A Monument to Culture

We in America DO have places that are culturally signifcant. In New York City, I stood outside Fraunces Tavern, where George Washington gave his most important speech. In Boston, I walked the streets of Beacon Hill and the North End, some of them dating to the Seventeenth Century. New Orleans, which I visited a decade ago has the Vieux Carre', or French Quarter: the Crescent City was founded by Frenchmen in 1718. That's where the carnival of drunken debauchery known as Mardi Gras takes place every year; a true monument to Culture, seriously. San Francisco is famous for its sheer physical beauty, cultural and social diversity. Olvera Street in Los Angeles dates back quite a while; the "City of the Angels" was founded in 1781. San Juan, Puerto Rico, which I had the pleasure of visiting, is the oldest European city in the Western Hemisphere. Saint Augustine, Florida was founded in 1565, by the Spaniards of course; it's the oldest European city in the 48 contiguous US states. Santa Fe New Mexico, which I'm glad I've seen if only on one enchanting day, dates to the 1600s, when it was founded by Spanish conquistadors and/or missionaries. The Mound Building Native Americans left their mark for hundreds of miles along the Ohio River. Then there are those ruins, of extreme interest, left by the Anizazi people at Chaco Canyon, also in New Mexico. But I live in Madison, so I'm off to Burger King and I need a vacation.