Author: Ms. R.

Fado is a genre of music that was born in the taverns and brothels of Lisbon’s underbelly in the early 1800s. Initially performed by and for those of ill repute, Fado was long seen as lowly— branded as transgressive and sinful, fit for tattooed sailors, irresolute drunkards, and languid prostitutes. In time, however, fado would be embraced by every rung of society, with artists selling out concert halls, winning Latin Grammys, and becoming a source of Portuguese national pride—an……

Read More

The Quarry Exhibit Hall at Dinosaur National Monument in Utah is home to a large wall containing more than 1,500 fossils. Some of the species that may be spotted are the Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus, and Stegosaurus. But the bones on this wall weren’t arranged by any curator or paleontologist—they were deposited by an ancient stream more than 150 million years ago. In 1909, paleontologist Earl Douglass uncovered eight segments of a large dinosaur tail at the top of a steep sandstone……

Read More

Among the many apartments located on Boston’s historic Beacon Hill, there is a plaque on Grove Street commemorating the residence of a prominent figure in mid-19th century Boston and the abolitionist movement. Leonard Andrew Grimes was born on November 9, 1815, in Leesburg, Virginia to free Black parents. He was orphaned around age 10 and sent to live with his uncle but being unhappy there he eventually moved to Washington, D.C. and worked as a hackney carriage driver. Witnessing……

Read More

A hidden gem for any train lover, this “stationless” station houses a retro railway carriage, to honor a pioneer of Japanese civil engineering. Opened to the public in April 2021, inside this unusual “station” you will find a wooden Ro481 railway carriage from the Meiji period (1868–1912), which has been restored to how it looked during its heyday.  The four-wheeled second-class carriage is the very last of its kind left in Japan. It is being preserved as a tribute to……

Read More

Museu da Farmácia opened its doors in 1996 in Lisbon with the mission of preserving the tradition of the pharmaceutical profession in Portugal.  The collection eventually grew in scope to embrace different pharmaceutical traditions from across the globe. Most of the items showcasing the pharmaceutical tradition in Portugal were donated by individual pharmacies through the Direção da Associação Nacional das Farmácias, the body that regulates pharmacies in Portugal. The larger items on display are entire apothecaries from the 18th……

Read More

Every summer, Gwen Trice would pack her tent and drive from Seattle, where she lived at the time, to Oregon’s northeast corner, more than 300 miles away. There, in the shadow of the Wallowa Mountains, working ranches and glacial lakes dotted the high desert landscape. The rural setting was not unfamiliar to Trice; she’d grown up in La Grande, just an hour or so to the southwest. But she’d always felt a special connection to Wallowa County. Trice would……

Read More

At the edge of the town of Moab stands a store that is sure to interest hardcore geologists and casual visitors alike. Old mining equipment towers over rows of crates filled with colorful minerals, sparkling quartz, and chunks of fossilized dinosaur bone—and that’s just what couldn’t fit in the shop. The really cool stuff is inside. The Moab Rock Shop was founded in 1960 by Lin Ottinger, also known as the Dinosaur Man. Ottinger, a self-taught geologist and paleontologist,……

Read More

At 2,228 meters (7,310 feet), Mount Kosciuszko is the tallest mountain in mainland Australia. The snow-covered mountain is a popular skiing destination in the winter. In summer, most of the snow melts, leaving spectacular views with beautiful wildflowers. Perfect for avid walkers, or cheat and use the express lift to cut down the distance and difficulty. It’s also popular for mountain bikers in the summer. The mountain got its current name in 1840, from the Polish explorer Pawel Edmund Strzelecki,……

Read More

This eclectic little store is stuffed with old timely colognes, charming knick-knacks, amazing books, and gorgeous hats that wouldn’t be out of place in the 1920s. The store is named for Francis Tumblety, an Irish-born American who earned a small fortune—and a reputation— in the late 19th century. Tumblety traveled across the United States and Canada, falsely claiming to be a doctor and peddling herbal medicines said to destroy pimples and cleanse the blood. According to some stories, he maintained an apothecary in……

Read More

Along the rocky, rumpled Algerian coast, just east of where the bulky silhouette of Mount Chenoua slides into the Mediterranean, the sea and bureaucratic indifference may finally do what the Vandals did not. There, for more than 2,500 years, through a succession of civilizations both local and foreign, has stood Tipasa. Considered one of the most important archaeological sites in North Africa, Tipasa is home to Phoenician and Mauretanian tombs, Roman fortifications and an amphitheater, bath complexes and an……

Read More

The Chasms near Cregneash village are a perfect example of a natural geological phenomenon known as fissures, a crack in the rocky cliff side along which there is a distinct separation. The fissures are quite large in certain places creating deep caverns and varying ground level heights, a trek that does require hiking boots. Some of the fissures have formed large crevices in the rock that has created a scenic and popular walking area along the coast in this……

Read More