I love small-town America. It’s such a different experience from my hometown of New York, and Vincennes, Indiana, is a perfect example. Founded in 1732 by French fur traders, Vincennes is one of the oldest settlements west of the Appalachians and the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in the state. With a population of under 17,000, the city is small enough to walk to all its sights, and when most of those people were seemingly asleep all day when I was there, I felt like I owned the entire city, able to appreciate its riverside setting and attractive architecture at a very leisurely pace. Read about the top five buildings in Vincennes >
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Louisiana’s Best Buildings
When I was in Louisiana, twice, I knew I was in the deep Deep South: the jazz, the Creole culture, the Spanish moss on the live oak trees, the accents, the alligator nuggets for lunch. And, of course, the wonderful architecture that makes the Pelican State so memorable. Read about the top five buildings in Louisiana >
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It’s All in the Curious Details
If you’ve been following my blog for a while now, and I hope that you are, you know I have a passion for architecture. I’ve written about castles, cathedrals, mansions, and so many other buildings and their fascinating stories. While I love looking at the entire structure as a whole, sometimes there’s an engaging little otiose detail that may elude me on first glance. Thank goodness for that second look, when these curiosities, thoughtful and often playful, grabbed my attention and made me appreciate the imagination of those who created them. Although some have lost their raison d’être to the mists of time, others can tell an entire history. Read about the top five architectural curiosities >
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Snack Time
At some point during the day, you’re feeling peckish. It’s too early or late for a full meal, but you want something to tide you over while you go on the next hike or visit the next cathedral. For me, these unanticipated little hunger pangs occur suddenly, and that’s when I just start looking around for whatever’s at hand that seems like it would fit the bill. In this way, I’ve discovered some local places that I easily would have overlooked—and that I heartily recommend. Read about them >
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Underrated Zagreb’s Best Buildings
With good reason, visitors to Croatia flock to and concentrate on its gorgeous Adriatic coast and such unmistakable cities as Split and Dubrovnik. But there’s more to this country than its enviable coastline, verdant islands, and pristine beaches. A simple detour east brought me to Zagreb, one of the most underrated capitals in Europe and one of its most surprising, filled with great (and uncrowded) restaurants, fun markets, tons of museums, and striking architecture. Read about the top five buildings in Zagreb >
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Caribbean Dreamin’
My first trip to the Caribbean was to St. Martin, which also included a high-speed catamaran to St. Barts and a slow ferry with airplane passenger seats to Anguilla. My second was aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship that called at half a dozen islands. Since then, I’ve returned to the Caribbean multiple times, always to different islands, each with its own personality and vibe, all with outstanding beaches, friendly locals, terrific food, and interesting sights. It remains my go-to vacation spot when I want a vacation away from my frenetic trips elsewhere. Read about the top five Caribbean islands >
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Oklahoma’s Churches Are More Than OK
Adolf Hitler in stained glass. Dogs attending services. An Art Deco beauty co-designed by a female architect way back in 1929. A collateral victim of one of the worst terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. An abbey church on a now defunct college campus. Visiting churches in Oklahoma proved to be a highly unusual experience. More than just beautiful structures, these houses of worship are packed with some truly fascinating stories. Read about the top five churches in Oklahoma >
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Scotland’s Museums Are True Treasures, Inside and Out
Viking chess pieces. A 62-page book on how to be safe from air raids. One of the world’s top five clocks and one of the top five Crucifixions (thank you, Salvador Dalí). A parade of important historical figures from the fifth century on. I found all of them, and so much more, in the museums in Scotland, perfect refuges when mercurial weather drives you inside (after you’ve taken a good look at their gorgeous outsides). Read about the top five museums in Scotland >
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Centuries of Copenhagen’s Best Buildings
Copenhagen, Denmark, has a certain coziness about it. That intangible feeling is called hygge, and I could sense it in the general vibe of the city as well as in many of the places I visited. Even in the grandest buildings, some of which are hundreds of years old, somehow there is still, by and large, a sense of a human scale. Read about the top five buildings in Copenhagen >
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Norway’s Captivating Churches
Arguably the most iconic example of Norwegian architecture (and the one that always amazes me) is the stave church, a medieval wooden Christian church building constructed between 1150 and 1350 that used to be prevalent throughout Norway, with numbers estimated to be around 2,000. Sadly, fewer than 30 have survived. Since then, new and different—and quite beautiful—styles have taken their rightful place in the country’s ecclesiastical architectural inventory. Read about the top five churches in Norway >
Stephen Travels 