Author: Ms. R.

Saint Honoré was a sixth-century French bishop who earned his status as patron of bakers and pastry chefs through several alleged bread-related miracles. Legends tell of baking implements magically transforming into trees, divine eucharist-distributing hands appearing at mass, and saintly relics ending droughts that had impacted wheat crops. For amateur pastry chefs, these miraculous acts may seem more feasible than making the complex cake that carries St. Honoré’s name. A traditional gâteau St. Honoré consists of a round puff……

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Great for swimmers and history buffs alike, Woolshed Falls was the center of a mining encampment 8,000 prospectors strong a century ago. The falls still bear the marks of this extensive gold-digging, but have since been reclaimed by nature. Located in Chiltern-Mount Pilot National Park, the falls begin where Reedy Creek runs over a broad sheet of undulating rock. It gently curves downwards before plunging into the bottom pool, which is surrounded on three sides by cliffs. The channels and……

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Thanks to the tourist attraction Odditoriums that bear his name scattered across North America, Robert L. Ripley has become a household name that conjures images of oddities from all over the globe.  Born in Santa Rosa, California, in 1890 LeRoy Robert Ripley was a self-taught artist who began his career at 16 years old as a sports cartoonist for several local newspapers. His talent for comics would eventually be the pathway to his “Believe It or Not” fame. Ripley……

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If you sent a letter in 17th-century Europe, there was a good chance it would pass through one of the continent’s so-called “Black Chambers”—secret rooms attached to post offices and staffed by intelligence units, where mail was opened, copied, resealed, and sent on its way, with the writer and recipient none the wiser. Nadine Akkerman, a senior lecturer at Leiden University, is an expert in 16th- and 17th-century espionage. But during her research into the Black Chambers, she ran……

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Tucked in the northeast corner of the graveyard at All Saints’ Church in the village of Turvey is the Higgins Mausoleum. While mid-19th century brick and stone mausoleums are not unusual, this one in northern Bedfordshire, England, is unique for the stark reminder from Psalm 89 written in stone in the balustrade lining the wall: “What man is he that liveth and shall not see death?” In 1786, Charles Higgins purchased land in Turvey. When he died in six……

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In certain spots in the old city of Mainz, as well as the University, the pedestrian traffic lights show a charming little man wearing a pointy cap telling you to go or wait. His name is Det, and he is a one of Germany’s beloved Mainzelmännchen cartoon characters. Created in 1963 by the graphic artist Wolf Gerlach, the Mainzelmännchen, or Little Mainz Men, are the mascots of German public broadcaster ZDF, which is headquartered Mainz. There are six Mainzelmännchen:……

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This fascinating and beautiful flight of 11 locks on the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is unique in the United Kingdom because of its narrowness and use of single leaf gates at both ends of the locks. British canal locks usually have at least one pair of the two-leaf miter-type gates. This arrangement was a necessary cost-saving measure so that the southern section of the canal could be completed. It resulted in one of the most attractive flights of locks in the country…….

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In Flanders, the best advice to give a disoriented cyclist is: Keep calm and check your crossbar. Many riders haul a string of numbers with them, preprinted or handwritten on a piece of paper. This jumble looks like a telephone number, but it’s really an itinerary: The numbers are a roadmap to the route. Nearly 220 miles of cycling paths wind through the region in northern Belgium. The Flemish biking network is called fietsknooppunten, and it’s made up of……

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This white, wood-frame farmhouse and its surrounding property off State Route 325 in Cross Creek, Florida, looks frozen in time. The house looks the same as it did during the 1930s when it was the home of American author and writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Although born and raised in Washington, D.C., and educated in Wisconsin, Rawlings is considered one of Florida’s most beloved writers. In November 1928, Rawlings and her first husband Charles, purchased the farmhouse and surrounding 74-acre……

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According to legends, Stirling, once the seat of power in ancient Scotland, was under threat from encroaching Danish Vikings. These Norsemen were in the process of ambushing this sleepy Celtic village along the River Forth, when one of the soldiers accidentally stepped on the paw of a sleeping wolf cub. The pup yelped alerting its mother who howled for her mate. This commotion was enough to wake the town and prevent a hostile takeover.  The validity of this tale is……

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