You come across a lot of strange towns while traveling by train through Europe. Eerie, remote locations whose only inhabitants are gypsies, transients, and those employed by the train stations to service them. One such place, somewhere off the beaten path in France - its name escapes me - struck me as being particularly odd. [...]

Devoted AP readers may remember a post from a couple months back titled Precision Fade, in which I described the characteristics of a good, reliable barber.
Like new clothes, toothpaste or food, haircuts are a regular part of the consumption process, and how one cuts/styles their hair says a lot about who they are. To keep [...]

Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera, is a must see attraction for anyone visiting Barcelona. Designed by architect Antoni Gaudí, the one-of-a-kind building took six years to construct and is one of his best-known works. Its wavy honeycomb-like facade and rooftop terrace covered in surrealistic chimneys are characteristic of his imaginative and kooky style. [...]

Barcelona is bright and beautiful. Its architecture, culture, beaches, restaurants and public spaces are world-class. Locals are warm-spirited, gentle and accommodating. Time moves slower here. Nobody cares where you work or how much money you make. It’s what you do with your life outside of work that matters. People pursue their extracurricular interests, and work [...]

Everybody that knows Vancouver knows it has a major drug problem. Heroin, crack, cocaine, weed, ecstasy and LSD are all openly traded and consumed on the streets. Special prescription pharmaceutical items one may desire can easily be obtained provided one has the right connections. This has resulted in colleges, high schools, and even elementary schools [...]

Although graffiti culture is alive and well in Paris, artists making their mark on the streets of Barcelona take reclaiming public space to a whole other level. Every nook and cranny of available space is caked with years of murals, wheatpastes, etchings and tags. On doorways and apartment entrances live the faded creations of yesteryear [...]

In Europe, the means by which peddlers, buskers and vagrants alike hustle for dollars on the street-level is much different than in North America. When compared, European beggars are performers, fortune tellers and musicians whereas North American bums are lazy, intoxicated narco-state drones that expect you to provision their next crack rock, smack injection, or [...]

With the euro now fluctuating between 1.6 to 1.7 CAD, traveling France is extremely pricey. For the most part, everything costs double what it would in Canada. To put it in perspective, the average pint will run you between five and nine euros, which after converting to Canadian dollars is somewhere between eight and 15 [...]

The city of lights, the city of romance. Countless tourists pass through Paris every year to see some of the world’s biggest attractions all in one place: Centre Pompidou, Musée de Louvre, Avenue des Champs Elycées, Cathédrale Norte Dame, and the most famous, la Tour Effiel. Step a little off the tourist path though, and [...]