Nov 22nd, 2009 at 1:30PM: Here's an unusual piece of American history that illustrates the power of philanthropy and what happens when money is used for the purpose it was intended. Imagine what James Smithson must think if he can view Smithsonian Castle and all the other buildings that line the Mall in Washington D.C.? Possibly, he's pleased as punch.
Smithson, an illegitimate Englishman who died in 1829, left between ...Click on a label to read posts from that part of the world.
NewYorkCity posts
Illegitimate Englishman donated millions to U.S.: Which museum bears his name?
Nov 22nd, 2009 at 1:30PM: Here's an unusual piece of American history that illustrates the power of philanthropy and what happens when money is used for the purpose it was intended. Imagine what James Smithson must think if he can view Smithsonian Castle and all the other buildings that line the Mall in Washington D.C.? Possibly, he's pleased as punch.
Smithson, an illegitimate Englishman who died in 1829, left between ...The scale doesn't lie, at least not in New York
Nov 21st, 2009 at 1:00PM: Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and we're all dreading the thought of stepping on the scale the next day ... and making all kinds of empty promises about jogging and losing weight and not eating like that again next year. Some of us we'll even unleash a stream of profanities and accuse the device of lying. Out in Queens, however, a few scales have been tested, and they won't be fooling ...How did international visitors enter the U.S. this year?
Nov 21st, 2009 at 9:00AM: If you visited the United States from overseas, you probably hit the ground in one of 15 ports of entry. These top first stops accounted for 84 percent of all entries from overseas in the first eight months of 2009-- up almost 2 percentage points from the same period in 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Traffic through the major ports is becoming slightly more concentrated. This ...Greyhound customer service delivers after bus heads wrong way for more than 70 miles
Nov 20th, 2009 at 2:30PM: When the five people who ranged from an R& B singer moving to NYC to seek her fortune-- to a young man trying to get to Hartford, Connecticut and his sick grandmother as quickly as possible, sidled up to the Greyhound ticket counter in Port Authority bus terminal in Manhattan, they weren't itching for a fight. What they wanted was some compensation for their Greyhound induced travel woes. ...The Pierre spends $100 million for five diamonds
Nov 19th, 2009 at 1:00PM: It took $100 million in renovations, but The Pierre is now open ... an occasion celebrated almost immediately with a AAA rating of Five Diamonds. The Pierre is now among only 113 hotels in North America and the Caribbean. Set just up from the corner of Central Park South and Fifth Ave and with amazing views of the park, The Pierre is inches from any luxury offering you could possibly want.
Heiko ...Tokyo restaurants tops in Michelin
Nov 17th, 2009 at 4:00PM: Tokyo is the top dining city in the world, according to the latest Michelin Guide. With 11 restaurants at three stars, it's pushed past Paris, the former top dog in the culinary world. Eight of the nine Tokyo restaurants with three starts retained their Michelin ratings year-over-year, and three were bumped up from two stars to three for 2010. Paris has only 10 three-star restaurants in the 2010 ...Free wi-fi in Times Square
Nov 14th, 2009 at 4:30PM: It's been quite the week for free wi-fi announcements. Airlines and airports seem to be offering it up like mad, to much thanks from travelers who need to stay connected. The latest hotspot for free wi-fi: New York's Time Square.
Yahoo!, in cooperation with Times Square Alliance, is now offering free wi-fi in the pedestrian-only area of Times Square. Just get online and head to ...Rockefeller Christmas tree chosen and en route
Nov 12th, 2009 at 2:00PM: For a tree-grower, there's no honor greater than to have yours chosen to sit at the center of the Christmas universe: Rockefeller Center. This year, the winner is Maria Corti. A 10-ton, 76-foot Norway spruce was cut down in her Easton, Connecticut backyard on Wednesday and is being carted down to Manhattan. She called Rockefeller Plaza more than nine months ago to make the offer. This was one of ...Six steps to a Broadway night you'll always remember
Nov 8th, 2009 at 12:00PM:
There are so many choices available, it can be almost impossible to construct a perfect dinner-and-a-show night. Whether you live in Manhattan or are in town for the first time, it's too easy to make a wrong turn, pick an unsatisfying restaurant or wind up chasing from one venue to the next. A single wrong turn can send you into a scramble, putting what should be the evening of your life at ...The Empire State Building colors explained!
Oct 30th, 2009 at 2:30PM: On your last visit to New York, did you notice the colors of the Empire State Building? And, when they changed the next night, did you find yourself wondering what the devil was going on? You're not alone. Most New Yorkers feel the same way -- we look up at the glowing wash of color and go "hmm ... is that ... for a sporting event? Is it a random national holiday today?" We think about it, we ask ...The Bookmobile: swapping stories and hitting the road
Oct 23rd, 2009 at 12:30PM: It's appropriate that at Litquake -- the recent week-long celebration of books in San Francisco -- I'd find out about unconventional ways of honoring the written word. I came across the Bookmobile, parked on busy Valencia Street with its doors open wide, inviting visitors to come inside. 'Is it a library or a bookstore?' I wondered, trying to categorize it so I could understand it. The thing is, ...Hotdogs: the Montreal and New York taste test
Oct 21st, 2009 at 8:00AM: It was fun to bring Montreal food insider Katerine Rollet into the world of hotdogs. Her refined palate is more accustomed to the culinary masterpieces she unearths in her home town, and she has the impeccable judgment that a food-illiterate like me can only admire. But, for a moment in New York and a moment farther north, she decided to come down to my level and explore the world of ...Six ways to enjoy Madison Square Park
Oct 20th, 2009 at 12:30PM: Manhattan has a lot of great parks – but a handful tends to hog all the attention. Central Park is what it is; there's just now way to compare it to anything else. Bryant Park has live performances and exhibitions (not to mention a starring role in Fashion Week) and is only a block from Times Square. And, there are others that would come to mind before you work your way down the list to one ...It's Rioja Restaurant Week in NYC and Chicago!
Oct 19th, 2009 at 12:30PM: Last January, my husband and I took a trip to the Rioja region of Spain. We sampled Rioja wines and visited underground cellars by day, and hopped from bar to bar snacking on tapas and drinking Rioja wines by night. We found that there were several Rioja wines that we loved, at that the tapas served there (while not incredibly creative like those offered in the Basque country) were simply ..."Dress Rehearsal" rate offered at the new Sanctuary Hotel in NYC
Oct 17th, 2009 at 1:00PM: The Portland Square Hotel in New York is getting a face lift next spring. By fall of 2010, it will be reopen as the four-star boutique Sanctuary Hotel. During the final days of operation, guests who stay in one of the already renovated Sanctuary Studio rooms will receive a discounted rate of $159 per night and get a preview of what the rest of the completed rooms will look like.
The new rooms ...Dates for 2010 Travel Blog Exchange Announced
Oct 16th, 2009 at 5:30PM:
Last July, travel writers and bloggers from all over the world came together in Chicago for TBEX, the Travel Blog Exchange. It was a day to meet people in the industry, to learn from other writers and bloggers, and most of all, to start a conversation about the business of travel blogging.
Topics covered at the inaugural event included "Creating a a Lively and Successful Travel Blog", which ...Museum Junkie: The Art of the Samurai at the Met
Oct 10th, 2009 at 1:00PM: From the 12th to the 19th centuries, Japanese society was dominated by the samurai, elite warriors with a fierce code of honor. While wars were almost constant on the islands during this period, it was also a time of great artistic achievement, one that extended to the weapons and equipment of the samurai. Starting on October 21, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City will host the ...Gadling Take FIVE: Week of Oct. 2-Oct. 9
Oct 9th, 2009 at 6:00PM: We've been keeping up with fall foliage and haunted jaunts these last few weeks at Gadling, plus a whole lot more. Perhaps you've noticed that we've let Mike step away from his Sky Mall Monday desk to take on Outback Australia. This funny guy has a serious side too.
Then there's Annie who has an eye for fashion. Turns out, she also has an eye for Singapore. As a person who lived in Singapore ...See New York through the Gossip Girl lens
Escape to the world's quietest places
Oct 8th, 2009 at 12:00PM: Life in most places is loud. Planes flying overhead, traffic rushing through the streets, people yelling, talking, phones ringing - it all combines to make an endless racket that follows us throughout our days. If you need to get away for some (literal) peace and quiet, take a look at Forbes Traveler's list of the World's Quietest Places.
Many of these aren't the sort of places where you'll go ...
