Visits to coffee houses were a frequent indulgence when I live in Vienna in my early twenties – my drink of choice was velvety hot chocolate slathered with just-whipped heavy cream, dusted with cocoa powder.
My other indulgence? Pastries.
Eclairs, steamed cakes, moussed slices, meringues, puff pastries – the coffee house cases always seemed stocked with some new-to-me delicacy just waiting to be sampled.
Crushing over almost 270 feet to the ground below, Snoqualmie Falls, just east of Seattle, has become a draw for locals – and visitors from around the world. Next to the towering Mount Rainier (about 70 miles directly south), Snoqualmie Falls often tops the list of most popular natural sites in the state.
“Everyone can tell you an apple experience,” says Sarah Brown, a touch of nostalgia in her voice. “For me, it was Yellow Transparent. Growing up we had a Yellow Transparent apple tree and I would just sit and eat and eat. Every few hours my mom would come by and say, ‘You’re going to get a tummy ache.
Italians serve up silky gelato. In India, expect kulfi for an icy dessert. Mexico’s popsicle-like paletas come in endless fruit flavors. For Japanese, ice cream mochi encase spoonfuls of ice cream in flavors like sweet mango, green tea, strawberry and more in a thick, rice shell. Americans make towering sundaes with multiple scoops of ice cream drenched in hot fudge before being sprinkled with chopped nuts and topped with a sticky-sweet maraschino cherry.
Reimagined from the bones of an old fish cannery, the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California, stands apart as one of the top aquariums in the world. The expansive 3.3-acre, 320,000-square-foot facility melds into the Monterey Bay taking advantage of its unique position as part of a National Marine Sanctuary.
Chances are if you’ve visited Orlando, Florida, home to theme park behemoths Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Florida and others, you’ve also been to Kissimmee, its sister city just to the south. The two cities meld into one another – and yet for families looking to break up their days in the theme parks with some natural sites you can only find in Central Florida, Kissimmee offers the the perfect starting point.
It’s hard to believe food trucks have only revved their foodie engines in the U.S. since 2008. In that relatively short window of time, they’ve become a culinary juggernaut. No longer a novelty in major metropolitan areas, food truck hubs are now common in mid- to small-size cities, too. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce found the food truck industry generated $2.7 billion in revenue in 2017 and has been growing on average at a rate of 7.9% every year.
Indie video game designers discussing their craft. Hundreds of guitars strung together to form a sort of musical tornado emerging from the floor. High school art from a singer who helped create the grunge movement.
While I expected Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture, or MoPOP, would offer plenty of culture-defining finds, I was still surprised by the variety and thoughtfulness behind the exhibits.
“Do you have any questions about the menu?” asks Mario Kanaan, leaning slightly over the front of his Cedars Lebanese Kitchen food truck in Aloha, Oregon, a suburb of food truck central, Portland, “If you haven’t had the arnabeet, I definitely recommend it.”
