The first planned city in what would become the United States was Savannah, Georgia, founded in 1733. It’s seductive, genteel, refined, beautiful, historical, sultry, mysterious—and imminently walkable. As I roamed the gorgeous streets of the city’s main historic district, in between all the buildings (every one of which has a fascinating history) and the palm, magnolia, sycamore, and live oak trees with their feathery Spanish moss, I was never very far from one of the district’s 22 squares, inviting green and shady spaces where you can relax and absorb the aura of America’s most atmospheric city. Read about them >
Tag Archives: travel
German Goodness at the Only Schnitzel Bar in Richmond, Virginia
It may not feel exactly like a café or bar you would find in Germany, but it does capture a certain stimmung, a convivial mood that I often found when visiting Germany itself. I didn’t expect that in Richmond, Virginia, but Café Rustika pleasantly surprised me. Serving up German comfort food with smiles and raves for the chef’s creations, the staff here make you feel like you would, if you lived in town, come back again and again. Read about it >
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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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How to Satisfy Your Hankerin’ for Southern Food in Richmond
On my first night in Richmond, Virginia, I felt the need to go full-on Southern for dinner. Tobacco Company Restaurant certainly had the name that indicated it might fit the bill. And it delivered in a big way, with iconic Southern food, a very lively vibe, and a terrific backstory. Read about it >
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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 >
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Fired Up
On a cold evening in late October in Granville, Ohio, I entered my accommodation, the Granville Inn, where the flames in the lobby fireplace greeted me and started to thaw me out, exorcising the chill from my body. With the northern half of the globe now ensconced in the winter season, I’m warmed by that memory. Amid all the snow and ice and freezing temperatures, one of the most welcome sights is a fire—well, a contained fire, such as in a fireplace, particularly a wood-burning fireplace, where you can become mesmerized by the dancing flames and the snap, crackle, and pop of the logs as they burn. Even without Christmas stockings that were hung there with care, fireplaces always provide a warm welcome. Read about the top five fireplaces >
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Great Churches in the Great Lakes State
By some estimates, there are approximately 12,000 churches in Michigan. Declining attendance in these churches, no matter what the faith, means that many have closed permanently, and many more are headed in that direction, with the very real possibility of being razed. That would be a shame, because these are some very fine buildings that enhance the beauty of cities and towns all around the Great Lakes State. Read about the top five churches in Michigan >
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Italy in Portugal
One of the largest squares in Portugal, Praça do Comércio in Lisbon seems to unconsciously draw people to its 329,000 square feet of space. Perhaps it’s for the cool breezes coming off the adjacent Tagus River, or for the shaded arcades of the yellow government buildings, or for one of the world’s most beautiful arches. Certainly, it’s partially for the restaurants with abundant outdoor seating framing three side of the plaza. One of them, Troppo Squisito, gives you an Italian option when you’re looking to break out from the Portuguese specialties you’ve been enjoying for a week. Read about it >
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The Visual Delights of Malta’s Churches
Estimates of Malta’s Catholic population range from 80% to 98%. Even at that lower figure, this is a country with a lot of Catholics. And it has spectacular churches to support their practice. No matter what city I went to, there was always a gorgeous church, or many of them, depending on the size of the city. Valletta, the capital, alone has 28 churches, in a city that you can easily walk from end to end in under an hour. But even smaller cities seem to have more than enough to tend to the religious needs of a total national population of just over half a million. Read about the top five churches in Malta >
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Italian Heart, Portuguese Soul
The name of Ris8tto, the restaurant across the street from my hotel in Porto, Portugal, Infante Sagres, intrigued me. I liked the “8” that replaced the middle “o,” playing on the Italian otto, for eight, and its similar sound to the final syllable of risotto. And, of course, I like risotto. So it seemed like a good choice for dinner. The handful of outdoor tables were filling up quickly, so it also seemed like lots of other people had the same thought. We were all correct. Read about it >
Stephen Travels 