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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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Picturing the Americas: Landscape Painting from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic at the AGO
On now at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the exquisite exhibition Picturing the Americas: Landscape Painting from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic. Five years in the planning and scheduled to run concurrently with the Pan Am Games and Parapan Am Games 2015, the show takes visitors on a spectacular visual journey through the Americas. […]
The Lost Dhow exhibition, Aga Khan Museum, Toronto
“…for I was a merchant and a man of money and substance and had a ship of my own, laden with great stores of goods and merchandise; but it foundered at sea and all were drowned except me who saved myself on a piece of plank which Allah vouchsafed to me of His favour.” – […]
Lucy the Elephant, America’s oldest roadside attraction
Lonely Planet named the Jersey Shore a Top 10 U.S. destination for 2014. What’s the big attraction? Lucy the Elephant, of course! Located about four miles south of Atlantic City, Lucy the Elephant has stared out to sea since 1881, making her America’s oldest roadside attraction. The six-storey novelty architecture was built by James V. Lafferty, Jr., a […]
1920s Atlantic City: the real ‘Boardwalk Empire’
If you’re a fan of the HBO series Boardwalk Empire, you’ll know that the character of Nucky Thompson, played by Steve Buscemi, is loosely based on real-life Atlantic City kingpin Enoch ‘Nucky’ Johnson. Treasurer of Atlantic County during Prohibition era, the real Nucky’s empire flourished in the racy, roaring 1920s. On my last visit to Atlantic […]
27.08.2014 · Filled under: Destination Guides, Food, Legendary Landscapes, United States · Tags: Beaches, film, HISTORY
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater to get UNESCO world heritage site status
The world’s most famous (non-royal) house is being considered for UNESCO world heritage site status, along with ten other buildings by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). Perched over a waterfall in Bear Run Creek, Mill Run, Pennsylvania, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater (1936) was famous even before it was finished. Designated a National Historic Landmark in […]
An auld tale of Scotland on Robert Burns Night
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And auld lang syne! – Robert Burns (1759-1796) A box in the basement. A brittle album, faded images tucked behind cellophane, a flood of feeling. As my husband hustled up some tea, I remembered my own auld lang syne and a very […]
The Staffordshire Potteries, England
One of my favorite art and travel experiences was to the Staffordshire Potteries in the UK. The Staffordshire Potteries are centered around Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, England. Once the industrial heart of England, much of the area now has a rural feel with over 30 pottery-related sites snugged in a pretty landscape. Though I was there in February, my memories are warm: […]
03.12.2012 · Filled under: Art, Destination Guides, Europe, Legendary Landscapes · Tags: England, HISTORY, museums
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