Artful Traveler

Mexico City Goes Contemporary
By Paul Clemence Mexico City’s ancient history and its rich cultural heritage, from the Aztec empire to the Spanish occupation, have made the sprawling capital a major destination for history and anthropology-inclined travelers. Not surprisingly, the city counts 3 Unesco World Heritage Sites. But in recent years, as the city

Day-tripping at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History
By Sandy MacDonald If it’s been ages since you trudged the halls of the venerable Museum of Natural History — an imposing Victorian Gothic behemoth built in 1874 and since swallowed up by a score of accreted additions — it’s time to return. The offending statue of nature-lover (sometime despoiler)

The Glories and Grandeur of America’s Oldest City: St. Augustine
By Ruth J. Katz Botox is on my mind. I imbibed the “magical” waters at the celebrated Ponce de Leon Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park. But, sadly, I did not get the “as-advertised” (OK, to be honest, the “as-hoped-for”) miraculous facial transformation that I thought this elixir was guaranteed to

Birds: Poetry in the Sky
By Brian E. Clark Artist, photographer and filmmaker Christian Spencer grew up in Australia. But it wasn’t until he moved to South America 22 years ago – after marrying a Brazilian – that he fell in love with hummingbirds, which he says “live in another time and space.” The result

Jacques Villeglé and the Rue Delambre
By Barnaby Conrad III Last summer I was in Paris for a big funeral to celebrate the life of 96-year-old Jacques Villeglé, the Grandfather of Street Art and the last great French 20th artist. We had been friends for over fifteen years and I’d recently published the first biography of

Geographic Expeditions Launches Trips To Southern Iraq
By Everett Potter If you’re a traveler who’s been just about everywhere, there’s a remarkable new opportunity to explore a country that few have visited. Geographic Expeditions (GeoEx), the esteemed travel company that has pioneered some extraordinary trips around the globe, will begin taking small groups to Southern Iraq in

Meet Lily Kwong, The Visionary Behind The Orchid Show At The New York Botanical Garden
By Everett Potter Suppose you think immersing yourself in an exotic Chinese mountain landscape in springtime would be a fantastic way to escape the deepest winter. In that case, you can save the airfare to Asia and travel to New York City. That’s where you’ll find The New York Botanical

Whitstable: A Town for all Seasons
Words & photos by Deborah Loeb Bohren I’m hooked on British detective series, so when “Whitstable Pearl” popped up on my Amazon Prime screen it looked like a fun way to help while away those long pandemic hours. Who knew that a year later I would find myself part of

The Ruins of Tulum
Text by K. Mitchell Snow Photos by Paul Clemence The moment the imposing if misnamed “Castillo,” or castle, of Tulum, looms on the horizon you can almost hear the equivalent of an ancient real estate developer repeating the Mayan word tuuxil (location) over and over as he guided the city’s

Discover The Author of “The Great Gatsby” in St. Paul
By Brian E. Clark It’s not difficult to find traces of the famed writer F. Scott Fitzgerald in St. Paul, Minnesota. They are seemingly around every corner. If you scratch the surface of neighborhoods off Summit Avenue, you’re likely to find a passel of places where Fitzgerald – author of “The