Estonian walks and resulting activities....

Walking through Tallinn's old town is like going back to the Middle Ages, the stone streets, buildings, short towers (which were probably more than sufficient for a lookout back then) and city wall that you could walk along. The latter and seeing a crow fly from Hermann's Tower gave me Game of Thrones flashbacks.

Unfortunately I was there on a holiday so all the museums I wanted to visit, as well as the palace were closed. It gave me more time to wander, but even then I couldn't quite get enough of the medieval atmosphere and never left old town to see the more modern parts of the city.

Tallinn is a very affordable city to visit, I took advantage of this and ate fancier meals (soups, starters and the works!), bought street snacks (roasted seasoned almonds that were incredibly addictive, that cone of nuts ran out days ago and I'm still thinking about them). I went to Pôgu, one of those restaurants where there's just a door on the side of an arched passageway and you have to go down some pretty uneven stairs before you find a full sized hoppin' joint in the basement. Russian food is pretty abundant in Tallinn as well, which is more than ok to me. One of my favourite things about being in Russia last year was the food (kinda weird right? But it's true). Another discovery I made was Fizz cider, I highly recommend the blueberry.

While souvenir shopping I wandered into a store (one of many!!) featuring handmade wool/felt goods, the hats were quite beautiful (and yes, somewhat 20's-esque) so I tried some on (still sad I had no practical way of transporting them home). The shopkeeper puts this one hat on me, tells me it's a traditional style in Estonia, a looooong knit toque that you put on like a normal hat then wrap the tail around you like a scarf. I laughed and laughed but you know what? It was actually very practical and made me wonder why us Canadians have never thought of such a thing! So I bought it lol. Watch for me to rock the cold weather Estonian-style next winter!

It'd been my original plan to buy a Tallinn card which included admission into all the museums and transit, but that idea went out the window when I found out everything was closed (thanks to the girl at Go Hotel's front desk). As a result I had to buy separate transit fare to get the tram to the bus terminal the day I left for Riga, pretty easy and I was across the street from Balti Jaam, the train station, so transit service was frequent. Riding the tram to the bus station was the only glimpse I had of regular life in Tallinn, but I'd argue there's probably no better sampling of everyday life you can get than by taking public transit.

So many felt crafts in Tallinn...love these dolls...

Next up....Riga, Latvia!

Slight chance it's the complimentary champagne talking....

It's been a pleasant if sightly slow start to the trip, somewhere in the back of my head it occurs to me that this is probably how normal people travel...

Icelandic air is generous on the leg room if not so much on the seat padding (even with my usual dose of Robax Planimtum, I was squirming in hour 3 of 5+ hours from Toronto to Reykjavik), but do note: a beverage aside, all food is for purchase, and this is an 8+ hour (total) fight. Our one hour layaway in Reykjavik melted away quickly with the additional scan we had to pass through, and from there it was just 3.5 hrs to Helsinki.

The Finnair bus for €6.50 was a fast and comfortable way to get from the airport to the city centre. I blame it on the jet lag, but when I got there I was more interested in getting some breakfast than finding any ferry, though it was 2pm there, it felt like 7am to me after all. Promising myself I wouldn't eaten an abundance of McDonald's breakfasts this trip, I wandered into a supermarket's bakery section where all goods were seemingly left untouched except for some €0.50 croissants. Well, do as the locals do...and what you know, these just might be the best croissants I've ever tasted (and I frequent a lot of gourmet bakeries) in terms of buttery-ness, flakiness....

Right, right, so after that diversion (and I promised myself I'll go back for a few more just as soon as I get back to Helsinki), I used a little GPS assistance and started making my way to the Linda Line dock, which is the fastest boat to Tallinn, Estonia. It cost me €42, which sounded reasonable enough to me, to get a 1.5hr ferry to Tallinn. I had grand plans of taking photographs the entire way, of the Helsinki ferry dock, the open waters, and approach to Tallinn...instead jet lag got the better of me and I slept the while way.

Unfortunately I woke up to torrential rains, and me with my rain gear (compact umbrella and dollar store poncho) in my suit case and cloth shoes on my feet. I struggled to get as much waterproof gear on as I could before they kicked me off the boat and ran for the terminal. To my dismay the directions I'd printed out to get to the hotel were walking directions (D'oh!)

Anyway, got to the hotel relatively dry, all things considered... The Economy Hotel (I know...with a name like that...but it got good ratings on Tripadvisor) is everything its name implies, small room, two little single beds, bathroom with a shower, soap, towels, tv (that I never watch anyway), and table & chair. My room was on the 3rd floor, with no lift it was just troublesome enough to make me wish I'd packed a little lighter. The WiFi only really worked in the lobby and 2nd floor foyer, once in a while I would get a signal if I had my phone practically pressed to the room door. No complaints in terms of noise or lack of hot water though, granted I'm used to streetcars (trams) running past my window, you may not be. At least there were no drunken idiots shouting outside my window and the other guests kept to themselves.

Tales of Tallinn's old town and where I got this free champagne from...coming up next!

Seafarers and International House, NYC - Yay or Nay?

Though no one in particular solicited my review, I did promise previously to give my thoughts on my stay the the Seafarers and International House in New York City.

This photo of Seafarers & International House is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I initially stumbled upon Seafarers on tripadvisor. It had a mountain of glowing reviews, touting it as safe, convenience, clean, and affordable.

Right off the bat I could vouch for the location, 15th Street just two blocks east of Union Square.  If I won the lottery and could buy my own property in NYC, I would look no further than this very block.  Union Square has the convenience of a huge Whole Foods Market that's open until 11pm every night.  Not five minutes away is the Trader Joe's by New York University, when no frills groceries are required.  Also in Union Square is a 24h (during the week) Best Buy, Forever 21, Designer Shoe Warehouse, Strawberry, Barnes & Noble, Walgreens, and Duane Reade for all your shopping needs.  The Square itself has a rotating farmers market and artists market every single day of the week.  Trendy food trucks gravitate towards this area because of its close proximity to NYU and a big multiplex (the Loews Movie Theatre) is just a block away.  Miles of books can be found at The Strand bookstore, the latest in comics and collectibles at Forbidden Planet, and the list goes on.  As if there's not already enough to eat in the Square, start walking south and you will find yourself in the trendy East Village, go southeast and you're in bohemian Alphabet City, both packed with cheap eats and eccentric shops.

When I arrived at Seafarers, it was evident that it was a budget guesthouse in an older building, including some wicked slow elevators.  I knew what I was getting into though, I'd read about the place carefully before booking.  A note about booking:  Seafarers does not have online booking, you have to do it old school and give them a call.  Reception is helpful and answers any questions you may have, they're not overly friendly nor go above and beyond, but they will be able to provide you with all the info you need.  I reserved a room with a private bathroom (sink, toilet, and shower) and two twin beds, the cost averaged $140/night.  This is pretty spectacular for Manhattan.  They gave me a room on the 5th floor, and since there were elevators, this suited me fine.

Though the building is old, and walls and furnishings shows many signs of wear, the halls and rooms were well-aired and did not smell musty.  My room had enough space for our bags, there was a rod and some hangers for our clothes, a chest of drawers, a desk with chair, and a mini fridge.  I was traveling with a complete germophobe, and when we wiped the surface of the desk and chest with a white towel, there was no visible dirt from the surfaces.  I was impressed.  Having stayed in some wacky hostels and downright sketchy European B&B's, this place could have easily ranked amongst them.  Seafarers is thrift, but not filth.

The bathroom was equally clean, they provided a number of towels, but regretfully no soap.  I couldn't figure out how to turn off the bathroom ventilation fan, which provided an annoying background of white noise whenever I didn't have the door closed tightly, but if that was the worse thing about the bathroom I'm happy to deal.  I like strong showers and this was entirely passable, water heated up fast and there was plenty of hot water.

I took some issue with the mattress unfortunately.  They are old spring mattresses, key word 'old'.  I've encountered worse at higher star hotels, and for the price of the room, the quality of mattress was completely understandable.  At no point did I have to resort to painkillers for my back/neck (which happened at a 4 star hotel once due to faulty mattress), but I can't lie and say it was a pleasant night's rest either.  For a few nights stay, I can cringe and bear it, but if I were in NYC for a week, I would need to find another place to sleep.  Of course this is just one room, I may have just gotten the worse bed.

The atmosphere of Seafarers & International House is interesting to say the least.  The establishment is run by the Lutheran Church, dedicated to serving sailors and seafarers.  There is a small chapel on the main floor with Sunday services, so I was treated to organ music when I went down to get hot water for my tea one morning.  There were school groups (religious schools presumably) staying there, but also regular guests as well of all ages & ethnicity.  The groups, those staying there, and others who kinda used the space like a church basement, could often be found meeting in the lobby in the evenings.  Some sounded suspiciously like self-help... I'm sure this is fine for most, but for me, I get very uncomfortable around self-help anything.  I like to joke that I'm not "self-help", I'm about self-deprecation!  So some nights when I got home before 11pm, I'd hide in my room until after midnight before coming down to the lobby to use the wifi.  Other than that the people I encountered were fine, they weren't fanatical nor preachy, and I never worried that I was going to get hosed down with holy water or anything ;)

These are all the details I can recount, if you have any specific questions please feel free to ask.  The Seafarers International House is an establishment where you must decide for yourself whether you'd want to stay there.  For me, the price and location make it a good option.  I will certainly return.

The Big Apple in Chilly March

Here I am, back in town, battling the post travel doldrums (yes, I get them even after being away only a few days.  Anticipation fuels me, and in winter months, that's one of the few things that does.)

I don't know why it took me 7 or 8 trips before I decided I wanted to visit the Brooklyn Museum.  I have always used the same web link as my resource for free museums and been in NYC over many a 'first Saturday of the month' but for some reason the city's second largest art collection just never jumped out at me.  As I mentioned, ever first Saturday of the month, Target sponsors some live musical entertainment, curator talks, free admissions and some other events.  The collections within the museum are varied, they are spread over 5 floors which took me about 2 hours to get through (I would say I was at a medium level of concentration that day...higher the concentration, longer I take).  The collection ranges from Kandinsky to Ancient Egypt to Feminist Art.  The museum itself is steps from the subway (literally) and a beautiful building in itself.

What's a trip to NYC (for me) without trendy Asian eats?  New York is where Toronto looks to for the lastest food trends, so it's always fun to get a jump on the latest and greatest.  My first evening in NYC was a chilly one, line ups for many places were out the door, so I eventually made my way back to my favourite East Village ramen joint... Rai Rai Ken.  They used to be a small counter-seating-only noddle bar, but have since spruced up and now the brighter decor and tables accommodate a greater number (note: there is still little room for your coats, there are no hooks on the wall nor rack at the entrance so be prepared).  They had a seasonal ramen:  Lobster broth ramen with shrimp, scallions, etc. which was very good.  The large "we do not use MSG" label on the menu allowed me to drink all my soup with confidence.

A place that I've been meaning to try for some time now is Buddha Bondai - a Buddhist vegetarian dim sum restaurant on Mott St. in Chinatown.  While on my way to lunch that day, I took the scenic route past Nom Wah Dum Sum Parlor on Doyers St., the oldest Dim Sum restaurant in NYC - circa 1920 (there was a line-up out the door that day for a table, good thing I had other plans).  Doyers St. also has an interesting history, the unique bend in the street made it an ideal place for many of the Tong Gang shootings of the 30's, earning it the name "The Bloody Angle".  Lots of bad ass Asian Gangster shit went down on Doyers.  Awesome.  Back to Buddha Bondai though... for those not familiar with dim sum, you may wonder what's the big deal about the vegetarian version?  Dim Sum is like Chinese tapas, where small dishes of food are ordered to share and make up a meal (typically eaten at brunch/lunch time).  Some examples of dim sum dishes include dumplings, steamed buns, little meat dishes like short ribs, and other pastries.  Most dim sum (and Chinese food really) contains some kind of pork or seafood (or both), so it can be a real challenge to find something to eat if you're vegetarian.  Buddha Bondai has straight up vegetarian dishes - ie. bean curd sheets with veggies wrapped inside, and a most delicious mushroom rice roll, and also dishes with 'meat' names where the meats are then substituted with other ingredients.  Their shiu mai (which is a very popular pork dumpling) actually uses sticky rice in place of the pork!  Very yummy substitute and creative as I was merely expecting flavoured TVP.  I will definitely be back to try more dishes next time.

I also found my way over to Jum Mum on St. Marks (the most bustling street in the East Village with a blend of trendy quick eats and head shops... weird but great combo right?)  Jum Mum is one of the newest contenders in the best Pork Belly Bao competitition of the EV (yep, that's a thing!)  I tried the classic pork belly, the crispy chicken, and sesame tofu.  It was good stuff, and while it's probably the cheapest in the neighborhood, I would have to say it's not as cheap as all the reviews make it out to be... If you're in need of a snack and want to sample a decent bao, definitely go to Jum Mum, but if you're already at Momofuku, you should prob just pay the extra few bucks and have their version (the original in the city) instead.   If you've never heard of nor had steamed bao before and you happen to hail from Toronto, give Banh Mi Boys a try.  They're the best (and only?) we've got around here.

 

You may or may not recall, during my last trip to NYC, I visited the Muppet Whatnot Workshop at F.A.O Schwartz... 

I dreamt and drooled over the idea of having my own muppet.  So I saved up, went back, and got one made!!!

Marla the Muppet with Monkey at our hotel room.

I chatted with the muppet maker as he was working on Marla.  He was a 30 year old slightly-disillusioned musician (well disillusioned with the music industry anyway) of Chinese heritage but spoke even less Chinese than me.  Thought it was too weird to try and leave him my card/info, but aside from having my dream job (haha) he also seemed exactly like the sort of friends I should have in New York.  Wonder how he responds to bi-annual stalking? (kidding...kinda...)

Another great trip to NYC...the sights, the shops, and the sheer energy of the place... even the cold couldn't stop me from wandering around outside (though I will admit to wandering into more store than usual)  Oh yeah, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof... a must for Scarlett fans, a discount-only show for the rest of us.  The second act in particular had me in a sleepy stupor.  She's good, and if you're really into (read: forgiving about) Southern dramas, you may have a more positive reaction than me.  I don't regret going, just wish they'd changed the set at least once...  The Harry Potter Exhibition is lots of fun for the family, and even though I was by myself I still enjoyed it lots.  Don't know that I would've wanted to pay much more ($22 plus service charges with the discount) to see a well-placed collection of props, but I'm ok with that price for an hour's worth of entertainment.  Skip the souvenirs though, prices are insane.

Until next time!

Union to Union - eventually??

That is...Union Station (where my Porter shuttle bus picks me up - note: during Union Station construction, shuttles are stopping on the southwest corner of Front and University, where the Casey's is, instead of next to the Royal York Hotel) to Union Square, NYC. Granted my flight this morning had be turned around so I'm currently sitting in the Porter lounge eating way too many delicious heavily-salted almonds and using the complimentary wifi. We had trouble with the cabin pressure so there were a lot of hurting ears as we got off the plane. Not really the greatest way to start a trip.

I don't normally travel in winter months, unless it's to Asia, but a Porter sale earlier in the year made it too tempting. Also I'm desperate for any sort of getaway.

New for this trip:
Cat on A Hot Tin Roof (staring Scarlett Johanssen)
Harry Potter exhibition
Brooklyn Museum (hopefully - target free Saturday is happening this evening if I ever make it)

While in Brooklyn I would like to do some more exploring, however outside of Williamsburg I'm still at a loss for what exactly appeal is... Help me out here...If you have any recommendations that are walking distance from the Brooklyn Museum I'd love to hear it. However please keep in mind the weather ain't tropical so I'd rather not freeze my butt off finding a rare gem of a brownstone building. Brooklyn is such a huge borough I think it's inaccurate to say it's happening place, rather be more specific... 'Williamsburg is a happening place' etc.

Anyway, this morning's timelines:
Left my place 7:30am, 15 mins later than planned.
Coffee at Everyday Gourmet at the St Lawrence Market - try the Muskoka Morning!
7:40am Speed-walking through Brookfield Place, get outside, see relocation sign, and then the shuttle
8:00am shuttle departs, traffic is good and it takes 5 mins
8:14 impatiently waiting on ferry, tweeting about how I can't wait for the tunnel to be built
8:32 thru security ( I was first in line!) and strolling into lounge as they're paging me to validate my passport...well at least they pronounced my name right.

We did depart on time initially... pesky air pressure...

Back on the plane now....wish me luck on take 2!

Question of the day

If I haven't reiterated lately... I love getting travel-related questions, so if you have any, please ask!

Today I was asked to recommend a good place to shop in New York City.

Wow!  Where to begin right???  The question was posed by a trendy, relatively well-to-do lady in her 40's who just wanted a little direction, not an entire guide book.  Still, I couldn't resist consulting another NYC expert (my best friend Carrie) and her answer was basically the same as mine.  So I replied:

"West Broadway boutiques in SoHo.  More independent boutiques with unique styles, the major chains are nearby on Broadway, and even more mid-to-upscale stores are on the intersecting streets so lots of options within walking distance."

  Where do you like to shop in New York City?...

The very early stages of planning

So rare for me to blog twice within a 2 week period right?  Hell, it's rare for me to blog twice within a month...

Since I booked my flights I've discovered one thing of note:  ABBA The Museum is opening on May 7th in Stocklhom and advanced tickets are now available.  I'd made that quip about ABBA in my last blog and I guess it turns out I wasn't so far off after all ;)

Had some spare time last week (not so much this week) so I started my online reading, discovering the wonders of Tallinn, the frequency that the ferries from Helsinki ran, some tourist highlights and the bus schedule to Riga.  There appears to be a €6 ticket available (€3 if you're cool with arriving at 3am... which I'm not) that I'd like to take advantage of.  Hopefully still available by the time I book (if you should find yourself in a similar situation, you may choose to book the ticket now and simply eat the cost if it turns out you can't use it later... Riga is near the start of my trip so I think I'll be able to firm up plans soon, therefore I will wait another week or so)

It could be a fluke, or maybe my dates aren't exact (always plan for the worst, or worse at least...) but I saw some recommended hotels on TripAdvisor for about $80-$90/night in Riga.  Pretty affordable for a hotel in my books, and they're described as central.  I will consult a map before I book.  Again, hopefully that's soon before prices go up (May is the start of high season).

Though I don't believe everything I read, I like to get a feel for how many days people like to spend in each city.  TripAdvisor has a great search tool, typing in something like "how many days in Tallinn?" will get you what you're looking for.  Read people's comments carefully, everyone sight-sees at a different pace so just because they suggest 5 or 6 days doesn't mean you need that much time if you're willing to get up early, walk 12 hours, and pack a lunch to eat in a park.  Side tip:  If you're in a city on Monday/Tuesday with plans to go to museums, check their hours as some are closed at the beginning of the week, which may require you to stay an extra day or alter your itinerary.

Take this preliminary approach for every city, you'll inevitably discover more about some cities than others.  That's ok, a little reading will quickly give you a feel for how much time you want to spend in one place.  After reading about Tallinn, I was ready to spend 3 days there, but when I took all the cities into consideration and how much time in total I had, I quickly realized that was unrealistic and that I could easily see the city in a much shorter period of time.

Also when time (or in some cases, money) runs a little short, you can start to make the decision whether you want to do some overnight travel to save time/cash.  For some routes, overnight is the only viable option.  For example, ferries from Tallinn/Riga to Stockholm only sail at night as it's a 15 hour trip.  Even if they were to sail in the mornings it would be a waste to be stuck on a boat all day losing precious sightseeing time.  (The ferry sails around 5:30pm so there's many hours of daylight where you can enjoy the view before it gets dark, and you can get up again at dawn to watch the sunrise over the water if you wish).

I find midday travel a bit of a pain, it cuts your day in half, you can't do too much in the morning because you need to catch your train/plane/bus, and when you arrive it'll take time to get oriented, settled in your hotel etc. and by then it's getting dark so not much is accomplished in your day.  If I have to travel in the day, I try to do it in the early morning (I'm not a morning person so I'm cool with dozing until we arrive).  Evening is also an option, but as a single woman I don't like arriving in new places in the dark trying to find my way to my hotel.  It's ok if I'm already familiar with my destination.

After a while you start to feel ready to draft an itinerary, it's not carved in stone but gives you a feel of how your trip may go....  Here's my preliminary draft:

(A little small but click on it for full sized image)

I've included what I consider to be my essential details in a way that's easy for me to read.  You may choose to organize differently.  I like to look at the date, see my start city and end city (aka do I have to travel on that particular date?), how I'm traveling, and where I'm sleeping that night (if it's on a train, I'll dress in wrinkle-free clothes and make sure I have an extra layer to stay warm.  Secondly if there's something special I've got planned (a show, a concert...), so I can plan that day accordingly.  Then there's the stuff that's good to know, ie. any major costs and other info.

That's about it for now.  Next steps would probably be to keep reading and start booking something.  For those of who do a lot of traveling, this is likely pretty dry for you, but others have expressed an interest in how I plan my vacations.  So I thought I'd detail a little bit of my process.

Cheers.

On the road again...

Ok, not quite on the road again, but on the planning again...

Happy New Year travelers!  I wish you all good health, prosperity, and lots of opportunities to travel in 2013!

My travel year is off to a promising start after finding a $800 deal on Iceland Air for Toronto to Helsinki in May.  I'm very excited to plan another rat race-type trip through Northern Europe this time.  It's not the type of trip that would appeal to everyone, it's hardly relaxing for starters ;) but after taking a leisurely trip to the great cities of Russia last year and looking back on my wacky trip through parts of Italy and Central Europe in 2011, I would have to say that I enjoyed my treks in 2011 much more (even if it did mean stumbling off a train in Salzburg at 4am and showering with no hot water for 2 nights in Prague in October).  It's not the type of trip that's for the faint of heart, nor faint of knee/foot (both of which are slowly degenerating for me) so I gotta do more of this kind of traveling while I still can!

Destinations I've got my eye on are all the capital cities (I don't really know why I favour capital cities, I do understand that they're not always the finest the country has to offer... I mean, I do hail from Canada after all and I do my best to avoid Ottawa), which include: Helsinki, Tallinn, Riga (I guess Latvia isn't Northern Europe but I'm going anyway), Stockholm, Oslo, and Copenhagen.  So if anyone's been and has suggestions, please send them my way.  I'm really not that well-knowledged in any of these countries (though I am expecting lots of Ikea furniture and people singing ABBA and Ace of Base in Sweden ;)), other than the caviar is well-priced and plentiful.

There's always much to consider when traveling, and even more so when you're moving around a lot.  The obvious stuff like "how many days should I stay in each city?" to the ridiculous-sounding-until-you've-made-the-wrong-choice... ie. do I bring my smallest 2 wheel wheelie bag or slightly larger (won't fit in cabin) 4 wheel hardcase?  Smaller bag is harder to pack but will save me $$ on checked luggage if I wind up taking a flight on RyanAir or Easy Jet.  Hardcase holds more and 4 wheels are much easier to fly through train stations and other smooth-paved streets but if I have to walk uphill on cobblestone I will be screwed!  I think many of my fellow travelers (and even I) have said before, people "backpack" through Europe for a reason, because so much of it is not luggage friendly.  Sadly my back and knee doesn't let me do that, so I weigh out suitcase options.

First to get acquainted with the cities though.  That's usually the first thing I do.  Gives me a feel for how many days I want to spend in each.  Also once I've seen a few maps, I can determine location of airport/central train station/bus terminal to decide my mode of travel between each.  Cost and timing also play a part, but it gets things rolling.  Travel guides are in my near future, but for some of the stops (ie. Riga) where I only plan to be there for a day or two, I'm going to Tripadvisor for all the basics and as a launchpad for all my online research.  I really do enjoy that site.

With that I'll leave you to your own travel bookings.  Maybe other deals can be had on Iceland Air, for nearby travel Porter's had some good deals for New York City, I'll be dropping in for a few days in March myself.  I got return flights for $200, it was hard to resist.  Plus a reservation at the Seafarer's International House offering lower rates for $140/night for a double private room (as in 2 twin beds, perfect for my needs), I'll let you guys know how the place is.  The location is definitely right though, minutes from Union Square (my home away from home) on the border of Gramercy and the East Village.

Happy trails ;)

Best Airports of 2012 from http://www.sleepinginairports.net

One of my favourite sites for travel reference and general amusement is http://www.sleepinginairports.net/

Whimsical banner from www.sleepinginairports.net

The site isn't just about saving a night or two on hotel fare to sleep on an airport bench, it also provides a wealth of information about airports around the world that you wouldn't necessarily find on their official sites, the things that travelers really want to know... how well does the WiFi really work, do the toilets reek, will you feel safe on a layover there?

Once a year they publish their lists of Best and Worst Airports in the world... the #1 Airport winning their coveted "Golden Pillow" award.  After 16 years, they decided to change up the Worst Airport format, with Bottom 10 lists by region as opposed to a global list.  Best Airports are ranked globally and by region.  I haven't read through everything but did observe a few notable shake-ups.  Methinks I might have to travel back to certain cities or try out some of these top rated airports that I've never been to! ;)

Best Airports of 2012 (Global List)

No surprise Changi of Singapore wins the #1 spot again.  I agree the rest zones are amazing the and washrooms abundant and clean, there does need to be more of these awesome daybed chairs though, last time they were all occupied when I strolled by, so I had nothing to do but photograph the flower/art exhibit that was there (oh, the horror ;))

Hong Kong is in 3rd place (edged out by Seoul... think I said this somewhere previously, but the only times I remember passing through Seoul I was stuck in a crowded airport with delays and people sitting everywhere on the floor.  Granted that was probably 25 years ago, so it's time to go back.) and did have a big of a buggy WiFi from what I remember.  So spacious and comfy though, also city check-in for a number of airlines (just don't fly through the U.S., though some years have passed since 9/11 and the 2006 initial liquid bans, so maybe they will allow city check now?) where you can check in your bag hours before you leave in Central, go do a little shopping, eat one last delicious meal, then take the MTR to the airport and go straight through.  Or, if you do have to spend a few hours at the airport itself, I hear they recently opened an IMAX there!

Was a bit excited to see that our own Pearson made it on the list at number 10!  I still try my best to avoid Pearson whenever I'm flying short distances, but that's more for the commute and wait times.  Shopping remains a snore, but the random sculpture/water art thingy and abundance of seats are good.  God forbid I ever have to sleep there (though I've surely passed out in my chair during delayed flights... you know, face-first into the backpack...)

I was intrigued to see Amsterdam/Munich/Helsinki on the list as well, three European cities that are on my list to visit.  In the top airports of Europe, Coppenhagen is also there. Now I might throw Helsinki/Coppenhagen on my list of possible airports to fly into on my next European trip.  I'd like to get back to Vancouver sometime to see the airport improvements and take the train directly into downtown. 

On the Worst of Europe list, I was surprised by the absence of Paris Charles de Gaulle, which has topped the global worst list for years.  Maybe times have truly changed, maybe it's a sign it's time I returned to Paris (yes, that's it.).  Rome Fumicino was voted worst, which I don't necessarily disagree with, however I recall there being a lot of flat surfaces and sleepers there (more sleepers make me feel safer) even if the chairs do suck.  I've spent a night at Fumicino, I'd just gotten drenched is the worst rainstorm I'd ever experienced in my life, and had planned to stay up anyway so I'd sleep better on the plane.  I made a friend (Sarah from Iran, whom I still keep in touch with through Facebook) and we chatted on and off through the night.

In the top 10 North American airports, I raised an eyebrow at Minneapolis.  Again, it's been a long time but I've never had a good experience there.  In my memory I equate it to O'Hare in terms of chaotic.  Also Calgary at #8, are you sure we're not grasping at straws here?  I haven't gone through Calgary in 10 years but I don't recall there being anything at that airport.  The seats were padded benches though with no arms/backs, so I guess that is good for sleeping.  Not as much for a short middle of the night layover though, nearly nodded off and tipped over onto a strangers lap.

For those who are serious about spending a night in the airport, here is a list of tips from the site. Not sure if I agree with the bit about an inflatable raft/air mattress, unless you require one in your travels outside of airport sleeping. Though it is important to arrive early to airports like Rome Fumicino and London Gatwick if you want to find any spot to sleep (last time I slept at Gatwick, yeah, I've done it more than once, I was forced to shiver under my jacket beneath a drafty vent).  I'm a medium to sound sleeper, less so in an airport obviously but I can usually fall asleep for an hour or two at a time.  My method of protecting my bags is to have the bag strap across my shoulder with the zipper under my arm.  My suitcases all have locks, I will lift the pull handle up halfway and put my leg up on the suitcase through the middle of the handle so I will feel it if the luggage shifts in any way and my foot makes it hard to grab the bag by the handle and make off with it.  The downside is I can't roll over very well and can't make any sudden movements when I wake or I crash to the floor.  I also look like an idiot.

In an unrelated topic... I've just begun reading a new book:  The Packing Book, 4th Edition by Judith Gilford.  I've written blogs about how to pack, what to pack, but despite my best efforts I'd still like to garner more info on how to pack even lighter.  Hopefully I'll return with a bit of a book report and a list of new packing practices that I'd like to adopt.

Sadly, in the meantime, the only thing I have to look foward to packing... is my summer clothes away :(  Safe travels to those of you who are on the road!  Hope to be among you again soon!

NYC October 2012 - Trip Notes

No matter how many days I spend in NYC, I will always run out of time to do everything on my list.

First up, mad props (hey, is that saying starting to sound dated to anyone else?  I'm getting old so I can't tell...) to Porter Airlines who made this like the smoothest trip imaginable back & forth from T.O. to NYC.  My flight out departed at 9:55am and at 8:36am I was still lining up for caffeine in my hood, was I cutting it close for my flight?  Not even! (Ok, fine, I would've been if I'd missed the shuttle and had luggage to check - so, bit of luck and planning)  Coming home, I'd been dragging my bag around for a couple of hours so I decided to head for the airport a little earlier than I normally would (arrived at Newark 2 hours before my flight... pretty unheard of for me when flying USA/Canada)... where upon check-in they offered me seats on an earlier flight. This was great as I had work the next day, and could use that extra time at home.  Breezed through security and chilled in the new Porter Lounge at EWR for half an hour before getting on the plane (that even arrived home a few mins early!)  For those of you who are wondering, the lounge is a sectioned-off space near Terminal B's gate 51.  It includes the standard Porter seating with a number of electrical outlets to recharge your devices while you wait (the airport also has a number of these nearby if you can't access an outlet in the lounge for any reason), and an adorable self-serve beverage bar.  This includes a espresso machine, pre-brewed coffees, and a selection of Starbucks Teas, along with mini-bar fridges fully-stocked with an assortment of pop, juices, and water.  There are also some individually packaged biscuits available.  Pretty much everything you'd get in the Toronto Island Airport lounge.  Plus Porter provides dedicated wi-fi (complete with password) so you don't have to deal with all the other so-called free wi-fi signals in the airport (that don't work half the time or require account set-up).

Back to the city itself though... I arrived on a super-warm Saturday (think the high was 26C), as I had the foresight to keep my liquid containers smaller than 100ml, I didn't have to check my bag (note:  Porter planes are too small for you to stow your average carry-on wheelie, however they will tag them and store for you as gate-side baggage, to be retrieved as soon as you step off the plane, so no need to wait around.  I usually keep the items I actually need on the plane, ie. tablet and magazine, in my suitcase's front compartment and pull it out just before I give the bag to the attendant.) and breezed through the baggage claim area.  I'm starting to get accustomed to taking local New Jersey Transit into Manhattan, plus it's $6 less than the bus, so I headed to the Skytrain that takes you to the rail station.  It's a good idea to buy your NJ train ticket while still at the airport so you don't accidentally miss a train while stuck in line at the rail station (where more people tend to buy their tix), look for the orange machines enroute to the Skytrain, and be careful to select NY Penn Station - as opposed to NJ Penn Station.  I stepped onto the NJ train platform just as my train was pulling in, so that saved me up to 30mins wait time.  As such, I arrived at Penn Station by 12:30 instead of my original ETA of 1pm.

I stepped out onto 7th Av. and instantly felt at home.  I love the familiarity of NYC, sometimes it feels more like home than my actual home.  Usually within the first day I fall into the New Yorker habit of crossing streets (ie. look both ways and cross if it's clear, regardless of the lights.  This is also typical of many other cities like Hong Kong, London, and Montreal),  took me all of 2 blocks to adapt this time.  I had some time to kill before meeting my AirBnB host (his assistant actually because Casper was out of town), and since my bag was half-empty (even after I stuff my coat into it...as I said, 26C and sunny!) I decided to stroll through eastern edge of Chelsea, and eventually down to Union Square.  Saturday is a busy day in the square, plus Columbus Day weekend probably made it busier.  There was the usual farmer's market (which I can never resist) plus a couple streets closed off for a street market.

My apartment was on the north end of the East Village... 15th Street between 1st & 2nd Av. on the 4th floor of a walk-up.  A spacious (esp for NY) one bedroom apartment.  Ellis met me there and showed me the place, every time I stay somewhere with a fire escape, it makes me wish I had one at home.  After dumping my bags, I went back out to do more wandering.  Circled around Alphabet City, as I haven't spent much time anywhere past A.  Stopped at a couple of my favourite knick-knack/gift shops then realized I was kinda hungry.  My theory is, when in doubt and hungry in EV, go to St Mark's Place!  It was a wise decision as the new Japadog store caught my eye.  I would also make a stop at Ramen Setagaya, on the same street, later that trip.

By late afternoon, I'd received a text from my mother and went to go let her into the apartment.  She's a Whole Foods junkie (understandably so) hence we stopped there before heading to the Metropolitan Opera House to see Carmen.  It was actually my first time inside any of the performance spaces at the Lincoln Centre, every other time I've tried to see shows there it's never worked out.  Opera set designs and productions always blow me away, though I have to admit I liked the music a lot better before I learned what all the lyrics meant.  (Most are about love, lamenting about love, and whining about love).  Very impressed by Yonghoon Lee, the Korean male lead. Yes, Korean performer in a French opera about a gypsy...lol.  Carmen is a four act opera with a 35min intermission between Acts 2 & 3, so no surprise we got home closer to 1am.

Another cultural/tourist site that I've never been to in all my visits to New York is the Frick Collection, so I hightailed it up to... well, not quite Museum Mile (The Frick is only 70th St) mid-day Sunday where it's pay what you wish between 11am and 1pm.  Stood in rain for a short while before getting in to see the art collection, which is housed in a New York mansion circa the 1910's.  Much of the original home and furnishings are preserved, with few ropes and cases to guard fragile items, therefore children under 10 are not admitted (bonus!).

A shame the same no-kids rule couldn't be applied to FAO Schwarz, but being a gigantic toy store and all, I suppose some children are required.  I spent way too long in there, especially at the Muppet Whatnot Factory watching in wide-eyed fascination as they created custom muppets on the spot.  (You can take home your own Muppet for a mere $100, I'm saving up for my next trip!)  I also found a Fraggle almost as big as me, and bought a few gifts for some of my favourite little ones and not-so-little ones.  It took some effort to extract me from the store to continue my 5th Avenue (window) shopping.

Monday was jam packed starting with a brunch meet-up with one of the sexiest ladies and most talented-writers I know.  Chris and I have known each other for 10 years now!  Despite many life-changing events, travels, and everything else that life has thrown at us, we've managed to keep tabs on each other.  This was my last opportunity (last day literally) to see her before her extended trip to Asia and Europe, we were both so delighted that it could happen on the road, in one of our favourite cities!  We met up at Union Square and wandered down to the East Village, eventually stopping in Vaselka, a cute cafe that featured Ukrainian home cooking (of which we had none ironically).  So lovely to catch up, especially with like-minded people, it's proof that you don't have to be with someone 24/7 to be on the same page.

After a quick wander through the NYU campus, it wasn't really planned but it was interesting, it was time for some dim sum with mom at one of our favs - Jing Fong in Chinatown, which is like a 80's Hong Kong timewarp complete with push carts!  The prices are good and they have a wide variety of retro-desserts, but admittedly, I've had better for some of the savoury items.  My best friend Carrie likes to make fun of me for being easily lured by street fruit vendors, she says it's the Asian in me.  Well, this time she would be correct as I had to stop for a bunch of baby plantains (harder to find here in Toronto for some reason) on my way to SoHo.

While heading from the row of independent boutiques on West Broadway back over to the chain-stored line Broadway, I happened upon an art sale of some limited editions by John Lenon, in rememberance of his 72nd birthday.  While it was nothing I could hope to afford, I was still happy to have the opportunity to take a look at some of his delightful line drawings. I'd thought to revisit Strawberry Fields during this visit, but the damp weather discouraged me from going into Central Park (beyond peeking at the animals at the little zoo on the east side), so I was glad to have happened upon this instead.

Around dinner time, I found myself still full from the day's eating, so after checking out the particularly cool decor of the United Colours of Benetton pop-up store on Crosby, I went across the street to the Housingworks Bookstore.  I figured I had some time to kill before heading to a 9pm film screening (where an old classmate was screening his latest short film), only I completely lost track of time!  My phone's 15 min reminder went off and I realized I wasn't going to make it in time. :(  Plan B turned out to be:  race to Jamba Juice before they closed.  I did get a most delicious pumpkin smoothie there.

While at the Lincoln Center on the first night, I'd noticed some posters advertising the New York Film Festival.  I've been to the Tribeca Film Festival a few times but never NYFF.  Upon checking their schedule online, I discovered there was a repeat screening of Berberian Sound Studio, a film that I'd very much wanted to see at TIFF but couldn't due to scheduling conflicts and nabbed tix for Tuesday.  The screening was at 1pm, which gave me just enough time to get off the 1 train a stop early at Columbus Circle to grab a snack.  I'd tweeted about food trucks (in planning for this trip, I started following many NYC food trucks, but admittedly did not have much luck crossing paths with them at the appropriate times.) earlier and my friend Rita responded with a recommendation for Wafels & Dinges, a waffle cart just outside the Time Warner Building.  Their now-dubbed "Throwdown Waffle" beat out Bobby Flay on his show "Throwdown with Bobby Flay", making it was a must-try!  It was well worth the detour, very delicious.

Though they've been around longer (50 years now), boast some big films, celebrity appearances, and interesting year round programing, the New York Film Festival is much smaller than my beloved Toronto International Film Festival.  Berberian Sound Studio was part of their Midnight Movies program (as was Barry Levinson's The Bay, from the Midnight Madness program, which was well-received at TIFF), and this was the repeat screening I was attending.  The film stars Tobey Jones as Gilderoy, a mild-mannered, soft spoken sound engineer hired over from England to work in an Italian Studio on a horror film.  The movie also doubles as a homage to the 70's Italian Horror genre, and the age of analog sound recording with close up shots of film fed through a projector, Nagra tape recorders, and reels of winding mag stock.  Cinema tends to be a focus on the visual image, but here we never see the film which they work on, we discover purely through sound.  Those not familiar with the workings of ADR (Additional Dialogue Recording) or foley might not understand at first what is happening, for those who've done foley work, the chuckles begin almost immediately.  As the recording booth screams grow shriller, and pressures of finding just the right melon to replicate the sound of a skull smashing starts to blur with Gilderoy's reality, we begin to delve into Lynch-ian dream-sequences of mounting psychological horror.  You'll likely find yourself quaking, despite not seeing a single drop of blood spilled.

That evening (the day before I was leaving!) I finally had the chance to make use of one of my restaurant Groupons, this one for appetizers and entrees at Masak in the East Village (almost bordering Alphabet City).  The service was good and the waitress answered our questions and made recommendations, though the cuisine was Singaporean, it was not your typical hawker fare.  The menu had some westernized-sounding dishes but also many flavours of Singapore/Malaysia (I'll be the first to admit I can't really tell the difference).  We had  a couple starters including the seared chicken hearts with kale, radish, medjool dates, pistachios and beet salad with pickles, cashews, coconut, crispy shallots.  Both were astonishingly delicious!  Chicken hearts are really good when made well, I've been a fan all my life.  I also like kale, so it wasn't that surprising that this was the appetizer for me.  Beets are another story, same with eating onions that aren't caramelized or hidden in another food, so to have the beet salad bowl me over speaks volumes.  For my main, I had the Babi Assam, which was chunks of pork tenderloin served with black fried rice and sweet potato.  It was tangy and savoury but not spicy, which is what I prefer.  If you're ever in the area and want to try a slightly different kind of Asian food, I would recommend checking out Masak.  It's an intimate space with an open kitchen, polite servers, and reasonable prices for most items, even without the Groupon.

Another restaurant that I ate at with a daily deal (Living Social this time) was La Paella, also in the East Village.  As the name alludes to, this is a Spanish restaurant serving typical fare such as a variety of tapas and signature Spanish rice dish - Paella.  My voucher entitled me to $50 worth of food (for the price of $25 I believe), with which we selected a couple of forgettable tapas dishes and a yummy pan of seafood paella.  The paella included prawns, shrimp, calamari, mussels, clams mixed in a bed of saffron rice.  I have to say, when made well, paella is one of my favourite foods and this was a most delicious lunch, the total for all that food was just over $50.  For all that seafood, I would say it was a fair price.  I will have to go back again sometime, good Spanish food is hard to find.

I was in New York a total of 5 days (almost) and would say that I did a fair amount.  I think it's important to experience different things in your travels, attend an opera, eat a street waffle, befriend the impatient lady in line with you at Trader Joe's.  Friends and acquaintances are always impressed with the variety of films that I watch, it's my hopes that readers of this blog will feel similarly about the way I travel.  New York City is truly one of the most eclectic, vibrant, and accepting cities that I've ever been to, I can never get enough of her, and I hope to be back soon.