Bob Travel

Visitors can find the hottest New York Broadway tickets here, to help make your time in the Big Apple something you’ll remember for the rest of your life.  Broadway is one of the landmarks of culture in the United States, with a long tradition of entertainment that is dazzling and thought-provoking.  So much of contemporary culture is expressed thematically in Broadway shows, that at times it is a predictor of the future, a gaze backwards at the past, and other times a mirror of the present.  The Broadway musical, one of the truly unique forms developed in the U.S., is one of the most eclectic and varied performance forms in the modern world.  The language-based plays can cover an enormously wide variety of subject matters, themes, and even styles.

Interestingly, the work of Lanford Wilson often covers a wide range of styles and themes in a single play, and he is one of the most celebrated writers in the North American theatre.  His background is fascinating, having been raised in the Ozarks, where he sensed at a young age that the calm exterior of the modern world revealed dark and troubling truths.  When he was still a fairly young teenage, he moved to New York, and found himself in the middle of a cultural storm.  In the early to mid-sixties, New York was the perfect home for young and struggling artists.  Vibrant and interesting, and in those days also fairly cheap, there were many places where artists could meet and make new work.  One of the most celebrated hotspots in that time was Caffe Cino, where Joe Cino would host some of the most brave and interesting theatre work in the world at that time.

Lanford Wilson met his future director there, Marshall Mason, who helped him develop some of his more experimental works.  They formed Circle Rep with Tanya Berezin in the late sixties, which became one of the nation’s most active companies performing new work by new writers.  Wilson and Mason went on to develop many new projects together, and have worked on an impressive number of works on their own.  Lanford Wilson has had a number of highly successful Broadway plays, including Talley’s Folley and The Fifth of July, and has won the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

The Empire State Building is one of the most famous and most popular landmarks in New York City. The city is full of iconic buildings, art institutions and elements of popular culture. When the building was constructed it surpassed the Chrysler Building as the tallest building in the world. It is located at the intersection of 5th Avenue and West 34th Street in Manhattan. Tourists staying in a boutique hotel in New York are often provided with an great view of this incredible building.

The name of the building was based on a nickname for the city in which it exits. After it took over the status as the world’s tallest building, the art deco sky scrapper maintained this status until 1972 when the construction of the World Trade Center’s North Tower was completed. Unfortunately, the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2001 once again placed The Empire State Building at the top of the list, though only for New York State. Other buildings in the world had been constructed that surpassed its height by this point. It is the second tallest sky scrapper in the Americas, being surpassed only by the Willis Tower in Chicago.

The building itself and its street floor interior are listed as official landmarks of New York City and it has been registered as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. In 1986 it was designated as a National Historic Landmark. Thousands of tourists ride its elevators every year to ascend this great building and arrive at its top viewing level. There are scenic viewing machines on this level that provide close up images of the cityscape and various other buildings. While this building is never empty today, when it opened, the timing coincided with the beginning of the great depression and many of its office spaces remained un-rented for a long period of time.

I came to New York just to see Central Park, oh and of course everything else in the 3-day I have here. Just on business, but I want to fit in as much as I can while I have the opportunity. I’m fortunate enough that my company put me up in one of the many Four Star New York Hotels
near Central Park.

I was amazed to find Chinese women in Central Park bending beneath trees. We I got closer, I could see they were gathering what seemed to be small plums. Me, not being shy, went up and asked them if those were indeed plums. They smiled politely at me and explained that the trees are Ginkgo trees which drop their fruit when ripe. I couldn’t believe it. New York has Ginkgo trees in Central Park?  The ginkgo fruit has long been prized in China and I believe in Japan as a food and a medicine.

I was so fascinated that this tree is right here in New York and that these ladies knew of it’s precious qualities. I hung around them, like I can be a real bother sometimes, especially when I want to know things, and asked them all kinds of questions. They told me the Chinese name for ginkgo is ‘Bai-guo’, translates as the ‘white fruit’. They said it helps with digestion and improves circulation. They especially liked how it helps with the mental faculties of the elderly.

Then they really told me things I had no clue about. The ginkgo tree produces fruit by a mature female tree and the fruit really smells bad. They held one up for me to smell and it was like a cross between too strong of a cheese and vomit. Yeah, they were right! Stinks! So, these women can tell when it’s time to gather up the fruit, it’s when Central Park smells horrible.  I think I’ll leave the picking to these wonderful women and try to find an area in the Park that’s not so smelly.

Of all the cities in the world that have the charisma for elegant small hotels, New York is perhaps the finest.  In these specialty hotels, where the local charm is at a premium, New York can offer all the things the greatest city in the world can offer.  Whatever funky neighborhood you happen to be staying, you are in for the time of your life.  Our hotels have the best in style and design, from some of the world’s best artists, making your time here unique and interesting.  We specialize in hospitality, so guests can enjoy all the luxuries a hotel might offer, as well as world-class advice on things to see and do.  It’s the city that never sleeps, but you will sleep in the lap of comfort, and have a million options for what to do in the waking hours.

Walking in the steps of New York’s famous residents is an excellent way to spend any afternoon, and it’s certainly worth it to visit Greenwich Village at least once in a lifetime.  There are walking tours arranged, or you can follow your nose and look for adventure.  You might come across some of the famous haunts of Patti Smith. Born in Chicago, and now living  in Detroit, her glory years as a the Godmother of Punk started here in NYC.  Born in 1946, she moved here in 1967, and the world was never quite the same.

Although her first shot at the city lead her away, to Paris, it planted a hunger that brought her back.  This time, she would become a regular at some of New York’s most recognizable subcultural landmarks, such as the Chelsea Hotel, CBGB, and Max’s Kansas City.  At this time, Patti Smith became close with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, and playwright Sam Shepard, and began making an impression on the local underground scene.  The girl who looked like a crow, and spoke wildly and poetically about Baudelaire and Rimbaud, was becoming something of a legend.  When she recorded her first album, Horses, in 1975, it solidified her role as a rock n’ roll icon, and the rest, they say, is history.

The Bronx Borough in New York is a work of dichotomy.  Wildlife surrounded by ruins, an area that has produced world class athletes and artists, as well as the Mafia and the corrupt forces of law.  This has been a melting pot of all that is good and all that is bad.  There are those that canoe down the rivers, and those that use the Bronx as a location when shooting movies about war torn foreign countries.  American actor Chazz Palminteri grew up on the streets filled with gangster owned restaurants and hotels.  New York, USA has been the American location that myths and legends are made.  During the late 50’s and early 60’s Palminteri was growing up in a city that was becoming more crime ridden and deadly.  The Bronx was in moral and societal decay.  He had the opposing forces of a father that worked hard to make an honest living, and the wiseguys in his neighborhood making large incomes on such activities as gambling, drugs and prostitution.

However, there is one school in the Bronx, that has been attended by some of the greats such as Neil Simon, and Richard Rodgers, and is the school that Palminteri attended.  The school has a reputation for supporting artistic endeavours.  Palminteri created a play called aptly, “A Bronx Tale”, a story of a young man growing up in such an environment as the Bronx, just as he had.  And through mutual acquaintances Palmenteri got his chance.  A man, Peter Gatien, through interactions at a local disco in the 1980’s, came into contact with Palminteri, and agreed to bankroll his project of the play.   By 1993 the play had met with commercial and critical success, and enough backing had been made to turn the play into a screenplay.  Robert DeNiro signed on to direct the film and also to portray the hard working, honest father character.  This film continues to be acclaimed and is a comprehensive story, one of the legends of the great city of New York.

I love Horror Films, no matter how many I have seen, probably over two hundred, I still jump with surprise and grab whom ever is sitting next to me in the movie theatre. One time, while staying at a New York Airport Hotel because of flight delays at La Guardia due to bad weather, I ordered up my favorite and classic Horror Film, ‘Wait Until Dark‘, starring Audrey Hepburn. I remember the first time I watched it in a movie theatre chain called the Rialto which circulates old movies and foreign films, I was 12 or 13 years old. I went with my best friend Chris. At first, we didn’t really know why we were there seeing a film that was made in 1967, except for the reason that Chris overheard this guy she has a crush on talk about it to his friends, saying how scary it was.

The film surrounds a blind Audrey Hepburn and her diamond thief of a husband, played by Efram Zimbalist, Jr. and a couple of thieves played by Richard Crenna and Alan Arkin trying to make friends with her, while her husband is away, so they can search her apartment for the diamonds her husband stole. As the movie was unfolding, Chris and I looked at each other wondering where the scary parts are and the horror. Then near the end is where the movie turns interesting, but still not scary, when all of a sudden something totally unexpected happens, I won’t reveal it here, in case you haven’t seen the film, but something totally unexpected happened and my friend Chris jumped straight out of her chair and screamed. It totally scared her so much, I had to yank her back down into her seat. That moment in the film scared the crap out of me too, but my friend Chris’s reaction was priceless. I was laughing so hard after that I almost wet my pants.

Ever since the thrill and amusement I got from watch ‘Wait Until Dark’ I’ve been in search to find that perfect scare. That absolute truly unexpected ‘boo’ that will have the same effect on me as it did on my friend Chris.

On of my life’s teacher once told me that when I drink a cup of coffee or drink some beverage, one I know will boost my energy either with caffeine or sugar that I am telling my body it’s inadequate. So, my body will stop producing it’s own energy, shut down the natural process of creating the necessary chemicals to give my body the energy it needs. My teachers wisdom took months for me to truly understand what she was saying. I never even thought about what I drink or eat has anything to do with how my body operates.

I love my coffee, I love my energy drinks. I even went to a coffee convention held at one of the Top New York Hotels to give a presentation about the wonders of caffeine. The reason it took months to understand and to take action, to be truly honest about it, I didn’t want to hear the wisdom of what my teacher was teaching. I didn’t want to give up the pleasures of the buzz of caffeine and sugars. Even though my surface body would start to function naturally, my caffeine addicted body was panicking with the thought of removing these false energy boost. But, in the background my subtle-body was stirring.

But, I also have to admit, once I heard those words of wisdom, my subtle-body also responded with the sparks of remembering it’s true state of being. It’s this spark that kept my teacher’s wisdom churning in my mind day and night. As this continued, over the months, my surface body cravings for the liquid gold I call coffee, became less surface and moved with and into the subtle-body. Yes, I am now caffeine free, energy drink free. For a few years now. My body is, one again, producing it’s own form of energy. Natural and subtle. Pleasant and serene.

One of the many events happening throughout the summer months at New York’s Museum of Modern Art is a silent film festival.  This is entitled “Cruel and Unusual Comedy” and it is and investigation in and an observation into the commentary illustrating social culture and how it was presented in the slapstick comedies and films in the United States during the first part of the 1900’s.  Critics and spectators have warned that the films may be offensive to those with the politically correct ideologies of today.  And if the case may be, it is still an historical look into the ideology and the history, illustrated and tracked by virtue of artistic expression, of that time in U.S. history.  These comedies look back to the views of the mindsets of the 20’s and 30’s, in regards to ethnicity, violence, substance abuse, sexual orientation and race, and the way in which the film-makers dealt with these painful issues of society in a comedic way.  Any student of comedy knows that what is funny, often comes out of what is painful.  In a speech made for the commencement ceremony of those graduating from Tulane University in New Orleans, Lousiana, Ellen DeGeneres describes how many of life’s accomplishments are those made in the face of horrible situations, that comedy heals.

Many of the historians and and fans of the silent era are travelling and staying in the boutique hotels.  New York has quite a list to choose from.  Some of the films illustrate the growth of society as a whole with regards to this issue, while others enforce the aspects that sadly remain the same.  One of the films featured is the dark comedy, “Their First Execution”.  This film tells the story of a prison staff, excited at the chance of using a new and improved electric chair.  Another stars the legends Mildred Davis and Harold Lloyd as a couple newly married that must stick out the night in a haunted mansion in order to receive their inheritance.  All the films are introduced by historians in order of communicating the relevance that they had at the time, and their relevance for the society of today.  The silent movie era produced many slapstick comedic films.  And topics that ranged from industrialization to political to sexual to racial are issues that affect America to this day.  This is one exhibit, especially for film buffs, that should not be missed.

Michael Light, a photographer known for his dramatic landscape photos of the desert of the American Southwest,  recently curated an exhibit at New York’s Hayden Planetarium. Not of his own photos however, but photos taken forty years ago by the astronauts of the Apollo Space Missions, 1967 to 1972.  Light was granted access by NASA to the master film and archives of these images and spent four years going through more than 32,000 powerful and incredible images.  He used digital imaging software to restore the quality of some of the masters, and spent a year creating files for these digital images.  He then spent three more years decided which images to include in the exhibit.  The process of digital imaging has resulted in prints on a large scale, and with unusually high and crisp resolution.  The exhibit was funded generously and made possible by Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks.

The exhibit in New York is drawing photography buffs, and space buffs from around the world, and many are choosing to stay in the best hotels, Manhattan has so many options to choose from. ‘Full Moon’ is the title of the show and is divided into three different presentations.  These are ‘The Lunar Surface’, ‘In Orbit Around the Moon’ and ‘The Voyage’.  ‘The Lunar Surface’ section is full of photos that astronauts shot while they were standing on the surface of the moon.  Lunar landscapes that illustrate the perspective of the astronauts, bizarre and desolate however incredibly beautiful. The section of ‘In Orbit Around the Moon’, consists of the shots taken from the Apollo of the Moon, and are filled with the wonder that was theirs alone, being the first human beings to gaze at the moon in such close proximity.  And the third section, ‘The Voyage’ consists of images of the Astronauts themselves, the equipment on the craft, and many photos of Earth. This show is an amazing experience, and has been reviewed as giving human beings different conceptions of the universe and their place in it.

When it comes to luxury, Mallorca hotels are highly regarded the world over.  With a location that’s impossible to beat, and an age-old reputation for revitalizing the traveler, the island life will take you in like an old friend.  There are beautiful and brilliant restaurants here, amazing beaches that call out every moment of every day, and a lovely culture that’s been forming around the island for centuries.  Both local and expat communities here form the core of Mallorca, and their histories are fascinating.

One of the area’s most renowned residents is artist Cynthia Lennon.  She’s made this island her home, and has settled in here quite nicely over the years, being both a member of the community and an artist enjoying the solitude to get the energy to keep creating new work.  She lives in close proximity of her son, Julian Lennon.  With their shared last name, it’s difficult for both celebrities to leave behind their tie to John Lennon.  And not that they necessarily want to.  She was his first wife, and gave up her art school path to be the caretaker of their son, Julian, while her husband went on to become extraordinarily famous.  Somewhere in the middle of things, John met Yoko, and the rest is history.  Despite some of the bitterness surrounding the split, and the estrangement Julian has felt for his absent father over the years, Cynthia does speak freely about their relationship, and the influence they had on each other.  She is remarried now, having been through a couple of missteps, and is very, very happy.  She is painting, and sometimes recording music of her own, while her son, Julian, a brilliant musician in his own write, runs his own restaurant here.

Cynthia Lennon is not so much in touch with Yoko Ono, as might be expected.  But she has developed a friendship with May Pang, another other woman in John Lennon’s life.  When he and Yoko were temporarily apart, he spent 18 months with May, and refers to this time as a lost weekend.  May Pang released a book about this 18-month lost weekend, “Instamatic Karma,” and Cynthia even flew out to New York from her home in Mallorca for the release party.

Red. Packs a wallop. Physiologically, it increases the blood pressure, the heartbeat, eyelid movement, breathing increase, the production of adrenaline and the energy in a majority of people. Red instills feelings of intimacy and passion. Most major restaurants in NY Hotels will have a interior color of Red because it increases the appetite. It is also the color of Love. Red clothing on the female gender will get noticed more by the male gender. There are some negative sides to the color of red, like if one is in mediation or negotiations, red will sub-consciously cause conflicting emotions in the other party with which one is dealing with and hinder the progress or even stop the proceedings. Red cars are the target for most car thieves, basically for the joyride and not for the chop blocks. But, red can be a very helpful tool as for marketing, it attracts the customers’ attention.

The impact of red for the marketing of consumer goods explains the way the color vision is created in the human brain and really emphasizes the importance and relevance the color has for each individual and aid in the orientation of the everyday surroundings. An example is the difference the impact of the color of red has on Americans compared to the impact on the Chinese. Americans see red as a violent color and connotes a fierceness, where as the Chinese view red to has a soothing quality and brings up subconscious thoughts of peace.

Red is inspiring no matter what the culture one comes from. An energetic vibrant color a complex color and a powerful color. To understand its symbolic meaning one needs to only look and appreciate
natures most beautiful color either warning us to not touch or inviting us to eat it, smell it and simply look at it. Red, it’s a beautiful thing.

New York, the city that never sleeps then naturally has a robust morning life as well. So, if your a visitor or business person that can’t go to sleep because of jet lag or just plain to excited, don’t worry there’s plenty to see and do. Most New York Hotel Suites will gladly tell you what there is to do in the mornings of New York City. Places to dance till 3am, another place to eat at 4am that’s right next to a yoga studio which opens at 5am for morning salutation yoga.

Afterwards, you’ll definitely run into the groggy dog walkers, the disheveled IT employee or a elderly immigrant in bright leisure workout slacks power walking down the sidewalk. The sun will rise, so there’s even more to do at 6am in the morning. You’ll spot the sunrise through a visual latticework of suspension cables of the Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges, just a 10 minute walk from the City Hall-Brooklyn Bridge subway stop.  Then entertain yourself with a view of the city when on the bridges, counter clock wise from the sunrise you will see the Midtown Skyline, the downtown skyline and then the ever popular Statue of Liberty. Hopefully, you’re hungry again, cause now, at 7am, it’s time for breakfasts, the bigger chains are always open, but search a little more to get a taste of maybe something in Chinatown, it’s just a few blocks away. Dim Sum or walk into that restaurant that has ducks hanging from the entry posts. If you’re not in the mood for that, stroll a little further
north to have brunch at Balthazar, a takeout bakery open for a continental breakfast and no waiting for a table and the first crack at a pile of free newspapers.

Central Park is another place for morning activities if you’re staying father uptown. There is an official opening time of 6am at the park, but you’ll have it virtually to yourself, until the runners start in around 7am. Go even if it’s raining or freezing, you won’t be disappointed no matter what the weather. Central Park is a definite must in the morning, say around 7:30am the New York Audubon offers bird watching on Saturdays. For Breakfast take a brisk walk from the southern end of the park to Norma’s serving a classic New York breakfast classic. That’s all Norma’s serves only breakfast and a bit on the expensive side, but so worth it.

As you can tell, there’s no end of possibilities of what and where to go in the New York morning. Just hanging around your hotel will reveal it’s own little treasures. So, wake up and smell the adventures of the morning.

By the end of June, 2009 a center will close that has for many years provided care and assistance for the elderly, homeless population in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. Peter’s Place is a drop-in site for those over the age of 55. Over the years, thousands of those in their 60’s and 70’s have found comfort and relief from the shelter. Those in their later stages of life, and who have found themselves homeless in such a large city, have found protection and care in the the center, as most centers are either not concerned with the care of the elderly, too over worked to concern, or those that can not afford the staff that is required to care for such a population. For although it is a homeless shelter, it has become known as a senior center that provides specialized medical services for members in the older age demographic, as well as activities such as chess games and knitting circles.

This has been a re-construction plan, of the Department of Homeless Services. A plan to reduce costs involves the cutting of the 24-hour staff necessary for ‘dropin’s’, has been theorized as one way the organization will save money. It will no longer be necessary to employ round the clock workers, those who specialize in the care of the elderly. Only two centers cater to this population currently, and the cuts have left many uncertain about the future, as the regular shelters not only can not supply the care needed, but are frightening places for those already fragile souls. And no doubt this is in response to the national economic recession of the United States, for just as these centers are finding it difficult to sustain their services, more and more people are finding themselves in need of those services…finding themselves homeless for the first time in their lives. Arnold Cohen is the president of the organization, Partnership for the Homeless, and ironically, has considered the plan to cut services as a way to remain financially viable, meanwhile he has failed to consider the results that his actions will have on the population he is in charge of serving. It seems a bit like a restaurant deciding to cut costs by no longer serving food or a taxi company deciding to no longer offer fares in order to save money on gas. The Peter’s Place shelter needs help, from local businesses, five star New York hotels and restaurants and any other organizations that can and are still able to provide assistance during these times. The center was founded in the early 90’s and must have a longer run than fifteen years. The elderly population of New York requires it and deserves it.

Washington Square park sits in the center of one of the most noted and respected artist communities, that of Greenwich Village in New York. The history of this square bit of land is extensive, and the beauty of it as it is today only reinforces that history creates character. During the late 18th century it was not a park at all, but the plot of land set aside for a burial ground, just far enough out the city limits to bury those that fell to yellow fever. The park, however not a park yet– was built during the 1820’s, and was constructed for the purpose of a popper’s grave site and the location of public executions, hangings to be exact. And rumor continue to this day, concerning one tree. Urban legends state that the tree is located by the arch while other legends state that is on the opposite end of the park. Allegedly, there are still twenty thousands bodies beneath the soil, under the playgrounds and dog parks and benches. Perhaps in a strange way, that is one reason for the peaceful, yet alive feeling one gets while hanging out, watching and listening to the street performers or taking in the work that the local artists set up to sell on the sidewalk.

During the sixties, popular artists such as Bob Dylan and Jack Kerouac furthered the mystery. Writing songs and poetry about the park, and living in the Village enhanced the mystique and lives on in the culture and the arts of today… creating and producing any artwork in that location at that time is a mystery and romantic notion in and of itself, but the culture of the Beatnik generation established the park during the times, and continues to influence communities today. Countries, such as Singapore, look to these communities and times, trying to assess just why the artistic spirit took off the way it did, and how ‘can we do it again?’ The restaurants of New York, the clubs, and well–the sidewalks, they all were affected by and prospered due to the creative moment and movement of the time. During the 80’s, drug dealers moved in and threatened the people living around the park as well as those visiting. Devices and involvement set in motion by Rudy Giuliani have, over time, given back life to the park, the artistic and creative spirit that has over the years, drawn so many to this small block of Manhattan.

Because of its proximity to New York University, a residential neighborhood, and the stores and clubs of the Greenwich Village, Washington Square Park is a major center of community activity, used by so many different groups use that it has become a microcosm of New York City. In some ways the park’s biggest asset – its popularity – is also its detriment, due to the incredible demand that the heavy use puts on its physical infrastructure. The park’s design encourages activity, with paths laid out so that people cut through it, and facilities to attract people of all ages, including playgrounds, chess area, and a dog run. The central fountain and triumphal arch serve as focal points that create a space for people to gather, see and be seen.

Known to many as the Big Apple, New York is one of the most fascinating and exciting cities in the world.  People from all over the world come to the city to work, play, live, and visit each year. The city’s population includes a large percentage of foreign-born residents to say nothing of the millions of New Yorkers who were born in other parts of the US.  And the city remains the top tourist destination in North America, with millions of people visiting the city each year for business and for fun.

Perhaps it’s the melting pot energy of New York. Immigrants have been coming here here for centuries and they brought their unique art, food, culture, and traditions with them.  The Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island Museum are monuments to this immigrant heritage.  So are ethnic and immigrant neighborhoods such as Chinatown, Little Italy, and even Harlem. Restaurants throughout the city offer cuisines from around the world and music, fashion, art, and the performing arts in New York reflect the rich multicultural fabric of the city.

Of course, New York is also a playground for the rich and famous.  With flagship designer stores such as Tiffany’s, the fabulous boutiques on Fifth Avenue, and the many fashion houses that make their home in the city, it’s easy to see why celebrities and artistocrats from all over the world jet to New York to shop.  The number of 5- and 4 star hotels New York is staggering.  And property in Manhattan is some of the most sought-after in the world, adding to the allure of the city.

New York is filled with landmarks and cultural attractions that add to it’s appeal.  Times Square, Central Park, Madison Square Garden, the Empire State Building, Carnegie Hall, Rockefeller Center — these are all sites that have become synonymous with NYC.  The city has some of the best museums and galleries in the world and is recognized as a performing arts capital for the world.  People come from all over the world to experience New York theater, opera, ballet, symphonies, and other performances.

The city is a thriving center for finance, business, commerce, entertainment and education as well as fashion, food, shopping, and the arts.  It’s a city that has practically anything and everything imaginable. A city that is multi-lingual as well as multicultural. It’s also a city that has proven time and time again that those who succeed here truly can “make it anywhere.” And, perhaps, that is the real attraction of New York.