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<br />SMART TRAVELER
<br />Make music Visitors can tickle the ivories of a
<br />grand piano at the library in Cardiff. Wales.
<br />Space). It includes a contemporary art
<br />museum —where the works of Spanish
<br />surrealist Oscar Dominguez, who was
<br />born inTenerife, are permanently on
<br />display.You can dine and shop here as
<br />well as check out the Tenerife Island Pho-
<br />tography Centre, which mounts rotating
<br />shows and hosts Fotonoviembre, a bien-
<br />nial international photography festival
<br />(being held in 201 1). The.State Library of
<br />Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, part of
<br />the city's South Bank Cultural Centre,
<br />features exhibitions on Australian art and
<br />history and has an Indigenous Knowledge
<br />Centre with interactive displays about that
<br />continent's native people and their history.
<br />A permanent exhibition details the period
<br />in Queensland's history when Aboriginal
<br />people were sometimes paid for their la-
<br />bor in opium, with tragic results; another
<br />exhibit shows how the library cares for its
<br />collections and lets you watch the conser-
<br />vators at work.
<br />NOTEWORTHY The new central branch in
<br />Cardiff, Wales. is part of a redevelopment
<br />of the downtown commercial center that
<br />includes shopping, apartments, and
<br />pedestrian -only streets. Inside the library
<br />is a sleek grand piano that patrons can
<br />register to play; the music will waft up
<br />through the airy building's atrium. The
<br />main library in Salt Lake City. designed by
<br />architect Moshe Safdie, includes a
<br />glassed -in atrium and unobstructed views
<br />of the nearby Wasatch Mountains. Shops
<br />here range from a florist to a bookstore
<br />specializing in comics and graphic novels,
<br />to a local cooperative artists' boutique.
<br />The local NPR affiliate's studios are here,
<br />too. Ask for an informal tour.
<br />Libraries with such kaleidoscopic
<br />offerings are also planned for Philadelphia
<br />and Turin, Italy, where the library's seven
<br />story building will feature an open -air
<br />theater, an Internet cafe, and a rooftop
<br />observation deck from which to view the
<br />Alps "Shhh! This is a library!" is defi-
<br />nitely a thing of the past.
<br />54 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER 1 MAY -JUNE ZOSO
<br />AUTHENTIC GOODS
<br />THE REAL McCOY
<br />Scotland's traditional kilts change ft
<br />up with new colors and fabrics.
<br />BACKSTORY If you're looking for the
<br />definitive Scottish souvenir, it's probably
<br />best to forgo the unwieldy bagpipe for
<br />an authentic kilt. In fact, Scottish history
<br />and culture are literally wrapped up in the
<br />kik. "No one really knows how far back
<br />the tradition goes," says kiltmaker Howie
<br />Nicholsby, "but it probably dates to the
<br />Viking invasions of Scotland. It started
<br />as one piece of cloth the wearer would
<br />sleep in and then pleat each morning by
<br />hand. "Though the kilt is now predomi-
<br />nantly relegated to formal occasions such
<br />as weddings and national rugby matches,
<br />new Scottish patriots are increasingly see-
<br />ing it as a daily alternative to the predict-
<br />able trousers. "Why nor asks Nicholsby,
<br />who grew up in the trade at his parents'
<br />Edinburgh kilt shop, Geoffrey Kiltmakers
<br />and Weavers (www,geof eylaiits.co.uk), and
<br />who helped turn the kilt into something
<br />positively hip at his own 21st Century Kilts
<br />(www.21 stcenturykilts.cam) in the same
<br />city.There he offers kilts in denim, leather,
<br />pinstripe, and the more classic tartan.
<br />CLAN COLORS Purists looking for the tra-
<br />ditional Scottish kilt need to follow three
<br />rules: It should be made of pure wool; it
<br />should be made in Scotland; and it should
<br />be hand -sewn. Buyers seeking a family
<br />history connection should look for a tar-
<br />tan pattern representing their clan, though
<br />the history of most patterns is surprisingly
<br />shallow It was only in Victorian times that
<br />most Highland tartans became associated
<br />with specific clans. That may be enough
<br />history for some. But today, kiltmakers
<br />are offering unique tartan patterns that
<br />resonate with clients' interests. The Sus
<br />tainability tartan, for example, balances
<br />blue, green, and yellow to represent ocean,
<br />land, and sunlight, respectively, "I prefer
<br />the weathered, more muted colors," says
<br />Nicholsby, probably because they echo the
<br />soft, haunting palette of the Highlands
<br />themselves. Raphael Kadushin
<br />Skirt it: Kilts
<br />come in a.
<br />variety of
<br />patterns.
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