One of the most visited cities in the world, Sydney, Australia boasts many landmarks and interesting things to see and do. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to climb atop the Sydney Bridge, or take a ferry to Manly and explore. Be sure to see the Sydney Opera House from a boat - it’s an incredible experience.

Recently, Kalamazoo's historic State Theatre celebrated its 90th anniversary with a party - complete with towering cake, artists in residence, and a Yelp Kalamazoo event that included a very special backstage tour. 

Do you follow one of my favorite authors? David Downie, a native San Franciscan, lived in New York, Providence, Rome, and Milan before moving to Paris in the mid-80s. He divides his time between France and Italy. His travel, food, and arts features have appeared in leading print and on-line publications including Bon Appétit, Gourmet, Saveur, Epicurious.com, and Gault & Millau, the premier French food guide. He is the author of over a dozen nonfiction books, including the highly acclaimed Paris, Paris and A Passion for Paris.

China: a place both ancient and modern, well known and unknown, distant, different: a powerful contemporary nation that is still little known and even less understood by most people in the west.

The Library of Congress has put the papers of Alexander Hamilton online for the first time in their original format. 

Montenegró is one of the best kept secrets of the Balkan region. Despite being sandwiched between the summer hot spots of Greece and Croatia, it remains relatively untouched by tourism. It’s hard to see why, when Montenegró boasts 294 kilometers of breathtakingly blue Adriatic coastline, stunning limestone mountain cliffs reaching for hundreds of meters, real Eastern-European culture, and old towns with all the history and ambiance you could ask for. 

“Welcome to 1816.” Magdelaine La Framboise’s spirit greeted our arrival to the island she had loved. The Odawa-French fur trader, who had fascinated me for years, invited my husband, Bob, and me to stay at the Harbour View Inn. In its prior life, the current B&B had been her home. Its construction was overseen by her son-in-law, Captain Benjamin Pierce, brother to future President Franklin Pierce. The gentle breezes whispered Magdelaine's words, “I apologize that I can’t spend more time with you.