Mountain Monkeys

posted by maggie on Jan 26

I went to Shabbat for morning services with Al, it was our first Synagogue in New York. Ahavas Israel Synagogue is a very orthodox shul. We got there just as they were beginning to read from the Tora. This place was built in 1904! The inside was really beautiful and lovely. I sat with two other women upstairs even though I could have sat downstairs if I choose to do so. But, from upstairs, I had a really wonderful view of all the stained glass windows and the various Stars of David that were painted on the walls. My seat felt ancient but very comfortable. Afterward the service, we hung around and the people we met there were all very welcoming.
 
We then headed downtown to 34th and 5th Avenue, which my Uncle told me when I was a little girl is not downtown but uptown. We only looked at the Empire State Building, we left the going inside and up for another time. The weather is turning, so we thought it wise not to be up high in the wind-chill. We then wandered around window shopping and people watching. One of the most interesting things that always strikes me when I’m here in New York City is the lack of a horizon. In order to see a horizon, one must travel up or go the the edge of the city.
 
After wandering around a bit more, we decided to head back to one of the small hotels in New York, which is right off of Park Avenue, and it’s our favorite place to stay when ever we come to New York, which is about once a year. Most of my family moved away, but there are still a few relatives here and there. When I visit them, they have a hard time imagining life in Alaska, where we currently live, I just shrug my shoulders and say eh.

posted by maggie on Jan 21

In this day and age it seems that for a lot of people, bigger is better.  From the massive boxes of cereal found at Costco, to 20 theater cine-plexes, to SUV’s.  But as people begin to notice the effects of over consumption, over saturation, and over use of gasoline, things have begun to change just a bit.  Walking into a chain, be it a restaurant, a hotel, or a market such as Walmart, one can feel not only overwhelmed, but alone.

Impersonal relations found in some big establishments can leave you feeling very unfulfilled, especially when you are traveling for either business, or for holiday.  This is when the boutique hotel comes into play.  This is a term that has been used in and made popular by the United Kingdom and throughout North America to describe the intimate and sometimes quirky nature of these smaller accommodations.  The service is personable, and many of these smaller hotels are not of the cookie cutter variety, meaning that in many of them the design aspects are a bit more eclectic and individual, from the decoration to the size, some having only 4 or 5 guest rooms.

In the United States, many of the “bed and breakfasts” are set up this way, usually in the owner’s own home.  Other boutique hotels may be larger, some of them in New York are large and luxurious, so the term has caused a bit of confusion.  It has to do with the ambiance and the art and the originality.  From the art deco themed boutique hotels in Miami, to the antique and vintage themed hotels in New Orleans.  Throughout Europe this concept has spread widely and now it is possible to find such charm and atmosphere in the hotels of Phuket, Singapore, Iceland, Turkey and Peru.

The last time I visited New York, I needed to find a place to stay as the friend I usually stay with had family living with him, so I took a look here, boutiquehotelinnewyork.com. On the website I found one perfect for my needs and my taste.  I am a person who despises communicating on Facebook or through emails solely, I like personal interaction.  I like talking with the front desk person, or the bellboy, or the room service waiter.  And my boutique hotel offered me just that. Even in a hustling, bustling and huge city like New York.

posted by maggie on Jan 21

posted by maggie on Jan 19

Curtis lived in Tallahassee, Florida and for as long as he could remember he was a huge fan of the Miami Dolphins. He first began watching football on Sunday afternoons with his grandfather in his private den. His grandmother loved this bond that was developing between them and even encouraged and supported it by bringing cookies and tuna fish sandwiches for them to snack one during the games. Those were extremely special days to Curtis and even as a young child he had the sensitivity to know that they could never last. Now that he was a grown man with a wife and two children of his own Curtis looked back fondly on those early days and couldn’t help but to think of his grandparents every time he saw a game.

Of course his wife Janice knew all about his grandparents, she even had the pleasure of meeting them once and was also fully aware of his love for the Miami Dolphins. In fact, it was this obsession of his that gave her an idea of how to celebrate their last wedding anniversary. She made secret reservations at one of the luxury hotels Miami and also purchased two tickets for Dolphin’s game at Dolphin Stadium, or as some people were now calling it Land Shark Stadium. Not being much of a football fan herself, Janice didn’t know the difference and just wanted to make sure they were watching the Dolphins play and that the game was going to occur in Miami.

This ended up being one of the biggest surprises of Curtis’ life. He had no idea that his wife had gone to all the effort and expense and was so moved it brought tears to his eyes, he was sensitive remember. Fortunately for Curtis he was also romantic and had been saving up all year for a beautiful diamond bracelet that Janice had seen in a jewelry store and mentioned thinking it was beautiful. He was proud to be able to return a great gift to his wife and they both had an amazing weekend on their anniversary celebration. It was definitely good enough to get them through the difficulties of the upcoming year.

posted by maggie on Jan 13

On my own first trip to the District of Columbia, in the early 90s, I stayed on Connecticut Avenue near an incredibly inviting independent bookstore known as Politics & Prose, near the intersection of Nebraska Avenue NW and Connecticut Ave NW.  You can buy your books upfront, then proceed down a few steps to the coffee house in back and peruse your purchase.  They’re just now celebrating twenty-five years of business and, to me, it’s a Washington icon, just as much as any other monument.  The business was begun by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, and the name of the store was troublesome at the start, because people thought this was a specialty store, but it’s just the name of a very fine independent, which sells books in all categories.  The idea of the store was to sell books that were unusual and to offer great service, and to allow the store to operate as a place for people interested in talking about books to meet.  Ten years ago, the store merged with Cheshire Cat, one of the best children’s bookstores in the United States, and now the pair have close to 10,000 square feet of sales space, with an extra three thousand square feet when you add in the offices and cafe.

posted by maggie on Jan 11

Many years ago I took part in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. One of the things I had not considered before we left for the trip, was that many of the local residents opted to take the weeks of the festival for their own holiday.  Which is understandable as during those weeks more than twenty thousand theatre and music artists from around the world descended on the streets of Edinburgh.  What we found was that not only could we find great deals on hotel accommodations, but we were able to rent out the flats of those who choose to hand over their city to the throngs of people and performances.

Such will be the case in New York this August as the Fringe Festival gets underway.  There will be many fine travel deals to be found, but as this is the largest festival of the arts in North America, be sure to find those apartments to rent, or rooms in New York’s finest five star establishments, as soon as your travel plans are set.  The streets will be filled, just as they were in Edinburgh, with dancers, musicians, actors and artists, as too will be the restaurants and the hotels.  This festival in New York brings the members of more than two hundred international companies from around the world, for three weeks of just about non-stop performances and shows.

During the days between August 13th and August 29th, more than thirteen hundred shows will go up, at more than twenty different venues around the city.  The atmosphere is filled with the vibrant energy of the world of the arts, and should you want to get a feel for it before you go, their website offers a complete history of the Festival, as well as archived stories and photographs from past years.  This city is known for theatre, and during this time, just about every hour on the hour, all day long and late into the night, you will have the opportunity to see some of the most innovative productions from the companies traveling from all over the world to perform for you, this coming NY Fringe Festival 2010.