One of my favorite words to learn in any language is butterfly - or papillon, flutur, smetterling, farfalla, mariposa.....the onomatopoeic list goes on. The names are as pretty as the butterflies are, so I was intrigued when I heard that one of the greenhouses at the Botanical Gardens in Montreal becomes home for thousands of butterflies during the early spring.
Read the rest of: "The Butterflies Are Back!"» 
The Museum of Arts and Design in New York is located directly across the
street from the Museum of Modern Art, and lives completely in its
shadow. You know it's a bad sign when the gift shop is more crowded than
the museum. I should have known better, but went blithely ahead into the
(3 count 'em 3) galleries. Red light number two was when the guard
responded, upon questioning, that it might take 30 minutes tops to see
everything.
Read the rest of: "Museum of Arts & Design: Beyond + Why?"» Last night, Montreal played host to the third edition of "The White Night"
(La Nuit Blanche) - part of the yearly "Montreal En Lumière" festival program
during which a variety of nighttime cultural activities take place in the
city, often at reduced prices.
Just to give you an idea of the festivities, I'll tell you how my own "white"
night unfolded.
Read the rest of: "La Nuit Blanche in Montreal"» 
You know you're already too late to the game when New York Magazine
publishes an
article
(newyorkmetro.com) telling you that you should be living not in New
York, but in Buenos Aires, enjoying warmer temperatures, cheaper real
estate and "girls in bikinis".
Written by the
GoodAirs.com
guy, Ian, this article borders on advertorial in the way it unabashedly plugs the author's expat buddies with their
hobby-like business projects while simultaneously propagating this whole
myth of a warm, sunny, cheap New York (or Paris) on the other side of the
globe. If you're too lazy to follow the link and read it yourself, I'll
summarize it for you. The gist is that in Buenos Aires, even a "nobody"
from Manhattan can suddenly and effortlessly become somebody.
And, presumably, get to hang out with "girls in bikinis" as a result.
The secret behind this miraculous transformation?...
Read the rest of: "Buenos Aires Dreaming"»  I am happy to recommend this cosy, hip (but not slick) wine bar, which
despite being located in a place not conducive to any kind of nightlife
(with the lights of the Provigo supermarket intruding through the
large plate glass windows), offers quite something in other regards.
Read the rest of: "Pullman Bar"» 
What do you do if you're a Russian architect wishing to please
your tsar? Why, you build an ice palace in the Palace Square, of course! This architectural
technique has been used, to varying degrees of success, at least twice in the past three hunred years.
We're happy to report
that the most recent application did not yet result in any decapitations or torn out
tongues (the first one did). Yet for some of us, waiting outside for 2 hours with the Russian winter
in full swing may be the modern day equivalent of these severe punishments.
Puzzled? Read the explanations and see more pictures of the Ice Palace in the article.
Read the rest of: "Ice Palace"» 
Overlooking Gosier, Point-a-Pitre, and the marina of
Bas-du-Fort, with Marie Galante, les Saintes, and
Basse-Terre visible in the distance, the Fort Fleur
d'Épée has not only great views but was also a
strategically placed vantage point.
Read the rest of: "Fort Fleur d'Épée"» 
A few weeks ago, my boyfriend and I decided to take a weekend skiing trip to Vermont.
I'd always wanted to learn to how to ski but had absolutely no skills, being Mexican
and all.
Complicating the situation was the fact that three years ago my boyfriend went through an unpleasant experience of getting buried in an avalance while skiing in the high mountains - fortunately, he survived the accident (otherwise, I wouldn't be dating him!), but unfortunately he had to go though numerous operations and until last March was only able to walk aided by a pair of crutches or a cane.
So, erring on the side of caution, we decided to do cross-country skiing. The plain surface was really my best bet, too, as I could be calm, in contact with nature, but not too far from all the earthly conveniences...
Read the rest of: "Skiing in Vermont"» 
Via eXile.ru
Do you know of such urban creatures as Arbusius Azerbaijanius,
Pafus Maximus, or Sugarus Daddius? If not, you probably haven't read eXile's
illustrated field guide to Moscow (exile.ru).
Check it out, it's witty and funny... especially if you've been to Moscow.
If not, but you're planning on visiting, it can be useful as almost every type they describe really exists and is really common. Might as
well prepare yourself for the jungle Moscow is.
[Field Guide To Moscow]
(exile.ru)
Via [ IHT] --
Today's issue of IHT's travel section
[ profiles] the city
which come June, will be playing host to the 2006 World Cup.
We're talking about Leipzig, Germany, of course.
The 4-screen profile gives an overview of the history
and main attractions in the city nicknamed Heldenstadt (the
City of Heroes), teases us with little-known trivia
(Leipzig was home to Germany's first conservatory)
and supplies the minimal amount of neighborhood savvy:
The Zentrum has some beautiful Saxon architecture and
remains very lively until late...
The Süd district is more modern and younger; cafés
and boutiques selling everything purses to yarn line
strip for about 10 blocks.
There are plenty of hotel rooms in the city (11,500, according
to the IHT) which should work in your favor should you decide
to visit, but beware that during the World Cup accomodation
is likely to be scarce and the prices inflated.
[ The
City of Heroes and Saxon allure]
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