Congratulations!

Hope they like the toaster I sent.

Oh, grow up, Princess!

All this talk lately about princesses and weddings and jewels makes a girl harken back to...well, when she really was a girl.  My grandma Mary had a trunk with the BEST dress-up stuff EVER!  I remember pearl necklaces with huge sparkly broaches, pillbox hats with delicate nets that covered my face - very Jackie O.  She even let me stomp around the yard in a dreamy pair of her lavender pumps. I'd give my left eye to have them now.

Well, I found a way to relive that memory, but...shall we say - take it up a notch?  The Berkeley Hotel is tucked into a shopper's paradise in Knightsbridge, London, overlooking Hyde Park. It's a home away from home for fashonistas and celebrities from all over the world.   But, for the girl who wants to play dress up - and I mean Carrie-Bradshaw-kind-of-dress up - brace yourselves.  First, flip through the The Gallery and drink it all in.  It's almost impossible to chose the prettiest room...they're all so unique and elegant... and fit for a queen.


Suite

Gorgeous, right?  But wait...it gets better. Check in to one of their posh suites and you, my princess friend, can request the fabulous trunk pictured below. 

The Berkely Fashion Trunk is filled with hand picked vintage statement pieces by Atelier-Mayer, a vintage London boutique.Try on a Christian Dior necklace from the 60's, a Pierre Cardin Studio 54 evening clutch, or a Marilyn Monroe-style embellished mink stole. Go ahead, throw them all on and WEAR THEM OUT FOR THE EVENING! That's right, you can wear anything you want from the trunk free of charge.  But, when the clock strikes midnight - your carriage becomes a pumpkin again and the fairy godmother wants her stuff back..um, I mean the treasures must be returned.  However, if you happen to fall in love with a bauble or handbag or those pink Chanel earrings, Atelier-Mayer will happily arrange for the purchase and the delivery of your "new" old treasure. 


Now that you're all dressed up, the only thing missing is a real life London tea party. The Berkely also hosts "Pret-a-Portea" - an afternoon tea with cakes and pastries inspired by the latest catwalk designs; from boots, to handbags, to flirty dresses.  Adorable!!!!

Sigh...ok....I'll start looking for a dude ranch to write about for the fellas....

Rooms start at $600.
For more info on how to travel like royalty, check out The Travel Channel.

Looking for a cheap summer get away?

Check this out:  Yuupon.com.  Save money like Hotwire and Priceline but you actually get to see what you're buying!  Great deals on Disney right now!

Shoot! Where's the camera?

Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church

I came across a great article today.  Similar to my last post, the writer talked about how the greatest vacation memories happen while you were planning on something else and how having a mission - something as simple as finding a new place for breakfast every morning - can make your vacation special.  Funny, how you never seem to remember to take a photo of it.  

I thought of our recent family vacation in New York and recalled when my daughter and I, out shopping one morning, stopped by a century old cathedral squeezed between two huge apartment buildings.  We tiptoed in, took a seat, and listened to the organist practice.  Awestruck, we admired the stained glass and the breathtaking Jesus on the cross suspended above the alter.  In between songs, we heard the loud snores of the homeless people sleeping in the pews.  

It was an amazing moment for both of us.  She'd never seen anything like it before, and I couldn't stop marveling at the beauty and history of it all.  Magnificent.  Although I could have snuck a few photos, it didn't feel appropriate at the time, so I'm left with this one that I borrowed from a wedding photographer (see watermark).


Sure, I've got plenty of photos of the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and Central Park.  But none of the friendly pizza shop owner who baked little pies hot and fresh especially for us girls, the tiny restaurant in Chinatown where the waitress marveled at my daughter's chop stick skills, the sweetheart hotel doorman who took the time to chat us up every morning.  These little things are the things that will make me smile when I think back to this trip. Where was the camera then?  Oh, I know...all snug in it's case at the bottom of my bag.


The Best Travel Photos You Didn't Take

On a mission....for Michael.

Mr. Buble

I think someone is trying to tell me something.  I was just talking to a friend the other day who was recounting his recent jaunt to Vegas to see a music awards show.  It's such a great idea -not just to go somewhere - but to go with a mission; a game, a show, a store, whatever.  Just having that purpose gets you "out there" and makes you open and available to experience so much more.  Plus, you might visit a city you wouldn't normally consider.  To me, the best vacation stories are about what happens to you when you were actually planning on something else.

I got "pinged" by Ticketmaster the other day notifying me that Michael Buble is coming....
to Duluth.  Wha?! Yeah, that's right.  He's bypassing Minneapolis to go play to that screaming, swooning crowd of cougars in Duluth. Aaahhh, my peeps! I guess that can only mean one thing: road trip.

Duluth

Michael requires a full evening of prep - ie; dinner and cocktails before and after, so this means an overnight stay is a definite must. Although, like most Minnesotans, I've been to Duluth many times...I've never actually been there for "night life". In fact, I haven't been there for an overnight stay in years. My preliminary hotel searches haven't been very promising. I can't seem to find a place to stay that doesn't have
Hampton/Courtyard/Comfort/Days in it's name.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, and I'm not a hotel snob (really) I was just looking for something a little....well...different. The show isn't until June, so I have plenty of time.

More to come on this...

Why I will always wear my seatbelt.

I usually roll my eyes and say "whatever" when the captain says that he's going to leave the seat belt sign on for the duration of the flight.  Sometimes I have it on, sometimes I just forget.  Not any more...

 Why No One Was Sucked Out of the Southwest Jet

A Beacon in the Night

On the boat to Ellis Island

Well, we're back from New York and we're still speaking to each other - I guess that means we had a good trip.  We survived New York with kids and everyone had a great time.  I didn't really need more convincing, but this trip proved once again that staying as far away as possible from Times Square is the best way to get a feel for the "real" New York and not see it as just the largest, most expensive tourist trap in the world. I think we found the ideal place.

The Beacon Hotel is perfectly located in a fantastic neighborhood on the Upper West side near Central Park and the Museum of Natural History.  The neighborhood is teeming with gourmet restaurants, chic boutiques, pizza joints, pubs and real New Yorkers.  It's easy to blend right in and live like one for the duration of your trip.  A nice, homey place to go to at the end of a busy day. 

Plus, I just read an article on NBCNewYork. com stating that the Beacon Hotel is located in the safest precinct in New York.

Location Specifics:

Beacon Theatre

Ok. To the right of the hotel (next door) is the historic Beacon Theatre.  Upcoming shows include: Chelsea Handler, Elvis Costello and Chris Botti (I'm sad I'm missing that last one - should have timed this visit a little better).  Also, see my post below regarding the historic building across the street.  The Ansonia has a notorious and fascinating past.

On the other side of the theater is a liquor store - Beacon Wines - with an incredibly impressive wine collection - spend $6 or $600 - it's all here. Great, helpful staff.  They also carry a wide range of liquors in bottles of varying sizes - 
brilliant if you want just one cocktail... or maybe two.

Across the street?  Fairway Market one of the largest grocery stores in New York. If that isn't enough, next door to the market is Citarella a gourmet meat, cheese and seafood market. You'll have a kitchen in your room, so go for it. On the left side of the Beacon there's a Starbuck's, of course, and a casual but delicious cafe - Viand.   

There.  All your needs covered in one block.


Now on to the hotel. First, the YAY'S!
+ Did I mention location?
+ Very, very clean 
+ exceptional maid service; they brought extra towels without being asked and replaced the shower curtain before we even noticed there was a problem with it.
+ Friendly front desk and doorman staff
+ HUGE rooms by New York standards - we had a one bedroom suite; big living area with pull out couch, full kitchen, bedroom with 2 double beds and two large, flat screen TV's. 
+ Warm, homey vibe; casual and comfortable
+ Great rates available at the hotel's own website - keep checking - it changes often.  We paid $255 plus tax for our giant room and booked directly through the hotel.
+ It's very, very quiet - no sirens, no honks, no crowds.
+ The Beacon has been recently renovated and it was evident in the condition of the furniture and decor in the room and public spaces - everything was in perfect working order and neat as a pin. 
+Ask for a room on a high floor with a view - gorgeous. 

Here's a video tour of room 1407:

The Boo's
- As big as the room was, something had to suffer a bit and it was the bathroom. I really wish it would have had more counter space.

- Speaking of bathroom - the shower head needed a serious update.
- No work-out facilities (Central Park is only 2 blocks away, however.)
- $10 per day charge for Wi-Fi.  C'mon, really?  (There is a tiny business center in the lobby with 2 computers and printers and free internet service.)
- No lounge/bar inside the hotel
- The most incredibly sensitive smoke alarm EVER.  My blow dryer continually set it off.  Yes, I said blow dryer and it's not a fancy one, either.
- The creature in the bathtub.  We were told it was a "water bug". The front desk was very apologetic and offered to spray while we were out of the room. We just kept the drain closed and never saw a hint of another for the remainder of the trip.
- Construction on the sidewalk right in front of the front door - should be finished by the end of this week (4/1/11).

That was a delicious glass of wine

- The view was hampered a bit by dirty windows.  Perhaps it's on the spring cleaning schedule?

As a family, this hotel was a perfect fit for us; it was essential for the kids to have a room to hang in by themselves, great to be able to throw together our own breakfast every morning and we loved being able to grab a nice bottle of wine on the way "home".  We'll definitely be back.


Things I learned on this trip:

The line for Ellis Island & Liberty - it went forever.

*Buying our tickets to major tourist attractions like the Empire State Building, Statue of Libery & Ellis Island  on-line BEFORE we went was a stroke of genius (if I do say so myself). The lines are unbelievable - but, you'll go right to the front with tickets in hand.  Plus, in some cases you'll get a discount!  The Empire State Building tickets are good for a year so you can decide when it's convenient for you to visit (it's open until 2am - who knew?) You have to be a bit more committed, however, for your visit to the Statue of Liberty.  Wait and buy them on-line the morning before you go if you need to leave your options open.

*I read some reviews that said the visit to the Statue of Liberty's crown took too much time and wasn't really worth it.  So, we took that advice and skipped it and still got a beautiful, close-up view (and tons of photos) as we sailed by on the ferry on the way to Ellis Island.  As it was, the trip still took up a majority of the afternoon.


*Get the audio tour whenever possible.  Hearing the actual voices of the people who experienced arriving at Ellis is very moving.


*The bottom level of the ferry may be warm but it felt a little too much like steerage on the Titanic for me. We sat on the top two levels - you may have to wait a little longer to get off the boat, but it was worth it.

Steerage on the Titanic - yikes.

*2 absolute musts:  Big Nick's for pizza. Get a table in back - it's cramped and the waitress is surly but it's soooo worth it. Amazing.  Pizza by La Grolla - if you just want a slice. Mmmmmmm....both are within a couple of blocks of the Beacon Hotel.

Getting Jiggy with it.

 There was a creature in our bathtub last night.  Just when I was starting to LOVE this hotel.  Apparently, New York has something called "water bugs".  Uggghhh I can't talk about it anymore.

Ok.  on to better things....learning alot this trip.  For instance, how to avoid lines and save money on tourist attractions and how to keep the kids happy without driving yourself insane. A key element?  Naps.  Even with pre-teens.  My kids haven't napped since they were 2, but this city can wipe a girl out! Also, wine for Mom is essential.

More to follow; hotel reviews, tourist attraction reviews, and lots of photos.

New York... Day One

The Ansonia

We'll we're here in New York and I'm busy shooting lots of video for TripScout TV.  Hope it all turns out considering I can't see without my glasses and I'm way to proud (and lazy) to dig them out of my purse every time I turn the camera on.  I'm just pointing the camera at the action and hoping I catch some of it.  This could be interesting or really, really weird.

Great hotel, great location...can't wait to fill you in on the details. Seeing New York with kids can be done...and so far it's actually quite fun!

More to come....

P.S.  Bette Midler got her start in the 70's singing at the gay bathhouse in the basement of the building right across the street from our hotel.  Her piano player at that time was none other than Barry Manilow.  The Ansonia has an such an incredible history.  Babe Ruth used to live there and waddle down to the first floor barber shop for a shave every morning...in his bathrobe.

I love it here.

I heart Google

If there is one thing I've learned in the 7 months I've been writing this blog:  it's that everyone Googles everything (and pretty soon my spell-check will realize that Google is a noun and a verb and will give me a break with that red, squiggly line). I've found it really interesting that literally hundreds of people found TripScout through a post I wrote back in December on the anniversary of John Lennon's death.  Evidently, people Google "John Lennon" daily - particularly in Europe.  Who knew?

I do love Google and now it does even more - especially for the traveler.  Who needs a bunch of silly apps?  Check it out: Google  - weather forecasts, local time, walking route, flight status....

...when it packs my bags for me - I'll be REALLY impressed.

Attn: Wine Drinkers & Cooks

When I found this place, I immediately thought of at least 6 friends who would love it and if y'all go....please take me.

Cavallo Point is a cozy boutique resort at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge on the Sausalito side.

Here's why it caught my eye:  1.  See. photo. above.  Can it get any better than that view?  Cavallo Point is located within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, so there's plenty of hiking, hanging at the beach, sailing etc.   I'll pass on the "hot-air ballooning" though.  It's kid and dog-friendly, so, if you want to - bring everyone.


But, here's the "girl's trip" hook:  The Cooking School:

Look ahead at the class schedule and plan your stay around the menu that interests you.  Oh....and I guess there might be a little wine tasting along the way....ya think? 

Sure, there's a spa, yoga classes, and "Healing Arts Services - Ways to Enhanced Well-Being".  Whatever.  I thought that was what the wine and food were for...

I'm diggin' the different lodging choices:  you can go contemporary or traditional...but both are homey and cozy...and beautiful.

Quiet and relaxing, right? But, that might get old after awhile.  Not to worry,  there's plenty of nightlife, dining and shopping just a bridge away in San Francisco.  The best of both worlds.  It's perfect.

Check the link above for current rates and availability...and I can be packed in a minute...