Tag Archives: UNESCO
The dress code is linen at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple
HOB and I used to take a staycation every spring. We’d run around Chicago, visiting far away neighborhoods, going to concerts and plays, and walking around with an architecture book doing self-guided tours. On several of these vacations we took the train out to Oak Park, our visits always seeming to coincide with an event […]
“Full Fart Forover” in Røros, Norway
Oh hey, we’re in Norway. I know, I know, why would cheapskates like us be traveling in one of the world’s most expensive countries? What happened was, I was looking at airfares online and I saw flights to Norway for $333 round-trip from Chicago. How could I resist? So I bought two tickets to Oslo with […]
The Unfinished Chapels of Batalha: architecture shocks sky
There’s a monastery in the town of Batalha that looks as it is carved from crystalized honey. One of my finer life choices was to spend an entire day looking at it. (Okay, full disclosure, I probably would have crammed in at least one other monastery in our itinerary that day had the bus schedules […]
Draw your family: prehistoric rock art of the Côa Valley
Arriving at the site of the 22,000 year old rock art in northwestern Portugal was uncomplicated—too uncomplicated. I enjoyed getting there so much that I was hoping to drag the experience out more. After sharing jeep ride with our guide from the Museu do Côa and another couple, we hiked a short distance through a […]
Jerónimos Monastery: first person to spot the phallic gargoyle wins a free corn dog
Do yourself a favor and go see Jerónimos Monastery, a Manueline-style UNESCO World Heritage Site just outside of Lisbon. Do yourself another favor and get there early. HOB and I did arrive early, though not early enough to avoid a giant line. While this was annoying and the catalyst of predictable marital discord (why, […]
The gods at Shuanglin temple are caged panthers
Before visiting someplace I’ve never been, I need to first project myself there in my imagination. I do this by picturing one essential cultural experience. It could be seeing an artwork, walking through a cathedral or listening to a particular sort of music. Without this initial mind-travel, I can’t conceptualize doing something so strange as, […]
Pingyao: a dozen boring museums and one magical city
Pingyao, in the Shanxi province of Northern China, combines two of my favorite things: a walled city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Normally we don’t go walking around on city walls because HOB has a fear of heights. However, Pingyao’s wall, which was built in 1370 during the Ming Dynasty, is low with a […]
Bracket envy and an introduction to traditional Chinese wooden architecture at Pingyao’s Zhenguo Temple
1000 years ago, back when Europe was clawing its way out of the dark ages, China already had a well established system of building standards. The Chinese consulted manuals to standardize the building process and did so with remarkable success considering the enormous size of the country. The basis of their traditional architecture was modular: […]
The tenacious cultural heritage of Setomaa
YOU ARE ENTERING THE TERRITORY OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION! Yeah, so we technically veered into Russia without a visa a couple of times during our visit to the Setomaa region of Estonia, but someone tell my mom it was okay because we didn’t stop the car. Swerving through national borders: that’s a pretty good introduction […]
The Hill of Crosses and the power of a shared narrative in Lithuania
During our bus ride to Siauliai, HOB and I munched on supermarket sandwiches which turned out to be mostly mayonnaise. Our driver was blasting Queen and I must say there probably isn’t a better way to arrive at a pilgrimage site in Northern Lithuania than being serenaded by We Are the Champions while eating a […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 