May 31, 2010 · 3:43 am

Boston: places to remember

These come from a recent NYTimes story on stylish Boston:

– Haberdash Vintage – This one might be a bit hard to find since  a store based in a trailer that roams around the city. But sounds like worth trying to tack down – full of stuff from the 1950’s through 1980’s. (Although it’s a little distressing to see the 80s’ considered vintage.)

– The Institute of Contemporary Art – billed as Boston’s hippest museum. (Don’t remember it from my days living in Boston – in the early 1980s, aka the vintage era.) Current show is work by a “Mexican tatooist” – you betcha.

– Menton- french italian restaurant, complete with Murano glass chandeliers.

Leave a comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tagged as

May 29, 2010 · 10:58 pm

Cool hotels in Texas

We went to San Antonio and Austin for the first time last June and I hope we’ll get to go back soon. In San Antonio we stayed at a fancy hotel, the Westin Riverwalk,  which was a treat (and needless to say, it was paid for by one of our employers. ) But if we return on our own dime, the Hotel Havana looks very cool. I read about it in the NYTimes – in a profile about Liz Lambert who became her inn-keeping career reviving the funky old Hotel San Jose – right across from The Continental, a great music club we did manage to visit during our 5 hours in Austin.  Another one of her hotels that sounds fun is the Hotel Saint Cecilia.

Leave a comment

Filed under LODGING, Texas

Tagged as

May 28, 2010 · 3:19 pm

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under New Mexico

Tagged as

May 26, 2010 · 8:37 pm

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

Leave a comment

Filed under Des Moines, Iowa

Tagged as ,

May 22, 2010 · 4:26 pm

Cave Creek Arizona?

We’re always looking for new places to visit in Arizona since we visit my dad in Tucson almost every year – and the NYTimes came up with one yesterday – Cave Creek, about an hour north of Phoenix (I was hoping it was south of Phoenix and closer to Tucson). Looks like it has held onto some of its original character – especially like the idea of shopping at the Town Dump, which apparently is the name of a store, not the town’s real dump. For more details see:  http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/05/21/travel/escapes/21cavecreek.html

Leave a comment

Filed under Arizona

Tagged as

May 22, 2010 · 12:15 am

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Iowa

Tagged as ,

May 20, 2010 · 8:59 pm

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under London

Tagged as

May 19, 2010 · 1:45 pm

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

Leave a comment

Filed under Iowa

Tagged as

May 18, 2010 · 3:20 pm

London (Florentines) – takemewithyou

FLORENTINES!

Yes, I have other work to do but instead I’ve been trying, for almost a day now, to remember the name of a pastry that I first had at Louis Patisserie in Hampstead in, um, 1980.  Finally, after too much thinking and googling, it just came to me:  Florentine –  a round, thin chewy chocolate-coated biscuit covered on one side with nuts and dried fruit.  Yum.  So if you’re at Louis, the famous old Hungarian tea house, try one.  Other London pastry shops will no doubt have them. Or you can  settle, happily I hope,  for a Cadbury chocolate bar with fruit and nuts (one of my favorites.)

If you haven’t noticed by now, I tend to eat “bad” food in London – something my kids immediately picked up on during our first trip there together when they were in grade school. (Is this heaven? No it’s London.) They couldn’t believe I was letting them drink orange soda and eat chips (i.e. fries), crisps (i.e. potato chips, preferably salt and vinegar) and chocolate (Cadbury bars and Maltsers, far better than our malted milk balls, although I prefer U.S M&Ms to the British Smarties) – rather than their usual forced diet of fruit and vegetables.  As I pointed out to them, it all had to do with the price of the food. And, of course, we were “on vacation.”

Leave a comment

Filed under DINING, London, Uncategorized

Tagged as

May 17, 2010 · 11:11 pm

London eats – takemewithyou

First, a caveat – I don’t eat out all that much when I’m in London because 1) I stay with friends 2) eating out is one of the more expensive things to do in London. (When I lived in London in 1981, I lived primarily on scones that were kindly supplied, free of charge, at the office where I worked.) That said, here are a few haunts – almost all are relatively inexpensive, casual spots:

– Gordon’s Wine bar – This is a sentimental favorite, a short walk from the House of Commons – where I worked when I used to first visited Gordon’s. I returned last year and it was much the same. It’s a short walk north of the Embankment tube station – and you go down into a dark dank cellar (a la Edgar Allen Poe_ for a Ploughman’s (cheese – Stilton or Cotswold; chutney pickle and a big slab of bread) and a kir or kir royale. (There’s other pub grub and drinks but these are my tried and true picks.) A&N – this isn’t too far from your Soho hotel. Just south of Charing Cross tube. 47 Villiers St.

– Neal’s Yard Dairy– The restaurant I loved in Neals Yard, a hidden little courtyard in Covent Garden, is long gone but this  famous cheeseshop just outside the yard – at 17 Shorts Garden – is  where you can pick up Stilton and Cotswold (for less than Gordon’s) and try to find a picnic spot in central london (maybe Trafalgar square?)  I see it’s also at Borough Market now. Near the Covent Garden location is Food 4 Thought, a vegetarian restaurant popular with students because it is relatively cheap and big portions – or used to be.  (A&N – you might tell Mike about it.)

– The Standard – This is a longtime Indian restaurant just north of Hyde Park frequented by Londoners and tourists alike. I’ve been going there for 30 years. Nearby is Khan’s (if it’s still there) which is fancier atmosphere but I always preferred the Standard. 21-22 Westbourne Grove (Bayswater Tube, near Hyde Park – which is well worth a wander. See (Princess) Diana’s garden.)

– Rock and Sole Plaice – London is the only place where I eat fish n’ chips – and this Covent Garden-area chip shop is cute. I usually eat the fish called plaice (hence the name) and I put vinegar on my chips. 47 Endell Street (near Drury Lane.)

– Fortnum and Maison or Harrod’s – if you want an over-the-top and expensive afternoon tea. Either way, these are fun shops to wander in – very British. Harrod’s is very very touristy but the Food Halls are quite a sight.

– Covent Garden also has a good outdoor farmer’s market – and fun scene. On the web it doesn’t seem to be open in the evening but I remember going early evening.

– There’s also a fun old pub just south of Covent Garden – I’ll try to remember the name.

– And Louis Patisserie, 32 Heath Street,  is my sentimental favorite tea parlor in Hampstead, should you be in that area. (It’s in North London, as is Islington.)

p.s. I seem to have spent most of my time in London eating pastry, fish and chips, ploughman’s and indian food – there may be a reason for that. Was least expensive.

Leave a comment

Filed under DINING, London, Uncategorized

Tagged as