Luy’s Lines
Mexico, in the Shadows of History
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Denver to Vail, the Slow Way
By RICH GRANT Every month, almost a million vehicles travel the 100 miles on Interstate 70 between Denver and Vail, Colorado. They zoom past gorgeous Rocky Mountain scenery at speeds up to 75 mph, burrow through the highest auto tunnel in North America, and switch back their way over the two-mile-high Vail Pass. But those in the know, slow
Read moreWellington, New Zealand’s Cool Capital City
By RICH GRANT WELLINGTON – The Lonely Planet travel guide books once called Wellington the “coolest capital city in the world,” an accolade the town loved so much, they made it their official slogan. And why not? New Zealand’s capital city is a pretty cool place, and the 300,000 people who live here know it. More than a quarter of
Read moreDresden: The Mini-Prague
BY RICH GRANT They say that no one buildings cities like Prague anymore, but that’s not quite true. Most of the gorgeous baroque, “Old Europe” city you see in the heart of Dresden, Germany, today is brand new, even though it appears to look centuries old. From medieval-looking back alleys to grand cathedrals, from an impressive baroque opera house to
Read moreA Walk in the Park
By RICH GRANT With 25 million visitors a year, New York’s Central Park is the most popular green space in the United States – and the most recognizable. More than 200 films have been shot here. From romantic “Annie Hall” to blood-ridden “Death Wish,” from tender “Love Story” to brutal “Fatal Attraction,” Central Park is one of the biggest Hollywood
Read moreGolden: The Best Little Beer Town in the World
BY RICH GRANT If Golden, Colorado, had put together just a little more money in 1869, it would have become the most famous city in the Rocky Mountains. The town was in a race against Denver to build Colorado’s first railroad. Golden was the capital of the Colorado Territory; Denver was an upstart – a frontier town of saloons and
Read moreSurprising Indianapolis
By RICH GRANT People who have never been to Indianapolis and assume it is just another dying, dull, rust- and corn-belt Midwest city could not be more mistaken. Indy is amazingly sophisticated, and getting better by the day. Indy’s very walkable downtown is green (with 350 acres of parks, rivers, tree-lined boulevards and canals), European (with impressive monuments and murals),
Read moreAmerica’s First Christmas
By RICH GRANT It is forever Christmas at McKonkey’s Ferry Inn. The dining room in this lovely tavern, located on the banks of the Delaware River, 42 miles upstream from Philadelphia, is always decorated as it would have been on Christmas night, 1776, when George Washington had dinner here. As Washington dined, 2,400 of his men assembled outside along the
Read moreWhat Happens in Europe, Stays in Vegas
BY RICH GRANT It was winter and I’d had enough of it. Too much snow; too much cold. I needed a summer in Europe. I needed to walk in twilight past splashing fountains, to linger over a good meal at an outdoor cafe, to see flowers and statuary and history and art, all placed around me, for no reason except
Read moreA Walk through Time in Colonial Williamsburg
BY RICH GRANT If you want to leave the noise and chaos of the 21st century behind and travel back to a simpler time, there’s nothing quite like an early morning stroll down the Duke of Gloucester Street in Williamsburg, Virginia. By noon, DOG Street (as the locals call it) will be swarming with tourists and shoppers, but if you
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