Posts categorized: Culture

After New Years Eve, birthdays are my favorite holidays to celebrate. For mine last weekend, I decided to live out a long held fantasy of residing in a luxe hotel in New York City’s Meatpacking District, more specifically The Standard High Line. I’ve had a fascination with that hotel ever since it was erected straddling the newly minted High Line. Both developments seemed to have breathed new life into the neighborhood that I’d made so many memories in back when I […]

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There’s a lot of fun to be had in Sin City–gambling, partying, shopping, dining. And, of course, you’ve got to see a show. Cirque du Soleil’s The Beatles Love at the Mirage is a high-flying, theatrical interpretation of The Beatles’ music through acrobatics and dance. The soundtrack draws from archival master tapes from Abbey Road Studios and anyone who loves The Beatles music will fall in love with this whimsical, romantic production. From “Get Back” to “Hey Jude” and “Blackbird” to “Yesterday,” you’ll […]

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Do you love champagne? Me too! If you have a true affection for those delicious and delicate little bubbles, then a weekend trip to Champagne is like a trip to heaven. My sister and I made the journey from Paris, which is only an hourlong train ride. Plan your visit around the caves in the two major champagne producing cities, Reims and Epernay. At Moët & Chandon, you’ll learn about the history of the house, established in 1743, and interesting facts, like […]

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Get lost in the surreal, Modernist world of Antoni Gaudí during your visit to Barcelona. The city is filled with his structures, from Casa Battló in the Eixample to his unfinished masterpiece the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. Tour all of these before you visit Parc Güell as a primer to get inside of Gaudí’s head. His unique blend of Gothic and Art Nouveau architecture, along with forms and colors inspired by nature have a sort of psychedelic funhouse effect that will […]

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The Second Session of the 31st Annual Key West Literary Seminar begins tonight with Colm Toíbín delivering the John Hersey Memorial Address at the San Carlos Institute on Duval Street. Follow along on Twitter at @KeyWestLiterary and #KWLS and find highlights on Facebook at Facebook.com/KeyWestLiterarySeminar. For more stories and event coverage, including a piece I wrote on Paul Hendrickson’s reading from “Hemingway’s Boat”, visit the Seminar’s online publication Littoral. Image courtesy Nick Doll Photography.

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I’m thrilled to be back in Key West as the 31st Annual Key West Literary Seminar kicks off tonight at the San Carlos Institute on Duval Street. As a member of the event staff for the last five years, it’s an absolute highlight on my calendar. This year’s theme is “Writers on Writers,” and we’ll explore the life and works of beloved literary icons as told by some of the most provocative contemporary writers and scholars today, such as James Atlas, Blake Bailey, Billy […]

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