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Lesley Peterson is a Toronto-based blogger tripping on travel, art, culture, museums, cities and legendary landscapes. Catch her on Twitter as @culturetripper or contact her at lesley@culturetripper.com. All content by Lesley Peterson copyright © 2009 - Until the Present. All photos by Lesley Peterson except where other credit noted.
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Frida & Diego: Passion, politics and painting at the AGO
On now at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics and Painting is a rare opportunity to see work by the 20th century’s most legendary artist couple exhibited side by side. The AGO show includes more than 80 works on paper and paintings by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera as well as more than 60 […]
The most beautiful bookstore in the world
Stepping into Boekhandel Dominicanen in Maastricht, Netherlands, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Occupying a Dominican church dating from 1294, the shop well deserves its reputation as the most beautiful bookstore in the world. The medieval church lacked a congregation and was actually being used for public bike storage before undergoing refurbishment for the Selexyz book chain by Dutch architects Merkx […]
ArtSmart Roundtable: Genre paintings of Holland’s Golden Age
Time again for ArtSmart Roundtable, a group of travel bloggers with a contagious passion for art. Each month, Roundtable members publish a post on a chosen topic; this month is Art Genres. Be sure to scroll down for links to my colleagues’ unique blogs and perspectives. And now, genre paintings of Holland’s Golden Age. A quick check […]
05.11.2012 · Filled under: Art, ArtSmart Roundtable, Europe, Netherlands · Tags: Artists, HISTORY, Holland
A ghostly tour of the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre, Toronto
Step up to the birdcage, buy a ticket for a tour of the last operating double-decker Edwardian theatre in the world. It’s cool and dark inside. The Elgin below, all red velvet with leering gilt satyrs, the Winter Garden a fairylit birch forest above. But if you think something beckoned from behind an old backdrop, […]
Free Hawaiian culture classes and concerts in Waikiki, Honolulu
Glamorous Waikiki Beach was once the retreat of Hawaiian royalty. Here at Helumoa, a royal grove of coconut palms, Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop (1831-1884) wrote a codicil to her will establishing Kamehameha Schools dedicated to educating children of Hawaiian descent. Today the Royal Grove is a garden at the heart of the Royal Hawaiian shopping center, the […]
Lagoon dreams: Venice, Burano & Torcello
I’ve dreamed of the lagoon since returning from Venice, dreamt of jade water shivering as it crosses sandbars, spangled with sun diamonds. Though we rented a car for several days to explore, we left it at the hotel that Sunday morning and took Bus 19 (about a 15-minute ride, 1.30 Euro) from our hotel in Campalto […]
20.10.2012 · Filled under: Architecture, Destination Guides, Europe, Italy, Legendary Landscapes · Tags: CITIES, hemingway, HISTORY, Italy, water
The delight of Miami’s Art Deco architecture
Surrounded by curving white lines, steel balustrades and porthole-shaped windows, I could easily imagine I’m aboard an ocean liner steaming out to sea. After all, I’m in Miami, the world’s largest cruise port. Instead, I’m on the roof-top Spire Bar of The Hotel of South Beach surrounded by the best in Tropical Art Deco. With […]
01.10.2012 · Filled under: Architecture, Festivals & Events, Florida, United States · Tags: Beaches, CITIES, Florida, HISTORY
International Couscous Festival, San Vito lo Capo, Sicily
Sicilian food, like its history, is a stew of cultural influences. Closer to Africa than Rome, and under Arab rule for 200 years during the Middle Ages, it’s not surprising to find couscous on menus in Sicily, especially in the western end of this Mediterranean island. Each September, the beach resort of San Vito lo […]
ArtSmart Roundtable: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The former gallery guide in me couldn’t resist a regular appointment to chat about art so I’ve joined the ArtSmart Roundtable, a group of travel bloggers with a contagious passion for art. On the first Monday of every month, each member of the Roundtable publishes a piece on a chosen topic. This month’s topic is […]
Key West for culture trippers
Like Alice passing through the looking-glass, I entered the Florida Keys through a dissolving veil of rain. The summer squall cleared as fast as it had blown in and I spent several sunny days exploring Key West’s unique architecture and thriving arts scene. There’s always something raffish about a port town. With its strange past […]
28.08.2012 · Filled under: Architecture, Art, Destination Guides, Florida · Tags: Artists, Books, Florida, hemingway