Somerville, Massachusetts – You can’t imagine how much I love my house right now. My crowded, messy, falling-down-in-places, little pink house is pretty much my favorite place in the world. Despite the fact that our front porch is crumbling and…
Maslenitsa
Call me optimistic. Or hopeful. Or perhaps desperate. But this weekend we bid farewell to winter, celebrating the ancient Russian end-of-winter festival, Maslenitsa. This ancient pagan ritual was sort of co-opted by the Christians, so it morphed into a pre-Lenten…
An Alvar Aalto Tour of Finland
Anyone who has visited an Apple store has sat in a sleek `high stool’ created by Finnish designer Alvar Aalto in 1935. His curvaceous Savoy vase is still an icon of Finnish design, even 75 years after its creation. But…
Moscow for Children
An Excerpt from Lonely Planet Moscow Filled with icons and onion domes, the Russian capital might not seem like an appealing destination for kids; but you’d be surprised. In Moscow, little people will find museums, parks, theatres and even restaurants that cater especially…