Our friends A & N are just back from Paris where they enjoyed eating at Le Bistrot Du 7Eme, located at 56 Boulevard de La Tour Maubourg. They both loved the Trout Meuniere, the scallop pate and the 25 Euros fixed price menu.
Category Archives: 2) Frequent Destinations
Transporation between Chicago and Traverse City, Mi.
I’m trying to find an economical (as always) way to get my son from Traverse City, Mi. to chicago (and ultimately Des Moines) in mid-August. He can take the megabus from Chicago to Des Moines for $10 (I LOVE that bus!) but the first leg of his trip is problematic. No bus service of any kind, as far as I can tell. A one way plane tix is over $600. Another option is for him and his older sister (who is 25 so she can rent a car) to rent a car at the traverse city airport for $115 and drive back to Chicago. Then he’ll catch the bus from there. Wish there was a megabus between Traverse City and Chicago!
“affordable” NYC hotels – sort of
We’re talking “affordable boutique” hotels in NYC – and the NYTimes ran a list of them last Sunday. Except that they didn’t seem all that affordable, were in sometimes undesireable locations, and several seemed quite claustrophobic and/or sterile. All this for $159 to $269. The one that sounded most appealing is Eventi in Chelsea ($249 right now; $399 starting next fall – hardly “affordable”).
But after an unpleasant experience at a trendy affordable boutique hotel in San Fransisco – which despite its trendy art and toiletries felt like an insufficiently tarted-up hotel for transients with still-tiny rooms and still-narrow halls – I’d prefer for my money an affordable non-boutique hotel – with less “style,” and more space and comfort.
Filed under New York City
A review: the Megabus from Chicago to Des Moines
I planned to blog from the road yesterday – specifically while cruising along Interstate 80 from Chicago to Des Moines in the Megabus but alas, the bus’s much-ballyhooed free WiFi was on the blink. The driver didn’t know why but said this happens occasionally. Otherwise, the bus ride was just fine – and for the $10 fare, better than fine. (Some people paid as little as $1 for the ride, a few others got two tix for $8 total. Fare comparisons dominated the chitchat amongst passengers. )
The bus departed on time (5 p.m.) from Chicago at the crowded Megabus stop just south of Union Station and Jackson Street, on Canal Street – and it arrived in Des Moines about 35 minutes late, which was no big deal. The bus was clean, the seats comfortable, the air not too cold or too hot. The driver was courteous and informative, taking the time to fill us in on bits and bobs, like the one scheduled pit-stop at a small gas station on I-80 near Davenport.
A few minor quibbles, some beyond Megabus’s control, that have more to do with the nature of cheap bus transportation in general. The bus stop in Chicago was somewhat chaotic, with a large crowd fanning out across half a block as a succession of buses pulled up – one bus going to St. Louis, another to somewhere-ville Ohio, another to Ann Arbor/Detroit and my bus to Iowa City/Des Moines. As one of the older passengers correctly noted, this open air bazaar – with no visible crowd control and no benches to sit on or lines to stand in – is relatively OK in pleasant weather, which we had yesterday early evening. But it might not be so OK when it’s raining or snowing or bitter cold.
Many passengers, as expected, were young people in their late teens and 20s some tattooed and pierced, some black-clad Goths with dusty white faces, two chic geeks, some inner city kids wearing droopy pants. Great people watching and reminded me of my lost-youth, riding the Magic Bus in Europe.
But on my bus there was also a large multi-generation Asian family with a pushy patriarch, a Mennonite woman, some middle-aged couples, a few moms with kids. I worried at first when the watery-eyed man in front of me took a sip from a liquor bottle inside a brown paper bag but he was well-behaved throughout. So was the little girl who sat on the lap of the teen-ager beside me. The rowdiest passengers were some women in their mid-30s who laughed and talked loudly, as if they riding their very own party bus after hitting the bars on Division Street (which come to think of it was probably where they had been.)
There were other annoying sounds and smells but that’s to be expected: a rattle-and-squeak from somewhere in the back of the bus near the bathroom, pulsating iPod musak from somewhere in the bus’ mid-section (the Ipod must have been cranked up to blow-your-eardrums-out volume), smells of fried chicken, McDonalds (from the pitstop in Davenport), a fully-loaded brat, and corned beef (my bad. I brought the sandwich with me from a Chicago deli.)
Next time, I’ll remember to fire up my Kindle – or at least bring the cord so I can plug it in. (There was an outlet below my window but my cord was in my suitcase in the bowels of the bus.) And I’ll remember to leave my novel out of my suitcase. I’ll also remember to fire up my phone (which was also losing juice.) Thank God my iPod was still working.
All told, it’s great to have a viable and inexpensive new option for getting to Iowa City and Chicago from here.
Filed under Adventure travel, bus service, Chicago, cost-saving travel, Des Moines
Dorset, England – where to go
I was last in Dorset, um, about 30 years ago and what I remember most is standing at the end of the a spit of land jutting into the water (known as “the cobb”) in Lyme Regis, looking wistfully back toward shore – of course mimicking Meryl Streep in the movie “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” which was set and filmed there. Should I return, I’ll keep these tips from a recent NYT story in mind:
– Alexandra Hotel in Lyme Regis;
– Hix Oyster and Fish House in Lyme Regis – “arguably the best restaurant” in Dorset. book ahead.
– In the town of Mudeford – The Black house has apartments for rent.
– In Weymouth, Perry’s Restaurant (although I’ll skip the venison in favor of the sea bass)
– Drive to the Isle of Portland and walk along Chesil Beach (I’ve read the novel of the same name by Ian McEwan)
Filed under England and U.K.
Santa Fe: our favorite lodging still gets high marks
A recent NYT story on Santa Fe continued to plug the El Rey Inn – a place we’ve stayed at several times (upon the recommendation of the NYTimes.) It’s a retro-motel, located a bit out of the main part of town – which we didn’t mind. It has a lot of character, a nice pool, pretty grounds and best of all is reasonably priced (or relatively, compared to other Santa Fe hotels.) Doubles from $99 according to the NYT.
Other old favorites mentioned include the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market. We also liked exploring the shops in this area, which now apparently includes a new Railyard Park. (And I didn’t know about the new passenger train from Albuquerque – which is where we fly into New Mexico and visit our relatives there.)
As always, Santa Fe continues to offer more new restaurants and sights. Among the ones that caught my eye: Restaurant Martin; two other restaurants – Vinaigrette and La Boca; a bike trail and bike rental outfit called Mellow Velo; a flea market called Jackalope and SITE Santa Fe – a modern art space; a housing development with interesting architecture called Zocalo.
Filed under New Mexico
Des Moines: one of “the 10 best cities for the next decade.”
Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine picked Des Moines as one of its “10 Best Cities for the Next Decade” and they asked me to write about it – and do a slide show of what life can be like here. So here it is my online slide show/video of my adopted hometown, where I’ve lived since 1990:
http://www.kiplinger.com/video/index.html?bcpid=35148674001&bclid=1571610693&bctid=87685942001
and here’s the story online: http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/10-best-cities-2010-for-the-next-decade.html?topic_id=40
for more specifics on Des Moines (we’re #7!) see: http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/best-cities-2010-des-moines-iowa.html
Filed under Des Moines, Iowa
Cedar Rapids sites
Horrors, almost forgot to blog today. Here’s a few more tourism sites on the mend in Cedar Rapids, almost two years after the devastating flood there: Theatre Cedar Rapid, a 1920’s treasure; and Ushers Ferry a historic village that recreates small town Iowa at the turn of the (20th) century. I remember my kids having a good time at this spot when they were little and I was dragging them all around Iowa while researching my travel book Fun with the Family in Iowa.
Filed under Iowa
London (parks) – takemewithyou
Back to London after a brief detour to Dubuque yesterday. London doesn’t have to be expensive – when it comes to entertainment, I spend very little because like all great cities, all you really need to do is pick a neighborhood and wander. In London’s case, you can also pick a park and walk and sit and walk some more and sit some more. Beautiful gardens, long expansive lawns and people to watch who come from all over the world. (One time, when my kids were in grade school, we spent a few hours people-watching in Regent’s Park and became particularly fascinated by all the different types of veils we saw women wearing – full length, partial length, black, pale blue, yellow…)
So here’s my list of favorite parks on a day when daydreaming is a necessity:
– St. James Park – This is hands down my sentimental favorite. It’s a quick walk from Parliament where I used to work – and it’s right by Buckingham Palace and near Trafalgar Square and Covent Garden (and yes, A&N, Soho.)
– Kew (Royal Botanic) Gardens – This is a bit of an excursion, to southwest London but full of wonderful gardens and right on the Thames. It’s right by my friends F&R who live in Mortlake (near Richmond) – last spring we rode our bikes from Mortlake to Kew along a way-too-crowded footpath (my riding was further complicated by the fact that British people ride their bikes on “the wrong side” of the path, just as they drive on the “wrong side” of the road)
— Richmond Park – also a little out-of-the-way in southwest London. It’s bigger and wilder with more wild life (lots of wild deer) and a really cool almost hidden “ornamental woodland” garden called Isabella Plantation that London friends (who’d just discovered it themselves) were excited to show me last May. Also cool – Pembroke Lodge and Gardens (for tea) and King Henry’s Mound – a spot where on a clear day you can see St. Paul’s Cathedral – 10 miles away in central London. Check out the excellent website for Richmond Park. There’s also some nice pubs along the river in Richmond and near Richmond Green.
Hyde Park – Bigger, busier than St. James. Diana’s playground is fun place to watch kids.
Hampstead Heath – in North London! and near Louis Patisserie in the village of Hampstead (which does feel like a very posh English village or suburb, not like part of bustling London)
– Regent’s Park – I don’t know this one as well as I should but it also has lovely gardens and a theater.
Filed under London
Dubuque, Iowa with kids: takemewithyou
My friend Jane is looking for some advice on entertaining two young kids during a possible trip to Dubuque so I’ve pulled out some old clips of mine – one from a NYTimes story in 2005 I wrote about Iowa’s undiscovered Mississippi River shore and another I wrote for the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2003 about the then-new water park in Dubuque. The National Mississippi River Museum has just added a new wing, I think, with new exhibits – although might not be the best for really young kids – but there are other things there that they’ll like – especially the aquarium. So I say, GO!
From my NYT story: (http://travel.nytimes.com/2005/08/19/travel/escapes/19road.html?pagewanted=print)
Stop in Dubuque at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, a Smithsonian affiliate that opened in 2003. Huge blue catfish, gar and paddlefish swim in a 30,000-gallon tank, a boardwalk goes through reclaimed wetlands inhabited by herons and bald eagles, and a model of the river at Dubuque shows the havoc caused by a 1965 flood.
Downtown, Dubuque feels like an old factory town, with Victorian mansions (several converted into inns), brick row houses flush to the street and many a corner tap and church. Don’t leave without riding the Fenelon Place Elevator, a funicular that makes a steep climb to a bluff top where Wisconsin and Illinois are visible across the river.
From Dubuque, Iowa: Riverfront water park is a scream
| SApril 20, 2003
Even before my family entered the new resort hotel in Dubuque, Iowa, we heard muffled screams coming from a chute snaking out and then back into the building. We were soon screaming, too. Screaming — in delight or horror — while sliding through a dark, winding water chute is part of the fun at Iowa’s first themed indoor water park. Opened last December, the Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark is the first tourist attraction resulting from a major redevelopment of Dubuque’s riverfront. On a March weekend — during spring break for my children, L, 10 and N 11 — the resort was full, its 194 rooms packed with more than 700 guests. Most were like us, parents bunking with kids for a water-filled weekend. About half the size of a football field, the 25,000-square foot water park has three main water areas — a shallow pool for young children, a deeper pool for older kids and a 4-story-high play structure resembling an old-fashioned steamboat (“The Huck Finn II”). N, L and my husband, D went right to the big kids’ pool — and the water chute. Again and again, they whizzed down that dark chute on an inner tube, landing in a pool with a big splash. (Once was enough for me.) While N and D played water basketball, L climbed on giant plastic lily pads, and I happily drifted in an inner tube along a small “lazy river.” We also enjoyed the Huck Finn II, which felt like a cross between a giant McDonald’s playland and the Titanic, posticeberg. A multilevel structure in ankle-deep water, the Huck leaked everywhere, with water spraying every which way. Kids (and grownups) scurried up nets, climbed steps and slid down two curving open-air water slides. They turned valves, pulled pulleys and shot water cannons to release even more water (often onto unsuspecting people below.) Every 15 minutes, a steamboat bell clanged and an 800-gallon bucket atop the Huck tipped over, spilling water on people below. The shallow pool was full of young children frolicking in vertical water sprays and sliding down a short, wide slide. Parents lounged in two warm whirlpools, watched kids from plastic tables and visited the snack bar. The water park absorbed — and entertained — us all. We had plenty of elbow room. Lines for the water slide were short and moved swiftly. The place was clean and well-run, with lots of eagle-eyed lifeguards, water depth signs, inner tubes, balls and towels. The air wasn’t humid or reeking of chlorine. It wasn’t even noisy (despite the occasional scream). Betsy Rubiner is the author of “Fun with the Family in Iowa,” to be published by Globe-Pequot Press in June. If you want to venture beyond the water park, there are several other attractions in and around Dubuque: • National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium: Scheduled to open in June, this museum will feature river wildlife from catfish and snapping turtles to alligators, otters and water moccasins, plus a working boat yard and replicas of barges, keelboats and steamboats. More information: 1-800-226-3369 or http://www.rivermuseum.com • Spirit of Dubuque Sightseeing Cruises: This authentic paddle-wheel riverboat operates May through October from the port of Dubuque, offering one-hour narrated sightseeing cruises, plus dinner cruises. Reservations are a good idea. More information: 1-800-747-8093 or http://www.spiritofdubuque.com. • Fenelon Place/Fourth Street Elevator: This one-of-a-kind outdoor elevator is billed as the world’s shortest, steepest scenic railway. A Dubuque banker built it in 1882 so he could quickly get from his house up on a bluff to his office downtown. It’s a quick, 263-foot ride with terrific river views from the top. More information: 1-563-582-9496. Crystal Lake Cave: More than 40 feet underground, this is marketed as Iowa’s largest cave open to visitors (May through October.) During the 45-minute guided tour along well-lit passageways, you’ll see an underground lake and intricate formations (some resembling hollow soda straws or well-done bacon.) You may also spot rare cave crystals known as anthodites. For more information: 1-563-556-6451, http://www.crystallakecave.com. What to know • It’s a fact: Iowa’s oldest city, Dubuque, population 62,000, is midway through a major riverfront redevelopment to include a river walk (due to open mid-May) and conference/education center (due to open in November.) • Getting there: Dubuque is about 280 miles from Minneapolis. The scenic route is to follow the Great River Road south, following the Mississippi all the way. Faster: Take Interstate Hwy. 35 south to Hwy. 20 east through Waterloo to Dubuque. To get to the resort, turn left on Locust St. (just before the Julian Dubuque Bridge) and right on 3rd St. More information: Grand Harbor Resort and Waterpark, 1-866-690-4006 or http://www.grandharborresort.com. Where to stay The Grand Harbor Resort has 194 guest rooms including 31 suites. (Ask for one overlooking the Mississippi.) There is a restaurant, game arcade, “WaterSquirts” children’s activity club and, of course, the water park. Room rates include water-park admission (and sometimes breakfast.) Doubles range from $99 to $219; for a suite, from $139 to $329. Where to eat • For only $10 extra, our room came with breakfast at the resort’s restaurant, the River Walk, which was a great deal. We could have ordered off the menu but chose the buffet, which included a good omelet bar. The restaurant, also serving lunch and dinner, is open daily 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. • We had a good dinner at the Blackwater Grill at the Bricktown Brewery, a lively family restaurant in a restored red brick building in Main Street’s Historic District. The long menu includes huge burgers, salads, steaks and fish. Open daily for lunch and dinner, it’s at 299 Main St. • For terrific artisan breads and pastries, visit Cafe Manna Java, a coffee bar and bakery at 269 Main St. • If you can’t bear to leave the water park, order a pizza delivery from the Shot Tower Inn, a popular place downtown at 390 Locust St. Telephone: 1-563-556-1061. The water park Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, until 11 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and until 9 p.m. Sunday. You can stay in the water park longer than in your hotel room. Hotel check-in is 4 p.m., but you can get into the water park at 2 p.m. (Our room was ready early.) Hotel checkout is 11 a.m., but you can stay at the water park until 1 p.m. There are bathrooms with lockers and showers next to the water park. For kids: The WaterSquirts Kids Club, for children 12 and under, is a small room by the main entrance offering crafts, board games, movies, free arcade tokens and free T-shirts |
Filed under Iowa
TakeBetsywithyou 