Matador Network's Blog, page 957

Pokémon-themed manhole covers

Japan’s no stranger to blending pop culture into daily life, with themed restaurants, museums, clothing stores, and the like. This is especially true when it comes to Pokémon, as the fantastical creatures have seemingly pervaded all parts of Japanese society. The newest addition to the mix are Poké Lids, Pokémon-themed manhole covers, that are being installed around Japan’s prefectures in an effort to boost tourism to lesser-visited areas. Kagawa, Japan’s smallest prefecture, is the latest to do so and has recently installed 16 Poké Lids.

Photo: Kagawa Prefecture/Pokémon

Donated by The Pokémon Company, all 16 of Kagawa’s manhole covers feature unique designs of the water-psychic Pokémon Slowpoke at various sites around the prefecture, such as Ritsurin Garden, Marugame Castle, the Great Seto Bridge, and Naoshima island (which also has a permanent pumpkin statue by Yayoi Kusama). Other Pokémon join Slowpoke on a few of the covers, such as Clefairy and Shellder.

Photo: Kagawa Prefecture/Pokémon

Out of over 800 Pokémon, Kagawa favors Slowpoke in particular because its Japanese name — Yadon — sounds similar to udon, the noodles that the prefecture is famous for. In addition to being its tourism mascot, last year Kagawa named Slowpoke as its governor (albeit on April Fools Day).

Kagawa isn’t the first prefecture to install Poké Lids — others like Hokkaido, Iwate, Miyagi, Kanagawa, and Kagoshima have all done so as well with different Pokémon. You can find a list of the exact location for each manhole cover in Kagawa, as well as the other prefectures, on the official Poké Lids website.


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The post This Japanese prefecture installed Pokémon-themed manhole covers in honor of its “governor,” Slowpoke appeared first on Matador Network.

Best things to do Charlotte, NC

There is nothing more soulless than a banking town.

The term alone conjures images of imposing glass towers full of boring people who care about nothing but money and how to make more of it. In America’s second-largest banking center, it’s an image that’s been tough to shake.

It’s not a bad image, necessarily. Charlotte never had a river catch on fire or a string of federally indicted mayors. But to many, Charlotte is landlocked and nondescript, a city built on banking that’s got about as much character as a credit card bill. Ask anyone what they think about Charlotte, and they’ll typically shrug and mutter something about rocking chairs at the airport.

But in 2019, a sea of transplants and finance-weary locals are finding the beauty in this city and crafting a culture in the shadow of glass towers.

A dive bar as cultural icon

Photo: Google Maps

The soul of Charlotte may well be personified by the Thirsty Beaver Saloon, a funky honky tonk filled with vintage beer ads and reruns of Hee-Haw, where $4 shots of tequila go to die. It’s a one-story brick building with a cartoonish, cowboy-hat wearing beaver painted on the side, and it’s surrounded by five-story apartment buildings.

When the developer of the painfully generic apartments around it demanded the owner of the land to sell, he essentially told them to fuck off. It was kinda like Up if the balloons were filled with PBR.

Now the Beaver stands as a defiant anchor to the Plaza Midwood neighborhood, which is dotted with odd boutiques, breweries, and restaurants. Not at all the kinds of businesses you’d expect between apartment buildings touting “luxury living” and studios starting at $1,200.

From there, it’s just a short distance to other worthwhile stops. After sampling beers at both Legion and Pilot Brewing, I wandered into the Cltch boutique, lured by its display of Golden Girls prayer candles.

Inside was a wonderland of pop-culture tchotchkes. It’s the kind of place you saunter in after three beers and realize your life wasn’t complete before you had a Freddy Mercury pillow doll. The collection was expertly curated by Scott Weaver, whose business card calls him an “owner/raconteur.”

“This city’s got a ton of soul,” he said after I complimented his collection and spent $150 on stuff I absolutely didn’t need. “You just have to get out and find it. There’s underground concerts every week; the music scene is fantastic. You see all the banking over there, but the culture is here, if you know where to look.”

When I returned home and gave my “Please don’t do cocaine in the bathroom” sign to one friend, and the “Schitt’s Creek” David Rose “I’m trying very hard not to connect with people right now” mug to another, they all asked if I’d gotten it on a trip to San Francisco or Laguna Beach.

“Charlotte,” I said proudly. They both told me they’d never seen that kinda stuff at the airport.

An influx of transplants finds a place to try new things

Photo: Joanna K Drakos/Shutterstock

Delving a little further into the city’s soul, I took the Lynx Blue Line light rail to NoDa, a not-so-creatively named creative neighborhood along North Davidson Street. Walking from the 36th Street station I was immediately met by a row of colorful stucco buildings housing a coffee shop, a gourmet ice cream shop, and a fish taco joint. Further up 36th Street I found a live music venue, two breweries, and murals on nearly every building.

“People are coming from all over the country to live here in Charlotte,” says Jamie Brown over a massive chicken tender and waffle at Haberdish, her NoDa restaurant. “And they are bringing ideas and experiences here and then essentially starting a spa or a food truck or a bar or a magazine. And I think it’s helping build the look of our city in a totally different way.”

NoDa — and most of Charlotte — is surprisingly devoid of chains. Despite its unfounded reputation for the generic, it was hard to find anything from outside the area inside the city aside from a smattering of Starbucks and some roadside fast-food franchises. Brown said that’s a testament to how residents are beginning to take ownership of Charlotte.

“Our personality is just starting to come to fruition,” Brown, a Pittsburgh transplant, says. “I think we’ve been an adolescent for a very long time. But we’re starting to become whoever it is we’re going to be.”

Photo: Levine Museum of the New South/Facebook

What, exactly, Charlotte is is a little hard to pinpoint. Even after a trip through its fascinating Levine Museum of the New South, one is left with a burgeoning desire to figure out the city’s identity.

Founded in 1768, Charlotte’s modern history begins after the Civil War. As one of the few southern cities that wasn’t completely decimated by Union forces, it quickly drew new residents as soon as Reconstruction began.

The city boomed as a railroad hub in 1865, with nearly a hundred buildings shooting up in the first three months after the war. Textile mills followed in the decades after, but few of those mills still exist. The city paved over history for progress in the 20th century.

“Charlotte, we’re always tearing stuff down,” says Levine Museum staff historian Willie Griffin as he guides me through the exhibits. “Always had people coming here and trying to make something new.”

Photo: Camp North End/Facebook

But this time around, the people coming to make something new are embracing the old.

On a Friday night on a hill outside Uptown, artists are peddling sculptures made from Steve Urkel dolls while food trucks serve pad Thai outside an old Model-T factory. It’s the weekly Friday night fete at Camp North End, a beautiful red-brick factory that was a Ford plant and a missile facility for the US military before its current incarnation as an art space.

Camp North End is perhaps the shining example of how Charlotte is beginning to embrace its history and use it as a place to cultivate a creative class.

“It’s ironic that old is new in Charlotte,” says Varian Shrum, who moved here from Washington DC and is the development director for Camp North End. “The Charlotte way has been to tear things down and become the newest, shiniest city it can be, which I love that ambition that Charlotte has. It’s a city with an inner drive.” Shrum adds that while a focus on the new is still present, people also “respect where we came from and bring that up and along in our growth trajectory.”

Charlotte learns from mistakes as it grapples with gentrification

Photo: Blue Blaze Brewing/Facebook

The inherent challenge in developing character — especially in a city as newness-obsessed as Charlotte — is displacement and gentrification. But Charlotte’s Historic West End, at least for now, seems to be learning from the mistakes of other cities.

Dianna Ward, owner of Charlotte NC Tours, took me on a bike ride through one of the city’s less-visited areas: the historically black neighborhoods in the West End that are slowly drawing new development.

“I just bought the building over there,” she says, pointing to a triangular brick building currently housing a beauty supply shop. “We’re gonna put in some places people can go and get good food, cheap, you know? So the people who live around here can just walk or bike up here and get a slice of pizza or ice cream for a couple dollars.”

The building sits just a few blocks from Johnson C. Smith University, an HBCU that’s rapidly expanding with new dorms a few blocks from campus. Biking farther into the West End, we pass by a series of colorful craftsman homes with architecture from the 1940s that were built in this decade. They’re the creation of the developer-realtor team of Michael Doney and Michael Hopkins, who have opted to keep the architectural integrity of the West End rather than building yet another corridor of low-rise apartments.

“Whenever they build something, they always go into the black churches first,” Ward tells me over beers at Blue Blaze Brewing. “They ask if anyone wants to buy it, so people in the community get first dibs.”

This is a stark departure from what happened in Brooklyn, a predominantly black neighborhood in Charlotte’s Second Ward that was razed in the name of 1960s “urban renewal,” then quickly put off-limits to African-Americans. That’s not to say Charlotte has solved the problem of displacing communities as the city grows, but it does seem to have people — even real estate people — who care about preserving its heritage.

In a city where your voice is heard, great things are possible

Photo: The King’s Kitchen/Facebook

Greg Collier, who will be opening a restaurant at Camp North End, was the first black chef from Charlotte to receive a James Beard nomination. He gained his fame with The Yolk, a popular breakfast and lunch spot in Uptown’s 7th Street Public Market. He moved here from Memphis to forge his culinary career and in the process has become one of the biggest names in the Carolina culinary scene.

“Charleston is the way it is. You know what I mean?” he says when explaining why he’s chosen to set up shop in Charlotte rather than bigger-name southern food cities. “Charleston has been that way for the last 600 years. It’s the old South, like Savannah is the old South. Here in Charlotte, my voice is valued, and for me, that’s extremely advantageous.”

Collier wasn’t the only person to explain to me that Charlotte was, effectively, a large city where the barriers to entry are small. At Haymaker, at the foot of the banking centers of Uptown, I sat at the counter and chatted with its chef de cuisine. He tells he moved here from Brooklyn, New York, so he could do more in the kitchen for less. The restaurant’s menu is full of inventive Southern stuff like crispy Carolina pork belly with sorghum glaze, and panisse with dragon tongue beans and shishito piri-piri.

Another bastion of innovation in the shadow of finance is King’s Kitchen, a non-profit Southern food restaurant that hires homeless people to train them for a career in the service industry. The idea was novel, and the service was better than the majority of restaurants I’ve been to.

“I used to come down here, and if me and my friends wanted to go out all there was were steakhouses,” my friend dining with me at Harvester, a native Carolinian, told me. “All finance bros. All these new places have opened up now with actually cool things on the menu.”

So locals, it seems, are welcoming transplants’ ideas as exactly what the city needs.

In Charlotte, even the great outdoors is made new again

Photo: Malachi Jacobs/Shutterstock

About 20 minutes from Uptown you’ll find The US National Whitewater Center, which is a sampling of all the great outdoors in one tidy 1,300-acre park. It has become a hub for nature lovers and beer lovers alike. The park offers access to 40 miles of hiking and biking trails, whitewater rafting, kayaking, paddleboarding, and ziplines, plus a beer garden in the middle of it all.

It’s another example of a new innovation in Charlotte making the most of the beauty that was already there — a 21st-century playground set among the pines on the Catawba River.

The teenagers and college students running the attractions remind me more of the rafting guides I’d met in Colorado or Washington; people more concerned with spending time in nature than spending money. Atop the center’s 120-foot tower, preparing to speed among the treetops as part of an eight-line ropes course, I ask the young man strapping me in what he thinks of Charlotte.

“Charlotte, we’ve got a lot of people who love great food and great music,” he says. “We’re foodies with gauges in our ears and sleeves of tattoos who’ll stay out all night on a weeknight to hear bad-ass music. We’re a culture and a personality, and you know what? Fuck the bankers.”

And with that, he sent me on my way. From atop the platform, the financial center skyline was nowhere in sight.


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The post Finding Charlotte’s soul amid the towers of a banking town appeared first on Matador Network.

Live music venues in Vancouver

Don’t listen to what travel columnists from supposedly prestigious publications say: Vancouver is not “mind-numbingly boring.” Actually, the city is so far from being dull that there are giant machines constantly crushing old buildings to make way for shiny new apartment towers to accommodate all the people desperately wanting to live here. And all those people are not arriving in droves only because Vancouver is located in the heart of a rainforest and right on the Pacific Ocean, or because it has one of Canada’s mildest climates and a backdrop of majestic mountains. They’re here for the culture, especially the music.

The west coast metropolis has a storied tradition of nurturing and launching artists like Bryan Adams, Tegan and Sara, Black Mountain, Grimes, Michael Bublé, Mac Demarco, and Sarah Mclachlan to name a few. And despite the closure of many iconic establishments that came with the city’s real estate boom, Vancouver’s live music scene remains as vibrant as ever. With plenty of spots where you can raise a pint, pump your fist, and sing, dance, or mosh along to a great band, Vancouverites know how to show up and make it a party. From prohibition-era cellars and converted adult cinemas to art-deco ballrooms and opulent theaters, here are Vancouver’s eight best live music venues.

1. The Orpheum

Photo: Vancouver Civic Theatres/Facebook

If you like to keep it classy and experience your favorite music with a touch of Instagram-worthy elegance, then the historic Orpheum is your go-to venue. Step through the entranceway of this 2,700-seat theater, and you’ll be transported right back to the Roaring Twenties.

Set in the heart of downtown, the Orpheum initially opened in 1927 for vaudeville performances. Over the decades, classic acts such as Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, and Betty Grable have graced its stage. The exotic opulence from that era remains — antique decor, a grand lobby with equally grand staircases, and a domed auditorium with a ceiling mural and giant crystal chandelier.

Sip a cocktail to the rich sounds of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra or selfie your way through the set of an international touring act like Queens of the Stone Age, Angel Olsen, Feist, Beck, or the Weeknd — The Orpheum hosts it all.

Where: 601 Smithe Street, Vancouver

2. The Vogue

Photo: The Vogue Theatre/Facebook

Conveniently located in the Granville Entertainment District in the heart of Vancouver (around the corner from the Orpheum), the Vogue theater has been one of the city’s premier venues since 1941. Follow the Vogue’s bright pink neon sign and you’ll arrive at the Art Deco building, which was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada in 1990.

The venue attracts well-known names like Black Mountain, Sinead O’Connor, and Hanson (yes, those Hanson brothers), as well as up-and-coming acts from around the world like Men I Trust, Tove Lo, and Conan Grey. With limited capacity (1,300), you’re pretty much guaranteed a good view whether you’re floor level or up on the balcony.

Where: 918 Granville Street

3. The Fox Cabaret

Photo: Fox Cabaret/Facebook

For decades, the Fox Cabaret was a porn-movie house, but it was gutted and chemically castrated by brave souls wearing Hazmat suits in 2014, then remodeled into the fabulous funhouse it is today. Weekend line-ups are not uncommon as local live bands, DJs, comedians, and burlesque dancers pedal their wares. The crowd is young and happy to be seen drinking and dancing at one of the city’s hipper spots. Karaoke, comedy, and ‘80s, ‘90s, and 2000s club nights jostle for position with local and touring bands like Lightning Dust, Efterklang, Temples, and Mattiel.

Where: 2321 Main Street, Vancouver

4. The Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Photo: Vancouver Civic Theatres

Locally known as ‘The Queen E,’ this mid-century modern venue is the sleek, younger cousin to the Orpheum. Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the ‘soft-seater’ in the summer of 1959. Since this christening, the theatre has been the site of international ballet performances, renditions of Cats, Les Misérables, Chicago, and The Lion King, and adult contemporary faves like Michael Bublé, Celine Dion, and the Barenaked Ladies.

Those with slightly edgier musical tastes can breathe easy. Artists like Neil Young, Lou Reed, Broken Social Scene, Chelsea Handler, and Wu-Tang Clan have all added some grit to the Queen E’s event calendar over the years.

Where: 630 Hamilton Street, Vancouver

5. The Commodore Ballroom

Photo: The Commodore Ballroom/Facebook

The Commodore Ballroom is a legend on the Vancouver entertainment and nightlife scene. Locals and out-of-towners alike have been dancing, dining, drinking, fundraising, Christmas partying, moshing, and getting thrown out of this venue for over 80 years. You’d be remiss to not do at least one of these things at the Commodore.

An entire who’s who from the worlds of rock and roll, pop, country, jazz, blues, punk, metal, EDM, and hip-hop, have performed here. You name them, at some point in their career they’ve probably sweat, spat, and writhed all over the Commodore stage. The impressive list includes David Bowie, Bob Marley, Slayer, Mac Miller, The Clash, The Police, Kiss, B.B. King, Nirvana, U2, Lady Gaga, Michael Kiwanuka, Willie Nelson, Snoop Dog, and many, many more.

If you want the bragging rights of having seen an artist or band just before they hit stardom, and you’d like seven years of good rock and roll luck (tradition insists you kiss or lick the stage), then the Commodore Ballroom is the place to do it. As part of downtown Vancouver’s Granville Entertainment District, the 1,000-capacity Commodore is less than a block away from both the Vogue and Orpheum theatres.

Where: 868 Granville Street, Vancouver

6. Guilt and Co.

Photo: Guilt & Company/Facebook

If you like your cocktails expertly crafted, and your bands to have horn sections, head over to Vancouver’s classiest little joint, located in a Prohibition-era cellar in the heart of historic Gastown. Its thick stone walls and speakeasy vibe will regularly have you cackling to improv, or shimmying and swaying to cabaret, jazz and swing nights. Blues, rock, and hip-hop make appearances, too.

Where: 1 Alexander Street, Vancouver

7. The Rickshaw Theatre

Photo: Rickshaw Theatre/Facebook

The Rickshaw Theatre, a former Kung-Fu movie theatre built in 1971, is admittedly in one of the rougher parts of town. Approach from the Chinatown side, though, and you’ll bypass much of this. If death metal, or bands like The War on Drugs, Killing Joke, Sharon Van Etten, Future Islands, Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, High on Fire, Kurt Vile, Ghostface Killah are your jam, then the rugged, bare-bones Rickshaw Theatre will be an unforgettable experience.

Where: 254 East Hastings Street, Vancouver

8. Lanalou’s Rock n’ Roll Eatery

Photo: LanaLou’s/Facebook

A few blocks away from the Rickshaw, this venue is a cozy, unpretentious eatery that serves up comfort food, comfort booze, and quality local talent, in a quirky atmosphere. Where else in town can you eat a quinoa bowl and drink a craft brew at an event called Killer Shittsmas, while watching a band called Muffdusters? Probably a few places actually. But Lanalou’s is one of the better ones.

Where: 362 Powell Street, Vancouver


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Sustainability measures in Champagne

Drinking wine means sipping on a resource-intensive beverage. Much of the wine made today takes excessive water to produce, as well as pesticides. Getting the wine to the consumer involves shipping heavy glass bottles around the world in refrigerated containers. However, in Champagne, one of the most celebrated wine regions in the world, sustainability is built into every bottle.

Comité Interprofessionnel du vin de Champagne (CIVC), the governing body of Champagne, has long faced climate change head on. The CIVC made Champagne the first wine region to look into the carbon footprint of wine in 2003, and it has since guided the sustainability efforts for grape growers and producers in the region.

CIVC-backed research encourages wineries to use biodiversity to fight pests rather than insecticides, and capitalize on new technology that can create a meter-by-meter heat map of vineyard plots to help guide water usage and optimum harvest dates. One-hundred percent of grape byproducts in the region go to cosmetics companies or distilleries for neutral alcohol, and 90 percent of waste is recycled or used to produce energy. Wineries in the region also use thinner, lighter bottles that can withstand the pressure of bubbly Champagne — no easy task considering each bottle holds between 70 and 90 pounds of pressure, more than the pressure of a car tire.

In the long term, the Champagne region plans to cut carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2050. Since 2003, Champagne has cut the carbon footprint per bottle by 20 percent. And while the region as a whole is making strides, the movement to combat climate change is being led by small grower-producers.

Arguably, the turn toward sustainable winemaking practices might have begun in the 1960s, when the Champagne house Leclerc Briant stopped using pesticides. It went biodynamic — meaning it encourages biodiversity on the vineyard and doesn’t use chemicals on the vines or in the soil, among other things — in the 1990s. Today, Leclerc Briant is a model of what sustainability and natural winemaking methods can achieve even in a region with challenging climate conditions.

Champagne producers like Leclerc Briant are both highly visible and popular on the world stage. Their actions don’t just benefit the environment, but also make a statement to other winemakers that combating climate change is a priority. Yet many are slow to adopt sustainability measures: French vineyards cover just 3 percent of agricultural land, yet use 20 percent of the pesticides, according to the wine publication Decanter. But when it comes to climate change and sustainability, every little bit of change helps.

A global problem

Photo: Nickolaus Hines

In a United Nations meeting in December, secretary general António Guterres told the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that humanity is at a major crossroad.

“Do we really want to be remembered as the generation that buried its head in the sand,” he asked, “that fiddled while the planet burned?”

Guterres pointed to carbon dioxide levels, which reached 407.8 parts per million in 2018 — the highest in 3 to 5 million years. Business, agriculture included, is the most responsible for the rise in greenhouse gases, no matter how much well-intentioned advocacy groups try to shame you into saving the planet through personal choice, like using metal straws instead of plastic (just 100 companies are responsible for around 70 percent of global emissions). Guterres put it best when he stated at the UN meeting that, “We need a rapid and deep change in the way we do business, how we generate power, how we build cities, how we move, and how we feed the world.”

Part of why the Champagne region reacted to global warming early is because the fragile window of time that grapes are harvested each year is heavily impacted by a changing climate. Temperature swings mean that optimum wine-growing regions are changing. Parts of England are now in the climate range historically preferred by Champagne growers.

We’re in a “special moment,” says Eric Rodez of the biodynamic winery Champagne Rodez. “Not just for right now [globally], but also for Champagne.”

During a tasting and tour of his vineyard, he later told me that his responsibility is to respect the impact his actions now will have on the future. Change is inevitable, but whether that future change is good or bad depends on how we treat our current environment.

It will take drastic action from individuals and businesses alike to keep the worst of climate change projections from happening. A study in the journal Nature found that the climate tipping point is 1.5 degrees Celsius, or half a degree lower than the 2 degrees set by the 2015 Paris Agreement, and half of the 3 degrees economists say is optimal from a cost-to-benefit perspective.

A hopeful future

Photo: Nickolaus Hines

While Champagne has been a leader in the field, there is still much work to be done. According to the CIVC, 20 percent of Champagne vineyards have an environmental certification. Just 15 percent have the most rigorous sustainable viticulture in Champagne certification, which covers 120 sustainability measurements of water use, biodiversity, and carbon emissions. Crucially, large brands like Moët Hennessy that make and export most of the Champagne consumed around the world have qualified for the most stringent certifications since 2014.

Champagne’s achievements put this wine in a rare class of food and drink sustainability. Over the past 15 years, Champagne’s carbon footprint has been reduced by 20 percent per bottle, and 90 percent of industrial waste is recycled while 100 percent of wine byproducts are treated and recycled. The goal for the CIVC is to have 100 percent of the Champagne region certified as sustainable viticulture by 2030, zero herbicides used by 2025, and a carbon footprint reduction of 75 percent by 2050.

All of this makes Champagne not just the standard for sparkling wine around the world, but also the standard for sustainability.


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The post Why Champagne is the gold standard for food and drink sustainability appeared first on Matador Network.

How to plan a cultural tour Israel

From the sun-kissed, seaside hedonism of Tel Aviv to the ancient walls and alleyways of Jerusalem and Jaffa, Israel’s cities are among the world’s most historically rich and culturally compelling. Add in a soothing float on the Dead Sea, an oasis encounter with wild ibexes, and the spectacular views atop the ancient fortress of Masada, and your trip to Israel can be a breathtaking adventure. And no matter how you decide to spend your time in this Middle Eastern country, you’ll be fueled by some of the most delicious food in the world. If it’s once-in-a-lifetime experiences you crave, Israel is one of the most fascinating destinations you can visit this year. Here’s how to make the most of a trip.

1. Get to know Tel Aviv

Photo: The World in HDR/Shutterstock

This Mediterranean metropolis does revelry right. Think of it as a slice of Southern California in the Middle East. Most days, you’ll find sun-worshippers playing volleyball, lounging around, or surfing at any of the numerous white-powder beaches that stretch along the city’s nine-mile coast. When it comes to the world’s best beach destinations, Tel Aviv is often overlooked — but it shouldn’t be. For surf, sun, and great beachside hotels, Israel’s biggest city delivers.

Venture inland to Tel Aviv’s tree-lined Rothschild Boulevard, and you’ll find yourself in a stroller-and-shopper’s dream. If long walks aren’t your thing, hop onto one of the hundreds of electric scooters that tourists and locals alike use in abundance. They’re cheap, easy to operate, and for some in Tel Aviv, the height of nuisance. But in a country that largely shuts down on Saturdays (though much less so in Tel Aviv), or if you’re in a time crunch, these scooters can be a savior.

Whatever mode of exploration you choose, be sure to enjoy at least one of Rothschild’s many coffee kiosks and cruise past the hundreds of restored Bauhaus-era buildings in the surrounding White City. When hunger kicks in, Bino B’Pita offers chef-worthy, easy-to-grub pitas, or stop by the ultra-hip Cafe Europa for top-quality Israeli food and drink.

2. Walk through the port of Jaffa

Photo: Aline Fortuna/Shutterstock

South of Tel Aviv is the 4,000-year-old port city of Jaffa. It’s home to 30,000 Jews and 16,000 Arabs and is regarded as an example of ethnic inclusivity. One of the highlights here, as in any Israeli city, is its flourishing outdoor market. Known as Shuk HaPishpeshim, the Jaffa Flea Market is brimming with restaurants, boutique shops, and galleries, along with Turkish bazaar-like laneways selling everything from clothing, fabric, and antique jewelry to trinkets, musical instruments, and much more.

After all the perusing, haggling, and shopping, you’ll need to relax at one of the many renowned restaurants of the Jaffa Flea Market. Among the most unique — and distinctively Israeli — is the well-loved Cafe Puaa on Rabbi Yohanan Street. This vintage-furnished spot serves homestyle Israeli fare in a cozy but vibrant atmosphere.

If it’s all-day breakfast you’re after, Dr. Shakshuka is your remedy. People flock here for the Israeli morning staple shakshuka, which consists of baked eggs in tomato sauce in various renditions.

In Kedumim Square in Old Jaffa, a short walk from the Flea Market, is Abrage Restaurant. Here you can choose from an extensive selection of traditional Mediterranean dishes and seafood specialties while a light sea breeze blows through the 100-year-old historic building.

3. Out on the town in Tel Aviv

Photo: SJ Travel Photo and Video/Shutterstock

Tel Aviv’s nightlife is nonstop, so when the sun goes down, things really heat up. With dozens of clubs, bars, and after-hours hangouts to choose from, here are some of the trendier gathering spots.

Say the words “Kuli Alma” and locals will give you a knowing wink. This multi-level venue will assault your senses in the best way. A labyrinth of rooms will have you dancing shoulder to shoulder to different musical styles while surrounded by charming, spirited décor. If you’re a vintage rock lover, take a few minutes during the night to head to the small room selling stylish vintage clothes.

Across from Tel Aviv’s largest synagogue is the restaurant, bar, and record library hybrid known as Port Said. It’s as cool as Tel Aviv gets. Expect to see the patio packed with dozens of attractive Millennials and Gen Z-ers. The atmosphere is hip, laid-back and the music tastefully retro. Pick a record from the massive wall of vinyl, and the DJ will be happy to spin it.

Down an alley off of Allenby Street, red pathway lights will lead you to another of Tel Aviv’s favorite venues, the retro-futuristic Sputnik. If you’ve ever been to a Budapest ruin bar then you’ll appreciate the exposed brick walls hung with eclectic art and the multiple rooms blasting different genres of music. Find a cozy corner or join the throng getting wild on the dance floor.

4. Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market embodies the vibe of the city

Photo: Subodh Agnihotri/Shutterstock

When you need a break from the world-class partying, head to Jerusalem. Israel’s capital is more than willing to absolve you of any sins incurred in Tel Aviv. It contains sites holy to Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, hence its moniker as The Holy City.

A good place to ease into Jerusalem is the Mahane Yehuda Market. Its open-air portion is perfect for those in search of produce and meat, while the covered portion contains a line of stalls selling pastries, spices, nuts, ice cream and much more. Be sure to try a quintessential Palestinian treat called a Kanafeh, a pastry made from cheese, almonds, pistachios, orange food coloring, and tons of sugar. Come back at night and the same market will have transformed into a hub of restaurants and bars.

5. You don’t have to be religious to enjoy Jerusalem

Photo: eFesenko/Shutterstock

A walk in the Old City will take you through Jerusalem’s four quarters: Muslim, Christian, Jewish, and Armenian. On most days, the narrow alleyways buzz with activity as hundreds of pilgrims from across the globe come to worship at the Western Wall, Dome of the Rock, St. James Church, al-Aqsa Mosque, or Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The energy of the Old City will be palpable, the religious significance of these sites being sacred to so many.

From any vantage point in Jerusalem, you’ll likely see the gold-plated Dome of the Rock. It stands as the symbol of the city and is one of the most-photographed buildings on the planet. The impressive dome covers a stone slab that’s sacred to both the Muslim and Jewish faiths. Only Muslims can enter the temple, but anyone can see it from the outside while walking around the plaza. Either way, dress modestly.

At the edge of the Christian and Muslim quarters is The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, one of Christianity’s most sacred sites. Pilgrims have been flocking here since the fourth century, many believing the church to be built over Calvary or Golgotha, where Jesus was said to be crucified.

Once inside the ancient church, you’ll be hit with an overwhelming scent of burning incense and a crush of passionate believers. Below the main chapel dome, a rotunda supposedly contains Jesus’s tomb. Head back to the entrance, and you’re sure to witness dozens of worshippers lining up to kiss, touch, and rub a slab on the floor known as the Stone of Anointing. It’s here, according to Christian tradition, that the body of Jesus was prepared for burial following his crucifixion.

At the western edge of the Old City is the Wailing Wall, considered the holiest site for Jews. Make your way through the throng of worshippers and find a spot at the massive limestone wall. Once there you’ll notice that every available crack is stuffed with prayers written on folded bits of paper. There’s likely no more fitting a place than the Wailing Wall to place your hand and offer up positive thoughts to the world.

6. Isreali food, harvested from Jerusalem and Judea

Photo: Eucalyptus Restaurant – מסעדת האקליפטוס/Facebook

A visit to Jerusalem would not be complete without eating at Eucalyptus Restaurant. Located in the Artist Quarter, Eucalyptus is an unforgettable Jerusalem dining experience, serving reinvented biblical cuisine created by renowned Chef Moshe Basson. The robust, smiling, pony-tailed chef will no doubt visit your table to welcome you and have a chat. Chef Basson is passionate about food, and he’ll gladly tell you that many of the spices and herbs used in his dishes were wildcrafted in the surrounding hills of Judea and Jerusalem.

A feast at Eucalyptus might include slow-cooked neck of lamb with root vegetables stewed in a clay pot. The artichoke, tomato, and lentil soups, served side-by-side in shot glasses, are the ideal complement to the fish falafels, seared mallard breast, and slow-cooked neck of lamb that the restaurant is known for.

The idea of nightlife and Jerusalem don’t usually go hand in hand. But if you’ve had enough of visiting historical holy sites, then head to Ben Yehuda Street. For live music, from rock to funk to folk, then Yellow Submarine is the bar to check out.

More into good conversation and jazz? Step inside Gatsby, a 1920s-style speakeasy with expertly crafted cocktails, and sparkling ambiance.

Those more aligned with EDM should head over to Sira. Frequented by students, this tiny bar offers an equally tiny dance floor along with a great selection of beer and is a chance to meet locals who’ve gathered on its makeshift patio out front.

7. Desert adventures, from the Dead Sea to Ein Advat

Photo: vvvita/Shutterstock

At over 1,400 feet below sea level, the Dead Sea is part of the Great Rift Valley and is fed by the River Jordan. Its waters are shared by Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Jordan.

Do you really float? This is a question most people are out to answer as they wade into the lake’s cobalt blue waters. With a salt concentration of 34% (10 times that of an ocean), the answer is a definitive yes. Try and actually swim a front stroke and your friends will have a good laugh at your expense. The best place for a dip is Ein Bokek Beach, along the southern end.

Pro tip: Do not get any of the water in your eyes. It stings like nothing else.

Photo: Orlov Sergei/Shutterstock

Rising above the Judean Desert on a plateau overlooking the Dead Sea is the rugged ancient fortress of Masada. For those in need of some exercise, hike the 1,312 feet up the famed Snake Path on the eastern flank of the mesa. Do it early enough and you’ll witness one of the most stunning sunrises this side of Haleakala.

For those with less time or athletic ability, a cable car is provided. Either way, at the top you’ll find the well-preserved ruins of King Herod’s 840-acre complex and breathtaking views of the Dead Sea and Jordan’s Moab Mountains beyond.

Legend has it that in 73 AD, after months of being under siege by Roman troops, nearly a thousand Jewish rebels at Masada took their own lives rather than live as Roman slaves.

Photo: Alexander Ingerman/Shutterstock

Eighty miles west of Masada is Ein Avdat, yet another of Israel’s strikingly beautiful sites. This national park is set within the Zin Valley in the center of Israel’s Negev Desert. The spectacular canyon stretches for over 30 miles and forms the longest wadi in the Negev.

A hike through the canyon will lead you along a spring flanked by poplar trees, palms, and tall grasses, with eroded walls rising high above on either side. Have your camera ready as you may be accompanied partway by curious ibexes.

At the bottom of Ein Avdat lies a deep pool fed by a 50-foot waterfall. Further along the hike and up a set of natural stairs, you’ll come to caves set high in the canyon walls. These dwellings date back to the Byzantine era and were carved out by Christian monks.

Ease into lotus position in one of these caves and let the ancient canyon breeze wash over you. A perfect end to an amazing trip through the Holy Land.


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The post From markets to the Masada, these are the most exciting experiences in Israel appeared first on Matador Network.

Adopt dogs in a hotel

Extended-stay hotels are usually outfitted with more amenities than the typical hotel, but none of them can beat what the Home 2 Suites extended-stay hotel in Biloxi, Mississippi, can offer. The hotel is partnering with the Humane Society of South Mississippi to allow guests to foster or adopt a dog during their visit.

The idea was conceived by the hotel’s Sales Director Teresa Johnston, as a way of freeing up space at the Humane Society’s shelter, and making the hotel stand out. The program allows guests to opt for a commitment-free fostering for the length of their hotel stay or choose to adopt.

Photo: Home2 Suites by Hilton Biloxi North/D’Iberville, MS/Facebook

The pooches are in a kennel in the lobby, perfectly placed to tug at your heart strings. Since the program began in 2018, 33 guests have decided to adopt a dog.

Photo: Home2 Suites by Hilton Biloxi North/D’Iberville, MS/Facebook

If you do choose to adopt a dog, the process is pretty simple. Just fill out a $50 adoption application at the concierge desk, though the shelter does reserve the right to deny your request for adoption. Every dog up for adoption has been neutered/spayed, microchipped, vaccinated, and received preventative heartworm medication — all you have to do is love them.


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The post This hotel will let you adopt dogs and take them right to your room appeared first on Matador Network.

How to see the Geminid meteor shower

You could send off 2019 with a raucous New Year’s Eve party full of irresponsible decisions, or you could celebrate by watching the year’s last big meteor shower (or you know, just do both). The Geminid meteor shower, one of the brightest there is, will streak across the skies tonight, December 13, 2019, and you may be able to catch between 30 and 40 meteors per hour.

The best time to watch the shower will be around 2:00 AM on the morning of December 14, when the meteors are at their peak. Unfortunately, the nearly full moon will make visibility less than optimal, so you’ll want to find the darkest skies you can, away from light pollution, for the best viewing experience. Since the Geminids are brighter than standard meteors, you should still be able to enjoy a pretty spectacular show. There’s no need for you to have any sort of equipment to see the celestial spectacle — just lay back, look up, and remember to give your eyes about 20 minutes to adjust to the darkness.


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The post The brightest (and last) meteor shower of the year is happening tonight appeared first on Matador Network.

What to eat at the 99 Ranch Market

That old maxim “never go to the grocery store hungry” needs to be retired. Going to the grocery store hungry is actually a brilliant idea — as long as you’re going to the right grocery store with the right food court. While some Americans might be under the impression that Costco’s basic pizza-hotdog-cheeseburger food court is all that’s out there, it’s time to broaden your horizons, folks. Enter 99 Ranch Market, which deserves an award for being the grocery store with the most epic food court.

The supermarket chain has 51 locations in seven states, including where I currently live, Jersey City, New Jersey. 99 Ranch Market is so much more than simple, convenient food that arrives on your cafeteria tray quickly. There are surprising flavors to be found here, like a small ramen restaurant, a bakery, a self-service dim sum bar, and a counter offering sliced and whole barbecue duck alongside beef noodle and wonton soup. It’s enough to make you want to skip the groceries and get right to the eating.

There are so many delicious options to choose from at the 99 Ranch Market grocery store that first-timers might feel overwhelmed. But navigating the many counters is easy with a guide. Here are all the crispy, rich, and filling dishes to try at the 99 Ranch Market food court. Just make sure you stop by on an empty stomach.

1. Dim sum

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Make 99 Ranch Market’s dim sum counter your first stop in the grocery store. The selection is inexpensive and diverse, offering options like classic steamed pork buns and fried gyoza to shrimp shumai and blocks of jelly studded with fruit for dessert. Fill up a Styrofoam container with five pieces, and pay less than $8.

There are countless dim sum restaurants in Jersey City and nearby New York City, so what makes 99 Ranch Market’s offerings stand out? Pure convenience. Whether you’re picking up ingredients for dinner or stocking up on seasoning staples, stopping by the food court for dim sum after stalking the grocery store aisles is a balm for the soul.

2. Fried prawns

In the hot deli section of the food court, you’ll find platters of hot food served cafeteria-style, so you can build your own meal. There is a plethora of options available, like short ribs, sesame chicken, and chow mein. My favorite item in the hot deli, though, are the fried prawns. These lightly breaded little sea creatures are a satisfying, easy-to-eat snack. If you like shrimp crackers or always have a jar of shrimp paste in your pantry, you’ll love these prawns. That distinct ocean flavor paired with the familiar greasiness of a food court dish is oh-so satisfying.

Hot tip: Although heaping mounds of food into your styrofoam container might be tempting, make sure you only serve yourself the amount you plan on eating. Signs near the deli indicate that the grocery store is trying to cut down on waste.

3. Congee

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A steaming hot bowl of rice porridge — otherwise known as congee — should be one of your go-to meals this winter. For fans of warming soups like pho and ramen, a bowl of congee is ideal in the rainy, snowy, and chilly winter months. Congee epitomizes simple, unfussy comfort food. It’s super filling and will return the warmth back to your frostbitten fingers if you stop by on an especially cold afternoon. You can choose from pork, scallop, or plain congee at 99 Ranch Market, but no matter which option you choose, there’s no better hunger cure.

4. Chinese sandwich with roasted duck

Head over to The King’s Village stall, where you’ll find skewers, wraps, and sandwiches. The Chinese sandwich is one of the most scrumptious items on the menu. A sesame bun filled with roasted duck and a handful of scallions is grilled in front of you and delivered in a Styrofoam container. It’s a more flavorful variation of a fast-food burger. The shredded duck has the earthy flavor and meaty texture of mushrooms, but the duck fat adds a delicious salty, gamey quality to this simple sandwich. For a cafeteria snack you can easily stash in your bag for a later-in-the-day quick lunch, the Chinese sandwich is really doing the most.

5. Egg tart

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The bakery’s cases are stacked with frosted cakes, fruit tarts, and doughy coconut buns, so there is no shortage of options if you want to end your meal with sweets. Though these towering sugar confections are all impressive, the classic no-fail option is the egg tart. These bite-sized mini desserts are consistently tasty, if among the more basic desserts on the menu. The buttery, flaky crust paired with the smooth, slightly sweet egg custard is a delicate capper to an otherwise filling, even heavy, meal.


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Visit the ancient city of Butrint

Until it was described in the worst possible light in the 2008 Liam Neeson movie Taken, Albania was little known outside of the Balkans. Travelers had certainly not been crowding the place since the brutal Communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha that started in 1941 had firmly sealed the nation’s borders. It was only in 1991 that the country deemed the most isolated in the world at the time got rid of communism, held its first democratic election, and started to slowly open up to the rest of the world. But it took over a decade to really get the nation’s tourism industry going; surprisingly, very few had noticed that Albania had 225 miles of gorgeous coastline on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas, just north of Greece and facing the heel of Italy.

Photo: Google Maps

Although it’s not entirely off travelers’ radars any longer, the country is still quiet and mostly uncelebrated. In the summer, the beaches of Ksamil may be packed with sunbeds, tourists, and vacationing local families, but just three miles to the south, there’s one place you can have all to yourself: the ancient city of Butrint. Here is why you should visit Butrint and how to do it in a cinch.

Butrint National Park and the ancient city

The first Albanian site to be granted World Heritage status by UNESCO in 1992, the 2,500-year-old city of Butrint makes up 11 square miles of the 93-square-kilometer national park of the same name. Butrint National Park is a little less than 12 miles from the Greek-Albanian border.

Photo: A Daily Odyssey/Shutterstock

The main part of the Butrint archaeological site, where the majority of the ruins are located, sits atop a forested hill peninsula on the channel that connects Lake Butrint with the Ionian Sea. The views from everywhere on the hill are breathtaking, and stunning picnic spots abound in the form of strategically located wooden benches and tables, so pack a lunch to take with you. The site is open daily from 8:00 AM until sunset (the museum is only open from 8:00 AM until 4:00 PM). Entry costs 700 Albanian lekë (about $6). The rest of the national park, outside of the archaeological site, is free to explore.

The history of the ancient city of Butrint

Greek mythology has it that the city of Butrint, once called Buthrotum, was founded by Andromache and her brother-in-law Helenus, son of King Priam, when they fled a burning Troy. What we really know is that the earliest actual evidence we have of occupation on the site goes way back to 50,000 BC, but it wasn’t until the eighth century BC, when Greeks from the region of Epirus came and settled here, that Butrint became a thriving, fortified city with an acropolis. The Romans took over in 44 BC, making Butrint a colony, building one of their famous aqueducts over the Vivari Channel, and expanding the city on reclaimed marshland. Over the centuries, the city became a Christian center of the Byzantine Empire and then was under Frankish, Venetian, and Ottoman control before it was abandoned.

Must-see monuments on the main site

Butrint’s archaeological site is huge, and the structures of the ancient sites testify to the different occupants, so we suggest you take your time to visit. Allow at least two hours to see the most important monuments and more if you want to enjoy the views properly and check out the smaller sights, which include Roman villas, ancient Greek gates, and Venetian towers. If you’re short on time, here are the top five spots you should absolutely check out.

1. The ancient theater

Photo: Jess Kraft/Shutterstock

The shaded footpath that leads from the ticket booth to the heart of the site brings visitors directly to one of its most impressive monuments. Built in the third century BC against the slope of the Acropolis hill, the amazingly preserved Hellenistic (and later Roman) theater could accommodate thousands of spectators on its stone seats. It continues to do so, as every year in July its stage hosts some of the performances of the Butrinti Summer Festival.

Traces of a sanctuary dedicated to Asclepius, the Greek God of Medicine, can be found next to the theatre. This is a common sight throughout the Mediterranean as offerings made to the god of medicine often funded the construction of theaters.

2. The Roman forum

Photo: Frank Bach/Shutterstock

The only Roman forum to be found in Epirus (an important Roman Province and region now shared between Greece and Albania) dates back from the time of Emperor Augustus (27 BC-14 AD). Back in the day, forums were the place you went when you wanted to buy or sell things, participate in heated political conversation, meet people, attend gladiator games, or take a bath (if you were not rich enough to own a private bathing facility). The public bathhouse that can still be seen in Butrint’s Forum was even equipped with under-floor heating long before it was cool.

3. The baptistery

Photo: Christian Wittmann/Shutterstock

After the Roman Empire was split between East and West, the Byzantines made Butrint an important Christian center. The baptistery that survives to this day was a Roman structure reused for ecclesiastical purposes later on. It features an amazing mosaic floor, displaying animals and an amazing geometrical pattern, which is now sadly covered in a protective layer of sand and only uncovered for a few days every year.

4. The basilica

Photo: milosk50/Shutterstock

If you don’t get to have a look at the baptistery’s floor, know that there’s another impressive mosaic on the floor of the Christian basilica a little further uphill. And this one you can see freely. The basilica itself is beautiful, entirely made of stone, with a nave defined by two rows of arches. The basilica is the most imposing of the nine churches that have been found in Butrint so far.

5. The museum

Photo: A Daily Odyssey/Shutterstock

An uphill climb through heavily forested footpaths will bring you to the 14th-century Venetian Castle that houses the small but fascinating Butrint Museum. The highlights of the museum include statues of Roman gods and emperors found in the theater and elsewhere in the ancient city, as well as inscriptions recording the manumission, the freeing of the slaves in honor of Asclepius. Particularly interesting in those inscriptions is the role of women in ancient Butrint society, which was remarkably different from the rest of the classical world; they were not only allowed to decide upon the freeing of the slaves but also entitled to their dead husbands’ property instead of seeing it given to their eldest sons.

If you have more time: the rope ferry and Ali Pasha’s castle

Photo: Leonid Andronov/Shutterstock

Near the entrance of the archaeological site, the rope ferry is a unique feature — a wooden platform carrying people and cars to the other side of the Vivari channel. A smaller Venetian castle lies there, as well as less-visited traces of a Roman suburb called the Vrina Plain.

Further to the west of the main archaeological site, on a small island at the mouth of the channel, is one of the many imposing castles that 18th-century Ottoman ruler Ali Pasha of Tepelenë built in the region. It’s possible to see the castle from the platform near a parking lot located less than one mile to the west of the entrance to the Butrint archeological site (not to be confused with the parking lot for the archaeological site). Don’t skip visiting the castle — it’s well worth it, and chances are you’ll have the whole place to yourself. From June to September you can arrange a boat ride from the parking lot to the castle with local fishermen for just a few lekë.

How to get there

It’s easy to get to Butrint from the Greek island of Corfu. In just two hours by ferry or 50 minutes by hydrofoil you reach the city of Sarandë, from where buses take you to Butrint every hour and in less than 30 minutes. Sarandë can also be reached from Tirana by bus in just under five hours.


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10 species saved by conservation

It’s a rare piece of good news when an animal comes back from extinction or sees an improvement in its survivability prospects — that’s why Tuesday’s announcement by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN) was exceptional. According to a new assessment by the IUCN (the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animals), 10 species, including eight bird species and two freshwater fish species, have seen their statuses improved thanks to conservation efforts. Here is the success story for each of the 10 species recoveries.

1. The Guam rail

Photo: Josh More via IUCN

Found in the forests, grasslands, savannas, and shrublands of the Pacific island of Guam, the Guam rail is a flightless bird that was driven to extinction by the invasive brown tree snake. It’s only the second bird in US history to come back from extinction, thanks to breeding and repopulation efforts. Previously considered “extinct in the wild,” the Guam rail is now classified as “critically endangered.”

2. The echo parakeet

Photo: Colin Houston via IUCN

Native to the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, the echo parakeet was once widespread across the country before its decline in the 19th century, due to the human destruction of its habitat. Now, conservation efforts have resulted in the parakeet’s numbers rising to over 750, with the species moving up from “endangered” status to “vulnerable.” It lives mainly in forest and shrubland, sustaining itself on native plants. The echo rarakeet is extinct in the neighboring island of La Réunion.

3. Cassin’s finch

Photo: J. Omar Hansen/Shutterstock

Although the population of Cassin’s finch has seen a rapid decline in the past few decades, the population seems to be stabilizing, earning it the categorization of “least concern,” the highest category on the Red List. Cassin’s finch is found primarily in the conifer forests and mountains of North America, from British Columbia and Southern Alberta to the Rocky Mountains, and even down to Mexico during the winter.

4. The Tongan scrubfowl

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The population of the Tongan scrubfowl is believed to be stable or increasing, making the species climb up the threatened species list from “endangered” to “vulnerable.” This bird, native to the Tonga archipelago in the South Pacific, tends to reside on shoreline, wetlands, and forests. The bird is legally protected on Tonga, which, in addition to conservation efforts, has contributed to its preservation.

5. Murphy’s petrel

The population trend of Murphy’s petrel is unknown, but it’s sufficiently large to earn the seabird a “least concern” status, an uptick from the previous “near threatened.” With a huge range of habitats across the Pacific, including French Polynesia and Pitcairn, Murphy’s Petrel is benefitting from the eradication of rats on some of the islands where they nest.

6. The cerulean warbler

Photo: Ray Hennessy/Shutterstock

Found in the deciduous forests of the eastern US, extreme southeastern Canada, and in South America in the winter, the cerulean warbler has declined in the past due to deforestation, human degradation of ecosystems, and the parasitistic cowbird. However, the species has been helped by various conservation efforts, like the creation of a Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve in Colombia. Currently, the bird is considered “near threatened.”

7. The forest thrush

Found in Dominica, Guadeloupe, Montserrat, and Saint Lucia, the forest thrush has been damaged by deforestation, predators, and, on Montserrat, habitat loss from volcanic eruptions. The rate of population decline has slowed, however, and with the creation of protected habitats, the bird’s future is looking brighter, currently being classified as “near threatened,” a step up from its former “vulnerable” status.

8. The black-capped vireo

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This bird (native to Texas, Oklahoma, and Mexico) is primarily threatened by habitat loss, urban development, and — since they tend to dwell in dry shrubland — fire. When humans clear land for grazing animals, they often harm the black-capped vireo’s ecosystem. Management programs aimed at restoring vegetation have gone a long way toward helping this species, which is now classified as “near threatened.”

9. The Australian trout cod

Photo: Gunther Schmida via IUCN

The Australian trout cod is found primarily in New South Wales and Victoria. The trout lives in the mid to upper reaches of rivers and streams, and its population has been damaged by recreational fishing, thermal pollution from dams, and human removal of rocks and other debris from its habitat. Although it was previously listed as “endangered,” the IUCN categorizes the species as “vulnerable” and the species population as “stable.”

10. The Pedder Galaxias

The second fish on the list is native to the wetlands of Tasmania. Due to habitat destruction by the flooding of Lake Pedder in the 1970s, the species suffered a rapid decline. Around the same time, the predatory brown trout encroached on the Pedder Galaxias’ habitat. Now classified as “stable,” the Pedder Galaxias were moved to a new habitat in Tasmania’s Lake Oberon, where they seem to be thriving.


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