In 2017, when Nora Martins was trying to decide between Japan or South America for a big fall trip, it was neither the staggered steps of Machu Picchu nor the snow-capped peaks of Patagonia that sealed the deal. “My husband called me and said, ‘I got a reservation at Central, so I think we should…
While filling out a permit application to drive El Camino del Diablo — a dirt road that cuts through 130 miles of saguaro-studded desert between Yuma and Ajo, Ariz. — I marveled at the hazards it warned I might encounter along the way, including “permanent, painful, disabling, and disfiguring injury or death due to high…
With hotel companies feeling the competition from the surging home-share industry led by Airbnb, Marriott International has decided if you can’t beat them, join them. The company, whose brands span from the bargain Courtyard by Marriott to the cosseting Ritz Carlton, is expanding a home-sharing experiment into a full-fledged division that will rent you a…
In 1868, after more than two centuries of isolationism, the opening of the port of Kobe brought a wave of international influences to this sunny city on the main Japanese island of Honshu. These days visitors will find Western-style mansions built by foreign diplomats, music influenced by the United States, and dim sum in the…
The epigraph etched in Latin on the ancient stone tablet was short and tender: “Claudia Aster, prisoner from Jerusalem.” Brought to Rome in chains after the quelling of the revolt in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., she was apparently the concubine of a Roman notable who wanted to give her a dignified burial and added an…
The 52 Places Traveler Traveling along the fabled Silk Road to Tashkent and beyond, the 52 Places Traveler joined the festivities. April 23, 2019 Our columnist, Sebastian Modak, is visiting each destination on our 52 Places to Go in 2019 list. He has been traveling in Uzbekistan, after a stop in Doha, Qatar. I’m in…
I have a secret to tell you: You don’t need an expensive camera. Don’t get me wrong, I love my big digital camera, huge lenses and all. I love taking photos too. It’s a hobby as well as part of my job. But it’s a myth that a “real” camera instantly makes all photos better.…
Image After a United Airlines employee was charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly using racial slurs, the company said it had “zero tolerance for discrimination of any kind.”CreditSeth Wenig/Associated Press A United Airlines employee accused of directing racial slurs at a customer has been charged in Texas with disorderly conduct, according to court documents. The…
Image A night view of Havana, which has drawn an increasing number of American travelers.CreditRobert Rausch for The New York Times For Americans who want to visit Cuba, things got even murkier as the Trump administration last week said that it would further restrict nonfamily travel to the island. The new restrictions are part of…
While primarily a painter of people, the Dutch artist Rembrandt van Rijn immortalized at least one tulip. In 1634 he painted his wife, Saskia van Uylenburgh, as Flora, goddess of spring and flowers, crowned with a wreath of blooms, of which the largest is a tulip. Its petals are unmistakably striped, with white and red…