If you were a fan of the 90s sitcom Seinfeld you will instantly recognize the exterior of Tom’s Restaurant in Manhattan. When the glowing red Restaurant sign flashed on the screen—with the word “Tom’s” missing—Seinfeld viewers knew that Jerry, Kramer, Elaine, and George were discussing their latest antics over a hot cup of coffee. The…
If you have ever wondered what life would be like if women were in charge, a visit to the Estonian island of Kihnu will help you envision a matriarchal world. Women are the keepers of culture and do virtually every job on Kihnu because the men of the island have historically spent the bulk of…
Legendary writer Ernst Hemmingway traveled far and wide during his storied life and left his mark on many different places around the globe. Diehard Hemmingway fans will eagerly tell you that no locale is as synonymous with Ernst Hemmingway as the island of Key West. In the 1930s, Ernst Hemingway and his wife Pauline Pfeiffer…
Most casual pedestrians strolling through the San Francisco neighborhood of Bayview are unaware that there is 6-story castle tucked away behind a tall fence. In 1870, British immigrant John Hamlin Burnell was inspired to build a Norman-style castle in his adopted home of San Francisco. Burnell was able to start a brewery called Albion Porter…
When most people think of Alcatraz, they immediately think of a foreboding island which was home to an infamous prison where some of America’s most notorious criminals were detained. Alcatraz Island is much more than the site of a former federal prison. The island is also home to a garden of rare roses, a bird…
When a group of European settlers first spotted a stark stone cliff dwelling near modern-day Camp Verde, Arizona, they thought that the expert craftsmanship could only have been commissioned by the legendary Aztec emperor Montezuma. The stone dwellings struck onlookers as a regal palace where Montezuma and his court spent their days surveying his sprawling…
On the outskirts of the lively city of Buenos Aries in Argentina, there is a mysterious circular island located in the Parana Delta which rotates on its own axis like a distant planet. Scientists believe that the unusual island—known in Argentina as “El Ojo” or “The Eye”—formed in 2003. There is not yet a scientific…
If you’re yearning to see some striking red rock formations but don’t feel like braving the crowds at popular National Parks like Zion, consider visiting Red Rock Canyon State Park in Cantil, California instead. California may be the most populated state in the US, but there are still a few hidden natural wonders that don’t…
