September 27th is the big day!!!

For more than 10 years I've been paying to go on guided tours and making mental notes, saying to myself...."I can probably do this, if I had an area I knew inside out."

Earlier this year, a friend invited me to go on one of her NYC tours and I finally said, "If she gives me her contacts and a little guidance, I can DO THE SAME THING (that's an ELF song)."

It took me a day to make up this flyer and reserve the bus. If this my 1st trip is a success, I have a Brooklyn & Staten Island one I would like to do as well.

The point of these trips is to take people to places they would not normally go to, but might enjoy if somebody took them. 

A lesson I still haven't learned

My favorite American food!

Ceviche Mixto

Thai is my favorite Asian food, Italian is my favorite European food and Peruvian is my favorite American food. When I visited Santiago de Chile in November 2008, there were a lot of new Peruvian restaurants opening up. If I go to South America again, it will likely be to visit Peru. Fortunately, there are now 4 Peruvian restaurants in eastern PA. Here is the Facebook page for the one I visit most frequently.

#1 Best in U.S.

I live in eastern Pennsylvania, so it takes at least 90 minutes to get to the Newport PATH station in Jersey City. Add time for parking, waiting for the PATH & getting into Manhattan, and it's at least 2 hours to get into the city. Getting to Queens can take another 30 minutes or more. Is it worth it? I've been told no, but I disagree. Astoria, Jackson Heights, Corona & Flushing are must see neighborhoods. Parking is much easier in these areas as well.

On my most recent trip to Queens, I took the 7 train from Grand Central Station to 103rd St-Corona Plaza and walked to The Lemon Ice King of Corona. They do not mix flavors, so I got 4 different small cups at $1.50 each. 

From there, I wanted to check out Flushing. The Q58 bus stops almost right in front of The Lemon Ice King of Corona and gets you to the heart of Flushing in less than 20 minutes. I walked around for a bit and wanted to get a snack before heading back to Manhattan. I settled on Taipei Hong and then took the Long Island Railroad back to Penn Station. Although I'd been to dozens of Mets games before they got a new stadium, I'd only walked around Flushing once a few years ago. If you are not coming from Long Island, it may seem far out, but between the 7 train and the LIRR, it's very easy to get a train back to Manhattan. Unlike other trains, the 7 rarely gets crowded on weekends.

My 1st visit to any kind of amusement park in over 10 years

My last trip to an amusement park was a few hours at Hersheypark prior to a Van Hagar concert at Heysheypark Stadium in the summer of 2004. I had no plans to go to one again, until a friend invited me to Camelback Mountain Adventures. 

Although I didn't care if I went on any rides, I did manage to go on the Mountain Coaster. It's interesting how so many people from New York City come to PA to escape the chaos of the big city, while I go to New York to escape the boredom of small town life.

Trying to do Philadelphia like I do New York

Since last summer, I've been wanting to travel into Philadelphia like I travel into Manhattan.....leave my car at the train station and take the train in. Well today I finally did. I parked at the Conshohocken station and took the Manayunk/Norristown line into Jefferson Station. Since I don't know Philadelphia nearly as well as I know New York, I found myself playing with my phone trying to figure out what I would do in what order. I wanted to take at least one subway ride, so for $12, I bought the One-Day Independence Pass. The ride went quick, but I must add that like NJ Transit into Manhattan, the trains run on the hour. 

From Jefferson Station, I walked into Reading Terminal Market. I get excited like a child, when I go into places like this, BUT I didn't have a car and was limited to what I wanted to carry. I bought some marzipan and since it was 12:30 I headed for lunch at Zavino, which I never heard of until finding them on Yelp during my 32 minute train ride. I wanted Neapolitan style pizza and Zavino was closer than Pizzeria Vetri. I ordered the Margherita and then headed to get some French macarons at Miel Patisserie, which I also found on Yelp.

I was determined not to leave before taking a subway ride, so I picked up the Broad Street (orange) Line at Walnut-Locust and took it 2 stops north to Race-Vine. From there I walked West to the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia. I walked around there for a half hour, spending most of my time looking at the No Home To Go To: Diaspora of the Baltic Nations Exhibition.

on the way to Free Library of Philadelphia

From there, I walked through Logan Square, admiring all of the different flags along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. For years, I've driven past there and always wished I could stop to take pictures. From there, I entered JFK Plaza and admired the Love Statue. There were people everywhere and the heat was getting to me. I wanted to check out a few museums, but that will have to wait for my next visit, which I also hope to do without my car. It was 3:30 and most museums close at 5, so I picked up the train back to Conshohocken at Suburban station. I know that on my next visit, Reading Terminal Market will be my last stop and not my 1st.

Former Mayor Frank Rizzo

Missing Seattle!

3 trips to Seattle and I still haven't used public transportation there. I miss Seattle and hope to visit with no car the next time.

Circling capitals on a map!

The World is my Playground?

In early 2009, my best friend told me that I think the world is my playground. I laughed and told him that it sounds like a nice thing to be able to say. Well here is Janet Hsieh encouraging everyone to make the world their playground.

This time, I'm not in charge!

Earlier this month, I was invited to go to NYC on an overnight trip for a friend's birthday. I'm used to being in charge, but this time, we followed her itinerary. We rode from the Sand Casino in Bethlehem, PA to Chinatown, Manhattan in a limo and I only knew my friend and her employee. The ride went extremely quick and before I knew it, we were passing the Newport Mall, where I normally park my car and get the PATH train into Manhattan. I hadn't driven under the Holland Tunnel in years and the last couple times I did, I could have gotten through the tunnel faster on foot. This time was different. Before too long, we were at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant in Chinatown. 

All I knew about Dim Sum was that it was Chinese snacks/appetizers. Although I skipped the chicken feet, pork dishes and anything spicy, I really enjoyed it. I was enjoying not having to come up with a plan. I was VERY full by the time we got the bill. I was expecting my friend to ask me for $40 or $50, but she said "$14 please" and at first I thought it was a joke. We were in probably the most expensive city in America and I had a pretty amazing lunch for $14! This trip was off to a good start.

Since my friend runs bus trips into Chinatown from Bethlehem, PA a couple times every year, she knows the area. We went on a bit of a walking tour and she did some shopping. Hey, this is what I do when I'm showing people around..........."hey I need to go get some of this, some of that!"

Since none of us could eat anymore, everyone wanted to shop. I couldn't eat anymore, so with my hour of free time, I walked to the Lower East Side and got some macarons from Bisous Ciao. One box for me, one for my friend's birthday. If I had to choose 1 favorite macaron, it's the salted caramel from Bisous Ciao.

My next destination was the East Village, which is probably my favorite neighborhood since my cousin in law gave me a walking tour last year. Macaron Parlour was my destination. I got a box for me and a box for the birthday girl (lady).

I had to walk quickly back to Little Italy, where everyone had to meet the limo to take us up to Harlem. There were a total of 8 people in the limo and I was the only one familiar with Harlem. 

My friend wanted to have dinner at a "soul food" restaurant and her friend suggested Amy Ruth's. 

Although it was not my birthday and the only thing anyone wanted my help with was the subway, I insisted that if they are going to visit Harlem, they have to at least see one historical site. Nobody disagreed and we ended up spending a couple hours at the Apollo Theater.

Michael Kimmel was there signing books and I ended up leaving with a signed copy of Angry White Men. The Women of the World Festival was also wrapping up there and we watched Michelle Williams speak about depression. It was a very moving speech from someone I knew very little about.

After dinner at Amy Ruth's, we took the 2 train to Penn Station and walked to our hotels in Chelsea.

The next morning, my friends wanted to go to Bleecker Street. I made different plans to meet my cousin at Norma's inside the Le Parker Meriden hotel. I never heard of this place, but my cousin (who I rarely see, but appreciates some of the same things I do) lives nearby and wanted to meet there. 

I had some TIME TO KILL (that's a Deep Purple song) before meeting my cousin and I had not been to Astoria in a while. I boarded the N train and took it out to 30 Av. I picked up some of my favorite seafood salad at Titan Foods and then got some baklava at Artopolis bakery. With the little bit of extra time I have, I walked up to Ditmars Blvd and made a left towards Astoria Park. After walking around a bit and taking some pictures, I needed to get the train back to Manhattan. Feeling too tired to walk to the Astoria-Ditmars stop, I got on the Q69 bus.

After brunch with my cousin, I met up with my friends at Port Authority. Although it was not my birthday, my friend got me a box of Royce Chocolates, while they were on Bleecker Street. We took a bus back to the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA. As I was explaining to my cousin over a $27 crepe at  Norma's, I'm usually the one making all the plans and this weekend was the total opposite. With the exception of my trips to the East Village and Astoria, I was following someone else's plan. It was not better or worse, just totally different. Like Indian restaurants, I have a nice time when someone takes me, but I would not likely go for Dim Sum by myself.

Another city I never thought I'd see

I wanted to ride this train, which loops around the city, but never had the chance.

I love mangosteen. This is what I saw when I stepped outside my hotel.

Every time I've traveled around Asia, my hosts always insist that I need to see every pagoda & temple.

I love taking pictures of road signs.

I spent 7 nights in Myanmar. 2 of those nights were spent in buses. I listened to every RAMONES studio album on this trip. At the end of my week there, I was ready to leave.

Inle Lake

Inle Lake was very beautiful. It was too loud to talk on the boat, but not too loud to listen to U2's SONGS OF INNOCENCE.

OZZY & MTV in Myanmar

I wonder if Mr. Osbourne is aware of this store?

The last memorable thing MTV gave us was Beavis & Butthead!

From my hotel window

From my hotel window

From my hotel window

This was closed to the public, but they made an exception as long as my guides and I didn't spend more than 30 minutes inside the walls.

U-bein bridge