned by the Bauçay family. Over the centuries the castle grew larger and changed hands a number of times, including at……

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Excerpted and adapted with permission from John Reid and Thomas Lovejoy’s Ever Green: Saving Big Forests to Save the Planet, published March 2022 by W. W. Norton and Company. All rights reserved. The ferry that carries cars, trucks, and people across the Sangha River runs only in the daytime. We were on our way back from a weeklong visit to one of the Congo’s most intact, wildlife-rich forest redoubts, called the Goualougo Triangle, which is separated by the Sangha……

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Less than a mile from the famous London Wetland Centre, tucked into a curve of the River Thames, is Barnes’ second, and older wildlife reserve, the Park known as Leg o’ Mutton Reservoir. Named after its shape, the reservoir was built in 1838 by Thames Water, and supplied water for the local population for 122 years, until 1960. On decommissioning, the site was earmarked for development into housing and a shopping centre. The residents of Barnes, a leafy and……

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The National Bottle Museum, located in downtown Ballston Spa, is a free museum showcasing the history of bottles and bottle making in the United States. The collection is filled with interesting containers that range from vintage poison bottles to tiny antique perfume bottles, and a section dedicated to vintage pharmacy items, with old shampoos, potions, and more. Upstairs you’ll find rare and interesting bottles, including glow-in-the-dark uranium glass bottles and holographic limited edition presidential bottles. The owner has been……

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