Dinner At Rosecliff

Parties at the Newport mansions in Rhode Island...that's how I roll, baby! Rosecliff has been featured on America's Castles and is one of the many summer "cottages" preserved by the Preservation Society of Newport County.

It was built in 1902 by Theresa Fair Oelrichs, a silver heiress from Nevada, who modeled the mansion after the Grand Trianon of Versailles. The ballroom is the focal point of the property. After dinner, a 14 piece band played 3 solid hours without a break, covering everything from Chattanooga Choo Choo to Poker Face.

Have you ever seen such a beauty? This is the car I rented in Newport. We had a few pre-dinner whiskies at the hotel and I was feeling a little tired so I just parked on the lawn in the back yard. Oh yeah, and Judie is in the picture too.

The Great Gatsby was filmed at Rosecliff.

Dinner was in a tent on the lawn...a tent with hardwood floors and air conditioning. Each of the 8 courses was paired with a wine. This is the sort of mindless, mundane crap I have to do for work. I really took one for the cause, and I hope my coworkers appreciate my sacrifice.

Just Another Weekend In New York

Well, with my airmiles account still busting at the seams, it was time for another weekend in New York. We arrived late Friday night and stayed at the lovely Muse, a boutique hotel just off of Times Square. The room was spacious and they had free wine in the lobby from 5-6 every day! Whoo hoo!

Judie had never run in Central Park before so her idea of a "get-away (from the kids)" weekend included an early rise to run the 6-mile loop around Central Park. I have to admit it was nice, the weather being perfect and Park Drive being closed to traffic on the weekend. It did sort of feel like we were in a race though, as there were literally thousands of people running in the park. I even went back for additional punishment the following day, including the aptly named "Great Hill" at the northwest corner of the massive park.

Times Square was busy day and night, despite the troubles a couple of weeks ago. There was a strong police presence, but there always is. The potential car bomb incident doesn't appear to be keeping anyone away from the area.

Judie went to an outlet mall on Sunday, so I had some time to kill. I spend so much time in New York, and I've seen so much, I decided to take a trip to Brooklyn for a change of pace. The area around the somewhat disjointed Brooklyn Museum is quite lovely, with tree lined streets and amazing brownstone row houses. The Montauk Club, inspired by a Venetian Palace, is a particularly extravagant architectural display. They even have their own version of the Arc de Triomphe at the Grand Army Plaza, called the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial Arch!

Mostly, this trip seemed to be about food. While Judie was in town, we enjoyed great steaks and lemon cake at Delfrisco's, a cavernous, busy, noisy, restaurant on 6th, and checked out Gordon Ramsey's Maze on 54th the other night. Unfortunately, he wasn't there, so we didn't get to hear him using the F-word.

After Judie jetted back to Vancouver, I was on business, and ended up at Madison in a surprisingly trendy area in Hoboken, New Jersey. Next we had a magnificent meal at the Bayonne Country Club, a Links Course built on dredge spoils overlooking New York Harbour and directly across the water from our container terminal at Bayonne, New Jersey (check it out on the web at http://www.bayonnegolfclub.com/). The clubhouse is spectacular and the food was to die for.

I also had a chance to enjoy Veal Milanese at La Catena, my favourite Italian spot near Roselle Park in New Jersey, which always leaves me wondering why Vancouver Italian restaurants can't do veal like they do in the Big Apple. Finally, back in Manhattan after a successful bank meeting, I sat down to a delicious braised short rib at the trendy Brasserie 44 at the Royalton Hotel. Needless to say, I will be exercising in earnest the next two weeks.

I have to go back shortly...but will mainly be stranded on Staten Island. Oh well, it just means lots of delicious Italian cuisine!

Hotel Must Haves

Now that I’ve become a road warrior again, I decided to do a post of all the things I now consider as necessities in a hotel / room. Now, some of you may take these things for granted, while others may think I’m a princess, but I now what I like and trust me, you don’t always get what you expect to get, especially outside North America…or in New York.

General:
- full length mirror
- bathrobe
- slippers – the ultimate sign of a good hotel, but oh, so rare in North America!
- hair dryer
- complimentary soap, shampoo and conditioner
- some kind of moisturizer or lotion, especially during winter on the east coast
- one more towel than people staying in the room
- alarm clock / radio with jack to plug in your iPod
- safe
- luggage rack
- closet with ample coat hangers
- phone book
- functioning temperature control
- a sink that drains (often a problem in New York hotels)
- a toilet that flushes (I had to fix my own toilet at the Peace Hotel in Shanghai)
- kleenex
- a dvd player is a luxury but nice to have if you want to pop in your P90X dvd

As a business traveler:
- iron
- ironing board
- PLUGS!!! Give me a BLOODY ELECTRICAL OUTLET for the iron!!!!!!
- in room coffee maker
- bill under the door the night before
- in room check out
- mini-bar with snacks as well as liquor, especially if the bar closes early or there is no bar
- shoe mitt
- wireless internet access
- a 24 hour gym
- a 24 hour business centre with a printer, stapler and paper clips (yes, freakin’ paper clips! I’m obviously printing a document if I’m in the business centre and I need something to hold the pages together!)
- 24 hour (or at least late night) room service
- complimentary local area maps
- complimentary luggage storage (some Manhattan hotels charge)

Useless things the hotel room can do without:
- a phone in the bathroom (I’m not taking any calls while I’m doing my business)
- trouser press (mainly a UK thing I guess)
- voice mail (call my mobile for goodness sakes)
- all those poofy, dysfunctional, designer pillows you have to throw on the floor to sleep in your bed
- a call from the front desk to make sure everything is ok with your room – I’ll bloody well call if there’s a problem

What did I forget? I’ll have to update my list as I continue my travels.