USA

This past weekend, we're wandering around Dumbo — that neighborhood that takes place between and beneath the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges and seems comprised almost entirely of organic food marts and upscale designer baby clothes boutiques.

I was in the mood for a hot dog and beer, which is only a healthy meal when compared to my previous idea of a meal of ultra-rich chocolate. But there were surprisingly few hot dog vendors about the place, and in stark contrast to my own neighborhood, no guys wandering around offering to sell you a Corona for a buck fifty. However, while walking up Jay Street, I suddenly caught a whiff of…is that…is that taco? Yes it is. And suddenly all I wanted was tacos and beer. Luckily, Pedro's Spanish American Restaurant and Bar was waiting on the corner of Jay and Front Street (73 Jay St., between Front and Water) to give me exactly what I wanted.

Read the rest of: "Pedro's Spanish American Restaurant"»

I have a love and hate relationship with Strand. The "hate" part, for those interested, will be explained at the end of this posting, but let me start with the "love" one. For a hardcover-loving bibliophile rat I am, Strand is simply a great place - one of the best in the world. It's big, cavernous (they claim to offer "18 miles of books") and full of surprises...

Read the rest of: "Stranded on Broadway"»

I have not, traditionally, gone out and done very much on St. Patrick's Day. For a while, this was because I stopped drinking (oh, so many days wasted on sobriety). And for a while, this was because I was going through a cranky phase and didn't want to combat drunken masses crammed shoulder-to-shoulder in a New York pub. These are no longer concerns for me. As for temperance, I have returned to my Scotch-Irish roots. And as for drunken crowds crammed into pubs, I have discovered that I actually enjoy the convivial revelry of such a gathering.

So in the year 2007, I decided it was time to go out and have fun on St. Patty's Day, even if my Irish ancestors were Protestants. England shipped my Scottish ancestors to the Americas as slaves, and I still rooted for them during the world Cup, so I'm over things, even if others are still fighting over Cromwell.

But somehow, I ended up celebrating the first half of St. Patty's sitting in tapas bar Las Ramblas. Nothing says Ireland quite like tapas and white berry pomegranate sangria...

Read the rest of: "St. Patty's Spanish Style: Las Ramblas Tapas Bar"»

The Mutter Museum, nestled inside a perfectly noble looking old academic building, is a gloriously jumbled collection of medical specimens exhibiting the dizzying number of horrible things that can go wrong with the human body...

Read the rest of: "Mutter Museum, Philadelphia"»

Being in the art field, I wouldn't normally think of Denver as a leading art center. But thanks to their new museum, they've secured themselves on the art world map...

Read the rest of: "Denver Museum of Art"»

Some of my life goals are a little unconventional. Mastering the accordion, traveling to every continent before I'm 30, going to Wimbledon (I've accepted that it will only be as a spectator at this point)— these are the things that fill my dreams. Last month, I got to check off one of the seemingly silly items on the list: going to the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Finally, I'd get to root for Team Bernese Mountain Dog in person, at the Super Bowl of dog shows no less. Plus, it meant a trip to New York City. What more could a canine-crazy gal ask for?..

Read the rest of: "Oh My Dog: The 131st Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show"»

We were in the greater Baltimore area to visit the American Dime Museum, an example of and homage to the old dime museums and sideshow displays that were a staple of traveling carnivals and circuses during the late 19th and early 20th century.

For a mere dime, dupes and rubes could file through a museum of the strange and curious and marvel at everything from a two-headed calf to a mermaid from Fiji...

Read the rest of: "The American Dime Museum"»

About 32 miles from Denver sits a tiny hippy oasis called Indian Springs Resort. Mud baths! Mineral Springs! "Private jacuzzis with beautiful mountain view!" This sounded like the makings of a relaxing vacation!

When we arrived at Indian Springs, my first impression was "this is it?"...

Read the rest of: "Indian Springs Resort"»

The museum experience in New York is often overshadowed by the hard-hitters: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Guggenheim, The Museum of Modern Art and the Natural History Museum. A step below these museums are many other worthwhile institutions, although not as "famous." The Museum of Art and Design, across from MoMA on 53rd Street has an incredible collection of contemporary objects, innovative furniture, package design, ceramics and other design elements...

Read the rest of: "Museum of Art and Design"»

In a brutal dance of acrobatics and fierce headlocks, the wrestlers tumbled and flipped each other across the ring, stopping now and then to turn to the cheering audience and flex their muscles. They ranged in age and size from youthful bodybuilders to small but quick, middle-aged firecrackers, and all wore shiny face masks and colorful spandex pants that sparkled under the outdoor lights. The commentator kept up with all the action, dramatically rattling off the moves in Spanish over blaring loudspeakers. The referee bounced around the men in the ring, fielding insults from hecklers in the audience...

This is Lucha Libre, or Mexican wrestling – a mixture of sport, drama, comedy and sheer showmanship...

Read the rest of: "¡Viva Lucha Libre!"»