Not actually a castle in the classical European sense, but still a grand 20th-century home. Casa Loma in Toronto is the only true castle remaining in North America. The museum in the ornate Beaux-Arts home in Montreal records the life of the wealthy Dufresne family and how the rich lived Read more
A very, very local museum all in French in the heart of Montreal‘s Centre-Sud community is a must-see to learn about how the industrial revolution impacted work conditions and leisure in the city. I can think of no better-suited province than labor-friendly Quebec to interpret the issues of child labor, Read more
Effectively the Trois-Rivières museum of industry, Boréalis is housed inside the former water treatment plant of Canadian International Paper. There used to be four paper plants in the city with the CIP being the last to close. A long long time ago, it was powered by the water that ran Read more
The Montreal Barbie Expo is the largest collection of Barbie dolls in the world. With over a thousand dolls and free admission, this unassuming exposition in a small shopping centre is not to be missed. Apart from the newer Fashionista dolls featuring figurines in wheelchairs and with prosthetic legs, there Read more
Don’t shower before you come here because you’re going to leave smelling like burnt charcoal. The haze of smoke can mean only three things: pork and beef ribs, corn, and a whole lot of chicken. Ottawa‘s 2022 Ribfest was a blast for hungry carnivores. Each stall decorates itself with tables Read more
There’s no place to have Buffalo wings like at Anchor Bar in downtown Buffalo which invented the dish. Hundreds of license plates hang on the walls that the restaurant claims are from visitors all over the world – just don’t ask how they drove back home without plates. Be sure Read more
Located in the south of Tacoma and just an hour away from Seattle, LeMay’s America’s Car Museum has over 300 classics on display from around the world. The main level has red Alfa Romeos, then you corkscrew your way down three floors before coming back up. The sloped design of Read more
Like the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, the Washington State Museum in Tacoma isn’t in its state capital but it’s not in the largest city Seattle either. If it weren’t for the museums, there would be no reason to visit Tacoma. The museum starts with a quick overview of prehistoric Read more
Tacoma isn’t just the name of a Japanese pickup truck, it’s a real place – a harbor between the state capital Olympia and the state’s largest city Seattle. The real draw to this city is its museums suck ass the maritime museum, the State History Museum, the LeMay car museum, Read more
The state capital of Washington is a sleepy city called Olympia. It was known as Cheetwood to the indigenous peoples before being renamed by the Europeans. Washington became American territory in 1853 and a wood capitol was built. The current legislative building wasn’t completed until 1928. The Capitol Building has Read more