credit: Edward Balen

Eight years ago, nearly 3,000 people died when four planes crashed in New York, at the Pentagon, and in a Pennsylvania field. As years pass, it is important to remember the heroes of the day, and the tragedy that changed the United States forever.

New York, being such a resilient city, has worked to rebuild the architectural damage since the attacks, with plans to erect a “Freedom Tower” in the place of the former World Trade Center towers.

While this new tower is not constructed yet, the area around Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan offers an emotional living history monument in memory of all who were effected by the mass tragedy. The site of the former World Trade Center is being reborn into a memorial, museum, arts center, and office space. While the rebuilding is in progress, the area already has memorials and information booths available to learn more about the tragic event. The WTC Visitor Information Kiosk is stocked with maps and brochures about the area, while the Tribute WTC Visitor Center offers a non-political view of how the events of 9/11 effected real people and changed their lives.

Other Ground Zero memorials to visit when you are in the area include the Eleven Tears Memorial, FDNY Memorial Wall, Winter Garden and The Sphere.

Held each September (starting the Thursday after Labor Day weekend), the publicly-attended festival is one of the world’s most important cultural events. In terms of prestige, it is regularly ranked in the top five alongside Cannes, Berlin, Venice and Sundance.

Between 300-400 films are screened at approximately 23 screens in downtown Toronto venues. Annual attendance at TIFF exceeds 300,000 from public and industry audiences.

Many notable films have had their global or North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, including Chariots of Fire, The Big Chill, Husbands and Wives, Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould, Downfall, American Beauty, Sideways and Crash.

credit: Tom Gill / Flickr

When you think of Chicago, you probably picture lots of snow and sub-zero temperatures. Yet The Windy City rears an alter-ego head in the summer months. Blazing heat sends residents and visitors straight to the city’s many lakefront beaches. From downtown beaches Oak Street Beach, North Avenue Beach and Olive Park Beach, to uptown beaches Montrose Beach, Foster Beach and Kathy Osterman Beach, there’s a sandy, shoreside spot for everyone along the cool waters of Lake Michigan.

The Oak Street Beach, just north of shopper’s delight the Magificant Mile, is one of Chicago’s most popular summer spots. Sunbathe with the Chicago skyline right behind you. Here, you’ll find inline skaters, cyclists, and sunbathers getting tan. There are concessions and restrooms, but no parking. At the south end of the beach, grab a bite to eat at Oak Street Beachstro.

Volleyball players enjoy summer a little further north at the North Avenue Beach, which has over 50 courts for players of all skill levels. The $7 million North Avenue Beach House is permanently docked along one of Chicago’s most popular stretches of lakefront. Boasting one of the best views in the city, the new beach house has upper decks and portholes for looking at the magnificent horizon or the multitudes of bikers, runners, walkers and rollerbladers streaming down the redesigned lakefront trail.

On the north side, beaches are just as popular in the summer months. Kathy Osterman Beach, once known as Hollywood Beach, is the city’s gay and lesbian beach. The northern half of the beach is filled with families, both straight and homosexual, while the south end of the beach is a hot spot for the city’s gay population in the summer months. Montrose Beach stretches from Montrose to Wilson avenues on Lake Shore Drive. It is one of few beaches patrons may launch non-motorized watercraft, such as kayaks and catamarans into Lake Michigan. It also has one of only two dog beaches in the Chicago Park District, making it a popular beach for dog lovers.

Isaac Hsieh / Flickr

Ghirardelli Square was originally a chocolate factory established by Domenico “Domingo” Ghirardelli. The chocolate manufacturing operation was sold and transferred to San Leandro in the 1960s. Unique shops and restaurants were created within the old factory combining the latest in retailing and fine cuisine with the flavor of old San Francisco. The restoration project officially opened on November 29, 1964.

The chocolate festival features a full weekend’s worth of chocolatey goodness including classes, tastings, a chocolate tea party, and even an ice cream sundae contest. For $20 you get 15 tastings and entrance to the festival. Buy your tickets here.

See a list of the Top Chocolate Festivals in the World here.

1. Dane County Farmer’s Market (Madison, WI)
2. Ferry Plaza Farmers Market (San Francisco, CA)
3. Union Square Greenmarket (New York, NY)
4. Boulder County Farmers Market (Boulder, CO)
5. Crescent City Farmers Market (New Orleans, LA)

Jill Clardy / Flickr

6. Portland Farmers Market (Portland, OR)
7. Santa Fe Farmers Market (Santa Fe, NM)
8. Salt Lake City Farmers Market (Salt Lake City, UT)
9. Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market (Austin, TX)
10. Green City Market (Chicago, IL)

See the Top 25 Farmer’s Markets in America

credit: Jeremy Schultz / Flickr

1. Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park
If you haven’t already visited this park, you’re in for a historical treat. This is the location where James W. Marshall discovered gold in 1848. Marshall’s monument, the original gold discovery site, and several historic buildings became part of California’s state park system in 1927. Marshall Park is open every day, with free historic demonstrations on Thursdays and Fridays throughout the year. You can learn to pan for gold at the museum or at the historic Frank Bekeart’s Gunshop.

2. Columbia State Historic Park
This park is more of a preserved commercial district than a traditional park. Visitors have the chance to time-travel to the 1850s, imagining life when gold miners rubbed shoulders with businessmen and the other residents in Columbia. Today, the mid-19th Century shops are still around to visit. More than half a dozen restaurants, cafes and saloons offer a wide array of food and drink. There are opportunities to ride a 100 year-old stagecoach, pan for gold, and tour an active gold mine. Make sure to check out Gold Rush Days, every second Saturday from 1 to 4. This free event features volunteers in period costumes at a variety of venues. The annual Columbia Diggins takes this concept to a larger scale, with over 100 costumed volunteers re-enacting the Gold Rush days of Columbia, with just a $3 entrance fee.

3. Old Sacramento State Historic Park
Like Columbia State Historic Park, this “park” is more a preserved historic site with architecture dating back to the days of the gold rush. Located in Historic downtown Sacramento, the park is a cluster of noteworthy, early Gold Rush commercial structures. Buildings that date back to 1849 here include the Eagle Theater, the B.F. Hastings Building, and the Big Four Building.

4. Malakoff Diggins State Historic Park
Malakoff Diggins is located 26 miles from Nevada City via Tyler Foote Crossing Road off Hwy. 49. This park is the site of California’s largest “hydraulic” mine. It was created between the 1850s and 1880s by this type of gold mining. Water was brought to the site and then aimed at hillsides through giant nozzles. However, in 1886, hydraulic mining was outlawed because of damage done to downstream rivers and waterways. The park now contains a museum, the deserted mining town of North Bloomfield and picnic facilities. Visitors can also gold pan on Humbug Creek pans provided. The visitor center has exhibits on lie in the old minding town of North Bloomfield.

5. Empire Mine State Historic Park
The Empire Mine is the site of the oldest, largest, and richest gold mine in California. From 1850 to its closing in 1956, it produced 5.8 million ounces of gold. The Park contains many of the original mine buildings, the owners cottage and the restored gardens and grounds as well as the entrance to 367 miles (the equivalent of a round trip from Grass Valley to San Jose) of abandoned and flooded shafts and tunnels. The park consists of 845 acres of forested back country and 12 miles of trails for hikers, bikers and horseback riders.

World’s Weirdest Restaurant #1 — Voodoo Doughnut, Portland, Oregon

“The Magic is in the Hole!” — yes, that’s their tag line. If you’re ever in or driving through Portland, stop off at Voodoo Doughnut for one of their extremely odd treats. Does a Dirt doughnut sound appetizing? How about The Memphis Mafia? Yes, these are all doughnuts you can order at this 24-hour coffee & doughnut hangout.

Voodoo Doughnut may be the reason America needs socialized healthcare. If you thought doughnuts couldn’t get more unhealthy than the typical Krispy Kreme, you’re wrong. Try one of Voodoo’s maple bacon bars or grape pixy stick doughnuts for some artery-clogging goodness. At Voodoo, the signature donut is shaped like a man, filled with raspberry and has a stake piercing its “heart.”

Voodoo Doughnut
22 SW 3rd Ave,
Portland, OR‎
(503) 241-4704‎
[official site]

It is difficult to pick the 5 best castles in the Czech Republic, but I’ll give it a shot. Comment on this blog post if you disagree with me.

1. Prasky Hrad is a castle in Prague where the Czech kings, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here. Prague Castle is one of the biggest castles in the world (according to Guinness Book of Records the biggest ancient castle) at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide. [official site | diddit ]

2. Český Krumlov Castle is unusually large for a town of Krumlov’s size; within the Czech Republic it is second in extent only to the Prague Castle complex. Inside its grounds are a large garden, an extensive bridge over a deep gap in the rock upon which the castle is built and the castle itself, which in turn consist of many defined parts dating from different periods of time. Český Krumlov Castle preserves its Baroque theatre (completed 1766), complete with original stage machinery, scenery and props:, one of only a few such court theatres that still exist. [official site | diddit]

3. Kost Castle is unlike most other castles in Bohemia because does not lie on a hill. Instead, it’s located on a spit between two brooks. Another peculiarity is the tower, which has a trapezoid-like ground-plan. The castle is known for its so-called “White tower.” [official site | diddit]

4. Pernstejn Castle is one of the best-preserved castles in the Czech Republic. Here you will find some of the original Gothic vaulting, as well as other authentic Medieval detailing. It was founded by the Lords of Medlov before 1285. The family branch seated at the castle adopted the then fashionable name Pernštejn, which is the Czech version of the German name, Bärenstein – “the Bear Rock.” [official site | diddit]

5. Zvikov Castle is one of the most important early-Gothic castles in the Czech region. It is located on a steep promontory and is difficult to access. The oldest part of the castle is a giant rectangular tower called Hlizova. Today, the castle is a hiking attraction and also the site of many art shows and plays. [official site | diddit]

With that said, enjoy your stay. If you have any questions, shoot me an e-mail at staticnomadic@yahoo.com