I discovered a part of Chicago today that I thought I knew. Wrong. It’s Old Town – which I thought of primarily as Wells Street near North. But after wandering around the Wells Street Art Fair today, I discovered the Old Town Art Fair a little northwest – in a neighborhood I’d somehow missed all these years, around Menominee and Wisconsin. Beautiful residential area. Fun art fair too.
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.
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.
Filed under Uncategorized
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.
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
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
Filed under Arizona
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
TakeBetsywithyou 