Journeys Near and Far

Mary Poppins on Broadway

"Wind's in the East, There's a Mist Coming In -- Like Something is Brewing and 'Bout to Begin..."

That's what Bert the Chimney Sweep says, and he has the uncanny ability to sense change in the air -- and the arrival of Mary Poppins. 

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins, the story of the magical Nanny we all loved as children is now playing on Broadway, reminding all of us to believe in the power of hope and optimism.  Beliefs, I might add, that are as relevant today as when P. L. Travers published the first Poppins book in 1934.

I saw the show Sunday night, after spending a whirlwind weekend showing my Scottish friend Finlay around New York City.  It was one of the highlights of our trip.  The music, acting, set and story were fabulous (as were our seats, which we booked just a week in advance on Broadway.com). 

The show brought back fond childhood memories of the movie with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, one of my favorites.  The art nouveau style New Amsterdam Theater right on 42nd Street in Times Square is beautiful.  Read more about it here.

In doing research for this blog post, I found an interesting article written by Cameron Mackintosh called P. L. Travers From the Page to the Stage  on Disney's website (click on "The Making Of" under "Backstage" on the left).  As a writer I'm very interested in the process of adapting books to the stage and screen so I enjoyed reading this.

Another fun thing I found on Disney's site was a Mary Poppins show study guide prepared by the Disney Theatrical Group Education Department.  There were a lot of children in the audience and I'm sure they'd all have fun with this.  Check it out even if you don't have kids -- it gives some great background on the story.

If you're in or near New York City or thinking of visiting, I highly recommend this show.  It's an uplifting experience, reminding us that "Anything can happen if we recognize the magic of everyday life."

Photos courtesy of Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins.

Meet Fellow Hotel Guests -- Before You Arrive

"Dinner and Drinks on the 14th?"

I found this post, from a young lady in Germany, on the Pod Hotel's new site created for Pod Hotel Travelers.  The hotel has launched the site to help Pod Hotel guests meet each other before they arrive.  Clever.

I wrote about New York City's Pod Hotel in a previous post.  Recently, I learned about their new site when I made a reservation there for an upcoming trip to New York City.  After I got my confirmation, I received an invitation with a password to "Experience Pod Culture." 

The posts are organized by month, under four headings.  "Drink with Me", "Eat with Me", "Shop with Me" and "Go Out with Me".  Ideal for solo travelers or those traveling with friends, this site is useful whether you are looking for someone to share a cab ride, have dinner or drinks with, shop with or attend a show.  And it's a great way to meet fellow travelers from all over the world. 

I always recommend this hotel to my friends.  But don't go by my opinion alone -- read someone else's as well.  Check out this short article from The Washington Post. 

Photos courtesy of The Pod Hotel.

Adventures in Travel Expo 2008

Plan Your Ideal Adventure Vacation...

...at the 2008 Adventures in Travel Expo in New York City!  If  you're going to be in the New York City area this weekend (January 12th and 13th), here's a travel show you won't want to miss. 

It seems like only yesterday that I wrote about last year's show, and now it's here again.  Located at Pier 94 (12th Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets), the show has a lot to offer those who "suffer" from wanderlust.  So whether your idea of adventure is climbing Mount Everest or wine-tasting in the Finger Lakes, browse the exhibitors' tables and see what's new.   

National Geographic will again be offering their adventure sessions, in a dazzling variety of topics such as "To the Ends of the Earth:  Adventures of an Expedition Photographer" by renowned photographer, writer and explorer Gordon Wiltsie, and "Traveling with a Nobility of Purpose" for those who want a more meaningful travel experience.

There will be other travel seminars as well:

• Travel guru Arthur Frommer will speak on Saturday, January 12th about Adventures on a Budget
• Franz and Kurt Wisner will speak, also on Saturday, about a two-week trip to Costa Rica that turned into a two-year global walkabout.   The trip, taken after Franz Wisner's fiancee left him stranded at the altar, resulted a best-selling memoir, Honeymoon with My Brother.

For those who like to learn by experience, you can climb a rock wall or try Scuba diving in a heated pool.  Or try an adventure ropes course or the aerial zip line.  (Zip lining is fun -- see my previous post about zip lining in Guatemala.)

The show also offers a full schedule of cultural performances, such as Shiko Mawatu Congolese Music, Magbana West Africa Drumming, and the Sounds of Brazil Brazooka. 

So pack your bags and get your subway, bus or train tickets and I'll see you in New York!

And one more thing:   If you can't make it to the New York City show this weekend, additional shows will be held in other cities:  January 26 - 27 in Chicago, Long Beach, California on February 9 - 10, and Washington DC on  March 29 - 30.  See their website for more information.

New York City's Pod Hotel & Other Budget Accommodations

A Funky New York City Hotel 

A few weeks ago I attended the ASJA (American Society of Journalists and Authors) conference in New York City.  And as always, choosing a place that I could afford to spend the night in New York City was challenging. 

Usually, for a good price on a hotel in New York City,  I wait until the last minute (or a few days before) and book a room using Priceline.  I've had good luck this way, and have gotten nice rooms at hotels like the Hyatt or Marriott for a good rate. 

At other times, when I really want to watch my budget, I stay at two of New York City's Youth Hostels.  My favorite, the Big Apple Hostel (their outdoor patio is shown at right), has dorm beds for from $37.00 to $50 a night (depending on what time of year it is) and private rooms for from $99 to $180.  You'll share a bathroom, and in the case of the dorm rooms, you'll share some company, but it's always fun because you get to meet people from all over the world. 

The Big Apple Hostel is clean and located in about the best location you can imagine -- just off Times Square, about a block from The Marriott Marquis and in the same neighborhood as the world-famous Algonquin Hotel.  [Note:  While many of us can't afford to stay at the Algonquin, home of the famous round table where Parker, Benchley & Co. held court in the '20s, it's fun to stop in for a drink and soak up the luxurious atmosphere.]

Back to budget accommodations:  The huge Youth Hostel International in New York City's Upper West Side  is a block from the subway and close to Central Park.  Their 624 beds start at $29 a night.  You'll share a dorm room and the bathrooms here as well.  The property has a café, a TV room, computers to check your email, and an outdoor  patio, among other amenities.  I've stayed here a few times and thought it was just fine.

This time, however, I decided to try out the newly renovated Pod Hotel.  I'd stayed there once before when it was The Pickwick Arms -- the single rooms were small (not unusual for any New York City hotel) and it was okay but nothing special, except for the budget price.  But that's all changed.  The Pod Hotel is pretty cool now.  The rooms, while still small, are clean and brightly colored (a bunk room is shown at right; a single room is shown in the top photo).  Each well-lit, dimmer controlled room has an iPod docking station, a desk and an LCD TV.  I chose to share a bathroom, but it was never a problem -- there were four bathrooms in the hallway, and each has a luxurious rain-head shower (very nice!), a funky designer sink and streaming music. 

While it's not the least expensive option for accommodations in New York City (a bed in a hostel is less expensive), it's a great way to spend the night in a private room with some nice features.

Photos courtesy of the Pod Hotel, the Big Apple Hostel and Youth Hostel International.

Adventures In Travel Expo, New York City

What's Your Ultimate Travel Adventure?

If you're going to be in New York City this weekend, you can find out -- at the Adventures in Travel Expo, the largest active and adventure travel show on the east coast.  It's a great place to discover all types of travel adventures and destinations, whatever you envision that adventure to be.

I'll be attending for my second time and am looking forward to it.   It's a popular event and lots of fun -- as they say on their website, "the New York show attracts over 22,000 consumers and 950 travel agents looking for new and exciting vacation destinations and opportunities that will allow you to experience the world – your way!"

Located at Pier 94 (12th Avenue between 54th and 55th Streets -- they've moved from the Javitz Center this year), the show will offer seminars on a variety of travel topics such as National Geographic Adventure's "The New Magellans -- the First Circumnavigation of the Planet Using Only Human Power" and "All About Africa: Planning Your Next Great Safari." 

There will also be book signings by noted travel experts such as Arthur and Pauline Frommer,  who will also be presenting the Keynote, "Lessons from a Lifetime of Travel."   There will be a variety of activities such as learning to Scuba Dive in the Expo's heated pool (how cool is that?) and an Adventure Ropes Course in which you can experience the thrill of Aerial Zip-Lining as you fly across the Expo floor. 

There's much more, such as a Culinary Theater, a Rock Climbing Wall, lots of prizes and of course, a long list of exhibitors to talk to and gather information from about your dream destinations. 

If you can't get to New York City this weekend (January 13th and 14th), the show will also be held in Chicago, Illinois on January 27th and 28th; Long Beach, California on February 10th and 11th; and Washington D.C. on March 3rd and 4th. 

See you in New York?

Photos courtesy of Adventures In Travel Expo.

Manhattan's On Location Tours

What do the movies Superman, Ghostbusters, and You've Got Mail have in common? 

They were all filmed in New York City.  And as you might know from previous posts, I'm a big movie fan, so I couldn't help but head to Manhattan when I heard about On Location Tours'  Manhattan TV and Movie Tour.    This 3-hour bus tour takes you "past the doorsteps of your favorite television and movie characters and real-life celebrities", says the company on its website, giving you the opportunity to "straddle fiction and reality while you shop, eat, drink, and dance at the sites you've seen on both the big and small screens."  While I didn't do any dancing, I certainly did shop, eat and drink, beginning at Ellen's Stardust Diner at 1650 Broadway where I boarded the bus. 

Our group of passengers hailed from as far off as Holland, England and Melbourne, Australia, all of us trying to win the coveted tootsie-pops our guide, Kimberly, tossed to the person who correctly answered each TV or movie trivia question she posed as we got moving.  Most of the candy went to a spunky twelve year-old. 

"You watch a lot of TV, huh?"  Kim quipped.

On Location Tours, Inc. (formerly Scene on TV Tours) was founded in June of 1999 by Georgette Blau, a 1996 graduate of Skidmore College, who discovered, when she "moved on up" to Manhattan's East Side, that her neighbors were the Jeffersons.

The aim of the company is to create tours that allow people to feel as if they are part of the movie or TV show, and hence, closer to the characters.

And they've done a great job.  As we passed our first location -- Seinfeld's Soup Nazi at 58th Street and 8th Avenue, I enjoyed Kim's  amusing commentary despite the fact that I've only watched one Seinfeld episode. 

While we drove, movie clips played on a TV screen at the front of the bus to show how each location looks on film:   at Columbus Circle, Kim pointed to the spot where Sue told Mick Dundee she loved him in Crocodile Dundee, and then we saw the clip from the film.  As we passed the Julliard School and Lincoln Center, we watched the "Moving In" sequence from the dance movie, Center Stage.  Then it was the building across the street where Lois Lane interviewed Superman.

The tour offers even more than filming locations of movies and TV shows, though.  We were shown the homes of movie stars, such as the building where Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and Al Pacino call home (not all in the same apartment) and we learned interesting facts, too.  Did you know one hundred and eighty movies have been filmed in Central Park?  (Possibly more by now).  Some of the recent ones?  Serendipity with Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack, and Kate & Leopold with Meg Ryan and Hugh Jackman.

Our first stop, The Shop Around the Corner, at 106 W. 69th Street, was from the movie You've Got Mail.  This isn't a children's book shop as in the film, but Maya Schaper's Cheese and Antiques, where we had a chance to eat and drink as we looked around.  The You've Got Mail movie poster, proudly displayed on the wall by the cash register, helped tie reality to fiction. 

Later, we made stops at the Cosby brownstone, the Friends building at Bedford and Grove Streets in the heart of Greenwich Village,  and the Ghostbusters Fire station, Hook and Ladder #8.

What could be more fun than spending an entertaining three hours reliving many of your favorite "Hollywood-in-New York" moments?  Even if you aren't a big TV or movie fan, this tour gives you an entertaining overview of Manhattan, so you can't go wrong.  Don't miss it!

By the way -- On Location Tours also offers a Sex and the City tour, a Sopranos tour, and a tour of Central Park movie sites.  Making a choice is not easy!

New York Finger Lakes and Vermont

Travel Update

For anyone who may be wondering why I haven't posted in a while, I want to apologize -- I've been busy -- traveling!  I've just returned from Canandaigua, a community on the northern end of beautiful Canandaigua Lake in New York's Finger Lakes region, where I was researching a story for Travelworld International magazine.   As you can see from the photo of me taking photos of Lake Canandaigua, I was hard at work.  I'll be writing more about Canandaigua and Ontario County, New York, soon, so please check back. 

Just before my trip to the Finger Lakes, I spent a week in Vermont, my first time since I was a child.  First, I visited Woodstock, where I ventured in many artisans shops during Open Studio Weekend.  From there, I went to the Quechee area with its beautiful gorge, and then I visited Stowe, the renowned ski resort -- it's beautiful in the summer time. 

And now, a question, about a trip in the planning stages.  Has anyone reading this been to New Zealand?  If so, I'd love to hear from you.  What were your favorite places to visit in that country and why?  If you have been to New Zealand, or even if you haven't, what places/cultural events/New Zealand activities, etc., would you like to see a story on, either here, or in a magazine?  I'm planning a future trip there and would love to involve my readers in the planning process!  So please comment below, or send me an email message.

More to come!

Photo of Canandaigua Lake coutesy of the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection, photographer Pat Charltan; Vermont photo courtesy of  Vermont Department of Tourism & Marketing, photographer Andre Jenny.

Twelfth Night Tavern Games at Van Cortlandt Manor

I've been writing about a holiday weekend trip to New York's Hudson Valley, a place so pretty while blanketed in snow and decorated for the holidays.  If you'll recall from an earlier post, my adventure began at Washington Irving's Sunnyside, which brought back memories of childhood days spent reading Irving's  "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".  Here in the Hudson Valley, the story's ghost, the Headless Horseman,  seemed to follow me everywhere.

After leaving Philipsburg Manor, I drove to my final destination, Van Cortlandt Manor.   Darkness approached as I arrived and joined the tour.  Cheryl Bernstein, our guide, explained that the property has been the primary residence of the Van Cortlandt family for two hundred years; it showcased their possessions, symbolized their status, and served as the center of their social and economic world.  During the revolutionary war, Pierre Van Cortlandt, a staunch patriot, moved his family north for a time, along with much of their furniture.

As Cheryl took us down a spiral staircase to see the milk room, which was once used as a fridge, I avoided dark shadows and tried not to think about headless Hessian troopers.  Climbing back upstairs, I felt sorry for the slaves who had to ascend the dark stairs lugging heavy pots.

In the property's restored Ferry House, once the location of a Tavern, Christmas merriment included Twelfth Night.  On this occasion the guest who found a bean in his slice of cake became "King of Twelfth Night" and head of the festivities.  Guests chose cards, then had to act as the person described on the card and follow the instructions.  I took one from Cheryl and read it:  "Jenny Jigabout, dance a step."  Far better than the one chosen by a tour mate:  "Sergeant Humdrum, bore them to tears!" 

I preferred the dance step, and needing dinner and a good night's sleep, I waltzed over to the historic Thayer Hotel at West Point, which welcomed me with a roaring fire and the scent of hot apple cider. 

Unfortunately, it's not possible to see all of the Hudson Valley mansions in such a short time;  I saved the Franklin D. Roosevelt Home, Vanderbilt estate and the Rockefeller's Kykuit estate for another trip.

The mansions I did see enchanted me, but Washington Irving's Sunnyside did more -- it brought back fond memories of books I loved as a child.  What more could one ask for during the holidays?

Philipsburg Manor

An Educational Manor House

Philipsburg Manor, a Dutch Colonial site and one of the largest and best documented slave sites in the North, was the third mansion I visited during my Hudson Valley holiday weekend.  Different than both Sunnyside and Lyndhurst, this Manor offers costumed performers who act out parts in vignettes that reflect life as it was lived at the Manor during the midpoint of the 18th century.

Working in conjunction with the African American advisory Board and the Historic Hudson Valley, the Manor educates visitors by taking them on tours that draw them into the lives of Philipsburg slaves.

Our tour began by crossing the bridge over the frozen millpond, where I imagined another ice-covered bridge, upon  which gangly Ichabod Crane raced his horse, Gunpowder, at breakneck speed, the Headless Horseman close on his tail.  But this 18th century milling/trading/farming complex exuded serenity.  Touring the Mill, I scratched Moses the Mill cat's back while our tour guide told  us about Caesar and Diamond, important enslaved Africans.  Caesar worked the mill, Diamond the boatman transported flour.

We saw the Lower Kitchen, where babies had been born, and then the  Upper Kitchen, where a table set for the holidays displayed intricate marzipan pastries next to the "Martha Washington Book of Cookery."

Finally, we explored the grounds and barn, where children patted cows named Clover and Daisy, then watched the antics of Pumpkin the barn cat.  Despite the icy cold day, I felt strangely relaxed as I crossed the Manor's grounds, and slowly, I prepared to drive to the final mansion on my tour -- Van Cortlandt Manor.

While you're here, don't miss this photo album of the Hudson Valley!

A Lyndhurst Fairytale Christmas

Washington Irving's Sunnyside, which I wrote about in my last post, is only one of the many beautiful mansions in New York's  Hudson Valley.  After spending that cheerful morning at Sunnyside,  I drove to Lyndhurst, a Gothic Revival mansion that is the architectural representation of the American Romanticism movement born in the Hudson River Valley.    Set on 67 acres and decorated in a "Fairytale Holiday" theme, a tour of Lyndhurst filled me with holiday cheer.

This country villa that overlooks the Hudson River in Tarrytown, New York, was designed in 1838 by Alexander Jackson Davis.  It rests in a lovely park-like estate, which on the day I visited, was covered in a thick layer of powder-soft snow. 

A few of this mansion's former occupants were quite notable:  former New York City mayor William Paulding, merchant George Merritt, and railroad tycoon Jay Gould.

Inside Lyndhurst, our guide, Ira Stein, showed us rooms decorated with clues to different fairytales for children of  all ages.  Cinderella transformed the Drawing Room, Alice visited Wonderland in the library amid authentic furniture and books, and the elegant Dining Room had a lavish table set for Beauty and the Beast.

The entertaining tour kept me in a sunny mood, but as I left the estate, thoughts of Washington Irving's headless Hessian trooper returned to unnerve me.  Clouds had obscured the sun, and for a moment, I thought I saw a roadside apparition in this setting so perfect for galloping ghosts.    I pushed thoughts of eerie visions aside, though, and drove to Philipsburg Manor, which I will write about in my next post.

See more photos of Lyndhurst during the holidays!