Presidents’ Day

16 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  4 minutes

Washington's Birthday sign © Edward Penfield

Washington’s Birthday sign © Edward Penfield

Presidents’ Day, officially Washington’s Birthday at the federal governmental level, is a holiday in the United States celebrated on the third Monday of February. It is often celebrated to honor all those who served as presidents of the United States and, since 1879, has been the federal holiday honoring Founding Father George Washington, who led the Continental Army to victory in the American Revolutionary War, presided at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and served as the first U.S. president from 1789 to 1797.   read more…

Chiles en nogada

15 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon appétit Reading Time:  4 minutes

© Oscar Aparicio Leal/cc-by-sa-4.0

© Oscar Aparicio Leal/cc-by-sa-4.0

Chiles en nogada is a Mexican dish of poblano chiles stuffed with picadillo (a mixture usually containing minced meat, aromatics, fruits and spices) topped with a walnut-based cream sauce called nogada, pomegranate seeds and parsley; it is typically served at room temperature. It is widely considered a national dish of Mexico.   read more…

War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco

14 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Opera Houses, Theaters, Libraries, San Francisco Bay Area Reading Time:  5 minutes

© Andreas Praefcke

© Andreas Praefcke

The War Memorial Opera House is an opera house in San Francisco, California, United States, located on the western side of Van Ness Avenue across from the west side/rear facade of the San Francisco City Hall. It is part of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center. It has been the home of the San Francisco Opera since opening night in 1932.   read more…

Nova Festival Victims Memorial in Israel

13 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Israel Preker Pikiwiki Israel/cc-by-2.5

© Israel Preker Pikiwiki Israel/cc-by-2.5

The Nova Festival Victims Memorial is a monument commemorating the victims of the Nova music festival massacre during the October 7 attacks. It is located in the Re’im parking lot near Re’im in the Southern District of Israel, where the festival took place on October 6–7, 2023.   read more…

Alden Biesen Castle in Bilzen

12 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Palaces, Castles, Manors, Parks Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Francisco Conde Sánchez/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Francisco Conde Sánchez/cc-by-sa-3.0

Alden Biesen is a 16th-century castle in the small village of Rijkhoven, municipality of Bilzen, province of Limburg, Flemish Region, Belgium. In addition to the moated castle, the complex contains a church and gardens.   read more…

Caffè Florian in Venice

11 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon appétit Reading Time:  9 minutes

© S.A.C.R.A. srl/cc-by-sa-4.0

© S.A.C.R.A. srl/cc-by-sa-4.0

Caffè Florian is a coffee house situated in the Procuratie Nuove of Piazza San Marco, Venice. It was established in 1720 and is the oldest coffee house in continuous operation in Italy, and one of the oldest in the world (the oldest being Queen’s Lane Coffee House in Oxford, founded in 1654).   read more…

Orient House, the unofficial town hall of East Jerusalem

10 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Union for the Mediterranean Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Yoavd

© Yoavd

Orient House is a building located in East Jerusalem that served as the headquarters of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in the 1980s and 1990s. Built in 1897 by Ismail Musa Al-Husseini, it has been owned by the Al-Husseini family since. Originally intended to serve as a family residence, it was at times vacated to host important guests, such as Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany in 1898 and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia in 1936.   read more…

Temple Emanu-El in San Francisco

9 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Mosaic © Kiddo27/cc-by-sa-4.0

Mosaic © Kiddo27/cc-by-sa-4.0

Congregation Emanu-El of San Francisco, California is one of the three oldest Jewish congregations in California, and one of the largest Jewish congregations in the United States. A member of the Union for Reform Judaism, Congregation Emanu-El is a significant gathering place for the Bay Area Jewish community.   read more…

Pan-fried fish

8 February 2026 | Author/Destination: | Category: General, Bon appétit, Hamburg Reading Time:  7 minutes

Hamburger Pannfisch © P6G47TG/cc-by-sa-4.0

Hamburger Pannfisch © P6G47TG/cc-by-sa-4.0

Pannfisch, also known as Hamburger Pannfisch or Hamburger Pfann(en)fisch, is a traditional dish of Hamburg cuisine, now considered “typically North German” and widespread throughout Northern Germany. Its main components are fried or boiled pieces of fish (without the head), fried potatoes, and mustard sauce. Once considered a “poor man’s food” and a way to use up leftovers, this pan-fried dish is now sometimes prepared with more expensive fish and can also be found in upscale restaurants.   read more…

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