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Travel

Felicity Aston, shown here in Iceland, is currently attempting cross Antarctica alone.

Farthest South: News from a Solo Antarctic Adventurer

Aston is in no-man’s land, where schedules and responsibility carry little relevance, but she is bound by one logistic: “I can’t miss the last plane out”

Arezzo, Italy

Five Hundred Years of Giorgio Vasari in Arezzo, Italy

Lutefisk is both a delicacy and a tradition among Scandinavian-Americans.

Scandinavians’ Strange Holiday Lutefisk Tradition

People in the Old Country won’t touch the stuff, but immigrants to the American Midwest have celebrated it for generations

The craze for collecting toy soldiers began with the French in the 18th century. In this scene, British foot soldiers attack a French officer.

The Great Battles of History, in Miniature

At a museum in Valencia, Spain, over one million toy soldiers stand at attention, prepared to reenact the wars that shaped the world

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The Most Pungent Prize: Hunting the Truffle

“As a journalist working on a story about truffles, it felt like risky business. There’s a lot of cash flowing around, there’s a black market”

The "Roo de Loo" in Paris

Julia Child in Paris

Though the American chef popularized French cuisine, she hasn’t yet received her due in the city she loved

“We want them to think, ‘maybe science is something I could do,’” coastal geoscientist Rob Young said of tribal youths, who took part in a camp focusing on the area’s spiritual heritage.

Preparing for a New River

Klallam tribal members make plans for holy ancestral sites to resurface after the unparalleled removal of nearby dams

Maui's Haleakala volcano and the rest of the Hawaiian Islands formed out of molten lava as the Pacific plate drifted over the hotspot as three to four inches a year.

What We’re Still Learning About Hawaii

The fiery forces beneath the island chain still mystify geologists

From cinder desert to tropical forest, the 19-square-mile Haleakala Crater boasts varied landscape. In the center is a hiker at "Pele's Paint Pot," likely named for the goddess of fire and volcanoes.

Descending Into Hawaii’s Haleakala Crater

A trip to the floor of the Maui volcano still promises an encounter with the “raw beginnings of world-making”

General Joseph Stillwell's desk at the museum site in Chongqing, China

An American General’s Legacy in China

General Joseph Stilwell, U.S. Army hero and leader of American forces in China in World War II, had a tangible impact overseas that you can visit today

Facing the Void: Ellee Thalheimer stands before a high pass near Sampeyre, Italy after an ascent of several thousand feet.

Women and the Way of the Pedal-empowered

Susan B. Anthony said bicycling “emancipates women than anything else in the world. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel”

Beijing's "Bird's Nest"

A Prize-Winning Architecture Tour of Beijing

The next Pritzker Prize for architecture will be awarded in the Chinese capital, a tribute to its new crop of award-worthy structures

You never know what you will find on the beaches of Malarrimo.

The Wonders that Wash Ashore: Malarrimo Beach

The attraction of beachcombing is that one isn’t perusing a garbage dump; much of what one sifts through on a stretch of sand are valuables lost at sea

Designed by Viktor Schreckengost (American, 1906-2008); produced by Cowan Pottery Studio (Rocky River, Ohio, active 1912-1931). Engobed and glazed ceramic, with sgraffito design.

An Art Deco Masterpiece for Eleanor Roosevelt

Birmingham, Alabama, the art museum’s “Jazz Bowl” by famed U.S. industrial designer Viktor Schreckengost was an artistic, and civil rights, turning point

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Into a Desert Place: A Talk With Graham Mackintosh

In remote fishing camps, a few older fishermen remember a red-haired Englishman who tramped through 30 years ago, disappearing around the next point

Dark and light streaks on crater walls, Moon

Slopes, Streaks and Flows

On the western coast of Hawaii there is a large, raised platform of stacked lava rock. The terrace, a sacred temple called Hikiau Heiau, dates to the 18th century, if not earlier.

Six Sacred Sites of Hawaii

Take a tour of the idyllic sites across the many islands where native Hawaiians have longstanding spiritual connections

Wild campers must beware of landmines in the Balkans - though locals may only warn of bears.

Crying Wolf Among Motor Vehicles and Landmines

Five drunk young men—the first visibly intoxicated men I think I’ve seen in Turkey—began dancing in the highway to Turkish music from the car’s radio

View from Piazza Garibaldi in Rome

In Rome, a New Museum Worth Celebrating

A Roman museum devoted to 19th century hero Giuseppe Garibaldi is a bright spot amid the gloomy news from Italy

Although Christians and Muslims joined in protests against Mubarak, shown here in Cairo's Tahrir Square this past February, violence against the Copts escalated soon after the regime fell.

A New Crisis for Egypt’s Copts

The toppling of Egypt’s government has led to a renewal of violence against the nation’s Christian minority

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