Magnificent Morning in Morningside Heights

I've been wanting to visit The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine for several years and yesterday was finally the day.  I don't necessarily have a fear of heights; however, I do have a bit of claustrophobia which made the Vertical Tour a challenge.  I'm not a fan of spiral staircases to begin with, but the stairs on this tour were as narrow as they could possibly be.  At one point I even considered staying put and rejoining the group when they made their way back, but there was an 80+ woman in our group and I decided that if she could do it without whining, then so could I.

The first batch of steps truly was the worst because there were so many of them before we finally reached the buttress.  After that, each group of steps seemed a little easier and the views at each stop along the way were reward for the effort.  

For those who want to enjoy the cathedral without climbing the stairs, there are a variety of other tours or you can explore on your own (donations are appreciated).

Being a fan of the TV series White Collar, I knew that the mansion used for the exterior shots of Neal Caffrey's home is the Schinasi mansion at 351 Riverside Drive which was an easy walk from the cathedral.  I was very disappointed to see the condition of the exterior, especially since it's for sale (at the bargain price of just $13.5M).   I have to believe there was some serious PhotoShopping that went into the exterior shots on the realtor's website.  Check out the website and then look at my photos and you decide...

Spent some time wandering and trying to decide where to relax for a while.  Saw an Irish pub across the street (you can't go wrong with an Irish pub in my mind) and waited for the light to change.  Happened to turn around and realized I was standing right next to the Underground Lounge which was a place I had wanted to check out.  So I headed down the stairs (stairs being the theme for my day apparently).  It's a small place, staffed by very friendly people.  There was a brunch taking place in the back room where they normally hold shows during weeknights and it seemed to be very popular.  Would have happily spent more time hanging out there, but I wanted to explore some more.  

Came across lovely Straus Park, named in memory of Isidor and Ida Straus who perished on the Titanic.  Isidor was a successful businessman (ultimately owning R. H. Macy & Company), congressman, and philanthropist.  Although Mrs. Straus had the opportunity to escape the Titanic on a lifeboat, the New York Times quoted a survivor as saying, "Mrs.

Straus declared she would not leave her husband...They were standing arm in arm as the last boat left.  As she refused, she clung to him, and they went down arm in arm with the boat."      

I coordinate a lot of group trips to NYC for schools and other organizations and the groups often like to include a meal, so I wanted to check out Buca di Beppo which recently opened in Times Square at the same location as the newly remodeled Planet Hollywood.  I was not impressed.  While I was warmly greeted at the entrance to the building and seated quickly when I arrived at the third floor restaurant, my server left much to be desired.  Even though there was just one other occupied table in the entire restaurant, my server seemed rushed, spoke much too fast, acted slightly annoyed that I was even there, and made me wish that I had chosen Planet Hollywood on the second floor instead.  I ordered the cheesy bread Florentine appetizer and a peach Bellini.  Appetizer came fairly quickly and was OK, but the drink took much too long to arrive.  I popped in PH on my way out of the building.  It looks like they have far less memorabilia on display but they had a lot more patrons and they all appeared to be enjoying themselves much more than I did at Buca.  When I first heard that Planet Hollywood was going to add Buca to their location, I was confused.  I'm still confused.


It probably goes without saying that I stopped by Frankie & Johnnie's to visit everyone and I had a quick drink there.  Have been going there for at least 15 (probably more) years and what keeps me going back is the people that work there (and the fantastic salmon).  Maybe the Buca people should send their servers to F&J for some training on how to treat customers??

Heading back to NYC on the 19th.  Half the folks are going to see The Lion King and the rest of us will be on our own.  Haven't decided what to do yet, but you can bet it will not involve a lot of steps.

Sing Low, Sweet Harriet...

We met up with our tour guide, Sheri, of Cambridge Lady Tours, at the Sailwinds Visitor Center in Cambridge and I knew right away I had selected the best possible guide for our Back Roads to Freedom tour!  

Sheri entertained and informed during our Underground Railroad driving tour through Dorchester County, MD.  (If you had joined us, you would understand the title of this post.)  She also corrected some misconceptions that I had held about Harriet Tubman and her role in the Underground Railroad.


Most of the tour was spent on the bus which was a blessing since it was on the chilly and windy side.  But Sheri did "make" us get off of the bus at the Harriet Tubman historical marker on the site of the Brodess Farm because she wanted each of us to have the experience of standing on the same soil that Harriet walked on as a child.  

We stopped at the Portside Restaurant for lunch.  According to Sheri, this is where the locals go and the food was quite good and prices reasonable.  Unfortunately, the weather didn't allow us to take advantage of the deck and the wait staff wasn't as prepared as I had hoped to handle our group, but it was a nice break in the day.

Sheri stayed with us as we headed to the historic downtown area of Easton in Talbot County.  The sun was now out and we spent a pleasant afternoon visiting the unique shops and sights along the brick paved sidewalks (next time I'll remember to wear flats).  I particularly enjoyed The Trade Whims, Crabi Gras (great hot sauce selection!), and The Green Phoenix.   

For even more shopping opportunities, you can visit "Talbot Town" and, yes, there actually is a Talbot's store there!

Stopped at the ice cream parlor on the way back to the bus.  Perfect way to end the day!

Based on all of the positive feedback that I've already received, I may be running this trip again, so let me know if you're interested in coming along (you will NOT be disappointed!)  

Of course, you could take a driving tour yourself and it would make for a great day out, but it's so much nicer to have a skilled driver at the wheel so that you can focus completely on the sights and a personal guide who can give you details you may not discover on your own.  

Our first annual Bus to the Brews trip!

I love it when a trip goes off without a hitch and the Bus to the Brews was one of those trips.  Donna Emel brought along the most fun group all decked out and ready to celebrate St. Patty's Day.  You gotta love a guy who will wear an over-sized plaid newsboy cap with a pom pom on top!  And the ladies definitely raised the fashion bar up a  couple of notches.

This was our first visit to Fordham Brewing Company in Dover, DE, and, as I've said before, I'm always a bit nervous going to a place for the first time.  But Marketing Coordinator Lauren Bigelow was ready and waiting for our group and we were warmly welcomed, given our first sample, and then gathered up to begin the tour.  I always try to remember to write down the names of the tour guides so that I can mention them  in my posts, but I completely failed on this trip.  So, my apologies to the gentleman that led our tour for not including your name, but I do extend my thanks and appreciation. 


And I'll also admit here that I rarely pay attention to what's being said during tours--I'm more concerned with making sure that everyone stays together and has a good time and I try to get some good photos while the tour is going on.  Every now and again, a bit of knowledge does actually sneak in, but I figure I'm better off not giving away too much information anyway because that way you can just join me on a future trip to learn everything for yourself.  

A nice touch at Fordham is that at the end of your tastings, you exchange your sample glass for a pint-size glass to take home as a souvenir.  LOVE getting free stuff!  Wishing now that I had bought a case of their handcrafted sodas.  Next trip there I will be bringing one back for sure.   

I've been to Dogfish Head Brewery in Milton, DE, before but hadn't had the chance to take the tour, so this was another first.  I had contacted Janelle Miley of their marketing team to set up our groups and she was a pleasure to work with.  

We had two separate tour guides (again, their names never made it into my notebook, but they both did a great job).  Lots of big tanks and big pipes and like I said earlier, I'm not going to give you details about this tour because if I do the trip again, I want you to sign up and find out for yourself!  I will say that there's plenty of interesting stuff to learn.  There's a whole lot more to brewing beer than just throwing stuff into a tank and hoping for the best.


I do enjoy the Dogfish Head gift shop.  It's a fun place with the requisite tee shirts, baseball caps, and glassware, but you can actually purchase their beer at prices much cheaper than your local retail place.   And if you have a whole lot of extra cash that you don't know how to spend, there are a couple of collectible growlers for $125 each.   

Ended the day with a dinner stop in Rehoboth.  Paul and I went to Dogfish Brewpub and met up up with my friend Peggy and her kids Nathan and Lindsey and Lindsey's husband Jon.  Jon is a Pittsburgh native, so he and Paul have that "Burgh Bond."  Despite the fact that Lindsey slipped and told Paul the Penguins had won the game that afternoon, we had a fun time (just teasing Lindsey!)

Will definitely be doing more Brew Bus trips in the future, so keep an eye on the website.

Off to Florida tomorrow morning to visit the in-laws.  Looking forward to seeing them, as well as the sun.  Next trip:  Back Roads to Freedom Underground Railroad tour.  Another "first" for us and I'm really looking forward to it.

WASHINGTON IN THE WINTER IS...WONDERFUL!

 I wasn't planning to do another holiday trip to the White House for a while, but Beryl Almond talked me into it again this year and I admit that I'm glad she did.  It's the most labor-intensive day trip that I do, but it truly is worth the effort.  Especially since this year, we were allowed to take cell phone photos inside the White House!  In the past, photos were always strictly forbidden even though you were allowed to take your cell phone inside.  Of course, nothing comes close to seeing everything in person, but I'm posting some photos that I hope you'll enjoy here to get a sense of how beautiful the displays are.  

I start planning this trip in the middle of the summer by submitting my tour request and then promoting the trip to my customers.  The trip sells out literally in a matter of days, so I don't even bother to post it on the website.    (If only EVERY trip sold like this one...) 

Filling out the background spreadsheet is the part that I worry about the most.  I learned on the first trip that the Secret Service really does check the data that I provide them against the data on the photo IDs on the day of the tour so there is absolutely no room for error.  

I want to give a shout out to Laura Nolan in Congressman LoBiondo's office--she is very efficient and a pleasure to work with.  I can only imagine the number of tour requests that she fields throughout the year and I appreciate all of her help.  

While I wait for the Secret Service to do the background checks and the White House folks to decide what tour time to assign to my group (assuming, of course, that my request is even approved), I'm also setting up tours with the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and The Washington National Cathedral as well as selecting a place for lunch that can accommodate a large group while offering a variety of options.  As enjoyable as the White House tour is, it's self-guided and it really doesn't take that long to go through even at a leisurely pace.  I figure that if we're going to ride all that way to DC, we should make the most of the day and add in some other activities.  

DC traffic is horrible and unpredictable.  Trying to figure out what time to leave in the morning is a real challenge.  I don't want to leave too early and have the group standing outside of the White House Visitor's Entrance too long in case of bad weather, but I also don't want to risk arriving so late that we miss our entrance time.  So invariably, there are some folks on the trip who are either unhappy about the time that we leave or unhappy about the time we arrive.  I have to admit that I still don't like it when I know that there are unhappy customers, but I also know that there's no way to please everybody all of the time.  I aim for providing the best possible experience at the best possible price and at the end of the [long] day, I hope that everyone leaves with some happy memories.

This time we were asked to line up alphabetically outside of the Visitor's Entrance which we didn't have to do on the first trip.  But we did get through much quicker than before, so the last-minute rearranging of folks out on the sidewalk at least made sense.

On the previous visit, some of us caught just a quick glimpse of the back end of Bo the dog as he was coming inside the White House.  This year, Bo was actually walking right in front of me just as we were coming up on the display that features him.  I tried  get a shot of him in front of his display, but Paul had the same idea and we were competing for camera space and I'm still not that great using my new phone, so I lost the Kodak moment.  

I opted out of participating in the guided tour of the Kennedy Center because I've taken it a couple of times already and I really just wanted to sit down and relax for a while.  It's a very interesting tour though and I do recommend that you take it if you ever have the opportunity.  I'm still trying to get some good photos inside the Center, but the lighting is pretty bad and the weather being on the gray side didn't help.  

The Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center has a nice food court area.  Not a beer to be found though, so Paul and I trekked to the Aria Pizzeria & Bar for a bite and a beer.  Wanted to spend some time touring through the building, but decided to save that for another day when I have more time.

My favorite part of this holiday trip is The National Cathedral.  It is an amazing building and must be seen in person to appreciate.  The guided tours are great but I always wish I had more time there.  They have two gift shops that offer a wide variety of unique items.  It's always a challenge getting everyone out of the gift shops and back on the bus at the end of the day.  

I'll be putting more photos from this trip on the Davis Day Trips Facebook page if you'd like to check them out.  Every week I am getting more "Likes" on Facebook which is awesome--not sure how people are finding out about us, but it's so exciting every time I get a new "Like"!

Back to New York City on Wednesday for my LAST trip of 2012!

IT'S ALWAYS CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK CITY

Yesterday was our first of two holiday trips to New York City.  Weather was overcast and a little colder than I had expected which resulted in the purchase of a $9 scarf from a street vendor.  Asking price was $10, but I have a rule that I will walk away before paying full price.  Last year I got my Burberry knock-off scarf for $8, but this year I just wasn't in full negotiating mode.

Did the usual touristy stuff:  Went to see the tree at Rockefeller Center, checked out the skaters, (surprisingly light holiday crowd), then off to Bryant Park.

Salvation Army bell ringers were out in full force, but it was very disappointing to see that not many folks were putting anything in the buckets.  Those bell ringers work very hard entertaining the tourists, so please remember to donate a buck or two.

Every year I try to get a really good picture of the tree, but with the gray skies this was the best I could do.  Maybe when we go back on the 12th, I can get a better shot.

On the way to Bryant Park to check out the Holiday Shops, I stopped at Cafe Metro for a slice.  Was craving spinach and ricotta and had to wait 10 minutes (which felt like 20 because I was hungry) for the pie to come out of the oven.  Unfortunately, the pizza was bland and pretty much tasteless and if there was ricotta in it, I sure couldn't find it.  Hate to waste food, but ended up tossing half of it out.  For $4.99 a [small] slice, I expected much better.  Getting ready to call Gus' Pizzeria in Pennsville to satisfy my craving.  Can't find better spinach and ricotta pizza anywhere!

Stopped in the New York Public Library to check out their tree which is always beautiful, but wasn't able to get a good photo.  This just wasn't my day for picture taking.  

Headed over to the free Lion King exhibit across from the park.  Very crowded and, as you would expect, LOTS of kids everywhere so it was challenging to see the different exhibits up close.  Kudos to the show for offering such a fantastic opportunity to the public.  

Coincidentally, I happen to have The Lion King on my trip schedule for next year at a great price of only $154 for the show AND transportation!  Sure would make the perfect holiday gift for someone special...

As always, there were plenty of unique shops at Bryant Park.  I always enjoy seeing the new and creative items that the artists have to offer.  The downside to the holiday shops is that the prices are on the high side.  I actually prefer my $9 scarf to the $25 ones that I saw.  

I stopped by Daisy's Grits to get some hot apple cider and watched the super-friendly owner create a "grits masterpiece" for the customer ahead of me.  Who knew there were so many flavors and add-on options?  

By far, the absolute best find of the day was Raaka Virgin Chocolate.  Trust me when I tell you, their 71% dark chocolate with sea salt will cure whatever ails you.  Wishing I had purchased the larger size bar (my $5 "nibbler" bar is already history) but happily they have a website and they do sell in some locations around NYC.  This is definitely "special occasion" chocolate and would be an amazing gift for the chocolate lover on your holiday list. On top of making fantastic chocolate, the company's mission statement is "...to make the most delicious chocolate possible while building and maintaining healthy and valuable relationships with our global community, our planet, and each other."  Doesn't get much better than that!

Was excited to be seeing Al Pacino on Broadway again, this time in Glengarry Glen Ross.  Wish I could say that I enjoyed the show, but...  To begin with, it was difficult to hear Mr. Pacino and I wasn't that far from the stage.  Of course, the two very VERY rude women behind me who insisted on loudly whispering during the entire performance didn't help matters (you know who you are, rude ladies in right orchestra Row L).  And while I'm no prude and I swear like a truck driver when I'm angry, the number of times that the F-bomb was dropped was way more than necessary to the story and actually became an annoying distraction.  

Ended the day by going to--you guessed it--Frankie & Johnnie's.  And obviously Mr. Pacino knew that I would be there because he walked in shortly after I did.  (I did not share my review of his performance though.)  Enjoyed seeing all my friends and relaxing in the bar with a glass of Prosecco.  Plan to go back on the 12th for some of their delicious salmon.  

Off to the White House on Wednesday for a holiday tour, followed by the Kennedy Center, and the National Cathedral.  Until then, I leave you with these words of wisdom that I saw in one of the Bryant Park shops:

WATCH THE [AERIAL] TRAM CAR PLEASE...

I have always said that I have the best customers, but I here’s photographic proof that I also have the best DRESSED customers!  Took another group to see Wicked in NYC yesterday and—no surprise—everyone had a great time.  Having seen the show a few times already, Paul and I headed off to explore Roosevelt Island.

Took the subway to the tram station for the three-minute aerial ride (I learned  last year that it’s super easy to navigate the subways using the MTA trip planner).  Unfortunately, it had rained a bit and the skies were gray and gloomy, so the video that I took was pretty poor.   

Just missed seeing a tram rescue drill which included hoisting a poor German shepherd up into the tram and back down again.  Hopefully he got plenty of dog treats after that experience.

Your first stop at Roosevelt Island should be the Visitors’ Center kiosk which is not far from where the tram lets you off.  The Visitor Guide & Map is very helpful (they ask for a reasonable $1 donation) and there are some swell souvenir items for sale (bring cash—they don’t take plastic). 

Our main purpose for visiting the island was to go to Four Freedoms Park which was open to the public for the first time on that day.  Sadly, there weren’t many other visitors at this beautiful site.   Not sure if that was because of the weather or the fact that it was a Wednesday. 

After visiting the park, we walked around the island, mostly via the river promenade.  

There are several interesting landmark buildings, including the Smallpox Hospital, Strecker Laboratory, and the Blackwell House.

Stopped for drinks and munchies at the Riverwalk Bar & Grill on Main Street.  Great place to relax and a nice variety of items on the menu.  

Chatted with the owner for a few minutes and learned that Cornell University will be opening a tech campus in the next few years...much to the dismay of some of the older island residents.  

While everything that I've read indicates that the university is doing its best to ensure that they are viewed as a welcome addition, I’m glad that I had the opportunity to visit the island before this major change took place.  Will have to visit again in a few years to see how things are going.

Trellis Restaurant is a small older establishment and appears to be the place where the locals go to dine on huge plates of comfort food served up by very friendly staff.  Grandpa Munster (Al Lewis) lived on Roosevelt Island before his death and I’ll bet he had a few meals there.

Best bargain around is the Red Bus Service.  It’s 25 cents per ride or 10 cents for seniors and free for students 18 and under.  But you do need to have your quarter (or dime) because they don’t make change.

There’s really not much else to do on the island, but if you're looking for something different to do for a few hours or you want to get away from the tourists in Manhattan for a while, it’s an excellent choice for an inexpensive side trip.

Manhattan? FUHGETTABOUDIT!

After spending the past six years taking tours in mid-town Manhattan, with an occasional side trip to lower Manhattan, I decided I needed to branch out.  I first learned about the Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tours, owned and operated by Tony Muia, in a travel magazine.  After doing some research, I decided it was time for Davis Day Trips to visit the place that all Brooklynites know is the “real” New York City.

Our tour started with guide Paula Berkenstadt bounding onto the bus, enthusiastically proclaiming that she was “stupid happy” to be with us.  I knew right then that she was going to show us a good time.  And she did.  In spades!  It takes a special type of person to command the attention of four dozen people (who had already ridden 2+ long hours on a bus, without a rest stop), making sure that her spiel and video clips matched up exactly to our specific locations, while simultaneously directing our driver (the extraordinary Don Sapp from Delaware Express who did an amazing job maneuvering some VERY tricky, tight twists and turns).

My only prior experience with Brooklyn had been walking over the bridge (you MUST do this at least once in your life), having an awesome spinach omelet at Celeste Diner, and then turning right around and walking back to Manhattan, simply because I didn’t know any better.  Boy, did I miss a lot!

Along the way to our first stop, Brooklyn Bridge Park (which has amazing views of the bridge), we learned how the area known as DUMBO got its name.  I’m not going to tell you what DUMBO stands for or give you the answer to how it got its name because you should take the tour yourself to find out. (And don’t cheat by searching the Internet.)   

The first pizza stop was Grimaldi’s, the last remaining coal-fired pizza joint in New York.  I love a good thin-crust basic cheese pizza and Grimaldi’s, with the addition of fresh basil on top, didn’t disappoint.  There are always long lines waiting to get in, but since we were with A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tours, we strolled right past the line and were immediately seated (another big plus to taking their tour!)   As much as I enjoyed Grimaldi’s (even with the super-tight seating arrangements), I’m still a huge fan of Gus’s Pizzeria in Pennsville which makes the absolute, hands-down best thin crust white pizza with spinach in all the world.  (Just had to throw that shout out to you Gus.)

Back on the bus, we drove past quite a few locations where famous movies scenes were filmed, including John Travolta’s Saturday Night Fever strut down 86^th Street in Bensonhurst and the house where Joe Pesci drives into the garage right before he gets “whacked.”   Plenty of other interesting movie locations, but like I said, you should take the tour and find out for yourself.

Enjoyed the drive through Bay Ridge (think ultra-rich neighborhood) where, according to Paula, a lot of the residents make their living as car dealership owners.  I have to wonder who in the heck buys all the cars though since I thought that very few New Yorkers actually drove.  Should have asked that question while I was on the tour…

Our second pizza stop was L&B Spumoni Gardens for Sicilian-style pie.  I’m generally not a fan of thick crust, but Paula was absolutely right when she told us that even though the crust looks thick, it's actually very light…and VERY good! 

I felt that I had to try the spumoni while I was there and, once again, my South Jersey roots are coming out when I say that I prefer the custard from Hudock’s in Salem or the Pennsville Custard Stand.  But others on the tour loved their spumoni, so I say try it yourself to decide.

The final stop on the tour was Coney Island which is home to Nathan’s (and their famous hot dog eating contest), the historic Cyclone roller coaster, and so much more.  When I do this tour again, I definitely want to let folks spend a little more time on the boardwalk.  I did a Davis Day Trip to Coney Island several years ago (LOVED the Freak Show!!) and I think that a stop there deserves more time.  Granted, we have our fair share of beaches and boardwalks in Jersey, but there’s just something about Coney Island…

  

I was definitely impressed with A Slice of Brooklyn Pizza Tours and am hoping to be able to include their Christmas Lights and Cannoli Tour on next year’s trip schedule--if I can find a time slot before I leave for Hawaii.  (And no, Hawaii is NOT a Davis Day Trips—it’s just Paul and me on that one!)  Kudos to both Tony and Paula--thanks so much for showing us the REAL New York City!