Once the tallest building on the planet — a title it retained for 17 years in the early 1900s — it now ranks at #63 in the United States and doesn’t crack the world’s top 100. Despite surrendering its lofty crown, the Woolworth Building retains its elegance and style that have been hallmarks of the New York City skyline since 1913. Although it’s getting increasingly harder to see as taller, less interesting neighbors sprout up around it, the Woolworth Building still puts other skyscrapers to shame, and once you take your first glance at it, you’ll understand why my favorite building in New York earned the moniker the “Cathedral of Commerce” only three days after it opened. Read more >
Monthly Archives: April 2018
Lunching at Café Morlang in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
I had spent an unseasonably cold spring morning wandering around Bloemenmarkt, Amsterdam’s famed floating flower market, and Begijnhof, the lovely medieval courtyard surrounded by historic buildings, including Begijnhof Chapel (1660s), one of only two wooden buildings remaining in the center of the city. Now it was time to warm up indoors for lunch. And I found the perfect place at Café Morlang, just a couple of canals away. Read more >
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Montreal Churchgoers Are Particularly Blessed
I fully expected to see plenty of Catholic churches in Montreal, founded as a Roman Catholic colony by France. But once the British won the Seven Years’ War and English immigrants arrived, Protestant churches were soon rising among their neighbors. Nicknamed “la ville aux cent clochers” (the city of a hundred bell towers), Montreal, Quebec, teems with beautiful houses of worship of various denominations, including Canada’s largest church, the third-largest dome in the world, and a scaled-down replica of the Vatican City’s Basilica of St. Peter. Read more about the top five churches in Montreal >
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Lingering Over Lunch in Tivoli, Italy
A short day trip out of Rome took me to Tivoli, a smaller city of around 55,000 people about 25 miles northeast of the Italian capital. I traveled here specifically to see Villa d’Este, a 16th-century palace famed for the gardens and 51 fountains that spill down the hillside behind it. A full morning spent admiring the villa’s frescoes and climbing up and down some steep paths and staircases to appreciate the property had stirred my appetite. On my way back to the train station, I hunted for a spot for lunch where I could soak in the aura of this place. I found it perfectly captured at Ristorante L’Angolino di Mirko. Read more >
Stephen Travels 