What We Loved This Week: L.A. Mariachis, Taybeh Beer, Owen’s First Road Trip

Travel Blog  •  World Hum  •  05.09.08 | 5:20 PM ET

imageJim Benning
A friend in Los Angeles asked me to hire a few mariachis to play at a party, so I made a trip to the Mariachi Plaza in Boyle Heights. The small plaza where they usually hang out was closed because of construction in the neighborhood, but I found dozens of L.A.‘s beloved mariachis standing along a nearby street, many in full mariachi regalia, waiting to be hired for gigs. It’s a scene played out daily in countless cities around Mexico, and I was reminded once again of why I love Los Angeles: It is, in so many ways, a microcosm of the world, offering countless travel thrills close to home.

Julia Ross
Taybeh beer. I had no idea Palestinians had their own microbrew until last week, when a colleague in Jerusalem ordered a round at happy hour. Now I’m a fan. Taybeh—which means “delicious” in Arabic—has been brewed by a Christian family in the middle of the mostly Muslim West Bank since the mid-‘90s. I’ll look for it when I return home, but given the brewery’s difficulties in getting its product out through Israeli military checkpoints, I’m not counting on finding the beer the U.S.

Frank Bures
I loved an episode of Radio Lab which had two fantastic segments, one on songs that cross borders and another on Gregory Warner’s accordion tour of Afghanistan, where he gave a performance of “Ring of Fire” that could warm the cockles of Mullah Omar’s heart.

Joanna Kakissis
As much as I and others complain about Athens being a crowded, dusty cementopolis, I admit I am always mesmerized by the vivid blue sky in spring. On cloudless days like today, the sky looks as deeply, mystically blue as the Aegean Sea. As Achilles, a friend of mine here, put it: “Even on the toughest, most exasperating days, looking at that spring sky—blue against the buildings and sand-colored rocks—can heal you.”

Michael Yessis
My wife, Sarah, and I took our son on his first-ever road trip Wednesday morning, from the hospital in Washington, D.C., to our home in Maryland. Welcome to the world, Owen. Your travels have just begun.

Photo by rainy city via Flickr, (Creative Commons).

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3 Comments for What We Loved This Week: L.A. Mariachis, Taybeh Beer, Owen’s First Road Trip

Lola 05.09.08 | 7:05 PM ET

Michael - Congrats on your brand spanking new son!

What we loved this week - Unbelievable weather in Stockholm.

Jen Leo 05.12.08 | 8:52 AM ET

Mike - So excited for you and Sarah! Congratulations!

Michael Yessis 05.12.08 | 10:08 PM ET

Thanks Jen and Lola!

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