Smag31

Smag31 is a positive community reaching 21 million readers every year by sharing your stories and creativity. Submit Your Post!

Munich – Around Town : Schwabing & University District (part 2) – Best of the Rest, Boutiques & Shops

by

A Day in the University District Morning Begin your day in true bohemian style at the Café Münchner Freiheit. Afterward, stroll down Leopoldstr. and turn into Kaiserstr., with its pretty houses. Lenin lived at No. 46. At Kaiserplatz, follow Friedrichstr. to the corner of Ainmillerstr., with its Art Nouveau houses (Nos. 20–37). Continue along Friedrichstr. … Read more

Munich – Around Town : Schwabing & University District (part 1)

by

Encompassing Schwabing, Maxvorstadt, and the fringes of Lehel, this district covers the entire area lying to the left and right of Ludwigstraße and Leopoldstraße. At the beginning of the 19th century, the expansion of the Old Town north and west of Odeonsplatz began with the development of Maxvorstadt, then a suburb. This is where you … Read more

Seattle : Around Town – Fremont (part 3) – Shops, Places to Eat

by

Shops Steve’s Fremont News Find newspapers from all around the globe or just peruse their stunning assortment of magazines. Located right by the Metro bus stop. 3416 Fremont Ave N Dusty Strings Since 1979, this musical instrument store has attracted players and fans of folk music looking for an Irish harp, fiddle, rare acoustic guitar, … Read more

Seattle : Around Town – Fremont (part 1)

by

Fremont declared itself an “artists’ republic” in the 1960s, when a community of students, artists, and bohemians moved in, attracted by low rents. The name crystallizes the unflagging spirit of independence, eccentricity, and most of all, nonconformity. In retrospect, what may have begun as an idealistic artists’ enclave was more accurately an early sign of … Read more

Barcelona – Around Town – El Raval (part 2) – Galleries & Design Shops, Vintage & Second-Hand Shops

by

A Ramble in El Raval Morning Start your ramble mid-morning by perusing the innovative temporary art exhibits at the CCCB . Here the two world’s have meshed harmoniously. The eye-catching blend of old-meets-new in this cutting-edge art space provides a fitting introduction to El Raval’s new identity. Head south along C/Montalegre to the Plaça dels … Read more

Barcelona – Around Town – El Raval (part 1)

by

The sleek, shiny, white walls of the Museu d’Art Contemporani (MACBA) juxtapose the decrepit, ramshackle tenement buildings; Asian grocery stores sell herbs and spices next to what were once the most decadent brothels in Europe; and smoky, decades-old bars share dark, narrow streets with high-ceilinged art galleries showcasing video installations. The old-town barrio of El … Read more

Waterworld : Hotel Eden Roc, One & Only Le Saint Geran, Wyndham Rio Mar Beach

by

Watersports for adventurous types, yacht lounging for the not so. Either way. Here’s a selection of the best destinations Hotel Eden Roc Ascona, Switzerland Influenced by its close proximity to Italy, Ascona is the dimming Swiss town graced with a unique pseudo-Mediterranean climate that appears to escape the rest of Switzerland. Though the snow-peaked landscape … Read more

Madagascar … A Delightfully Dirty Detour

by

While motocrycling between Cape Town and London, Jeremy Bullard was lured serious off poste by the words of Milary Bradt – he found himself in Madagascar I never meant to go to Madagascar at all. After all it was not on the Cape Town to London overland route that I was following. However, my inability … Read more

Toronto – Around Town – East (part 1)

by

The eastern part of Toronto is a region of contrasts. Some of the city’s grandest old mansions remain along the stately streets of Jarvis and Sherbourne, though many of these homes were abandoned for years and have only in the past few decades undergone renovation and gentrification. The same is true of Cabbagetown, originally a … Read more

The Italian Connection (Part 2)

by

The latter is famous for its dam, featured in the opening, 220-metre bungee-jumping stunt of the 1995 Lames Bond film GoldenEye, which anyone can now repeat (apart from the hit at the end where Pierce Brosnan shoots a piton into the rock to stop himself springing back up) thanks to the commercial bungee-jumping operation set … Read more

The Italian Connection (Part 1)

by

Switzerland’s Italian-speaking canton is a sensuous land of lakeside beaches, unspoilt valleys, literary greats and mountain peaks. Lee Marshall salutes the Swiss Riviera The Restaurant Seven in Ascona One day, while exploring one of the many valleys of Ticino, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, I stopped to give a lift to a hiker. He turned … Read more

On A Bard’s Tour Of Italy (Part 2)

by

Sicily may have produced the real Shakespeare. Michelangelo Florio Crollalanza was born in Messina in 1564, and is known as a writer of plays. During a religious crackdown by the enforcers of papal authority, the young Calvinist fled to England, aged 24, and settled with his mother’s cousin in Stratford-upon-Avon. Crolla derives from the verb … Read more

On A Bard’s Tour Of Italy (Part 1)

by

With the World Shakespeare Festival in full swing, why not step back in time to visit the sources of the writer’s inspiration from Venice to Sicily? With a little help from some of Britain’s finest Shakespearean actors, Italian historian and broadcaster Francesco da Mosto is your guide Venice is my city, and the first Shakespeare … Read more

San Francisco – Around Town : Downtown (part 4) – Places to Eat

by

Places to Eat The Dining Room The setting, the service, and the food all live up to the Ritz name . Ritz-Carlton Hotel 600 Stockton Street 415 773 6198 Dis. access Tommy Toy’s Haute Cuisine Chinoise This elegant institution serves marvelous fare in a sumptuous setting. The cuisine is a melding of Chinese and French. … Read more