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Travel Ramble - by christine Hillman Keyes

 
To travel is to live...Christine's rambles on rambling.

My lucky day in New York

March 10th 2010 02:08
When they said my room wasn't quite ready at 5pm, I almost lost it. I'd flown for 6 hours back from London, caught the Long Island Railroad into NYC and then dragged my 25kg bag two blocks from Penn Station. Hours on the road. Sore feet. Tired eyes. Cranky mind.

How could my room not be ready at 5pm? But for some reason I bit my tongue. I meekly sat in the huge, crowded lobby of the Affinia Manhattan, waiting for... something to happen.

Ten minutes later and one of the porters, Zolio, was escorting me to my room on the 28th floor. That's right to the top, ma'am.

He opened the door.. to paradise. Separate bedroom with King size bed and pillow menu. Walk in closet. Marble bathroom. Full kitchen. Living room with three sofas and a desk.

On the desk was my 'gift' as part of the 30 Rock package. Inside were tickets for: an NBC studio tour, ice skating at the Rockerfeller Centre and a NY Fire Department demonstration. Then there was the gift-boxed Ralph Lauren scarf. (Price tag still on: $50.)

Could it get better? Once Zolio left, I opened the door to the balcony. Well, more like a terrace, with a magnificent view over New York City. Yes, indeed.

My only regret was not having enough time to do everything. I made it to the ice skating rink and did a few turns with a US Olympian. Not too bad for an Aussie. At least I didn't fall over.

But I had to go back to the hotel. It seemed wrong not to retire to my own private New York penthouse. So, retire I did.

(Stay tuned for photos)
view
Penthouse view
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The US of A - bar heaven

March 10th 2010 00:29
America, the land of the free... and the totally over-educated barman. Anyone who travels alone spends alot of time at the bar. It's my place of choice for eating dinner. Who wants to sit at a table solo, when you can have a chat with Dr Joe?

That's the thing. In the US of A, there are more PHDs running bars than anywhere in the world. My extensive empirical research suggests that the barman is usually the smartest person in the venue (apart from me, of course.)

Take Joe, the bar manager from Soleil on 17th St NW in Washington DC. On his way to becoming a psychiatrist while working the bar and running the intern program at a DC museum.

Joe the barman from Soleil in Washington DC
Joe the barman from Soleil in Washington DC


It's a real skill, bantering with the customers, keeping the drinks flowing, making people want to come back. And so far, every barman I've met in the USA is out of the same mold.

So next time you go out, be nice to the barman. He'll probably be your boss one day.



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London - it's really old

March 6th 2010 15:26
I'm such a colonial. Whenever I arrive in London I'm struck by how, well.. old everything is. It's so bloody historic that occasionally when you come across a modern structure like the Lloyds building in the City, you feel annoyed. What were they thinking? Only old stuff allowed here.
old houses
Residential Street in Holland Park

I'm not complaining. It's like being in a museum all day long. And then there are the actual Museums. Today I toured the State Apartments at Kensington Palace (£12.50). Full of old furniture, paintings and even a few people dressed up from the olden days.
Kensington Palace
Kensington Palace, once home to Princess Diana

But one of the most interesting exhibits there was from 1958. The year that Debutantes stopped being presented to the Queen. If you've ever read a book, you'll know that the English upper class have been presented at court for hundreds of years. It was the way you passed from childhood to adulthood. It was the path to marriage, in fact.

The Palace contains a fascinating documentary, presented on six plasma TV's, in a typical upper class living room, where you can hear all about 'coming out'. (In those days, it meant something else.) One display contained all the invitations to parties received by a certain Miss Margaret McKay. There were hundreds. She must have been popular.

Next stop for me was the Victoria and Albert Museum, a veritable treasure trove of art, sculpture and history. And it's free. Hard to believe that you could spend all day in a place like that and pay nothing. And many other London Museums are free too.

Natural History Museum
The Natural History Musem, next door to the V&A, also has free entry.


The V&A is not the sort of place I would think to bring children, but the interactive rooms are great. You can design a coat of arms, jewellery or a monogram on a computer, or write a story to be posted in the Museum. And special children's backpacks filled with goodies are handed out to keep the kids interested.

Another free activity is walking in London's extensive parks and gardens. Kensington Gardens, near the Palace, has kilometres of paved paths, ideal for scooters.

The Princess Diana Memorial Playground will keep the kids amused for hours. There's a cafe for tired/thirsty parents as well.

If your children are a little older and need something more adventurous, the Holland Park Adventure Playground is the one for you. It will be challenging enough for a 10 year old at least.

Holland Park
Holland Park Adventure Playground
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New York's secret, swim-up bar

March 2nd 2010 05:07
CK


What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hit New York City during the biggest snow dump for 60 years. Rug up? Snuggle under the covers? No way. I want to go for a dip


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San Francisco's best bar - Gitane

March 1st 2010 13:26
San Francisco's bar scene is rather like Melbourne's. The bars are small, intimate. You want to hide away in them all night, or at least until you get kicked out due to San Francisco's odd rules about opening times.

Gitane in Claude Lane fits in perfectly. It has


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Departure Lounge - the Qantas Club

February 24th 2010 03:01
I'm a wanker, obviously, because I love going to the Qantas Club. Call me shallow or even snobby, but there's nothing better than beginning your travel in style. Expensive wines laid on, as much food as you can eat, free wi-fi and nice toilets. All this and more can be had at the Qantas Club. And the bircher muesli is really very good.

So, I'm sitting here right now, eavesdropping on people's conversations. There's the two businessmen next to me talking about sailing on the weekend. There's the well-dressed Dad with his 'mini-me' son, all decked out in the same outfit, just smaller. They're arguing about which ride to go on first at Disneyland


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Top Gear on the Gold Coast

February 4th 2010 01:53
It was a difficult decision, but in the end we chose the BMW M3 over the Porsche 911 for the sports car splurge during our recent trip to the Gold Coast. And what a ride it was.

The bar was set very low, after we spent the first 5 days of the holiday driving a Nissan Tiida. This is possibly the most boring car on earth. Every time we had to look for it in the car park of Movie World, it would take forever, because it was so forgettable. We literally couldn't see it


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Port Arthur - living history

January 31st 2010 12:27
I love history but some museums are boring. Ask any seven-year-old. But Port Arthur Historic Site is not one of them.

I spent seven hours there today and then came back for the Ghost Tour tonight. The whole day was outstanding. I became a TV journalist partly because I have the attention span of a gnat. This was the perfect day out for me. Not too many glass cases full of "stuff", but rather, interactive exhibits, historic properties set up as they were in the 1800s when Port Arthur was a notorious secondary punishment centre and quite a few ruins


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Tasman Peninsula - heaven on earth

January 31st 2010 07:08
Even the RSL shuts at 7pm on the Tasman Peninsula, but despite the fact you can't get a drink or even a packet of chips for dinner, White Beach, 80km from Hobart is a must.

I picked Storm Bay Guest House, at White Beach off wotif.com. a few hours before my flight left for Hobart. Nothing like planning ahead. $99 seemed like good value, only 10km from Port Arthur Historic Site, a place I've been meaning to visit for years. Then I booked an Audi A3 TDi from Europcar for only $56 a day (plus all the hidden costs they never tell you about, which brought it up to over $100


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Travel anticipation

January 18th 2010 00:59
Is it just me, or is anticipation at least half the fun of travelling?

Yes, I believe that thinking about travelling is nearly as good as going. And clicking the 'submit' button on the Qantas website to purchase a ticket is akin to boarding the plane


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