Travel
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Michelin Star Cafe Boulud At Blantyre
Blantyre Is a Berkshires Gilded Age Mansion
By: - Jul 19th, 2020Chef Daniel Boulud, a two star Michelin Chef at 'Daniel' in Manhattan has brought his crew to run his one star Michelin restauarant, 'Cafe Boulud' at the Gilded Age Mansion, Blantyre (Lenox, Massachusetts). The French inspired restaurant will remain open, Wednesday to Sunday, through mid-October.
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Hungarian Cabernet Franc
My Dad's Nickname Was 'Cab Franc'
By: - Jul 11th, 2020Everyone has a story to tell. Not all of us have wine stories. This is one about my Dad and why I went into the wine business.
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Tanglewood Opening Day 2020
A No Frills Experience
By: - Jul 06th, 2020Opening day at Tanglewood, at 10 AM in July 5, was not what one expected.
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Chesterwood to Open Soon
Berkshire Home of Daniel Chester French
By: - Jun 25th, 2020Chesterwood, a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation since 1969, was the former summer home, studio and gardens of Daniel Chester French (1850-1931), one of America’s foremost 20th century public sculptors. Although French is best known for his statues of the Minute Man in Concord, Massachusetts and the seated figure of Abraham Lincoln for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., he also had a passion and talent for garden and landscape design.
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Spa Journeys for Astral Travelers
What A Trip
By: - Jun 10th, 2020Canyon Ranch may be just down the road for Berkshireites, but in the time of Covid, it's as inaccessible as the moon. Jessica Robinson suggests how to satisfy a spa yearning safely.
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Hancock Shaker Village
A Pledge
By: - Jun 05th, 2020Since the late 18th century, the Shakers have embraced individuals of all racial and cultural backgrounds as equals – including black, brown, and indigenous. We are a museum, not Shakers – but as a museum and in keeping with the historic Shaker values of equality and justice, we are appalled by what we see before our eyes across America.
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Hancock Shaker Village Phase One
Campus Access as of June 4
By: - May 29th, 2020On Thursday, June 4 as part of Massachusetts Phase 1 initiative, Hancock Shaker Village will open only its outdoor spaces—including its beloved baby animals in outdoor fenced-in areas—to the public Thursdays through Sundays, 10 am–3 pm. This schedule will be in place at least through June, as the Village plans for a full reopening in Phase 3.
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Ethiopia: Part Two
Simien Mountains, Gondar, Bahir Dar
By: - May 15th, 2020Simien Mountains, known as "Roof of Africa", is an ecological hot spot for endemic species such as the gelada monkeys. Gondar highlights the architectural glory of the once capital of Ethiopia for 200 years. Bahir Dar is located in the southern shore of Lake Tana, which harbors many islands home to ancient monastic churches with completely painted interiors related to Ethiopian Orthodox liturgy.
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Ethiopia: Part One
Addis Ababa, Aksum, Lalibela
By: - May 01st, 2020Ethiopia is a wondrous land of majestic mountains, ancient cultures, beautiful people and architectural treasures. Addis Ababa, the modern capital city; Aksum, the one time capital of the ancient Aksumite Empire, and the holy city of Lalibela, a UNESCO World Heritage Site with eleven rock-hewn churches, leave one with indelible memories.
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Letter from Hancock Shaker Village
Three Little Lambs
By: - Apr 19th, 2020Jennifer Trainer Thompson, the director of Hancock Shaker Village, has a letter for friends and neighbors. It's spring and the lambs have been born. Soon it is time to plant the traditional gardens. Trying times call for creative solutions.
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Mishima and Williams Celebrated in P'Town
The 14th Annual 2019 Tennessee Williams Theater Festival
By: - Mar 14th, 2020A day late and a dollar short, NY critic, Edward Rubin, is notorious for blowing off deadlines. By now the September, 2019 14th Annual Tennessee Williams Theater Festival is a faded memory. Arguably a rose pressed between the pages of a book. But here in loving detail Rubin posts a definitively detailed, documentary account of an historic event. It also serves as a preview of what to expect this September. By then, hopefully, the virus will have passed and we will enjoy the last gasp of summer with magnificent theatre and high jinks by the sea.
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El Regajal Winery Is Madrid’s Finest
Home To 77 Butterfly Species
By: - Feb 07th, 2020When you think of Spain and its wineries, you think about butterflies. Well think again, as you read about El Regajal Winery and winemaker Danny Garcia-Pita. It is a remarkable combination.
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Michael McGrath of North Adams in China
Daily Life at Five Immortals Temple
By: - Oct 03rd, 2019The days are long and arduous, the training, in rain or shine, warm or cold, difficult. The toilet is a trench. There are no bathtubs or showers - a face cloth bath with boiled water is as clean as you get. Everything comfortable and familiar in your life disappears, left below at the base of the mountain. Day, date and time dissolve in the mountain mists during the climb, and all you are left with is the moment, one after another.
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Detroit Then and Now
Soaring Spaces and Gracious Rooms of Motown
By: - Oct 27th, 2018Downtown Detroit has been the business heart of the city since the 1850s, expressing prosperity in structures like the 40-story Guardian Building, a 1929 Art Deco skyscraper. The soaring structure with its 632-foot high spire earned the nickname Cathedral of Finance, but its purpose was all business, and during World War II it even served as the U.S. Army Command Center for war time production.
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Letter from Gloucester: Maximus
Recalling the Polis of Charles Olson
By: - Oct 22nd, 2018This is the second Letter from Gloucester by correspondent Pippy Giuliano. She evokes the memory of epic Gloucester poet Charles Olson. He was indeed the bard by the sea who created layers of Cape Ann history from colonial times to his era in the poetic tome Maximus. It is in this daunting tradition that she contributes with humility her "lettters."
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Letter from Cape Ann
Now Through the Holidays
By: - Oct 15th, 2018This launches a new feature for Berkshire Fine Arts. Pippy Giuliano, sister of BFA's Charles, shares deeps roots and family heritage in Cape Ann. She lives in Annisquam not far from the ancestral home, Beaver Dam Farm, in Rockport. Now retired, she is active in the community and a docent for the Cape Ann Museum. We suggested that she contribute a Letter from Cape Ann with tips on events and gatherings.
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Feel The Heel of Puglia
Primitivo di Manduria
By: - Oct 08th, 2018Puglia is referred to as the 'boot or heel' of Italy. It is located easternmost on the bottom of Italy and has 325 miles of coastline, whch helps enhance the grapes from the province. The wines are interesting and kin to American Zinfandel, a varietal dominant in the northwest.
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Crystal Bridges a Landmark Museum of American Art
Founded by Alice Walton in Bentonville Arkansas
By: - Sep 16th, 2018The largest work of art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is the museum itself, which serves as an anchor for the examination of architecture as art. The design of pods floating over a pond is the creation of Moshe Safdie.
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Mesa Verde National Park
Visiting Southwest Colorado
By: - Sep 07th, 2018Spread over 52,000 acres on high plateaus (7,000 to 8,500 feet), Mesa Verde National Park offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloans who built their homes there from around 650 until about 1300 AD.
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Topsy Turvy on Mt. Greylock
Bascom Lodge Reading and Book Launch
By: - Sep 04th, 2018Astrid Hiemer contributed 19 photo illustrations for my fifth book of gonzo poems Topsy Turvy. On Sunday of Labor Day weekend we collaborated for a reading and book launch at historic Bascom Lodge on Mt. Greylock. There was a nice turnout on the porch. Jose, Alvin, Rick and Art joined us for the jazz dinner that followed. We stayed the night and had breakfast with hikers. It was an adventure we need to have more often.
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Cartagena: Conserving Cultural Heritage
A 500-year-old Urban Jewel in the Caribbean
By: - Sep 03rd, 2018The author recently visited Cartagena, Colombia. The city is a 500-year old urban jewel in the Caribbean with a wonderful scaled and visually vibrant Old Town (el Centro Historico). It is a wonderful destination on the western edge of the Caribbean. Planning of Cartagena both in terms of preservation and new development is a challenge, but climate change and rising sea levels is threatening its cultural heritage.
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Detroit's Underground Railroad
Exploring City's Unique History
By: - Aug 21st, 2018Code named “Midnight” by Underground Railroad “conductors,” Detroit provided access to Windsor, Ontario, Canada just across the narrow Detroit River.
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Detroit Is Open for Business
The Once-Bankrupt City Blooms
By: - Aug 14th, 2018Here is only a small sampling of new places to eat and stay during a Detroit business trip – or any trip, for that matter. The city has dedicated itself to “coming alive” again, and there’s ample evidence that they’ve made a good start.
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Enrichment At Hancock Shaker Village
Food For Thought
By: - Jul 22nd, 2018A great day trip that enlightens and enriches the soul is as close as Berkshire county, home of Hancock Shaker Village. Spending a day learning about the Shakers, sharing dinner and thought with Peter Jennings son, Chris Jennings, and attending a concert with members of WILCO and transplanted local troubadour, Johnny Irion, can turn any day into sunshine.
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Eureka Springs, Arkansas
Known as ‘The Stair Step Town’
By: - Jul 18th, 2018In the beginning, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, was all about the healing waters. In 1880, the area’s numerous naturally flowing springs were credited with restoring the sight of a woman who had been blind for years.
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