OLD CITIES, NEW HORIZONS
Boston and Cambridge: bright ideas by the busload
(By Richard P. Carpenter, Globe Staff)
The next time you pick up a phone, fire off an e-mail, check your mutual fund, or even put some popcorn into the microwave, think kindly of Boston and Cambridge. After all, these two cities are where those innovations and uncountable others originated.

ANYWHERE
Living large on a barge
(By Bud Collins, Globe Staff)
SENS, France - Whenever boating is the topic, a hot flash goes through my brain in the form of a vivid oil painting, a piece about the size of Rhode Island, from the brushes of a Frenchman named Jean Louis Andre Theodore Gericault.

Nashville - it's still a boot-scootin', honky-tonk town
(By David Lyon, Globe Correspondent)
NASHVILLE - As if there were ever any doubt, country music has arrived. The block-long, state-of-the-art Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum that opened in the heart of downtown last month marks the apotheosis of a musical form that began in the back woods of the American South and took the world by storm.

A shiny new Hall of Fame
(By David Lyon)
The new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is a far cry from Possum Holler. Depending on your view, the $37 million building looks like a piano keyboard (from the front), a circa-1959 Cadillac tailfin (from an angle), or a treble musical clef (from above). Judging by a preview tour, the new facility should boost the museum's efforts to continue to elevate country music's role in US culture.

Denver's new front yard - good times down by the riverside
(By Jeff Miller, Globe Correspondent)
For generations, Denver's front yard was periodically underwater - literally.

10 for the road
(By Donald D. Groff, Globe Correspondent)
You can plan now to attend these events, all of which will occur within a few weeks and are within a day's drive of Boston.

GLOBE-TROTTING
'Serious fun' and savings go hand in hand in Boston
(By Jerry Morris, Globe Staff)
Boston is planning some ''serious fun'' this summer. More than 40 hotels, 60 restaurants, 150 shops, and tour companies and cultural institutions are participating in this promotion providing summertime rewards and savings. A ''serious fun! card'' is available by calling 888-733-2678.

TRAVEL TIDBITS
Much more than a library
(By Richard P. Carpenter, Globe Staff)
In keeping with the theme of this week's ''Historic Cities'' section, we are devoting today's column to Boston.

TAKING THE KIDS
Your children are lucky - just ask Ben Franklin
(By Eileen Ogintz, Tribune Media Services)
Ben Franklin just shook his head when we asked him what kids did for fun when he was growing up in 18th-century Boston.