Travels in the 2nd half

  Tucson, Arizona is the state’s second largest city. It is on the banks of the Santa Cruz River, a place where native tribes have lived and visited for over 12,000 years. On my first day in town I decided to visit its Fourth Avenue shopping corridor, for its annual holiday fair. The southern end of Fourth Avenue is a shopping district with a long (for Tucson) history. Today it offers shops that contribute to its funky feel. You will find consignment and second-hand shops, along with stores that sell local crafts and jewelry. Mixed in are many restaurants, offering food at all prices. You can find tacos, coffee shops, bars, an old fashioned Italian restaurant, and even a place that sells decent New York style pizza by the slice.  Every December, Fourth Ave. holds a holiday craft fair. Artists and crafts people from throughout the region (and beyond) come and sell their wares. It is a big draw and worth checking out if you are in the area. So, when you are in Tucson, make sure ...

There is a trend that I have noticed on my past few trips to Puerto Rico, which has become even more obvious this trip, maybe because it is Christmas time. It is that shopping here is identical to shopping anywhere else in the United States. Now you might ask “why is that a problem?” Well, I feel that there has been something lost by this homogenization of America, and the world. I first really noticed this 8 years ago when I traveled to Moscow. One of the things I had been looking forward to was seeing the G.U.M. department store. For years I had heard about the “largest department store in the world. It was even in the Guinness Book of World records. Well, I obviously had not kept up with post-soviet changes. I walked into G.U.M. and found a modern mall, complete with all the biggest European and American chains. Bath and body Works, Nike, Addidas, Gap. All were represented. Right outside of Red Square, another, underground mall with more big name stores. I have also see...