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There’s a photo of me, tan and lean in front of the Château d’Azay-le-Rideau, my dark curls and long orange dress blowing wildly. My backpack is slung over one shoulder and my right wrist is ringed in “
Ciao Bella” bracelets, a discotheque admittance stamp fading just above. I squint my eyes not because of the sun or the camera’s flash, but because everything is so bright and beautiful and exciting that this moment makes every part of my face smile.
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I often reflect on this image and that halcyon day, one of many from a college trip across Europe. But sadly, I cannot gaze at it directly: The photo itself is gone, the camera holding it lost somewhere on a train.
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This year, while I rarely leave my apartment, I can still travel the globe with the help of the internet. But not by means so pedestrian as Google Earth. No, my preferred method of armchair tourism is the Nonstandard McDonald’s Twitter account. On a balmy summer day, I flash a Vulcan salute at the England UFO McDonald’s. During a brisk evening in Sweden, I take off my McSki gloves to unwrap a McDouble, no pickles. And on a wild and windy night, I am the ghost who haunts the McBarge.
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The Nonstandard McDonald’s account’s mission is, admirably, “preserving the only architectural heritage of the western world.” The tweets span decades and continents, providing an archive of offbeat McDonald’s many now lost to time. The photos read as kitschy, surreal, and occasionally haunting. The interiors are an Escher-esque intersection of nostalgia culture, capitalism, design, and fast food.
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Years ago, my husband and I decided that we wanted to visit all of America’s national parks. (Twelve down, 50 to go!) While the natural beauty of each is unique, the small towns nearby invariably offer the same thing: a study in corporate America’s idea of a wholesome family vacation. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factories dot Appalachian streets, manufacturing caramel apples sticky enough to ensnare bored children. Small businesses push the limits of copyright law with identical “May the Forest Be With You” T-shirts, and whole economies seem to run on pulled saltwater taffy alone. Estes Park, Colorado, a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, promises all this and more. Tourists can spot wildlife, sip local craft beers, or visit the Stanley Hotel, the inspiration for Stephen King’s