TravelAwaits
May.25.2021
“Basically, we’re storytellers of chocolate!” said an exuberant Éva Gyöngy Máté, a chocolate tour guide at The Chocolatarium, a microfactory in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town just off the Royal Mile.
I recently experienced “90 minutes of chocolate heaven,” as The Chocolatarium’s website promises. But I was actually immersed in that chocolate heaven for nearly 2 hours! I tasted chocolate, smelled it roasting, rubbed it on my skin, and even made my own bespoke bars. (“Bespoke” is the British term for “customized” or “personalized.”) Here are just a few of the things I learned.
TravelAwaits
Apr.29.2021
Ironically, it was while recovering from an accident that had left him blind for several months that John Muir, the “father of the U.S. parks system,” decided to devote his life to conservation.
Today, more than 200 million visitors annually enjoy the 84 million acres of national parks that sprung from Muir’s epiphany. From the calving glaciers in Alaska’s Glacier Bay to the manatees of Florida’s Everglades, there’s much to explore! Here are nine surprising facts about the man whose vision or lack thereof left this legacy:
Kelly Hayes-Raitt
1. John Muir Was Not Born In America