Our fourth and final stay with the Library Hotel Collection was at the lovely Hotel Giraffe; a sleek, tall, and beautiful hotel, just like a Giraffe!

The Hotel Elysee. It’s a tricky business to write a hotel review. I mean, think about it.  How much can one say?  There is a room, a bed, bath and hopefully, it’s clean and comfortable with a sense of style. That about wraps it up, don’t you think? But every now and then we come across a hotel(s) with a little something extra that makes us sit up and take notice.  And that’s the case when it comes to the 4 boutique hotels in the Library Hotel Collection in New York City; each offering the finest in accommodations. 

Meandering through the One World Trade Center, 9/11 Memorial Museum, I had a moment of realization that there is now a generation of children who were not alive on 9/11, and as such had no real concept of what they were looking at in the museum, other than was was told to them by their parents.  Amazingly, it has been 15 years.

Just over the bridge from the sleepy seaside village of Brigantine Beach, New Jersey, lies the shore of Atlantic City’s Beach and Boardwalk.  It’s an American classic, Atlantic City. One of those places that most everyone has either visited, or is curious about doing so.  I can now say we’ve done both.  We’ve been curious and we’ve been there.  We’re good.

A Day at the library.  In a day and age when electronics reign supreme, it’s good to know people still pick up a book.  A real book, possibly even a library book. And, not just open their Kindle or device of preference, but rather hold an actual book.  The smell of the pages.  The feel of a faded dog-eared page marking a stopping point. And illustrations. Old-school illustrations with captions.

Woman in Gold. The house itself has a story to tell; if only walls could talk.  The townhouse, completed in 1914, at 1048 5th Avenue, was originally built for William Starr Miller.  It is a work of art in it’s own right and once thought to be one of the most prominent buildings on 5th Avenue.  Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt III also lived in the stately manor for a number of years after the passing of her husband forced her to leave their 5th Avenue mansion.

Italy, China and Casablanca, each place tickles the imagination.

“I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, “There’s no place like New York. It’s the most exciting city in the world now. That’s the way it is. That’s it.” Robert De Niro

It’s been 15 years since we last found ourselves in New York City; I think we’re a bit over due. So, we’re making up for lost time and we’re heading to New York in just a week from now.  Road Trip! Although, now that I think about it, is it actually a road trip if one rides the bus?  Does a road trip only equate to driving a car on said road?

The Luray Caverns

Seventy down and sixty-eight back up – that’s the number of stairs and the only way to get in and out of the Luray Caverns in Virginia. And, surprisingly, there is no grand cave-like entrance; rather just a simple doorway near the gift shop that leads the way.

The Cost of Accommodations

Is it just me or have the nightly rates of accommodations become ridiculously over priced? And what about finding said accommodations? Finding what you’re looking for in accommodations when it comes to location, quality and affordability has become more and more of a challenge.  For those of us who believe planning is half the fun, booking accommodations is fast becoming a royal pain in the arse.