Oh, I see! moments
Travel Cultures Language

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09

Oct

What’s in Your Suitcase?

by Joyce McGreevy on October 9, 2017

A souvenir store in Budapest, Hungary leads a writer to seek the locus of travel inspiration and other aha moments. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Souvenir stores straddle the border between “this place” and “any place.”
© Joyce McGreevy

Collected Travel Inspiration,
With & Without Souvenirs

Souvenirs—talismans of travel inspiration, mere trinkets, or  trash?  Can they inspire aha moments or only memorialize them?

The very word is a souvenir of 18th century French—from souvenir “to remember.” But I like the ancient Latin even better. Subvenire, “to come up from below,” tips its hat to the subconscious. It makes me think of opening old boxes in a basement and finding forgotten treasure, some silly, small item of no value.  And yet  . . .  Read more...

 

Cultural Symbols/Life Lessons/Worldwide Sites/Your Own Aha Moments

24

Mar

Mexico in March—Monarch Butterflies Take Wing

by Sheron Long on March 24, 2015

Students photographing monarch butterflies at their winter home in central Mexico, illustrating the impact that global citizens can have against the threats to the monarch butterfly. (Image © Carol Starr)

Documentary filmmakers meet a golden subject in the central highlands of Mexico.
© Carol Starr

Global Citizens Fly High, Too

Any day now, the eastern monarchs will leave their winter home in the Sierra Madre mountains of central Mexico and begin their epic journey across the US to Canada. Theirs is a know-no-boundaries flight pattern.

These pollinators are crucial to a continued food supply. Yet, like the honeybees, their numbers are dwindling: the 2014–15 estimate is about 56.5 million, a fraction of the 1 billion monarch butterflies that wintered in Mexico in 1996–97.

Who can help these fragile long-distance travelers? Global citizens, who work for monarch conservation with a know-no-boundaries fight pattern.  Read more...

 

Cultural Symbols/Mexico/Nature Discovery

09

Feb

A Tale of Love Locks—Can Love Conquer All?

by Meredith Mullins on February 9, 2015

Red heart in maze of Paris love locks showing romance in Paris and answering the question Can Love Conquer All (Photo © Meredith Mullins)

So many ways to say “I love you”
© Meredith Mullins

Romantic Paris: A Valentine’s Day Parable

Once upon a time, there was a city of light known as the most romantic city on Earth. Paris opened its heart to lovers around the world. Romance in Paris was a part of life.

Couples strolled the banks of the Seine arm in arm, kissed in the secret (and not-so-secret) corners of the well-tended gardens, and paused to embrace on the graceful bridges.  Read more...

 

Cultural Symbols/France (Paris)

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