Tag: New York

Visiting NYC? Cool App To Learn About The Histories Of The Buildings You See While On The Go

New York City has a lot of cool, old buildings that go as far back as 1652, and I personally love to find pictures of what they looked like when they were being built (well, maybe not the one from 1652 LOL), or were still very new. I enjoy seeing how they may have changed over time, not to mention what the surrounding neighborhood looked like in the background. You know, stuff like this:

Flatiron
Phases of construction of Flatiron Building, circa 1900. PC: By Credited to the Library of Congress – From The Times online store, located here., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3504040

The problem was that if I was walking around NYC, I could rarely learn about the building as I was walking around. At least, not with stopping to look it up. And if I waited until I got back to the hotel or home, I’d forget what I was going to look up or I couldn’t appreciate seeing the old photos with the real thing right in front of me.

But it looks like someone has fixed that problem…

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Changes For JetBlue, Amex & Hilton, Kids Are FREE Into Shows, Chase Says They Won’t Close Account, But…, & More

Happy Sunday to all of our travel friends, both near and far! Here are some articles we’ve read from other bloggers (and other sources) that we think you may like, as well, so we’re passing them along.

Continue reading “Changes For JetBlue, Amex & Hilton, Kids Are FREE Into Shows, Chase Says They Won’t Close Account, But…, & More”

You Can Go Kayaking In The Shadow Of The Brooklyn Bridge…And It’s FREE!!!

Sometimes you get free stuff in places and it’s nice, but really no big deal. A 1/2″ piece of fudge at every touristy fudge store in the country. A cheap Christmas ornament (with every $50 purchase). You know what I mean. But then every once in a while you get something really cool for no cost at all!

Like go kayaking near the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. Yes, FREE in NYC!

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The Brand New Shopping Outlet In New York City

When you think of New York City, most people think of stuff in Manhattan. Times Square. The Statue of Liberty. Central Park.

But some people think of something else. Shopping. Not so much the crap shops that line the tourist areas (but hey, where else are you going to find a bobblehead of whatever current politician giving you the finger?), but outlet malls.

The problem was that the two outlet malls closest to NYC were a royal pain to get to. If you didn’t have access to a car, you’d have to take bus from the Port Authority to get to either Woodbury Common Premium Outlets (it’s about an hour north of Manhattan) or to Jersey Gardens (it’s about 35 minutes southwest of Manhattan). And, of course, you’d have to pay $6.50 per person in each direction to take those buses.

Welp, a brand new outlet in New York City has just changed that narrative, and it’s just a 25 minute free ferry ride away.

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How We Saved $80 On A Two-Night Stay In New York

We needed a hotel room in New York City, preferably Manhattan, for two nights. Instead of looking for rooms in our normal Mid-town/Times Square/Theater District area, I had a much larger range to look at. This was the trip where we were visiting Peter Luger Steakhouse, so one of my requirements was to be able to get to Brooklyn easily. I looked for locations near subway lines but for future trips, I’ll also look at places near the NYC Ferry.

I was originally considering a room at The Chatwal. I booked it before the Marriott Bonvoy devaluation for 60,000 points (now it costs 80,000). Between the feeling that I didn’t want to drop 120,000 points on two nights, I would have needed to call Marriott to complete the booking since it was only on hold waiting for me to earn enough points for the stay. Between buyers remorse (before even paying for the room) and the fear of getting #Bonvoyed on the phone call to finalize the reservation, I kept looking for other options.

Then I received this offer on my American Express cards:

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