They’re Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Tuscan, smooth or fluted, singular or clustered. Their capitals can resemble anything from acanthus leaves to volutes. And when they’re not supporting entire buildings, giving the appearance of such on a building’s façade, or forming an arcade, columns often sprout up as stand-alone structures. These engaging specimens of verticality, whether they’re slender or bold, have always caught my eye (whether or not I’m able to climb to their tops). Read about the world’s top five columns >
Tag Archives: Oregon
A Rose Is a Rose Is a Rose, But Some Places Grow Them Better
Garden cultivation of roses began several millennia ago, starting way back in Babylon, ancient China, and the Roman Empire. Long admired for their color, their fragrance, and their beauty (some royalty used them as legal tender in the 17th century), the world’s most popular flower has achieved fame not only in horticultural circles, but also in song (“Yellow Rose of Texas”; “Every Rose Has Its Thorn”), war (The War of the Roses), adages (“bed of roses”; “I never promised you a rose garden”), and cinema (The Rose; The Rose Tattoo). This international symbol of love is tended to in dedicated gardens around the world, some of which have truly perfected the art. Read about the world’s top five rose gardens >
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The World’s Best Urban Parks
Watching a group of Asian senior citizens practicing the slow movements of a choreographed dance. Making friends with a red squirrel. Hearing someone rail against the evils of plutocracy. Standing under a 165’ Douglas fir. You never know what you’ll find in a city park, and that’s one of their many attractions. And the best parks that make all that possible smack in the middle of a city do it in unforgettable style. Read about the top five urban parks >
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Shelf Life: The World’s Best Bookstores
When you’re confined to your home for any reason, from a three-day cold that has you feeling haggard to a yearlong global pandemic that has wrecked every aspect of your life and has completely enervated you, you need a panacea to prevent insanity. From cobbling together inventive workout routines with household items to starring in your own YouTube videos to whipping up something completely new in the kitchen, we’ve all found methods to amuse ourselves. (Binge-watching brainless reality shows doesn’t cut it.) Of course, the old standby — curling up with a good book—rises to the top of the ways to escape your situation and enter a world far-removed from your own. And finding a unique brick-and-mortar bookstore to expand your library with anything from the definitive biography of an obscure artist to a demotic novel for a beach read is where it all begins (sorry, Amazon). Read about my top five bookstores >
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A Chinese Oasis in the Midst of Portland, Oregon
More than 50 Chinatowns can be found dotted around the United States, from the West Coast (especially in California, where at least 16 of these mini-Chinas thrive) to the East, where the Chinatown in Manhattan is getting a little too big for its britches and is encroaching on its equally well-established neighbors. I found one in Portland, Oregon, which also happens to boast a stellar Chinese garden, one of the most authentic located outside China. Read about it >
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A Good Laugh Is a Mighty Good Thing
Herman Melville said it best in Moby-Dick: “A good laugh is a mighty good thing, and rather too scarce a good thing.” Published in 1851, Melville’s statement could not be more pertinent today. Let’s face it: In light of a disturbing pandemic, food and hand sanitizer shortages, insufficient health care procedures, quarantines, and a constant barrage of bad news and “Breaking News” from CNN that instantly makes you think, “What fresh hell is this?!”, we need a good laugh to relieve the tension, if only for a moment or two. Without further ado, from my travels around the world, here are the top five sights that will make you laugh >
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When Nature Has Fun: The Best Natural Curiosities
Malta’s Azure Window. Aruba’s Natural Bridge. New Hampshire’s Old Man of the Mountain. Four of Australia’s Twelve Apostles. All were beautiful, quirky sites carved by the forces of nature, and all were destroyed by the very same forces. If you are fortunate enough to have seen them before their demise, you undoubtedly have a fond memory; if not, you’re out of luck—they’re gone for good. But fear not: Plenty of other one-off oddities still exist around the world. You just have to make sure you get to them before storms and erosion make them things of the past. Read more about the world’s top five natural curiosities >
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A Home for War Blimps: Tillamook Air Museum, Oregon
Today, the only time you’re likely to see a zeppelin is when it’s hovering over a football game or a parade, advertising Goodyear, for instance, or MetLife. But not that long ago, zeppelins were being touted as the next big thing in travel. A little disaster called the Hindenburg almost single-handedly sent that idea up in smoke. Zeppelins continued to be of great importance to the military, however, and the Tillamook Air Museum in Oregon provides a fascinating look at a massive World War II blimp hangar and what it meant to the defense of the United States during the war. Read more >
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Top 5 Yellows
It may elicit groans and sighs of dismay from children when a yellow school bus pulls up on the first day back to class in September, but it will also make millions of parents secretly smile. In fact, at least to me, yellow remains the most joyful color. Whether it’s the daffodil fields of Oregon, the Yellow Mounds in Badlands National Park in South Dakota, or the predominant color in the ceramics and pottery made in Orvieto, Italy, yellow is bound to add a little cheer to your day. These are my top five occurrences of yellow from around the world. Read more >
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Five Beaches to Make You Forget Winter
You’re tired of the snow and ice. And the single-digit temperatures. And the scarves, hats, gloves, and thermal underwear. And the terms “wind chill,” “subarctic,” and “polar vortex.” It’s time to start warming yourself up with thoughts of sun and sand. Growing up in New York, I wasn’t an avid fan of the local beaches — the water was gray, the sand was speckled with litter, and spending a day with thousands of other people around me seemed to mock the notion of relaxation. But my outlook changed during my first trip to the Caribbean, when impossible colors and joyous serenity completely obliterated my notions of what a day at the shore meant. These are my five favorite beaches in the world. Read more >
Stephen Travels 