The second of May is a date that every Spaniard knows. In 1808 on that date, the Spanish people rose up against Napoleon and started a long struggle to kick his troops out of the country. They'd been occupied the year before when Spain's weak king had foolishly allowed ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
History
Napoleonic Wars Refought In Spain
The second of May is a date that every Spaniard knows. In 1808 on that date, the Spanish people rose up against Napoleon and started a long struggle to kick his troops out of the country. They'd been occupied the year before when Spain's weak king had foolishly allowed ...10 Things To Like About Detroit Now
Detroit is like an empty lot down the street that's sat vacant for years. Some people in the neighborhood doubt it will ever be put to good use. Then one day, you notice that the rubble is being carted away, and there are actually some green shoots popping up from the ...The Kimchi-ite: Iconic Landmark In Seoul Re-Opens 5 Years After Arson Attack
In early 2008, Sungnye-mun (commonly referred to as Namdae-mun), one of Korea's most important cultural landmarks, was destroyed in a devastating arson attack. The shocking event was a national tragedy and has been engraved into the collective Korean consciousness. Today, ...Women Take To The Sky: Infographic Details 80 Years Of Flight Milestones
The infographic below showcases the history of the flight attendant. Eighty years ago, American Airlines introduced the first female flight attendants to the sky, and the graphic below illustrates exactly how much has changed in the past 80 years. From adding the first Male ...Vintage Nude Photos On Display In Berlin's Photography Museum
The Museum of Photography in Berlin has just opened an exhibition of nude photos from the turn of the last century.
"The Naked Truth and More Besides Nude Photography around 1900" brings together hundreds of nude photos from an era we normally associate with ...Cutbacks Have Smithsonian Down, But Not Out
Government cutbacks have affected travel in a number of ways. Passport applications and renewals are taking longer, as is the process for requesting a visa. Traveling abroad, less security at U.S. facilities means less protection for Americans. National parks have closed ...Intrepid Travel Offering 20 Percent Off All Food-Centric Trips Through August 31
Melbourne-based Intrepid Travel – known for its cultural and food-focused trips to remote corners of the planet – is now offering 20 percent off over 350 of their trips, including the newly-launched Food Adventures. The discount is good for all trips departing ...London's Courtauld Gallery Shows Off German Miniature Bibles
The Courtauld Gallery in London has opened a new exhibition of two of the smallest Bibles you'll ever see.
"Dess Alten Testaments Mittler" and "Dess Neuen Testaments Mittler" are tiny illustrated Bibles produced by two sisters from Augsburg, Germany, in the late 17th ...Americans On Everest: A Look Back At The Famous 1963 Expedition
Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the first American to summit Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on the planet at 29,029 feet in height. That successful venture came ten years after Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay made the first ascent of that mountain, but in the ...Green-Wood Cemetery: I Know Why The Free Bird Sings
After spending two years in Austin, I moved back to New York City in October and into the relatively elusive neighborhood of Green-Wood Heights Brooklyn, directly across from the Green-Wood Cemetery. My first thought was, "At least the neighbors are quiet."
I spent my ...Postcards From Carcassonne: Exploring A Medieval French Village
While on a film production in southern France (no really, for this), we were cruising along the autoroute between Toulouse and Narbonne. I was in the driver's seat, which, for the record, is not the spot you want to be in while driving through this part of France. You ...Civil War Nevada: Commemorating The Fight For The Far West
When we think of the Civil War, Nevada isn't the first state that generally comes to mind, yet the conflict between North and South had as much of an impact there as it did in Pennsylvania or Virginia.
At the start of the war Nevada was a territory and its sentiments ...Part Of Wounded Knee Massacre Site To Be Sold
Part of the Wounded Knee massacre site, the scene of one of the worst attacks on Native Americans in U.S. history, may soon be sold to private interests, the BBC reports.
In 1890 in South Dakota, there were widespread fears among the white population that the Sioux were ...California Coast Redux
I was driving around the West Coast aimlessly in February of 2011. It was chillier than I hoped it would be, but I bundled up. I'd been thinking about California's Highway 1 longingly ever since I drove down it in 2007 and I'd been hoping to replay the visuals I'd stored ...Better Know A Holiday: Showa Day
Formerly: The Emperor's Birthday, Greenery Day
When? April 29
Public holiday in: Japan
Part of: Japan's Golden Week, a series of four public holidays in the span of a week that sees offices closed, trains and planes packed and a mass exodus from the major cities ...The Cabinet Of Curiosities: Collecting The Wonders Of The World
Before there was the museum, there was the cabinet of curiosities. Starting in the 16th century as Europe expanded its horizons during the Age of Exploration, the rich and powerful began to collect curios and display them. Their collections were eclectic – everything ...Shakespeare Slept Here: Hidden Old Room In Oxford Once Hosted The Bard
Behind an eighteenth-century facade in downtown Oxford, just above a clothing shop, is a bedroom that was once used by William Shakespeare.
It was part of the Crown Tavern, owned by Shakespeare's friend John Davenant. The Bard frequently stopped in Oxford on his trips ...Gambia And UK Open Fort Bullen Museum, A Bastion Against The Slave Trade
A fort in The Gambia that was instrumental in stopping the slave trade has been given a new museum, the Daily Observer reports.
Fort Bullen was one of two forts at the mouth of the River Gambia, placed there in 1826 to stop slave ships from sailing out into the Atlantic. ...International Budget Guide 2013: Asuncion, Paraguay
Why is 2013 the year to get to Asunción, Paraguay's, lovely, riverfront capital? Because this landlocked tropical nation sandwiched between Boliva, Brazil and Argentina is modernizing at warp speed. Tourism is still a rarity (expect curious looks, especially if you ...A Cast-Iron Church In Istanbul
This church on the shoreline of Istanbul looks ornate yet pretty normal – that is until you go up and take a closer look. The Bulgarian St. Stephen Church isn't made of stone but rather of cast iron. It's a rare survival of a 19th-century craze in prefab cast-iron ...
