BACK STORY

It’s easy to get lost when wandering through Bologna’s narrow, somewhat gritty side streets lined with shops, markets, restaurants and osterias (taverns), the later offering monumental happy hour antipasti dishes for the price of a simple glass of wine.  Every little side street in the historic city center seemingly leads to a stunning piazza with remarkably preserved cathedrals and towers along with museums (there are over 50) and outdoor cafés. The city is a stunning blend of urban charm and history. Bologna boasts the Università di Bologna, the oldest university in the world (circa 1158), and is referred to as the most educated and forward-thinking city in Italy. Bologna, for example, was the first city in the world to abolish slavery. If you’re short on time, a hop on/hop off bus is the best way to begin your exploration, which offers a comprehensive overview of  Bologna from the Etruscan and Roman origins to its modern culture of today.

Day 1: The Antipasto – Garisenda & Asinelli Towers and Mortadella di Bologna

The two leaning towers, Garisenda and Asinelli, are the most traditional symbols of Bologna. Yes, they both really lean. In the late 12th century, one hundred towers graced the skyline, but today only twenty have survived the ravages of fire and war fare. The wealthy would live on the top floor of the tower, to avoid theft and street-fighting. Take the staircase to the top of the Asinelli tower where you can admire the red roofs and the hills around the city, plus get oriented.

After climbing Asinelli tower it was time for a break. Piazza Maggiore is a good place for a refreshing Aperol Spritz and a platter of Bologna’s most important antipasto: Mortadella di Bologna.

Not to be confused with the bastardized version of bologna available in the U.S., Mortadella di Bologna is a paper thin sliced heat-cured pork sausage, served room temperature, generally flavored with small cubes of pork fat, whole black pepper, myrtle berries, nutmeg and pistachios. Surprisingly, it is low in calories. The platter can include a dollop of a creamy soft cheese, such Asiago or Toma Piemontese, along with a basket of pocket-sized gnocco fritto (fried bread, similar to the New Mexican sopapilla). Watching life go by from an outdoor café, it was easy to see that Bologna offered a nice blend of tourists and locals, unlike the overtly touristic destinations of Venice, Rome and Florence.

Day 2: The Primo – Basilica di Santo Stefano and Tagaliatelle al ragù & Tortellini en brodo

Considered Bologna’s most important religious site (circa 11th-century), Basilica di Santo Stefano has been relished for centuries in Bolognese history. Originally it consisted of seven churches on the site, but only four remain intact today. The austere octagonal cathedral incorporates Romanesque and Lombardian architectural design as well as  housing the bones of San Petronio. After a long decline, Bologna was reborn in the 5th century under Bishop Petronius. It is not to be missed.

It had been an exhausting day of exploring, and my stomach told me that a much awaited bout with tagliatelle al ragù and tortellini were definitely in order. In Bologna, fresh egg pasta is the thing, and tagliatelle pasta is no exception. The fresh noodles are lathered in a thick ragù alla Bolognese sauce, consisting of onions, carrots, pork, veal, and with just a little bit of tomato. It was splendid, but a bit more rustic than I had imagined. Readers note: a Bolognese sauce in the U.S. simply means a tomato sauce with beef, and is not an authentic Bolognese dish.

Tortellini en brodo (in beef broth) is the traditional first course for Christmas feasts in Bologna. The shape of the pasta dumpling (generally filled with a mixture of pork loin, prosciutto, mortadella and parmigiano), is said to be inspired by Venus’ navel. Another interpretation is that an innkeeper was captivated by the beauty of a guest. He spied on her from a key hole, but all he could see was her navel. He was so inspired that he created the dumpling in her honor. I wasn’t in the mood for soup, so opted for the equally delicious Tortellini alla Panna (cream sauce).

Day 3: The Secondo – Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca and Lasagne alla Bolognese.

A kiddie-like train leads up to The Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca, a monumental basilica church nestled atop a forested hill, with breathtaking vistas of the city and surrounding countryside. History tells us that the church existed on the hill for over ten centuries when a pilgrim from the Byzantine empire came to Bologna with an icon of the Virgin Mary from the temple of Saint Sofia in Constantinople. Initially the small hermitage-chapel was tendered by two holy women. The present church was constructed in 1723 using the designs of Carlo Francesco Dotti. Today, pilgrims from all over the world (many bare footed) join an annual pilgrimage along the path from Bologna to the sanctuary.  Upon reaching the top, the sanctuary opens up in an inspiring display of Baroque architecture, statues, painted artworks, sacristies and frescoes.

The experience also had an effect on my appetite. So for my last meal in Bologna, it had to be my favorite Italian dish, the quintessential Lasagne alla Bolognese. The preparation of the dish consists of layering wide green pasta with a rich ragù sauce, besciamella cream sauce and abundant Parmigiano–Reggiano cheese, then baked in the oven. Once again, with the rich ragù sauce, it was more rustic than I had thought, but every bite was still a gift from heaven. My list, for now, was complete for the three-day culinary tour and exploration of this fascinating historical city. And I will absolutely return to Bologna again for more sights and other tantalizing dishes.

POST SCRIPT

Wait a second, how could I have forgotten the delicious and filling Cotoletta alla Bolognese, (similar to Cotoletta alla Milanese, but with a slice of prosciutto and cheese on top, then a spoonful  of ragù). Perhaps the reason it was overlooked was that this delicious dish was the last thing I ordered in Bologna, and was tragically unable to finish it. My waitress looked down at the half-eaten dish, and asked if it was ok.  I replied it was beyond tremendous, but I just couldn’t consume any more food.  She smiled and replied, “Well, we are called the ‘Fat One’ for a reason.”

The history of Italian-American cooking 

About 4 million Italians immigrated to America from 1880 to 1920. The majority (about 85 percent) came from southern Italy, where political and economic circumstances left the region extremely impoverished, so it would be the cuisines of  Sicily, Calabria, Campania, Abruzzi and Molise that would make their mark in the U.S. kitchen. Until recently it was difficult to even find Cucina alla Bolonese in the U.S.

Here’s a list of other of tantalizing Bolognese dishes in which I will sample on my next visit to ‘La Gassa’ – the gastronomic capital of Italy.

Polpette alla Bolognese: Meat balls made with veal meat, mortadella, parmigiano, eggs, bread and milk. It is similar to a meatloaf, sliced, and covered in a meat sauce/ragù, and served as a main course. When you go to Italy, you will not find the Italian-American dish, spaghetti and meatballs on the menu. If you do, it’s probably to satisfy the palate of insistent American tourists. (think of the Hollywood film, ’Big Night,’ where the chef, who prided himself on only serving authentic Italian dishes from his homeland, refused to serve it to astonished American customers). Anglo-American diners in New York City, were accustomed to having  a protein accompaniment to their main course, so meatballs were added. It was one of the many ways southern Italy immigrants adapted to the New World, in an attempt to assimilate into this strange, new culture. Spaghetti became popular for it was the main Italian pasta available in the U.S.  A further comment, pasta in Italy is always a first-course dish, not a main course.

Tortelloni: Basically a larger version of tortellini, but with a milder tasting filling of Parmigiano-Reggiano and either spinach, swiss chard or parsley. They are typically served in a butter and sage sauce or a tomato and butter sauce with plenty of grated Parmigiano sprinkled on top.

Gramigna alla salsiccia:  Gramigna are short curly hollow tubes of pasta, which are simply topped with three ingredients: sausage meat, tomatoes, and onion.

Bollito Miso: Made of vegetables and various meats, like chicken, beef, and sausage, simmered together and usually served with an anchovy-garlic sauce

Friggione: A sauce made of white onions, olive oil and tomatoes, eaten with bread or pork meat or polenta.

Raviole: Oven cooked short crust pastry cakes.

Pinza: A short crust pastry recipe similar to Raviole, but made with a stuffing of Mostarda Bolognese,(a sort of a marmalade of apples, peers, plums, almonds and raisins and a little bit of mustard). Pinza is oval shaped, bigger than Raviole, and is oven cooked before being eaten plain or dipped in a cup of milk for breakfast.

For further information, click on Bologna Welcome

The post To Live and Dine in Bologna: Three-Days in the Gastronomic Capital of Italy appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany – They feature one of my favorite artists Albrecht Durer. My uncle  when seeing my long hair said… “David you look like Albrecht Durer,” which got me interested in the famous artist from the 15^th century. – DE

Anne Frank House, Amsterdam – To see it is to be moved to tears. Such courage and vision beyond her young years. – MG

NY Met, expansive and all under one roof; British Museum of course; Israel Museum; and the Museum Quarter (Island) in Berlin. – SV

My fave is probably the Smithsonian Air and Space in DC.  My most memorable is the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. Though I wish I made time to see L.A.’s MOCA and Griffith Park Observatory. – HL

Museum Island, Berlin – For tours of all 5 museums. – GW

Pompeii, Italy – Not sure if museum, but my favorite historic site. – OM

Polynesian Cultural Museum, Laie, Oahu, Hawaii  – My kids loved it, so much to learn for adults too. – MB

The post The T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s Readers’ Poll appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Welcome to the T-Boy Society of Film and Music’s latest installment of some of our favorite things, things that make life worth living as we continue to grow as patrons of the world. It’s hard to believe that in the past four months we’ve addressed six subjects: Favorite Natural Wonders, Top Road Movies, Architectural Wonders, North-American-English Language Travel Novels, Top Songs of the Road, and Bucket  List Destinations.

The current T-Boy Society of Film and Music poll is devoted to our favorite museums. It was a tough category to nail down to just five, but the results were both educational and a lot of fun. T-Boy writer Richard Carroll put it in the proper context, The museum feature is important because museums offer insights to a destination that one might overlook. There were a number of important museums on members’ lists – the MET, the Hermitage, Smithsonian Museums in DC – which demanded to be represented. But also a sprinkling of little gems, which many of us knew nothing about, e.g. the small Museu do Fado in Lisbon, Seattle’s Museum of Flight and the Skansen Open Air Museum in Stockholm. As always, I learned a lot. I hope you do, too. – EB

T-Boy Society of Film and Music’s Favorite Museums

Richard Frisbie – T-Boy writer:

My Top Five Favorite Museums in the World

• American Museum of Natural History in NYC – Because I’m sentimental. As a kid spending my school year in New York’s Hudson Valley, and summers in New York City, my brother and city cousins and I spent rainy summer days in the museum. It was our playground, surrounded by ancient and modern animals, and all sorts of exotic things, where the wonders of the world were available to us. When the movie Night in the Museum came out I was reminded of all the fun we had there as kids.
• The Guggenheim Museum in NYC – When Frank Lloyd Wright’s amazing architectural wonder opened, we (autonomous) kids walked up from 57th (between 9th & 10th) to see it.  So long as we got back before the street lights came on we had the run of the city. The Calder was fun, but mostly I remember the spiral ramp up past all the art, and how inspiring the building was from the outside. I was the oldest, a precocious eleven year old.
• The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain – Shortly after it opened I had the occasion to go there and be amazed by the sheer caressable beauty of Frank Gehry’s design, shimmering in the construction zone of what is now a beautiful, sculpture-studded river walk through a library, hotels, convention center, and shopping mall. I’ve been back several times to see how the concept grew, from the Guggenheim additions, to the architectural bridges, and the pedestrian walks where the street used to be. Every hour the museum is cloaked in man-made fog, leaving the guardian Puppy and Mommy-longlegs behind, only to be reunited as the mist settles. It is a wondrous sight!
• The Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, Italy – Imagine a rare afternoon free in Venice to see the sights. Tourism offices call that free time, then usually fill it with trivial things. Not this time! We went first to the tiny but amazing Leonardo Da Vinci Museum because we discovered it on our way to the Guggenheim, then press-passed our way into the unassuming Guggenheim to see what was going on. There’s a famous statue of a naked, sexually aroused man astride a horse looking out over the Grand Canal.  A museum staffer told me that when school groups visit the museum he unscrews the erection so their young sensibilities would not be offended. He didn’t answer when I asked if he also covered the naked breasts on the female statues. Hypocrisy! (True Story.)
• The truly unique – Grand Prix Museum and Wine Museum in Macau – I was there with the Executive Chefs from PF Chang’s researching menu additions when they opened the museum(s) for a dinner and wine tasting. They pulled out all the stops on that visit, including one on an ancient, smooth-as-silk, port. That was an amazing museum dinner in a week of incredible food!

I go to museums every time I visit an area. There are several other memorable ones that could easily be in the Top Five: Roberto Burle Marx’s Siteo in Rio, The Prado in Madrid, the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, Spain, and especially . . . well, in truth, there are too many for me to list. But read on. I’m sure my colleagues included them elsewhere in this article.

Susan Breslow – T-Boy writer:

• Nobel Prize Museum, Stockholm, Sweden – After Alfred Nobel discovered dynamite, he left his estate built on the proceeds to reward individual achievements in chemistry, literature, medicine, physics, and peace. In this compact museum, computer tablets offer insights into winners by decade and describe each one’s contributions to humanity. You’ll feel even closer to genius when poring over the serious and quirky displays of awardees’ possessions including personal notebooks, bicycles, even spectacles. In the reading room, find copies of volumes by Nobel Literature Laureates and a cozy place to page through them.
• Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy – There’s nothing fusty about this house museum, featuring the personal collection of the American heiress who became a patron of pre- and postwar American and European modernists. Works by Magritte, Dalí, Kandinsky, Klee, Picasso, Brancusi, and others confirm her prescient eye for the greats. Relax in the garden and stroll to the landing at the back of the palazzo, which overlooks Venice’s Grand Canal from up high.
• Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Museums inspired by the passion of a single individual are invariably unique. Once the private preserve of Albert C. Barnes, who made his fortune by developing a compound to combat gonorrhea and other inflammations, this museum is idiosyncratic in the way it presents Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, Picasso, Modigliani, Van Gogh, Degas, and other virtuosos: It’s rare to find a solitary oil painting on a wall; typically Barnes’ “wall ensembles” also include sculpture, wrought-iron forms, lamps, furniture, and other objects that cohere with the canvases.
• Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York – A wealth of world-class museums welcome visitors to New York; its Metropolitan is encompassing. Yet it’s not my favorite. That’s the Whitney, the first museum dedicated to the work of living American artists and home to a trend-setting Biennial. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, another wealthy patron of the arts and a respected sculptor in her own right, founded it in 1930. About a decade ago the museum moved from its snooty Upper East Side address to an innovative Renzo Piano structure in the Meatpacking District. In addition to the outstanding collection, nearly every floor has an outdoor plaza, where visitors can take in views of the low-rise neighborhood, the Highline, and the Hudson River.
• Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia – I was familiar with Henri Matisse’s The Dance, but it wasn’t until I visited the Hermitage did I realize the master had also created Music to complement it; the latter is rarely seen outside the country. The world’s second-largest art museum (after the Louvre), the Hermitage is a six-building complex that is also home to other priceless paintings, antiquities, the gilded carriages of royalty, and a large collection of intricately fashioned and bejeweled Fabergé Easter eggs that inspire thoughts of larceny.

Richard Carroll – T-Boy writer:

• National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City – My first visit, one of many, was in 1971. Visitors are greeted near the entrance by the towering statue Tlaloc, the water god, and beyond is an incredible collection of Mexican history, with 23 exhibit halls covering 100,000 square feet on two spacious floors. A national treasure with international recognition, the museum features superbly displayed Maya pre-Columbian heritage, a massive empire that reached from Mexico to Guatemala and Central America. Large notable murals, a 22-ton Aztec sun stone, and hours of informative enjoyment, are a tremendous boost in understanding a diverse and complex country, the people, and the various languages. You need more than one visit to fully digest this world-renowned complex.
• Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena California – Elegant and welcoming, the museum on Colorado Boulevard in Old Town Pasadena is seen by millions as the annual Rose Bowl Parade passes by. But beyond the exterior, the Norton Simon ambiance feels as if you should be sipping champagne as you browse a selection of 12,000 art pieces, and one of the finest collections of 19th-century French art including more than 100 works by Edgar Degas. A splendid enjoyment is the lush Sculpture Garden surrounding a Lilly Pond reminiscent of Monet where plants bloom year-round. The Garden Cafe overlooking the Lilly Pond is perfect for a casual lunch and where one can pull away for a moment or two from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.
• Museo Picasso, Malaga, Spain – Malaga, Picasso’s birthplace, the artist is alive and well thanks to the Malaguenas in his Andalusian hometown who understand the strength of a legend. The proud city has the great artist front and center with the Museo Picasso housed in the celebrated 16-century Palacio de Buenavista in the heart of the historic district. One of 34 museums in the city, the Museo Picasso is designed with 12 halls or galleries with 226 works of art, and Picasso’s colorful and passionate vision of life with sketches, ceramics, and large format art works that are a lasting memory. Throughout the gallery are short powerful Picasso quotes from a collection of a hundred or more of Picasso’s thoughts on life, that add another dimension to a complex and timeless personality. “What one does is what counts and not what had the intention of doing.” “Spain is the boldest, saddest, and most surprising place on earth.” “To finish, to achieve – don’t those words actually have a double meaning.” With church bells ringing from the adjacent Renaissance-style Cathedral de Malaga, 1528, the museum has uncovered a level beneath its ground floor where Roman and Phoenician ruins are nicely displayed.

Deb Roskamp – T-Boy photographer & writer: 

• Musée d’Orsay, Paris – Hands down, être numéro un. I could meander fully enchanted through this brilliantly renovated train station seemingly forever, as I’d never tire of the treasures displayed inside.  Some of its collection used to hang in what was, in the 80s, my favorite museum, the jeu de Paume.
• Florence Nightingale Museum, London – Out of London’s hundreds of museums, this one reaches out to me.  What can I say?  I’m a nurse and Flo was one of my heroes.
• Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam – Never has a museum inspired a curiosity to learn about a painter like this one did for me.  At my only visit in 1981, I knew so little about the artist’s life and work.  Decades later, after having scouted out countless areas he painted, read and reread his letters to Theo, I only hope that I will be able to return.
• Museu do Fado, Lisbon – This sweet little museum in the Alfama area of Lisbon is a treasure.  It’s an immersive education for the ears rather than the eyes.  One can spend hours leisurely listening to the various artists of one’s choice in the comfort of an armchair.
• Anne Frank House, Amsterdam – Everyone knows her story.  Who wouldn’t want to see where that optimistic and courageous child lived who gave us so much inspiration? I feel the suffering of millions. And yet, when I look up at the sky, I somehow feel that every-thing will change for the better, that this cruelty too shall end, that peace and tranquility will return once more.
• Honorable mention: Musee Picasso, Paris – Located in a converted 17th century hotel, this museum is a lovely testament to the talents of this famed artist and organized in a chronologic fashion; Museo Frida Kahlo (Casa Azul), Coyoacan, Mexico – How moving is it to be in the artist’s home where she was born, worked and died?; The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. – It’s been a long time since I visited, but a lasting impression was made.  Such a lovely collection of European and American artists; Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto – If you looked in my closet, you might not guess that this collection would make my list, as my own footwear is not so interesting or extensive.  However, it does, simply for the novelty of finding shoes from nearly every civilization under one roof; Hermitage, St. Petersburg – The architecture, the sheer vastness of its collection… it just had to make my list.

Stephen Brewer  – T-Boy writer:

Top five museums – this is hard to narrow down, but here goes:

• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City – for scope and depth, especially European paintings
• Musée d’Orsay, Paris
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam – for the Northern painters
• Pergamon Museum, Berlin – for ancient architectural wonders and Nephritite
• Archaeological Museum, Naples – for Pompeii frescoes
• Acropolis Museum, Athens – for the Parthenon Frieze

Ed Boitano – T-Boy editor:

• Henry the VIII’s Hampton Court Palace, London – Growing up in the Pacific Northwest my enthusiasm for castles and palaces was something from which I would only read in books. But, decades later, my wish was well worth waiting for when I finally stepped foot into Hampton Court Palace, British King Henry the VIII’s favorite Royal Palace. Overwhelmed by its scope and grandeur, at its gatehouse there’s an astronomical clock made for Henry, and 30 suites used for his grandest visitors. Inside, I was amazed by the lavish use of half-timber, rectangular and bay windows, carved wood paneled walls, moldings and design. Two staircases lead to the 106 ft. long and 40 ft. wide Great Hall banquet room where Henry would ‘play’ the role of a Renaissance monarch. The hall features a spectacularly decorated hammer-beam, and walls covered by Henry’s most treasured tapestries. One sleeping room was filled with nothing more than straw, which I assumed would be my place of rest during the 1520s. I was pleasantly surprised to find everything so accessible, making it easy to become part of the experience and attempt to understand Henry’s complicated mind.
• Imperial War Museum (IWM), London – Yes, there is the ‘’boy’s room”: an atrium with exhibits of V-2 and Polaris missiles; a Grant tank used by Bernard Montgomery; and the Supermarine Spitfire number R/6915, which flew in the Battle of Britain and shot down three enemy Luftwaffe aircraft. But this not a shrine for the glorification of war, but rather a museum which gives voice to the extraordinary experiences of ordinary people forced to live their lives in a world torn apart by conflict. Displayed across six floors, the museum’s vast collection encompasses a wealth of objects – uniforms to photographs, films and works of art – each with a story to tell. In the basement you’ll find yourself a participant in WW1 trench warfare or among Londoners in a subway air raid shelter, seeking safety from the Nazi Blitz.
• Stasi Museum and DDR Museum, Berlin – The Stasi Museum focuses on how the Stasi (the DDR secret police, modeled after the USSR’s KGB) operated with their original technology of bugs, hidden cameras and weapons. The main attraction is the former office of Erich Mielke, head of the Stasi from 1957 to reunification. His second floor office remains untouched since the days of the Stasi, complete with desks, chairs and filing cabinets. The DDR Museum provides an interactive experience of everyday life in the former East Germany. From cookie cutter kitchens, the sputtering Trabant (East Germanys’ answer to West Germanys’ Volkswagen) and an ill fated attempt to copy the forbidden Western blue jeans out of cotton, was illuminating in capturing this piece of East Germanys’ Cold War history – still unknown to many North Americans today.
• Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam – A beautiful design of four adjoining synagogues, linked by internal walkways which form one large museum. The synagogues were central to Jewish life until WWII, and were restored in 1980s. Most Dutch citizens who visit the museum today are not of Jewish ancestry, and consider the museum very much part of their own history in the Netherland’s courageous support, often facing penalties of death, in helping and hiding minorities throughout history.
• Ulster American Folk Park, Tyrone, Northern Ireland – This open-air museum features more than 30 exhibit buildings exploring three-centuries of Irish emigration. Using docents and displays of traditional crafts, the museum brings to life those who left Ulster for the Americas in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Seeing a replica of a full scale coffin ship used during the Famine of the 1840s and the Highland Clearances, felt like a heart wrenching blow to all forms of humanity. Coffin ships were the cheapest way to cross the Atlantic, but were obscenely crowded, unseaworthy and generally with inadequate drinking water, food and sanitation. Mortality rates of 30% were not uncommon. It was said that sharks could be seen following the ships, because so many bodies were thrown overboard.

More Favorite Museums    Readers’ Poll

The post T-Boy Society of Film and Music’s Favorite Museums appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Weave Cleveland – Cinematographer Travel Guys TV:

• The Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, BC – Amazing! One floor is an old English-style city downtown at night (supposedly Victorian in colonial times). I used to sit in the theatre and watch Buster Keaton silent movies, etc. all afternoon. This really is an incredible museum.
• The Royal London Wax Museum, Victoria, BC – Royalty and celebrities upstairs or go down to the dungeon to see the chamber of horrors.
• Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow, Scotland – Like many great museums, you could take all week and still not experience everything. Outstanding!
• Fare Pote’e Maeva Huahine – One large thatch-roofed hut on stilts over the water on the island of Huahine, French Polynesia. Unmanned, no fee – just walk in and look at Polynesian history and artifacts.
• Pompeii, Italy – So, it’s not a museum as much as a real-time excavation site but it is INCREDIBLE!
• Honorable mention: The Ulster Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland – Viking lore, Small Medieval thrones chiseled  out of a single piece of stone, Egyptian mummies; The Titanic Museum, Belfast, Northern Ireland – WOW!!; The Crocker Art Gallery and Crocker House, Sacramento, CA – Just go. Enough said.

James Boitano – T-Boy writer:

• Musee d’Orsay, Paris
• The Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
• Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
• The National Museum of Iceland, Reykjavik 
• Skansen Open Air Museum, Stockholm 

Allan Smith – Artist & T-Boy writer:

• Salvador Dalí Museum, St. Petersburg, Florida
• The Louvre, Paris, France
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
• The Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California
• The Uffizi Galleries, Florence, Italy
• Honorable mention: Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia; The National Gallery, Washington, D.C.; The Smithsonian, Washington, D.C.; The Palace Museum, Beijing, China

Brent Campbell – Musician and composer:

• The Metropolitan Museum, NYC
• The Museum of Flight, Seattle
• Lemay, America’s Car Museum, Tacoma, Washingon
• The Louvre, Paris
• Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Nashville 
• Museum of History and Industry, Seattle (newly expanded and c’mon Bobo is in the house)

Ringo Boitano – T-Boy Writer:

• Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto – The 4,500-year history of footwear is explored through 13,000 shoes, making it the largest collection of historic footwear in the world. You’ll find everything from Napoleon’s shoes, John Lennon’s Beatle Boots and Akan chief’s sandals to Inuit sealskin boots, kabkabs worn by Turkish women and chopines from the Italian Renaissance – so outrageously high that they make today’s tall stiletto heels seem almost like classical footwear.
• The National World War I Museum, Kansas City, Missouri – It is the only American museum dedicated to remembering, interpreting and understanding the Great War and its enduring impact on the global community. The Exhibit Hall features the Panthéon de la Guerre mural, depicting the figure of Victory, surrounded by thousands of French heroes, and colorful flags of the 22 Allied nations of World War I, arranged in the order in which each country entered the conflict. A recreated trench illustrates the brutality of the war. The exterior is decorated with mosaic tiles that convey a night sky strewn with gold stars, representing the sacrifice of Gold Star Mothers during the Great War.
• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio – The museum documents the history of rock music and the artists, producers, engineers, and other notable figures who have influenced its development. The museum’s library and archives is the world’s most comprehensive repository of materials related to the history of rock and roll. The Hall’s temporary exhibits have featured Elvis Presley, hip-hop, the Supremes, the Who, U2, John Lennon, the Clash, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, Women Who Rock, and the Rolling Stones. I recall an exhibit which featured John Lennon’s white piano used in the song Imagine, and his 1955-56 (age 15) report card: He has too many of the wrong ambitions and his energy is too often misplaced. – Liverpudlian Headmaster
• Museo Casa natale Arturo Toscanini, Parma, Italy – I was primed and ready for a tour of maestro Arturo Toscanini’s former home, now a museum, after having spent the previous day at Milan’s La Scala Opera House. Arturo Toscanini (1867 – 1957) was renowned for his performances of Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Richard Strauss, Debussy and his own compatriots Rossini, Verdi, Boito and Puccini. His interpretations were notable for detail of phrasing, dynamic intensity, and an essentially classical conception of form. I felt a sense of warmth as I visited each of the rooms, filled with important original artifacts, documents, letters, photos, artwork, posters, and programs. Initially Toscanini  was a cello  player until his reputation as a conductor of authority and skill supplanted his cello career. His epitaph is taken from his remarks concluding the 1926 premiere of Puccini’s unfinished Turandot: Here the opera ends, because at this point the maestro died.
• The Scotch Whisky Experience, Edinburgh, Scotland – Not really a museum, but after a couple of wee drams of sublime single malt whisky, does it really matter? Located at the top of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, just below Edinburgh Castle, this is a delight for those with a discriminating taste in single malt whisky.  For over 30 years the Scotch Whisky Experience has been conducting educational tours and tastings of uisce beatha (water of life), with the guarantee of a very sensational experience. As I walked out the door, I realized I was now ready for a bout with haggis.

T. E. Mattox – T-Boy music critic:

• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and National Air & Space, Washington DC – So many buildings, so little time. But these are just two of my faves.
• Musée d’Orsay, Paris – So fun. The whole environment is unique. Some of my favorite paintings live here.
• The Louvre, Paris – Much like the Smithsonian, overpowering! Most people just head for the Mona Lisa.
• The Vatican, Vatican City – Room after room full of amazing art and sculptures and then… the Sistine Chapel!
• LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art), Los Angeles – Love, LOVE the Wolf head room and Sabertooth tiger display. Amazed at all the animals they continue to dig out of the tar pits. Crazy.

Rourke – Musician & composer:

• Art Institute of Chicago, Millennium Park, Chicago
• Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
• Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, Florence, Italy
• Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
• National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

Raoul Pascual – T-Boy co-founder, illustrator and art director:

• Huntington Library, San Marino, California – For the vastness and the variety – Library of Bibles, Japanese and Chinese garden, Cactus, Green Room, paintings, sculptures, etc.
• Smithsonian National Air & Space, Washington DC – Exhibits of aircraft, spacecraft, missiles, rockets, and other flight-related artifacts.
• Museum of Tolerance, Los Angeles – Designed to examine racism and prejudice around the world with a strong focus on the history of the Holocaust
• The Brooklyn Museum, New York City borough of Brooklyn – An art museum which holds an art collection with roughly 1.5 million works.
• Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC – Larger than 18 football fields and home to the largest natural history collection in the world.

Fyllis Hockman – T-Boy writer:

• Museum of Broken Relationships in Zagreb, Croatia – Dedicated to failed love relationships, its exhibits include personal objects left over from former lovers, accompanied by brief descriptions. The museum began as a traveling collection of donated items. Since then, it has found a permanent location in Zagreb. In May 2011, the Museum of Broken Relationships received the Kenneth Hudson Award, given out by the European Museum Forum. The award goes to “a museum, person, project or group of people who have demonstrated the most unusual, daring and, perhaps, controversial achievement that challenges common perceptions of the role of museums in society.”

Phil Harper – Political fundraiser:

• Leon Trotsky Museum, Coyoacan, Mexico – The Leon Trotsky Museum is located just a few blocks away from the Frida Kahlo Museum in Coyoacan, a small city now surrounded by Mexico City. Trotsky was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army. As one of the original Russian Bolsheviks, he was considered the heir to Vladimir Lenin, chairman of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Soviet Union. Lenin shared Trotsky’s ideal of worldwide Communism, but believed it was more pragmatic to consolidate the victories in the Russian Revolution rather than actively spreading military revolution to other countries. Lenin felt that Josef Stalin would be dangerous to their goals and should be removed from the position of General Secretary of the Party. But his words came too late, and, after his death, Stalin forced his way into power. Trotsky was exiled, and eventually hunted by the tyrannical Stalin regime as a threat to his de facto dictatorship. While on the run with no place to hide, Trotsky was eventually given political asylum in Mexico, sponsored by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Along with his wife, Natalia, he lived in the Rivera/Kahlo house for a few years, but later relocated to a new fortress-life home with guards and watchtowers.

As I entered the museum I was told that I was to have a private tour by the museum’s director. To my surprise, the museum director was none other than Trotsky’s grandson, Esteban Volkov. A remarkably spry and dashing man in his early 90s with impeccable manners, Mr. Volkov had lived with his grandparents,  Leon and Natalia, at age thirteen, and was wounded himself as a result of the Stalin operative’s failed machine gun assault. The bullet holes are still in the walls.  He walked me through the museum, patiently explaining in detail the history of photos from Trotsky’s lifetime, his participation in the Bolshevik Revolution, family tree, books and newspapers.

The centerpiece of the museum is Trotsky’s study, where he was fatally wounded by Ramón Mercader, who had posed as a family friend. While engrossed in a Mercader manuscript, which he had asked Trotsky to read as a favor, the assassin snuck up behind him and struck him in the back of the head with an ice axe. Mercader was a Spanish communist and probable agent of Stalin. Trotsky died from his wounds the next day. The Soviet government denied responsibility, and Mercader was sentenced to 20 years in prison by Mexican authorities.

Mr. Volkov ultimately raised his own family in the house, and then turned it into a museum on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Leon Trotsky.

Museum lovers, If you have a museum/s that you’d like to share, please send to Traveling Boy. We’ll post and do all the work!

The post More T-Boy Society of Film and Music’s Favorite Museums appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Members’ Selections

Ed Boitano – T-Boy editor:

• Space Needle — Seattle:  I would be amiss not to place this space age tower that has come to define my hometown at the top of my list. As a first-grader, each day at recess I would rush out to my elementary school playground and watch this architectural wonder’s construction, marveling at its new growth and futuristic space age splendor. Little did I know that in 1962 we were at the cusp of new era with the assassination of JFK and the arrival of the Beatles. And with the completion of the Space Needle for the 1962 Century 21 Exposition — Seattle World’s Fair, my little maritime town, seemingly hidden in the northwest corner of America, became a world-class city for the rest of the planet to see.
• Duomo di Milano — Italy: The stunning Gothic cathedral took nearly six centuries to complete, and today is the largest church in Italy; a technicality with the larger St. Peter’s Basilica in the State of Vatican City. Occupying an entire city block, the cathedral’s façade of pink-veined white Candoglia marble is adorned with 3,400 statues, 135 gargoyles and 700 figures, and a gold-colored statue of the Madonnina, standing on the terrace’s highest spire.
• Roman Colosseum — Italy: The forerunner of the modern sports stadium, the Roman Colosseum (Anfiteatro Flavio) was the largest amphitheatre the world had ever seen. Constructed in AD 80 with travertine limestone, volcanic rock and brick-faced concrete, it was an engineering marvel with an enormous retractable awning to protect 50,000 to 80,000 spectators from the beating Roman sun. Programs included gladiatorial contests, mock sea battles on water, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.
• Newgrange — Ireland: This megalithic mound was built by Neolithic farmers approximately 5000 years ago. Considered a place of astronomical and religious significance, at the dawn of winter solstice — December 19th to 23rd — the passage and chamber are illuminated by 17 minutes of light.
• Chicago Architecture River Cruise — The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 burnt down 3.3 square miles of the city, destroying 17,500 buildings. The rebuilding began almost immediately with architects pouring into the city, anxious to try out new architectural styles. You can see the results on a Chicago River cruise where 40 notable buildings are on display.

Richard Carroll – T-Boy writer:

• Tikal in Guatemala, dating to 200 A.D.
• Palenque in Chiapas, Mexico, 600 A.D. The Maya sites in Mexico and Guatemala are stunning as old as the Egyptian Pyramids, but a huge step above, as they were cities, and much more thoughtful and intriguing than the pyramids.
• La Cite du Vin Bordeaux: Rising 55 meters into the Bordeaux sky, the creative and unusual architecture appearing like a huge ship’s hull or with a little imagination a wine barrel. The wine complex/museum is ranked number one in the world focusing on cutting edge technology, with incredible videos, like something Disney would create.
• Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, the forefront of architectural design, construction began in 537 A.D. and with enough history to fill a library. A breathtaking experience to visit Hagia Sophia.
• Eiffel Tower in Paris

Here in the U.S.:

• Statue of Liberty
• Empire State Building
• Golden Gate Bridge

Stephen Brewer – T-Boy writer:

• Fallingwater – Pennsylvania
• Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba – Spain
• Acropolis – Athens, Greece
• Empire State Building – NYC
• Mont–Saint–Michel – Normandy, France

Susan Breslow – T-Boy writer:

• Fontainebleau Hotel, Miami Beach
• Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria
• Sydney Opera House
• Dancing House, Prague
• La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona
• Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles
• Chateau Frontenac, Quebec City
• St. Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow
• Chrysler Building, NYC
• Taliesen West, Arizona

Jim Gordon – Co-host & co-producer Travel Guys TV:

• 300 ft tall Buddha statue in Leshan, China (filmed there in 2008, just breathtaking)
• Glasgow Cathedral in Scotland (filmed there in 2019, walking through a century of history, snuck a camera in, could’ve stayed for a day)
• Sydney Opera House in Australia (filmed there in 2005 & 2011, stood in awe of the design)
• Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (filmed there in 2009, I’ve seen many similar building designs, but this one with the city’s park beside it, the lights, stunning)
• Old Trafford, Manchester, England (filmed there in 2008, not my team, hate them, but to stand and film in that empty stadium, sporting cathedral really, left me breathless as a British football fan)

Richard Frisbie – T-Boy writer:

• In Sevilla – Parasol Metropol: the world’s largest wooden structure, a series of mushroom-shaped, interconnected buildings with undulating walkways over and through them – simply stunning – with the Roman ruins in the basement that prevented it from becoming the transportation hub it was designed for!
• In Saugerties – Opus 40: one of the oldest and most magnificent earthworks in the US – a series of stairs, ramps, and pools all made of bluestone, centering around a huge stone obelisk, created and built by one man, Harvey Fite.
• In Rio de Janeiro: the black and white tiled walks and walls created by Roberto Burle Marx. Also – any of his gardens, especially the one at his home: Sitio Santo Antonio da Bica.
• In Brasil – Oscar Niemeyer’s Museum: that looks like the star ship Enterprise, from the Star Trek series.
• The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain: Frank Gehry’s undulating titanium masterpiece.

James Boitano – T-Boy writer:

• St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow
• Stave Churches of Norway
• The ‘Three Bridges’ of Ljubljana, Slovenia
• Aya Sophia Mosque in Istanbul
• Grand Coulee Dam, Washington State

Allan Smith – Artist & T-Boy writer:

• Sagrada Família, Barcelona, Spain. Architect: Antonio Gaudi
• Chrysler Building, NYC, New York. Architect: William Van Alen
• Great Pyramids, Giza, Egypt. Architect: unknown
• Bird’s Nest Stadium, Beijing, China. Architect: Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron
• Reims Cathedral, Reims, France. Architect: Jean d’Orbais
• Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey. Architect: Anthemius of Tralles. Isidore of Miletus
• The Space Needle, Seattle, Washington. Architect: John Graham & Company
• Neuschwanstein Schlosse, Bavaria, Germany. Architect: Eduard Riedel
• Himeji Castle, Hyōgo Prefecture of Japan. Architect: Toyotomi Hideyoshi
• Yellow Crane Temple, Wuhan, China. Architect: unknown

Deb Roskamp – T-Boy writer:

• Duomo di Milano – Milan, Italy: The awe-inspiring magnificence of scale… breathtaking!
• Statue of Liberty – NYC: Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…T E A R S.
• Arch de Triomphe – Paris: So much history transcribed in its triumphal sculpting.
• Walt Disney Concert Hall – Los Angeles: Makes me happy every time I see it.
• The Space Needle – Seattle, Washington: Whimsical memories of the 60s in my home state.

Alex Brouwer – T-Boy writer:

• Machu Picchu – Peru
• Teotihuacán City/Pyramids – Mexico
• Chichen Itza – Mexico
• Stonehenge – England
• Eiffel Tower – France
• Honorable mention: Roman Colosseum and Leaning Tower of Pisa

Ringo Boitano – T-Boy Writer:

• Neuschwanstein Schlosse – Bavaria, Germany
• Taos Pueblo – New Mexico
• Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Brooklyn Bridge – NYC
• Emperor’s Palace – Imperial City of Huế, Vietnam

Brent Campbell – Musician & Composer:

• St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow
• The Guggenheim Museum in NYC
• Chicago Bean (aka Cloud Gate) in Chicago
• Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing 
• Seattle Space Needle

Greg Aragon – T-Boy Writer:

• Panama Canal
• Hoover Dam, Nevada
• California Aqueduct, which transports water 444 miles from Northern California to Southern California
• Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (886 ft-high), which spans the Colorado River between Arizona and Nevada
• Mount Rushmore, South Dakota

Fyllis Hockman – T-Boy writer:

• The Great Pyramids – Giza, Egypt
• Empire State Building – NYC  
• Chichen Itza – Yucatan, Mexico
• Mount Rushmore – South Dakota
• The Hermitage – St. Petersburg, Russia

T.E. Mattox – T-Boy music critic:

• Eiffel Tower – That guy lived in an apartment up there
• Roman Colosseum – Massive
• Musee d’Orsay – Paris. Train, train
• Toji – Buddhist Temple in Kyoto, Japan 
• Duomo di Milano – Milan, Italy.  Majestic

David Erskine – T-Boy VP of advertising:

• Knossos on the Isle of Crete – Greece
• Taj Mahal – Agra, India
• Love Temples – Khajuraho, India
• Eiffel Tower – Paris
• Wat Pho ‘Temple of the Reclining Buddha’ – Bangkok, Thailand
• Blue Mosque – Istanbul, Turkey
• Acropolis – Athens, Greece
• Roman Colosseum – Italy
• Empire State Building – NYC
• Munich Franuenkirche – Germany
• Red Fort – Delhi, India

Tom Tapp – Film & music critic:

• Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain
• The Ruins at Petra, Jordan
• The Anasazi cliff dwellings in Gila, Arizona 
• Highway 1 in California 
• The Medina of Marrakesh, Morocco

Raoul Pascual – T-Boy co-founder, illustrator and art director:

• Empire State Building, NYC
• Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy
• Great Pyramids,  Giza, Egypt
• Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island in New York Harbor
• Singapore Changi Airport, Changi, Singapore

Lee Olson – TV producer & writer

• Summer Palace in Bejing – China
• Angkor Wat – Cambodia
• The Alhambra – Granada, Spain
• Versaille Chateau – France
• Chichen Itza “El Castillo” Pyramid – Yucatan, Mexico

Rourke – Film critic & musician:

• Eiffel Tower, Paris
• Roman Colosseum, Italy
• Brooklyn Bridge, NYC
• Saint Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City
• Bank of China Tower, Hong Kong

Honorable mentions:

• Trevi Fountain, Rome
• Holocaust Memorial, Boston
• Pan Pacific Theater, L.A. (burned years ago)

Chloe Erskine – Educator:

• The Golden Gate Bridge – San Francisco
• The Walls of Benin – Edo, Nigeria

The post The T-Boy Society of Film & Music’s Favorite Man Made World Wonders appeared first on Traveling Archive.

There are places I’ll remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever, not for better
Some have gone, and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends, I still can recall
Some are dead, and some are living
In my life, I’ve loved them all
– John Lennon & Paul McCartney

A pilgrimage is defined by Oxford Dictionary as (1) A journey to a holy place for religious reasons, or (2) Journey to a place that is connected with someone or something that you admire or respect. I fear I fit into category two, but with a slight twist:  pilgrimages to new places that have opened my eyes and colored my thoughts as I traversed across the globe. Indeed, the following are places I will always remember in my life.

Dylan Thomas – Laugharne, Wales

“I was born in a large Welsh industrial town at the beginning of the Great War:
an ugly, lovely town (or so it was, and is, to me).”
– Dylan Thomas

No artist commands a deeper place in a Walesian’s heart than poet and writer, Dylan Thomas. Born in a middleclass home in Swansea, Wales in 1914, Thomas moved often in his young life, with his work conveying a unique bond with the people and places on the South West Coast of Wales. A converted boathouse in Laugharne is where he spent the last four years of his life with his wife, Caitlin, and their three children. In an adjacent cliff side Writing Shed he wrote his famous play for voices, ‘Under Milk Wood,’ along with many of his major works: ‘And Death shall have No Dominion,’ ‘Fern Hill,’ ‘The Hunchback in the Park’ and ‘Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog.’ A short walk away is the Brown’s Hotel, where Dylan would stop for a daily pint after visiting his dying father at a nearby hospital, which led to ‘Do not go Gentle into that Good Night.’

The Dylan Thomas Trail

Spread across Southwest Wales, the Dylan Thomas Trail showcases quaint small towns, and remarkable land and seascapes which inspired Thomas. The Gower Peninsula features the fishing village of Mumbles and the stunning beach of Rhossili, where Dylan would camp and often walk the Gower cliffs. Two of his best loved short stories, ‘Extraordinary Little Cough’ and ‘Who Do You Wish Was With Us?’ are set in ethereal Rhossili. If you’d like to hike further, the 870 mile long Wales Coast Path spans the entire length of the Welsh coastline

Dylan collapsed outside the White Horse Tavern in New York after having given a reading across the street. He had drunk 18 glasses of whiskey, and died shortly after. His death was mourned by the world’s literary community. His final resting place is signified by a simple white cross in Laugharne’s cemetery. Years later when fellow Walesian actor Richard Burton died, he was buried with a copy of Dylan’s Collected Poems on his chest.

Antoni Gaudí – Barcelona, Catalonia

Those who look for the laws of Nature as a support for their new works
collaborate with the creator.
– Antoni Gaudi

Spending 16 hours was far too little time to explore the enthralling  metropolis of Barcelona, the capital of Spanish Catalonia. Peopled by 1.6 million stylish and sophisticated Barcelonés, I was greeted with grand boulevards and welcoming pedestrian malls which wandered to the waterfront. I was particularly enchanted by the cityscape that reflects the lifelong work of Barcelona architect, Antoni Gaudí (1852 1826), considered the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. As a proud Catalander, he refused to speak Castilian and seldom left his beloved Catalonia. Gaudí’s architecture illustrates his profound passion for nature and devotion to religion. Still ahead of his time, he integrated used ceramic pieces, stained glass and wrought ironwork into his architectural style. Seven of his works have been declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and include the still-incomplete Sagrada Família, the most-visited monument in Spain. A visiting bishop once asked him, “Why do you trouble yourself so much about the tops of the towers? After all, no one will ever see them.” “Your Grace,” replied Gaudí. “The angels will see them.” His faith in the Roman Catholic Church intensified towards the end of his life, with his living in a squalid room at Sagrada Família, frantically attempting to finish his astonishingly masterpiece. Still dressed in his work clothes, he would venture out for walks in nature. In 1926 he was tragically run down by a streetcar. Gaudí desperately waved for assistance from passing vehicles, but was dismissed as a ragged beggar, and died shortly after. Today he is often times referred to by his nickname, “God’s Architect.”

Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky – Coyoacán, Mexico

I am not sick. I am broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.
– Frida Kahlo

Coyoacán, Mexico was once a serene  village on the outskirts of Mexico City. The urban sprawl  of Mexico City reached Coyoacán in the mid 20th century, but city fathers preserved the former village’s historic center, maintaining its colonial layout, plazas, narrow streets and structures built from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. This is where Coyoacán’s most popular destination rests: Museo Frida Kahlo. Born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón on July 6, 1907, the museum is housed in her place of birth, which now celebrates her life and works of art. Painted in vibrant cobalt-blue colors (known as the Blue House locally)  the house is also was where she lived all of her life, and contains important paintings, including Viva la Vida, Frida and Caesarean and Portrait of my father Wilhelm Kahlo, along with canvases by husband and fellow communist, Diego Rivera. They were both heavily influenced by Mexicanidad, a romantic nationalism that had developed in the aftermath of the 1910 Mexican Revolution. The Mexicanidad movement’s mantra was to challenge the “mindset of cultural inferiority” created by colonialism, placing special importance on indigenous cultures. The museum also displays Kahlo’s workspace, Mexican folk art, pre-Hispanic artifacts, photographs and memorabilia. Frida has become the poster child for Mexico Tourism as much for her work as well as for spiritedly overcoming the adversarial conditions of her life; childhood polio, a tragic streetcar accident which left her in a hospital for years, acceptance as an artist due to her gender, and the two tumultuous marriages with womanizer, Rivera.  Long before the term ever existed, Frida Kahlo lived her life as an art form, even selecting her daily wear down to the smallest detail.

There are no absolute rules of conduct, either in peace or war.
Everything depends on circumstances.
– Leon Trotsky

The Leon Trotsky Museum is located just a few blocks away from the Museo Frida Kahlo. Trotsky was the second most important member of the original Russian Bolsheviks, and considered heir to Lenin. But was forced into exile,  and then hunted by the tyrannical Josef Stalin regime after he forced his way into power upon the death of Lenin. Trotsky was given political asylum, sponsored by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Along with his wife, he lived in the Kahlo house for a few years. A rumored affair, though, between Trotsky and Kahlo, led to the Trotskys  relocating to a new fortress-life home with watchtowers, as protection from any assassination attempts by Stalin’s agents, in which they knew would someday come.  As I entered the museum I was told that I was to have a private tour by the museum’s director. To my surprise, the museum director was none other than Trotsky’s grandson, Esteban Volkov. A remarkably spry and dashing man in his early 90s with impeccable manners, Mr. Volkov had lived with his grandparents at age thirteen, and was wounded himself as a result of an earlier Stalin operative’s failed machine gun assault. The bullet holes are still on the walls.  He walked me through the museum, patiently explaining in detail the history of photos from Trotsky’s lifetime, his participation in the Bolshevik Revolution, family tree, books and newspapers, and the backyard where he planted vegetables, tended to his rabbits and is buried. The centerpiece of the museums is Trotsky’s study where his iconic spectacles, papers and books are left in the exact position on the very desk where he sat when murdered with an ice axe, by a Stalin assassin who had posed as a friend of the family. Mr. Volkov ultimately raised his own family in the house, and then turned it into a museum on the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Trotsky.

The Barbary Apes – Gibraltar

“The establishment of the apes on Gibraltar should be twenty-four,
and every effort should be made to reach this number as soon as possible
and maintain it thereafter.”
– Winston Churchill

Churchill was obsessed with the continuance of the Barbary Apes, fearing that British rule over the Rock of Gibraltar during WW2 would end if they disappeared, a catastrophe that he would not tolerate. In the early days of the war, Winston Churchill had visited Gibraltar, and was disturbed that the population had dwindled down to only seven Barbary Apes. He immediately instructed that five new females be sent to the Rock. Churchill was well aware of the Gibraltar Ape’s symbolic importance to the British people, and feared that the disappearance of the animals would have a detrimental effect on morale – which the British Empire needed plenty of when they stood alone against the Fascists in 1941.

Currently 300 Apes in five troops occupy the Upper Rock area of the Gibraltar Nature Reserve. Due to being tailless species, they are often mistakenly referred to as Barbary Apes or Rock Apes, but, technically speaking, they are actually macaques (Macaca sylvanus). The cute little critters are inquisitive and have no fear of humans. Upon my arrival one jumped on the front of my car’s window shield, and curiously looked me straight in the eye. The biggest tourist casualty is there apprehension of cameras. Foraging for food, though, seems to be their main goal, and they are known to even traverse the capital city below. As a British Overseas Territory, the Rock features 32 miles of tunnels, initially designed as protection from Spanish and French forces in their attempt to take Gibraltar back from the British, when they were at their weakest during the American Revolution.  At the early stages of what was to be a surprise attack, the monkeys were disturbed in the night and let out howls, alerting the British garrison to the upcoming enemy assault. This led to the popular saying, “As long as the Apes remain on the Rock, so will the British.”

The post Pilgrimages: Places I’ll Remember appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Azulejo (Portuguese) is a form of ceramic tile work and can be discovered on the interior and exterior of churches, palaces, ordinary houses, schools, and even railways stations. They were not only used as an ornamental art form, but also had a specific functional capacity like temperature control in homes. Azulejos still constitute a major aspect of Portuguese architecture with many Azulejos chronicling the major historical and cultural aspects of Portuguese history.

On a travel media press trip to Portugal I was captivated and, indeed mesmerized, by this beauty that seemed to frequently surround us. Sitting outside the main line railroad station in Porto with its peaceful and totally restful environment, I felt more relaxed than I ever thought possible. This was my first visit to this spellbinding country, and it validated (at least to me) why I was so thrilled to accept an invite to this sometimes overlooked European destination. Quite simply, Portugal is a gorgeous country.

One of the many delights of sampling Northern Portugal is seeing the local scenery virtually as it was many, many years ago. As but one example: On one of our “Local bus tours,” we came across a classically evocative, almost from a centuries old fable, this wonderful looking lady (see photo) who was show casing her freshly picked grapes, and telling us – in Portuguese! – how special HER port wine was. Sadly, we did not have time to sample any of it!

If there is one sight that constantly also stuns the visual senses in Portugal, it’s the profusion of what I call “humming hillsides” with row upon row of grapes. Their symmetry is a joy to behold, and it looks as if some giant hand had very carefully laid out a perfect quilt of latticed greenery. That, plus the aroma that wafts lazily towards you, is wonderfully intoxicating and yes, another genuinely breathtaking sight.

The Douro River is one more eye-catching and indeed spectacular tourist attraction, and for a unique “tourist perspective” of Portugal, let me also recommend you take one of the many short cruises along this alluring river. After a few days in this scintillating country, I knew that Azulejos were all over the place, but it still surprised me to see they were in the local train station of Pinhao. Gazing upon what would normally be just a plain old railway station, the Pinhao station had been transformed into an Azulejos masterpiece. As I sat on a nearby station bench reviewing all the local scenery, I realized this would remain one of the most elegant railroad stations I’d ever seen, and where I’d be happy to wait for a train regardless of how long the wait.

The Azulejos tiles were introduced by the Moors in the 16^th century onwards, and the Pinhao station should be a must see attraction on YOUR trip to Portugal. It features 24 alluring Azulejos that colorfully depict the local region’s scenery and culture.

Read more about this dazzling destination.

Connect with John by emailing him

The post Portugal – A Perfect Place for Vacation Perfection… for YOU! appeared first on Traveling Archive.