A visit with Nova Scotia folk artist Barry Colpitts
Arts & Culture / Canada / Destinations / Experiences / Nova Scotia

A visit with Nova Scotia folk artist Barry Colpitts

EAST SHIP HARBOR, NOVA SCOTIA—It’s easy to find Barry Colpitts’s home gallery. Folk art adorns the house, lawn, barn, shed, fence, car, even the mailbox and truck. Hand-carved, two- and three-dimensional birds and fish, saints and sinners, mermaids and fishermen, augment every available surface. Even shutters, trim, railings, and newel posts have been transformed into … Continue reading

Soaking up history in Bath, England, a UNESCO World Heritage site
Destinations / England / Europe / Experiences / Touring

Soaking up history in Bath, England, a UNESCO World Heritage site

Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage city and home to England’s only hot springs, is an easy day trip from London via train. I only spent about six hours in this delightful city—with most of that exploring the Roman Baths and the Thermae Bath Spa’s New Royal Bath, but I hope to return and immerse myself … Continue reading

Chasing rainbows in County Donegal
Destinations / Europe / Ireland

Chasing rainbows in County Donegal

On a map, Ireland’s northwestern corner appears as if a giant stepped on it, splaying the land into fingers webbed by a raggedy-edged coastline. Wind-scoured headlands cradle swaths of sand, forested valleys shelter shimmery ponds, and heath-clad mountains overlord barren peat bogs. It’s expansive yet intimate, tame yet wild. In spring, like much of the … Continue reading

Aston Martin DB9 + James Bond + Isle of Eriska = luxury escape
Destinations / Dispatches / Europe / Experiences / Scotland / Touring

Aston Martin DB9 + James Bond + Isle of Eriska = luxury escape

Be Bond, James Bond: Put yourself behind the wheel of an Aston Martin and tour some of the iconic locations featured in The Spy Who Loved Me, From Russia with Love, and Skyfall. On the Luxury Ashton Martin 007 package, you’ll drive an Aston Martin DB9; stay two nights at Isle of five-star Isle of … Continue reading

When Galaxies collide: Eating through Paris with my Facebook cybertwin
Destinations / Europe / France

When Galaxies collide: Eating through Paris with my Facebook cybertwin

Despite all-but confirming it to memory, I glanced once more at the message on my screen as the Eurostar, the high-speed train from London, docked in Paris’ Gare du Nord station. “I have managed to get all days off while you are here,” my doppelganger had written. “Did I mention how excited I am! Feel … Continue reading

Making the ordinary extraordinary: Nova Scotia folk artists add pizzazz to daily life
Arts & Culture / Canada / Destinations / Experiences / Nova Scotia

Making the ordinary extraordinary: Nova Scotia folk artists add pizzazz to daily life

In Nova Scotia, Atlantic Canada’s not-quite-an-island province, folk art and its makers are aptly described as quirky, whimsical, spirited, and resourceful. Born of farming and seafaring traditions, folk art surfs the tide between functional and fanciful. The best works are playful, yet provocative; naïve, yet sophisticated; familiar, yet fresh. They share a common heritage, but … Continue reading

Falling for New Brunswick’s Miramichi, hook, line, and sinker
Canada / Destinations / Experiences / New Brunswick / Outdoor adventures

Falling for New Brunswick’s Miramichi, hook, line, and sinker

Before arriving in Sillikers, New Brunswick, I knew even less about the Miramichi River than I knew about salmon, which wasn’t much. During my one previous fly-fishing attempt, I’d landed branches, hats, even a nearby canoe, everything but a fish. That’s not something one brags about over scrambled eggs and sausage while sharing a table … Continue reading

Charmed, I’m sure: Exploring Bermuda’s Railway Trail
Bermuda / Destinations / Experiences / Hikes & walks

Charmed, I’m sure: Exploring Bermuda’s Railway Trail

As I padded along the boardwalk threading Bermuda’s Paget Marsh, the buzz of scooters diminished and pastel-colored white-roofed buildings disappeared. The elevated trail slices through tangles of red mangrove and forests of Palmetto palms and giant ferns and edges a sawgrass savannah. It ends in a stand of centuries-old cedars. “The Railway Trail is a … Continue reading

Arts & Culture / Destinations / Europe / Experiences / Scotland

Edinburgh’s Writers’ Museum chronicles Scotland’s literary giants

Detour off The Royal Mile down Lady Stair’s Close, one of Edinburgh’s medieval pedestrian alleys, and step into Scotland’s literary heritage. The Writers’ Museum, housed in the early 17th-century Lady Stair’s House, immerses visitors in the lives of Robert Burns (1759-1796), Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), and Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). In addition to manuscripts, original … Continue reading