Author: Ms. R.

More than half a century ago, a young librarian wandered inside a small London antique shop. There, amongst vintage furniture and porcelain vases, was a stern, elderly woman in a black nun’s habit. She stared him down from an elaborate wooden frame. Believing the painting to be an unknown artist’s copy of Anthony van Dyck’s “Portrait of Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia,” Chris Wright, the librarian, bought the painting of the “bad-tempered old lady,” for £65 (about $88), the equivalent……

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The city of Leiden has a rich history, but is also a place of interest for many North Americans since it is the last European home of the Pilgrim Fathers and the Huguenots. Not many traces of these people have remained, but still enough for thousands of Americans to visit the city each year. The main feature of these visits is the remnants of the Vrouwekerk. The church dates back to the 14th century, when it was built as……

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This park in Seattle‘s Capitol Hill neighborhood is named after Tashkent, Uzbekistan. First dedicated in 1974, it has stood since then as a symbol of friendship and goodwill between people whose governments have not always been on the best terms. In 1973, Tashkent and Seattle established the first-ever U.S.-Soviet sister city relationship. This vibrant relationship included a huge variety of collaborations; the Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association lists 49 different exchanges and projects throughout its long history. This relationship continued……

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This secluded train line that connects the village of Ounuma and Aizu-Wakamatsu in Japan has one of the most beautiful views in the world, which has given this route the right to be called “the most romantic train ride in the world.” The Tadami Line stretches 135 kilometers (84 miles), from Aizuwakamatsu Station in Fukushima Prefecture to Koide Station in Niigata Prefecture. The track is incredibly charming, going through rivers, lakes, forests, and tunnels. The train itself maintains its……

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This nearly 500 feet (150 meters) thoroughfare joins a plethora of street monikers throughout Britain with unusual names. Though some have lost their original meaning to a long-forgotten language, like Whip-Ma-Whop-Ma-Gate, others are immortalized in song, such as Penny Lane. Needless Alley’s derivation however, may have been lost to the mists of time. There are two popular theories as to how this backstreet received its unlikely title. One derives from the 1700s, when such passageways in the nearby vicinity were closed and……

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In the Scottish capital is a sculpture that makes a statement against the Apartheid system that plagued South Africa. The sculpture depicts a woman and child along with a piece of a tin roof, a characteristic of the country’s townships and a symbol of discrimination and poverty. The bronze statue was sculpted by Scottish artist Anne Davidson (spelled as Ann on the plaque) and unveiled in 1986 when Nelson Mandela was still imprisoned. Suganya Chetty, a member of the……

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Moab, Utah has a surfeit of red-rock scenery in the vicinity, with Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, and Dead Horse Point State Park all located in the region. Those places are indeed gorgeous and worth attention, but they tend to attract massive crowds. Even around Moab, some places get more attention than others, and these red sandstone spires, composed of Permian Cutler Formation with a capping of , are relatively neglected. Perhaps it’s because they’re not a national park,……

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It was a chilly December morning in Kashmir, and Chris Zandee was calmly working in his Himalaya Cheese office in the village of Langanbal. Located about a three-hour drive from the city of Srinagar, it’s surrounded by snowy mountain peaks, tall coniferous pine trees, and glistening lakes. A native of the Netherlands, Zandee had come all this way to set up a small factory with clear goals: to put Kashmiri Kalari cheese on the map, and to create employment……

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Many people have owned a duffel coat or duffel bag at some point and probably have never thought twice about their origin. These items actually hail from a small Belgian town that carries the same name. The design of the coat was influenced by the Polish frock coat from the 1820s, which grew in popularity throughout Europe in the years leading up to the 1850s. This was capitalized by the British John Partridge outerwear manufacturer, who produced the first……

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Constructed in the 15th century, the Emir’s palace in Kano is the longest continued seat of power for a ruling authority in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the Hausa language, the palace is known as Gidan Rumfa after the Sultan Muhammad Rumfa, under whom the palace was constructed, or Gidan Sarki, which translates as “Emir’s house.” The campus now spans 33 acres; It is a centerpiece of Kano city and is considered one of the best-preserved examples of traditional Hausa architecture in Nigeria…….

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This tunnel at Amsterdam’s Central Station highlights the history of the city. It looks like a porcelain tunnel and is located directly between the bicycle parking lot and train station. About 46,0000 tiles were used to create the tableau on one wall of the tunnel, which is an homage to a work by the Dutch tile painter Cornelis Boumeester. Another 33,000 tiles were used for the floor. The tiles feature the traditional blue and white color palette of Delftware ceramics,……

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