I’ve never been able to pull it off BUT I’ve always wanted to go to Australia – everything I’ve heard about it fascinates me. That said I often watch those “survival” TV shows where a person takes a wrong turn in a desert, forest, mountain or the outback and is lost for days on end. Then an “outdoor survivalist” comes on and says, “If only they had done thus-and-so – they would have had food and water.”
Over the years, the airline industry has experienced many twists and turns – and one of the most remarkable has been the evolution of the stewardess or airline hostess. That said I was stopped in my tracks by an article in Travel & Leisure, April 2020 titled “Taking Wing.” It featured a photo of a flight attendant’s dress from 1965 and was skillfully written by Ann Hood who has delivered a detailed on-the-scene report.
In a city like New York, that has a population of close to nine million, it’s great to know that there’s something for everyone. This gave me the idea to write about fun and/or favorite spots in all five boroughs, namely: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Staten Island. So, in this blog we’ll cover places I’ve personally enjoyed over the years and spots mentioned in an article that ran in Condé Nast Traveler magazine in April 2020. Here are five slices of the Big Apple:
Roughly eight years ago, I was chatting with a young lady in her twenties when she started raving about something called “Birchbox.” I stopped her at once and said, “What on earth is Birchbox?” Well, she looked at me as if I had two heads and said with dismay, “You don’t know about Birchbox!”
Over the years, I have heard a number of comments about Wang that go like this, “Of course she has money, she’s the daughter of a Chinese warlord.” I didn’t have the slightest idea what a warlord was and still don’t. This was followed by, “Her parents supported her until she was 39-years-old.” This was said because it was known that Vogue paid modest salaries.
Let me begin by saying that I’m a big believer in “luck.” But then, I’d like to add a caveat: a lot of effort can often lead to good luck. In fact, I think they are intertwined. A person cannot stay in bed, pull the covers over one’s head and hope for a lucky break. Nope, won’t work – you need action and drive to have good luck.
I can’t recall ever seeing an interview with Donatella Versace in one of the many fashion magazines that I currently subscribe to and read closely. We all know who she is but I believe she keeps the ins-and-outs of her personal life to herself.
After the movie Parasite won the Oscar for Best Picture my buddy said that we definitely had to see this picture – easier said than done, I’m afraid. Since I hadn’t even heard or read anything about it, I more or less “dragged my feet” about the whole thing.
Last year we visited Hudson Yards and wrote extensively about it in a two-part series. Now we’re back again to take a look at “The Edge” which is billed everywhere as, “The highest sky deck in the Western Hemisphere.”
I became aware of the 18-year-old Billie Eilish when she won four top awards at the 2020 Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Song, Record and Album of the Year. Then I received my March 2020 issue of Vogue and saw an incredible 16 pages of copy + photos of this pop star in the magazine. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen this much coverage of one person in Vogue – or any magazine for that matter, in my life!
If there is one thing that cannot be ignored when one walks around Manhattan these days, it’s this: all the vacant stores – even on the posh Upper East Side. And yes, it’s all because of Amazon. Need I say more?
