Tag: Road Trip Blog

Accommodations, DESTINATIONS, Photography, Real Estate Photography, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL, United States

Mornings at Sandpiper Bay

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE – YOGA AND WORK

One of the things I did like about our stay at Sandpiper Bay was the morning yoga. Since I always wake up long before Bill, I am at loose ends until he does. Reading is always a great way to spend my time, but if there’s a gym, I will take advantage of it. What is a hassle at home is a pleasant distraction on the road.

Yes they had a very nice gym at Sandpiper Bay, one of the very best facilities offered there, but they also had morning yoga at the Zen pool. That was my cup of tea. I’d go by the dining room, eat my breakfast bar from home and get a little caffeine to start my day, and then head to the Zen pool.

The instructors were contractors who came and stayed at the resort. Part of their compensation was their room and board. I lucked out the week I was there. Our yoga lady was a pleasant grandmotherly sort who gave us a very pleasant, easy going workout without all the nasty down dogs. I really enjoyed it. Then it was time to go back to the room and work a little.

Time to Work

If the wi-fi is working, my morning tasks for our business are easy. Download the images from the editors, format them for our clients and let Bill inspect them. If anything needed touch-ups or enhancements, he’d do them. Then I upload them and email them off. Easy peasy!

When we’d gone to Club Med Punta Cana, our business had been much smaller and Bill was our only photographer, so we just shut down for a few days. Having to work on vacation is a sign of our success and we are grateful for it, so we don’t like to complain, but I can complain about Sandpiper Bay’s free wi-fi.

Because we were having such a busy season, these tasks were taking up a little more of my mornings than usual, but it was no big deal – if the internet is working. At Sandpiper Bay, the internet was never quite robust enough for downloading and uploading images.

Each day, I’d start the job and it would look as if this time it was going to work, until it didn’t. Then we’d call the office, they’d apologize and tell us they were having technical problems. Then they’d tell us to come down to the desk and pick up a code for the premium internet – which always worked.

Why didn’t we just pay for the premium internet? Why would we pay for premium internet? Wi-fi was supposed to be a part of our package. A Club Med vacation is no bargain. With sub-par food and entertainment that was a joke, why would we want to give them more money? A better question is this, since the regular internet never worked, why didn’t they offer everyone premium internet or at least hook us up until the end of our stay? Nope, that wasn’t the way it worked.

Tricky Timing

We guarantee 24 hour turn around to our clients and usually deliver hours before that. We can do that because our editors are on the other side of the world. We send off the photos at the end of our day, which is the beginning of theirs and they send back the finished product at the beginning of our day. Only those times are based on our activities at home.

To complicate matters, you might remember we’d just lost our favorite editors earlier in the month. They were good editors, but I loved them because they delivered to me very early in the morning. When I hit my office between 5 & 6 AM, they edited photos were always in my inbox. The new editors promised our images by 9:30 and with luck we’d get them an hour or so before that.

On Florida time, everything was running an hour behind and Sandpiper Bay shut breakfast down at 9:30. Crazy right? I’d come back to the room from yoga and crank up my email waiting for the photos to arrive. When they got there, we’d fight the battle of the internet and try to get the images delivered before we started our vacation day, but it was a tight squeeze.

Breakfast is probably Bill’s favorite meal of the day, but he likes it best at say, 11, especially on vacation. At Sandpiper Bay lunch started at 11, so breakfast was truncated. In truth, their breakfast offerings were always mediocre anyway, so I was glad I had my breakfast bar before yoga. Poor Bill was newly disappointed every morning as we ran in at the last minute from all the uploading and downloading.

While I’m on the subject of work, the other end of the day was easier. The photographers email me a link and I email it on to the editors. I could do that from my phone by the pool. There were still phone calls and texts to answer, problems to solve and such, but for the most part, if the darned internet had worked, then handling our business remotely would have been a breeze.

With work done and breakfast behind us, it was time to enjoy the activities offered around the pools and lagoon of Sandpiper Bay. Come back next week and I’ll share some highlights.

Accommodations, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, Travel Planning, United States

The Sandpiper Bay Effect

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE – WHERE IS MY RIDE?

When we stepped off the plane in Palm Beach, we were excited about starting our luxury vacation. Our anticipation was based on our excellent experience at Club Med Punta Cana. We were going to be disappointed!

The Transfer

In Punta Cana, Club Med had provided us with the name of the transportation vendor and other contact information, but we didn’t even need it, because the pick up area was clearly marked and someone was there to greet us.

In Palm Beach, there was nothing. I started going through the paperwork and found a number to call. Suddenly, their absence was my fault. They had texted me and I didn’t reply. There had been no text, but it magically appeared a few moments after I got off the phone with them. I was assured a car was on its way and someone did show up pretty quickly, but that panic after we had picked up our luggage dulled our excitement.

In Punta Cana, the airport is a short drive from the resort and the scenery along the way gets you very excited about where you are headed. The entrance to the property is well-marked and inviting. Getting there was part of the fun.

In Palm Beach, that’s not the case. You are about an hour away from the resort and we had the joy of adding time to that, because we were in rush hour traffic. You’re stuck on a freeway that looks pretty much like any freeway and as you near the property, you start wandering through residential areas. When you finally arrive at the gate, it looks a little bit like the entry to a run down mansion that might be in a horror film.

The Arrival

In Punta Cana, our driver pulled into a drive and right by the van was a man standing at the podium to greet us. Everywhere we looked was lush greenery and attractive buildings. We were ushered from the van to a shaded seating area where we given refreshments.

At Sandpiper Bay, the driver dumped us off on the sidewalk and we made our way into a glassed-in lobby marked as “Registration.” The harried clerk raised a finger at us to let us know we’d need to wait. We stood there and no one offered us any refreshment. In front of the registration office was a rock garden with dead plants in it. Everywhere we looked resembled the dormitories of a second, maybe third rate, college.

After we’d been registered at Punta Cana, one of the GM’s walked with us to our building and let us into our room. She showed us around our accommodations while we waited for our luggage to be delivered. The room, while not luxurious, was very nice and attractive.

After we’d been registered at Sandpiper Bay, the clerk pointed at our building, which was nearby and told us we were on the third floor. The elevator was at the other end of the building from our room. The room, while not exactly awful, resembled my dorm in college with the exception that we did have our own bathroom.

The first thing we said to each other was, “Sandpiper Bay ain’t no Punta Cana,” and that pretty much sums up the entire adventure. On the ride to the resort, I’d used my phone to handle transferring the day’s shoots to our editors. I always feel nervous when I do it that way, certain something is going to go wrong, because it is a very truncated process via phone, but I was ready to start enjoying our vacation.

We’d arrived after happy hour, which was always one of our favorite times on Punta Cana, but I changed into an fresh outfit, touched up my make-up and headed out to have fun. So far, we were less than impressed with Sandpiper Bay, but hopeful things would get better.

Come back next week and join us for dinner. Then you’ll find out if our beach vacation was getting any better.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL, Travel Planning, United States

Our Beach Vacation

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE – THE USUAL PRE-TRIP INSANITY

So, in February 2022 we had Southwest Air Miles we needed to use before June and we usually do something for our anniversary in May. Though the world was crawling out from under the effects of the pandemic, we’re still a little uncomfortable with the thought of international travel. However, we’d like to do something on par with our Club Med vacation in Punta Cana. With these ideas floating around in our heads, who could blame us for choosing Club Med’s Sandpiper Bay for our vacation?

Bill had suggested Destin and I should have taken him up on it, but I’ll be honest with you it was overwhelming. I’m not an experienced beach bum. I’m great at planning cruises, road trips and travel to cities full of museums and attractions, but I don’t beach well. After an hour or so researching the area I was confused and frustrated. I remembered Club Med had a Florida resort, so I floated the idea with Bill. Our Sandpiper Bay vacation was born.

Let the Headaches Begin

Our business runs smooth as glass until we have the audacity to go out of town. Just before I left for New York our editors shuttered their business. One day they are fully operational and the next they are out of business. Bill had weathered that storm on his own and found us a replacement vendor, but that’s just the way it goes when we go out of town.

We’ve gone through a variation of a nightmares as we left for trips. The worst had been in 2021. I stayed up all night waiting for expedited photos from our editors. They were supposed to come shortly after midnight. Instead I was downloading them at 3:45 AM and we needed to leave the house at 4:30. It was also the first time we’d tried to operate remotely. Let’s just say it did not go smoothly.

For our four night visit to Florida, we hadn’t even told our clients we’d be going out of town. We’d hired more photographers since our last trip and if they just had to have Bill, then they could wait until we got home. But the travel gods still played a trick on us. We had more shoots in one day, on the day before we left, than we’d ever booked before. This time the editors had cooperated with me and I had all the jobs delivered shortly after midnight. That meant I was operating on 4.5 hours of sleep, but that was better than the Michigan trip!

Fighting the Air Travel Nonsense

We left home at the designated hour, but the airport was a nuthouse. The first problem was parking. After driving around sections B&C forever, we realized there were no spaces in long term, so we had to go over to section A and pay through the nose when we got home. We had boarding passes, but still had to check our luggage. Then security was crawling. Of course, we were in the last boarding group, so we couldn’t sit together. Instead of spending my air time with Mr. Bill, I had a humongous snoring man taking up all of his seat and part of mine.

The Palm Beach airport is one you can’t get to directly from Dallas, so we had a layover in Atlanta. As soon we landed and I turned on my phone, I was faced with a problem. It was my own fault, because I had overlooked part of an order, but it was just a drone shot, which we were happy to go back out and get that day. We wouldn’t even have to bother the tenants who were living there. Our new/soon-to-be ex client, really wanted to be unhappy about it and did her best to make us miserable, too. At first I was, but after an hour or two of being her punching bag, I decided I was glad she was going to be our ex-client.

Meanwhile, Bill is fielding his own set of texts. He was verifying appointments with out shooters and our clients. It was a repeat of the day before – more jobs than we’d ever handled in one day. Because we were out of town, no way that was going to go smoothly, so while I battled with the witch woman, he handled all the rescheduling that came up.

As all this was going on, we’re deplaning and looking for somewhere to work. Bill saw a Krispy Kreme that looked like a good solution, until we sat down with our doughnuts and hot beverages. Instead of a relaxing coffee break, someone had decided the Krispy Kreme patrons all wanted to listen to rap music at full volume. We endured it for as long as we could and then had to relocate.

Atlanta airport is not a good one for layovers. The comfort of their passengers in transition is not a priority. It was getting nigh onto lunch time, so we started looking for a place for a nice sit-down meal. The only places for that were Carraba’s or an expensive steakhouse. Carraba’s wait list was an hour long and their bar was full.

Looking for a bright spot, I noticed a Varsity. I grew up going to the Varsity as a treat and while I can’t say their food is good, it has enough nostalgia attached to it that I enjoy it. I no longer feel that way. The precision of the Varsity restaurants ordering and delivering did not translate well into the airport location. I’ll leave it at that, but it was bad.

Finally, it was time to get on another plane for the hop to Palm Beach. At least we got to sit together. I can tell you that we got to our destination along with all our luggage, but that was the end of the good news.

Let’s just say the Sandpiper Bay Effect began as soon as we arrived. Come back next week and as if we haven’t already had a hard start, let me tell you what happened next!

TRAVEL

That’s What Friends Are For

Jane Sadek

Travel There – Hey There, Daisy!

So, it’s my last full day in New York City and I still have a wish list as long as my arm. I’d love to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and see the Rockefeller Collection. I think going to the Guggenheim and MOMA would be great. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Instead, I get on the train and go to New Jersey!

I don’t know Daisy. I don’t know her parents. But I do know Grandpa and I’d walk to the ends of the earth for Deb, so what’s a christening. I’d bought my very special gift for Daisy at Macy’s earlier in the week. I’d brought one of my favorite dresses to wear. I was ready to go.

Thanks to our trial run, the whole subway and train thing happened without a lot of fuss. We arrived on time and her brother was prompt in picking us up. There was some time to kill before the christening, which was great for Deb, because she was able to spend time with family.

Everyone was very nice to me and appreciative of me coming with Deb. I think one or two of them thought we might be closer than we actually are, but that’s the way things are these days. I tried to let them know they were on the wrong track by talking about my HUSBAND Bill.

It was a beautiful ceremony with a very nice priest. Afterwards we went to a lovely restaurant down the street. It was a little crazy, because there were three or four special events going on, but it was apparent how much effort went into making things nice. Daisy is a delightful little girl and her Great Aunt Deborah enjoyed the time she was able to spend with her.

Time to Head Home

The train ride back to New York was the first leg of our return home. From there we rode the subway to our hotel. The next morning Lyft came to pick us up and deliver us to LaGuardia. Southwest Airlines delivered us to Love Field. Bill was there to bring us home.

What an absolutely spectacular trip. It ranks right up there with Egypt, the Danube Waltz and our Anniversary Cruise. All that was missing was Bill, but he would have been miserable for most of the trip, so for his sake, it was good it was a girl’s trip.

But my traveling days are not over. Just a few weeks from getting home from New York, Bill and I were heading out to Club Med’s Sandpiper Bay. Come back next week and we’ll head to Florida.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Fashion, Music, Performing Arts, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera House

Jane Sadek

Travel There – Styling at Lincoln Center

Dressing up and going to the Opera had been one of the things Deb and I had fantasized about most as we looked forward to this trip. When we made it back from our trial run for Penn station, I was still raring to go. Deb was done in. She laid on the bed and said she was going to wear what she had on.

Now if you recall, her feet were in serious pain and had been ever since Tuesday night, yet we’d been walking all day, every day. The only shoes she could wear at this point was a pair of kitten printed canvas slippers. She was a little rung out from the train station episode and I’m not sure how much fun it would be to get all dressed up and finish the look with kitten shoes.

Here’s what’s so great about our friendship, I still wanted to get dressed up, so I did and she thought that was great. I pulled out all my finery and as I did, I also started prepping for the next morning, when we’d be going to the christening. That’s when I figured out I had no hosiery for the next day. In Dallas in May, that would be OK. In New York, I figured I would freeze to death.

So, I finished up getting cute and had time to spare to go to our drug store. I have no idea what we would have done without it. We’d gotten foot remedies, new skin for my finger, super glue for my sunglasses, late night snacks, numerous Diet Dr Peppers and now I was going for nude colored hose and something to treat a fever blister. Yep, it’s always something.

We were such pros on the subway now, that we probably could have made it just fine to Lincoln Center, but just to be sure we used Lyft. I could get used to this. Our driver dropped us off right in front and we didn’t even have to think about parking.

I do not have enough superlatives in my vocabulary to describe how wonderful it was to see the Franco Zeffirelli production and sets for Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera House. It is one of my favorite operas of all time and I have seen it a number of times at my beloved Dallas Opera, but there’s a reason The Met is The Met.

Turandot was the Ukranian, Luidmyla Ariltato and she did a remarkable job, but her Calaf was a South Korean, Yonghoon Lee. It was so fitting to see an Asian in this role and he knocked it out of the park, vocally. It really was special in my mind. Deb kept talking about how amazing the entire chorus was. “They were actually moving and acting,” she said, “not just standing around singing.”

Then there were the costumes. They were the perfect compliment to the outrageously wonderful sets created for each scene. If there is perfection in this world, short of heaven, then this production of Turandot is it. I can die happy.

Remember the grand nephew we visited across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Well, we made plans to join him for a bite after the show. We had a little difficulty finding his favorite sushi restaurant, even though it was close by. Lyft let us off at Columbus Circle and it was supposed to be right there, only we couldn’t find it. They were just about to quit serving when we finally got there, but we weren’t all that hungry after our feast at the Tavern on the Green earlier in the day.

Then he escorted us to the right subway station and sent us on our way. We made it back to the hotel just fine and felt very New Yorkish to be trotting around so late at night. I know horrible things happen to people on the streets of New York, but we never had a moment’s trouble.

The fun is almost over, but we have one more big event. Come back next week and we’ll take a little train ride.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Tavern on the Green

Jane Sadek

Travel There – Saturday in the Park

My mom left me with a long list of travel must-do’s. Never mind I’d managed to go places she never saw. She wanted me to be sure and see the things she had seen or things she had wanted to see, but never made it. Like the Tower of London. She went to England twice and never made it to the Tower to see the Crown Jewels. I’ve done that. She loved Windsor Castle. I still haven’t been there. The list goes on.

Last year I knocked off a biggie – the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Now I was in New York, ticking more things off her list. Certainly, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was high on her list, but so was Tavern on the Green. For many years I despaired of ever getting to Tavern on the Green, because it closed down for a while. Not as in a pandemic casualty, but long before that. Various New Yorkers and the City of New York were squabbling over everything from trademarks to vendor’s licenses. According to Wikipedia, Trump (yes, that Trump) came in and made the necessary renovation happen and now the Tavern is back in all its glory.

While I wanted to tick as many items off Mom’s New York list as I could, I also had my own preferences to consider. So, I chose the Frick over the Guggenheim or MOMA and I had the Tavern on the Green as a possibility, instead of a must. Part of me wanted to go ahead and make reservations for that Saturday afternoon, but the other part didn’t want the pressure of rushing through the Frick.

So, with the Frick behind me, we strolled across Central Park (a treat in itself) and made our way to the Tavern. Something I had read told me to go ask for a seat in the bar. Reservations are hard to come by and expensive if you don’t show up, but apparently you could always just ask to sit at the bar.

When the girl looked up and said, “Do you have reservations?”, with a smirk that said, “You out of towners never have a reservation,” I smiled and said, “We’d like to sit in the bar.” We were seated immediately.

I’d like to say we were waited on immediately, also, but that did not happen. We were virtually there forever. I ordered a burger, the most expensive one I’ve ever had and proceeded to enjoy our time in the Tavern.

As we sat there, waiting first for a drink, then for a menu, then for another drink, then to place our order and then the decade to get our food, we watched the entire bar area fill up. The patio outside had been full when we got there and stayed full the whole time. The rest of the restaurant was full, also.

When I finally got the most expensive hamburger I’d ever ordered, it was delicious. I wouldn’t say the best I’d ever had, but certainly a good one. Deborah also liked whatever it was that she ordered, but we agreed the price was prohibitive. Maybe if Mr. Trump invited me to be his guest, I’d go back, but probably, I won’t be back.

The Subway Challenges Us

We had tickets to the other Met this evening – The Metropolitan Opera – but the next day we would be venturing into New Jersey via the train. Deborah was a little anxious about how all that was going to come down, so we decided to make a trial run.

For once, the Subway and its app were not our friends. Apparently, a lot of maintenance happens on Saturdays, when the traffic on the subway is lighter than weekdays. When we’d visited Grand Central Station the day before, Deborah had gotten some information that should have helped us find our way, but that information did not take into account the Saturday maintenance and the app, wasn’t really helpful.

With a little difficulty, Deborah was able to find Penn Station, which is where we needed to catch the train. She found a very helpful agent that walked her through the whole process and relieved her mind. Then we tried to return to our hotel. That did not go as well.

The Metro app and the construction signs were taking us around in circles. We finally left the underground and hit the sidewalk to figure out where we were. That’s when my handy dandy analog maps came in very handily. I’d been referring to them all week, but when electronics failed us, what a blessing those little books were. They helped us get to another part of the subway system not being worked on and then back to our hotel.

It was time to go to the Opera. Come back next week and enjoy the highlight of our trip. We did save the best for last!!

ART, Attractions, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

The Frick Madison

Jane Sadek

Travel There – A Fricking Great Art Collection

While it would have been very easy to spend every waking hour of my New York week at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, I didn’t, because I want to feel as if I know any city I visit, not just hit the top site. That’s why we stomped all over Mid-Town and Lower Manhattan, as well as taking advantage of the subway. Hopefully, some day, I will get back to The Met, but I needed more than one museum to know New York.

You could museum into perpetuity in New York. They have a little of everything. Museums like MOMA and Guggenheim are better known, but once I’d read about the Frick Mansion overlooking Central Park, I knew it was the choice for me. My choice was tested when I discovered they were renovating the mansion and a selection of the best items had been moved to a temporary home called Frick Madison, but reading through a list of items in the collection, I kept the Frick on my list.

While the Frick was no further away than our stroll to the Met, at this point of the vacation, less steps are better. As we ate meal bars in our hotel room (we were dead tired of their breakfasts and I could not face another egg) Deb pulled out her handy dandy Metro app and discovered we’d need bus service to get close to the Frick. So with the help of the app, we took the bus. It dropped us into a completely different world a few blocks from our destination.

This was residential New York, the Upper East Side and plenty swanky I will let you know. This was a quiet Saturday morning. We saw a few joggers. There were mommies and daddies out with the latest style of preambulars. We were on hallowed ground.

Coming to Madison Avenue, we made a left and continued to enjoy our surroundings. We arrived on the doorstep of the Frick with time to kill, so I backtracked to a small convenience store I’d seen along the way. You know those movies where someone steps into a small crowded bodega and is suddenly swept up in a robbery or a mugging? Yeah, well this wasn’t that place. The proprietors were oriental. Everything was neat, nothing was crowded and yet the space seemed to have a little of anything you might need.

I was in dire need of caffeine and I was ready to take it in whatever form I could get it, but to my absolute delight, they had my beloved Diet Dr Pepper in a screw top bottle. I could drink what I needed and save the rest for later. I was jubilant. I don’t think anyone had ever been jubilant in their store. They smiled and nodded, but I could tell they wanted the crazy person to leave and return them to their previously quiet and neat atmosphere.

Then it was Frick time. The first floor is a functional floor with offices, ticket sales and a store. We walked into the first gallery on the second floor. Holbiens, Hals and other fabulous painters from Holland and the Netherlands. Then BAM, the Rembrandt self portrait we all know. We may not even know it is a Rembrandt self portrait, but we’ve all seen the guy with a mustache in a funny hat, washed in golden light. A roomful of Van Dykes and three of the only 34 Vermeers which exist in the world today. We’re only in the first set of galleries and we’ve already seem more Old Master paintings than most bigger museums have in their entire collection!

The third floor has many of the decorative arts, which many of you will recall is my absolute favorite thing in a museum. Carpets, porcelain (so much Meissan) and of all things, clocks. There was a lot of Italian art of all varieties and in the Spanish section, several El Greco’s, which I love.

The decorative arts also filled the fourth floor and these were French – oooh la la! Not in necessarily in manufacture, but taste – think Sèvres and Meissan. Continuing on the fourth floor was a gallery filled with Frangonard’s Progress of Love. Like the Rembrandt self-portrait, these are paintings you’ve seen reproductions of all your life. To see them in person and all together was stunning.

Then, as if you are not already gob-smocked from all you’ve seen, there is a room of Impressionist paintings, finishes out the floor. Not a comprehensive collection, but stunning nonetheless. At that point, I just wanted to go back to the second floor and do it all over, but other entertainments beckoned and we were hungry!

If I went back to New York tomorrow, I would first go to The Met and then back to the Frick – and hopefully, the renovation of the mansion would be over and I could see these masterworks in their usual venue, placed in his gorgeous home, just as Mr. Frick thought they should be. Then I would go to the Guggenheim and MOMA. The Frick is just that good.

But it’s lunch time! Come back next week and we’ll cross Central Park to the Tavern on the Green.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Museums, Performing Arts, Photography, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

The Weekend Report

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL HERE: TRAVEL & ART – MY FAVORITE THINGS

Travel & Adventure Show

Traveling is my thing and every year, when the Travel & Adventure Show comes to town, I feed that passion. I remember the first year I happened into it with my hubby at the Dallas Convention Center. He was more excited about the Belly Dancers on the Global Beats Stage and I didn’t worry him by picking up every brochure in sight, like I do these days, but I knew I’d found something.

The next year, bestie went with me and a tradition was born. We schedule our day around various speakers, grab every brochure that even slightly interests us and get our picture made at the photo booth. It’s a good time.

This year she had a dance lesson and we met afterwards. Confession, the last few times we’d been, it want’s the marvelous hit it had been in those first few years and we couldn’t even blame it on Covid. Somewhere along the way they’d moved to Dallas Market Hall and it just wasn’t what it had been. So, bestie and I decided we didn’t need to rush over there. We could have lunch first. I mean we’re not about to miss it, it had just fallen short in helpfulness since it first came along.

So, we grabbed lunch at Torchy’s Tacos, near one of her dance studios. We have one in Rockwall, but I rarely get there. In truth, I think it’s a little pricey for street tacos, but that’s me. This time it was well over $20, basically for fast food, but I did splurge and get a specialty margarita. It was bigger than the standard margarita and while Deb complained her regular margarita was a tad tart, mine was awesome.

Then it was on to Dallas Market Center. This year did not feature some of the big name travel types we’d seen in the past, but I thought it was an improvement over the last few years. The first time it was at DMC it was pathetic and the Covid years were tough, but we’ve hung in there and this year it really was worth the effort. It’s easy to be worth the price, because it was only $10. What else can you do for $10.

We started off with “How to Travel Solo, from the Experts” in the Savvy Traveler Theater, for Deb, who is contemplating a test drive in the world of Solo Travel. There had been a similar seminar last year, but it had been a total waste of time. This year was better – marginally so, but better. Deb was encouraged to discover more and more companies are doing away with an upcharge for solo travelers, but disappointed the cruise industry is slowest on the uptake.

The next seminar was right back in the same place, but it was Gabe Saglie of Travel Zoo talking about “How to Prioritize Travel in Uncertain Economic Times. He talked a lot about trends and offered up travel tips, but his goal in life was to get us to sign up for Travel Zoo. He made it sound good enough, that I actually just did so.

We immediately went to “”The Insider’s Guide to Visiting Arizona Parks,” but the seminar was misnamed. It should have been, “Look What I Did.” Some lady who worked for the Arizona Office of Tourism spent the time showing videos which are on the National Parks’ websites. Apparently, she had been tasked with making the National Parks websites more accessible and she was very proud of her videos. Thank you, I know how to use the internet. You have wasted my time. She got away with showing one. We left when she started showing the second one. She may have made the websites more accessible to the general public, but she made her presentation a real snorefest.

Next up was “Cruise Tips, Trends and Personal Stories from Our Adventures at Sea,” in the big Travel Theater. This seminar was also misnamed. It was an advertisement for Princess cruises to Alaska. The MC for this talk was Alanna Zingano, a social media travel influencer (No, thank you!) and Jeff Corwin. I confess, he looked a lot like Steve Irwin, the Australian Nature Dude who got killed by a stingray, so I thought he was that guy’s son. Not so. Somehow Jeff Corwin has gotten a job as the Nature & Adventure Ambassador, probably because I’m not the only one who thinks he’s Steve Irwin’s son. Anyway, Alaska is not at the top of my travel list and Deb has been four times, so that was a loser.

The final seminar of the day was probably the best. Someone named David McGuffin did a talk titled, “Exploring Europe: Top Destinations, Attractions and Experiences.” Of course, he was advertising his European travel company.

David and our friend from Travel Zoo were the most informative guys at the travel show, but I wish that wasn’t giving them more credit than they deserve. In the past, we’ve seen Samantha Brown, Rick Steves and other travel luminaires behind the podium. So, it was not a star-studded event. However, they have ramped up the quality of their vendors and I felt as if it was more worth the trip than it had been in recent years.

David Solomon at the Biblical Arts Museum

The other big event for the weekend was an opening reception for a new exhibition at the Biblical Arts Museum. I’m not sure how I get on these lists, but the museum invited me to opening of the “Flowers of the Holy Land” Exhibit. A little honesty here. I’m not really fond of this museum. It’s mostly a warehouse for copies of various religious art – including Thomas Kinkade prints. They also cram entirely to much stuff into the space they have, so actually enjoying one of their oversized look-alikes is difficult to do.

I can’t say I walked away from this exhibit with much more respect for what they are doing. Bill and I both thought an exhibit of my own photographs from the Dallas ARboretum would offer better photography and certainly FOREVER would have done a better job printing the large format photos. The refreshments offered were bad wine and bagels – a little odd, but the jazz band which played was actually pretty good.

Glad I went, so I know what’s up. I wonder if the exhibit will be there later this month when the Crowley Chamber Concert will be. While I’m not crazy about the museum, I do love the Crowley Chamber Concert Series.

For now, I must run! See you next week for travel, memory keeping and another weekend report.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, TRAVEL, United States

Carmine’s in Time Square

Jane Sadek

Travel There – Bring on the Doggie Bag

“Best calamari I’ve ever had!” That statement, from a Facebook friend is what got us to Carmine’s. I was looking for an authentic Italian restaurant to enjoy during our stay. The reviews on Google were also overwhelmingly good. Why wouldn’t we go?

So, after our Rock Pass Extravaganza, we returned to the hotel for a little cocktail time, before our dinner. We visited with a nice couple from Shreveport on the sofa across from us. One of them was a music teacher, so Deb, my friend the opera undergrad and ballroom dancer, had plenty of fodder for conversation.

I have to say, I’ve always considered myself the chatty one, but in my old age something has happened. I seem to spend more time listening to other conversations than making them myself. Am I just lazy or have I suddenly gotten boring? I’m not sure, but even when I am out with my husband, who is certainly not loquacious, I find myself not saying much. Perhaps having a platform, like this blog and my Facebook feed, where I can write what I want to say uses up most of my words. I like being able to edit before I hit the send button.

I asked above why we wouldn’t go to Carmine’s. Well, one reason might be because it was Friday night on Times Square. What a zoo! The photo above was actually taken on an earlier stroll up Broadway. On this night, the marijuana fumes were thick, the knockoff bag sellers were everywhere and it was crowded. Crowded yes, but not as crowded at Carmine’s. We had reservations – even so, we had to wait.

By the time we sat down, we were just happy to get a table, any table, but we certainly didn’t have a good table. We were tucked into a nook at the top of a stairway. It was hectic and loud. As all the reviews warn, the servings are huge, well more like ginormous. While it may be an amazing experience for a large group, we felt both overwhelmed and lost in the shuffle. I wouldn’t recommend it for couples.

It was not the best calamari I had ever had. It was probably the most calamari I’ve seen on one table, if size counts, but I didn’t give it any extra points. It was also not the worst calamari I’d ever had. It was the real thing, not those plastic rings they sometime claim are calamari, and certainly good, but not the best.

What was incredible was the garlic bread. I know, we were carbing out, but we’re eating Italian, right! That stuff was made in heaven. The wine was OK. I think we had some Chianti for a bit of a change.

When it was over, we left behind enough food for four people, and we hadn’t even had an entree. After yet another long day of walking, we were exhausted, so back to the hotel and ready for another day.

Next week we’re headed to the Frick and a bucket list item I hadn’t actually hoped we’d manage to tick off my list, but we did! Come find out what it was.

Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Libraries, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Strolling Madison and Seventh Avenues

Jane Sadek

Travel There – Libraries, a Cathedral, an Architectural Tour and The Top of the Rock

There was only one thing wrong with our plan for the day and that was Deborah’s feet. Her shoes tore them up on that first afternoon, when we strolled Broadway and since then, all we’d done was walk – all over Liberty Island, Ellis Island, Lower Manhattan, Central Park and The Met, as well as a trip back up and down Broadway. Still, she is a trooper. She medicated her blisters, put on bandages, wore thick socks, pulled on shoes and kept on walking. I don’t know if I would have been so tough. I’ve had days ruined by a paper cut.

The Morgan Library

We had breakfast at the hotel since it was included, took a quick subway ride to save Deb’s feet a few steps and made our way to the Morgan Library. Our admission time was 10:30 and that’s all you get, admission. I sort of assumed someone would take us around and point out the highlights. I was wrong. They pinned a tag on each of us and set us free.

There is an audio tour available on their website and we did listen to some of that, but I like people. Yes, I know I am a dinosaur, but it is what it is. In the absence of a tour guide, it is still an amazing place. They were very serious about masks and overtly politically correct, but I can ignore almost anything.

There is the historical building from JP Morgan’s time, standing as a testimony to his taste and erudition, with a very, very modern building added as a sign they are keeping up with the times. By far, my favorite things were those in the historical part of the museum complex. Several interesting exhibitions were on view in the newer part when we visited – Hans Holbein, Gwendolyn Brooks and Woody Guthie. Of the three, I found Woody Guthrie’s the most compelling. I had known of him, but little about him until I saw this exhibit.

The New York Public Library

We started with our brown bag lunches on the patio, next to the famous lions of the Stephen A Schwartzman Building of the New York Public Library System. It was a very pleasant place to sit and watch New York go by.

Then we went inside got our tickets for the Rose Main Reading Room, which is the main attraction for tourists. We had an hour to kill, oooohing and aaaaaahing at all there was to see, while we waited to get into their very special space. It was totally worth it. Gorgeous. My photos are awful, so browse the websites I’ve linked to.

From there we checked out Grand Central Station. First, because it is a landmark everyone should see, but also we thought that’s where we’d catch the train to New Jersey for the christening, but it wasn’t.

I’d seen several hints that I should go to The Lott New York Palace which was once the Villard Mansion. It’s located right behind St. Patrick’s Cathedral, so I didn’t see any reason not to check it out. Totally worth the side trip, even if you wouldn’t have guessed it from the outside. Serious construction was going on, but inside, yes, it was worth the side trip. Several really amazing things to see, including the Gold Room, which all by itself was worth the visit. You’ve seen it in so many movies!

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

Next up, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where the travel gods once again smiled on me. A wedding was going on which included an ethereal voice singing Ave Maria. It meant I could not walk up close to the famous altar and such, but it was a great trade off!

We surprised Deb’s great nephew who was working at a store across the street, which I will not mention, because he no longer works there. That’s when we decided to be spontaneous and have a little break, because resting our dogs while sipping a little wine sounded like just the thing. NYC did not cooperate.

I thought standing right next to Rockefeller’s famous rink, darling little wine bars would be all over the place, but in spite of further irritating Deb’s feet by walking all over the place, the only thing we could find was fast food. Saks had a coffee bar, but it was not an inviting place to rest, there was no alcohol and I don’t do coffee. We killed all the time we had stomping around to find a place to relax, instead of relaxing.

Architectural Tour and Top of the Rock

Having used up all our break time trying to find a place to take a break, it was time to go on the Architectural WALKING Tour of Rockefeller Center. I heartily recommend this to anyone. On the tour, we were introduced to many beautiful works of art we’d passed in oblivion in our search for a glass of wine. We learned a lot about Rockefeller himself and were pleased to learn he was a little rebel, purchasing and displaying works of art thought scandalous at the time, in part because the artists weren’t nice white people, but also because they displayed hitherto covered parts of the body.

After the walking tour we finally found an outdoor wine bar, which was exactly what we’d wanted before the tour. The area was shaded by the surrounding buildings, so it was a little chilly and the wine was downright bad, but we didn’t sweat it. We chatted with some eccentric old woman who would have us believe she was the antique maven of the entire city, and she might have been, but mostly what we liked was not walking for a while and taking an edge off the stress of walking around NYC via maps and our wits.

While it would be nice to say we could have spent more time there, the wine really was bad and it was entirely too chilly to be comfortable, so when it came time for our Top of the Rock tour, we were ready to go. We walked a couple of blocks back to the elevator, took a couple of escalators and there we were at the Top of the Rock.

Deborah told me the Top of the Rock tour had been her sons’ favorite thing about their visit to New York. I am glad I went, but I did not have that kind of enthusiasm for it. It was one of the most expensive things we did (except for the shows we went to) and I thought all of them were more my cup of tea.

I did the Hancock Building in Chicago and I have to say I thought that was a better experience. They have decals on the window to let you know what you’re looking at. There are more exhibits explaining the city and the building to you. I also felt less like a member of a cattle herd. To boot, Chicago is one beautiful city, while New York is overwhelmingly big.

But wait! The day is not over!! Come back next week and we’ll have dinner at Carmine’s a famous and much recommended Italian restaurant in Times Square.