the city reliquary

The City Reliquary is mere blocks from my apartment which is pretty pathetic considering my first visit was two years after moving in. In any event, it's essentially a collection of New York themed tchotchkes, which couldn't be more up my alley.  So many treasures!

© all photos by me

philly: eastern state penitentiary

Touring creepy places is a hobby of mine, so I jumped at the chance to visit Eastern State Penitentiary during our recent trip to Philly. A working prison up until the early 1970's, Eastern State was the first jail to adopt the practice of keeping prisoners in separate confinement (which is now the norm). Educational and interesting, Eastern State is one of my favorite spots in Philly so far.

©all photos by me

the city of brotherly love

We took advantage of the President's Day weekend to visit the city of many past presidents. Mostly eating and drinking, however, we managed to fit in a couple cultural activities as well (more on that later).

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los angeles that was

My brother-in-law sent me these nostalgic images of the Los Angeles that was. Thanks Justin!

Via this flickr stream.

flushing meadows

Much like visiting Coney Island, going to Flushing Meadows was one of my long time New York dreams (please note this is different from Flushing). Jeff appeased me this weekend by taking our bikes out to Queens to visit the site of two World's Fairs. There's been a lot written about Flushing Meadows (this is the post that sold me), so I won't get into the history and details. I will say that it was one hundred percent worth the schlep - totally fascinating!

© all photos by me

lilac

In addition to the Brooklyn Army Terminal, I also visited the Lilac as part of OHNY. The Lilac is a 1933 lighthouse tender servicing the US coast guard. Today, the Lilac is the country's only surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender. It was pretty interesting to explore the ship, which is conveniently located next door to a mini-golf course. 

© all photos by me

brooklyn army terminal

Open House New York, an annual event in the city, aims to showcase locations in NYC not usually open to the public (or open on the weekends to the public). Unfortunately all the things that I really wanted to see needed advance reservations, but there were still a number of locations that were new to me. One such location was the Brooklyn Army Terminal, original built as a military depot and supply base. The complex, designed by Cass Gilbert, is over five million square feet. Today, the structure houses a variety of businesses, but in 1958 was the send off spot when Elvis left for Germany.

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portugal: cape sagres

On our honeymoon five years ago, Jeff and I visited Santa Maria di Leuca, or "the end of the world"; this is the southernmost spot in Italy, considered at one point to be the furthermost known land. We visited a similar location in the Algarve - a windy plateau known as Cape Sagres. Famous for being the departure point of many an exploration, Henry the Navigator built a school for explorers on this spot in the 15th century.

©all photos by me. More here.

portugal: evora

Èvora, about an hour and a half from Lisbon by train, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site boasting an impressive number of historic structures in a relatively small town. Santa Maria de Èvora (above) is home to one of the three archbishops of the country. St. Antào (below) was built in the 16th century.

©all photos by me. More photos here.

portugal: national palace

Our last stop in Sintra was the National Palace, the oldest surviving royal palace in the country.

©all photos by me. More photos here.

portugal: moorish castle

Just a hop, skip and a jump away from the Pena Palace lies the Moorish castle,  thousand year old ruins with a breathtaking view from Sintra all the way to the Atlantic.

©all photos by me. More photos here.

castle williams

Castle Williams, on Governors Island, has served as a fort, prison, and haunted house over the course of its 200 year old history. There is also a very nice view of the Manhattan skyline from the roof.

©all photos by me