Rocky ran up the steps to the museum entrance as he trained to defeat the Russian boxer during the height of the Cold War. Tourists line up at his statue to take a photo with young Sylvester Stallone and leap at the top step. I’m not sure how many of Read more
Philadelphia was the largest city in British North America at the time. Independence Hall was originally built as Pennsylvania’s colonial seat of power with the governor’s office and the courtroom inside the building. The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed here. You have to book in advance Read more
I was fully prepared for the Guggenheim in New York City to be the same experience as the Museum of Modern Art downtown. It’s crowded, caters to the basic mass market, and is massively overhyped. Its interior is structurally similar to the Hirshhorn Museum in Washing D.C. Being a giant Read more
For someone who used to work at UNOG, the tour is more of the same bullshit. Unfortunately, it’s the only way to get public access to a different UN office. The New York location is political with the General Assembly and Security Council as its most powerful organs. The Geneva Read more
The Museum of Modern Art in New York is severely overrated. Don’t go, don’t waste your time, there is better art out there available with more dignified treatment with more democratic access. Washington, D.C.’s Hirshhorn Museum is free and has a better viewing experience than MoMa, the Art Institute of Read more
Underneath the two square waterfalls where the twin towers once stood in New York City lies the memorial to the 3,000 who died. It sits in the original basement space of the towers with fragments of the mangled structure on display. I had previously seen one such fragment in Albany Read more
Americans don’t have deep historical roots, their approach to history mirrors that of Catholic relics. They encase fragments of flags that flew during major battles in a glass case and show off Lincoln’s paperweights. None of those items have any historical significance apart from being associated with an event or Read more
Washington, D.C.’s main monoliths of power, culture, and history all lie in an inverse T-shaped park stretching two miles from end to end. From the Lincoln Memorial in the west to the Capitol in the east to the White House in the north, this half-kilometre wide grassy avenue was the Read more
If I had a tail I’d wag, and it’s a shame their shop isn’t called swag. The museum in Winnipeg has over 24,000 works of indigenous art and the largest collection of Inuit art in the world. It has space for educational activities and docents that explain the works to Read more
The Forks was an ancient meeting place for indigenous peoples for over 6,000 years where different groups made alliances and traded. It was here that Louis Riel defended the rights of Métis people. His house and grave are historic sites in Winnipeg. It was also the site of the first Read more