I devoted most of my only day in Corning, New York, to the outstanding Corning Museum of Glass, where I admired thousands of fantastic glass objects and took a flameworking class and created my own glass pumpkin pendant. By the time I emerged, the sun had shifted to the opposite end of the sky, and I was ready for a large meal. Just a couple doors down from my lodgings, the wonderful Inn at the Gaffer Grille, I found Sorge’s. This was hardly a discovery — everyone in town seemed to be there already — but it was certainly a stroke of good decision-making when I chose it for dinner. Read more >
Tag Archives: USA
Delightful Domes That Grace City Skylines
Domes. They’re one of the world’s most versatile architectural elements. Whether they’re topping iconic buildings like the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow, and the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, or they’re the buildings themselves, ranging from Eskimo igloos to Central Asian yurts to the geodesic dome in Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, Nebraska, domes add that final splash of panache to our built environments. Found throughout the world, they seem to be appreciated by just about everyone as the perfect way to top off a building in a graceful, elegant style. Read more about the world’s top five domes >
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The Depthless Southern Charm of Natchez, Mississippi
With a population that has been almost halved since its peak of only about 24,000 in 1960, Natchez, Mississippi, could easily become a forgotten, dying backwater along the Mississippi River. But its rich history, grand setting, elegance, and hospitality help maintain its relevance as one of the South’s most charming cities, particularly for those interested in heritage tourism. At the city’s zenith, more than 500 millionaires called it home — more than any other U.S. city except New York. They left behind a treasure trove of outstanding architecture that still lures a steady stream of visitors, including me, who come to gape at more than 600 antebellum structures — the largest collection in the United States. Read more about the top five buildings in Natchez >
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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 City Break Within a City: San Diego’s Balboa Park
One of the many jewels in the crown of San Diego, right up there with impeccable weather and fantastic restaurants (including the outstanding Berta’s Latin American Restaurant), Balboa Park presents an urban oasis of 1,200 acres filled with green belts, walking paths, a variety of cultural institutions, and, of course, the San Diego Zoo. If you want to escape the city without actually leaving the city, this is the place to go. Read more >
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Comfort Food at Its Best at Omaha’s Twisted Fork
I had already found, somewhat miraculously, a fantastic upscale seafood restaurant in the heart of cow country in Omaha, Nebraska. But now I was feeling a bit more carnivorous, with a yen for beef and something self-indulgent that would never be approved by a personal trainer or a nutritionist or a cardiologist. But treats like that are what vacations are for, and the Twisted Fork delivers in every way. Read more >
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Key West’s Key Buildings
Key West, Florida, is quite literally the end of the road, the final stop along the Overseas Highway, one of the world’s top 10 drives. The richest city in Florida and one of the richest in the United States in 1889, despite its isolation, Key West’s glory days didn’t last very long: It declared bankruptcy in the 1930s. During that short time span, however, the city thrived on its tobacco factories and shipwreck salvage industry, creating handsome structures while wisely maintaining a low-rise profile better suited to survive the annual threat of hurricanes. Read about the top five buildings in Key West >
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When Orange Is More Than Your Morning Juice
For those of us who live in certain climates, autumn brings a joyful change of season, when comfortably brisk days replace oppressive summer heat, and green foliage gives way to all-too-brief displays of flashy colors — especially a vibrant orange. If you don’t reside in a locale that’s blessed with this annual switch, you can get your fix of orange with an intricately carved jack-o-lantern or a Cincinnati Bengals game. And if you’re not privy to any of this, there are still plenty of oranges around the world that will capture your attention. Read more about my top five oranges >
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What Lies Beneath Seattle, Washington
A forgotten but not-so-secret city wound its way under my feet in Seattle. I didn’t know it existed, but my first hint that something lurked below was the small and thick amethyst-hued squares of glass embedded in the sidewalks around Pioneer Square. I found myself wondering what purpose they served. When I discovered that they were skylights for an underground city, I simply had to know more. Fortunately, there’s an exceptionally popular tour that explains all the mysteries. 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 >
Stephen Travels 