Vacation

It's Sunday so you can imagine how the day started. NPR and the Globe, washed down by a couple of Mocha Lattes from Darwins. See here for more details of Sundays in the Boisvert household. The Globe had some interesting stuff today. The Travel section had a nice article about where to go for great but not expensive vacations. With the Euro so strong right now it looks like a lot of people are looking into different locations (us included). When thinking about a week vacation in the spring sometime, we initially thought about Costa Rica. We have heard good things from friends of ours, but are concerned that it might be a little too commercialized. Also, it's kinda a long flight for only a week (like 5 hours). The next thought was Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is close, there are plenty of direct flights, and there is both rainforest (for hiking) and snorkeling opportunities, and some bay that glows. A quick look into accomodations proved fruitful as we found loads of VRBO houses at very reasonable rates.

Anyway, back to the Globe. I'm not going to list all of the them here...just the ones that caught my eye.
1. Honduras - I have no idea how safe Honduras is. Does anyone know? It looks beautiful. Look at this hotel. Are the rooms really under $30 a night? They have guided tours from the hotel into the rainforest to a 300' waterfall that you can swim in. Sounds like something Heike would like... VRBO has some nice places too . Ideal vacation here would include some Jungle time, and some snorkeling time.

2. Guatamala - Is Guatamala safe? Don't know. I'll have to look into it. Take a look at this hotel. Are you kidding me? This is so beautiful and under $70 a night. Guatamala looks like it might have a little more emphasis on culture...lots of Mayan culture still kicking around.

So, it comes down to Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Honduras or Guatamala. What would you choose? Life is full of difficult decisions....

Is it exessive or just another day in New York?

Last weekend we went down to visit Alan and Mary in NY. Over the last couple years we've had quite a few adventures when we head down there...this trip also did not disappoint. Let's start with the ride down. I looked at a lot of options. I hate the bus, so we took a look at the train. But at like $400 for the two of us, I decided against it. We actually tried something new, and went with the BoltBus. The BoltBus was great. You get Wifi and a regular electrical socket at your seat. The seats are also more comfortable, with more space, and the clientele is all college students on their iPods. It was the quietest ride ever. Good thing too, because we got stuck in traffic and it took about 6 hours to get down to Penn Station. That night we took it easy, just a couple of drinks and a little Wii tennis and bowling.

Saturday

Breakfast at the Miracle Grill. Brooklyn really has some great places. This was fantastic mexican breakfast. Heike's scrambled egg fajitas were delicious, and my breakfast burrito was filling and tasty.

After breakfast we just hung out and let it rain outside. More Wii was played, a little football was watched.

Around 5 we took the train into Manhattan and grabbed a drink at the Hudson Hotel. This place is so Manhattan. It doesn't even have a sign outside. There is just a doorman, and a lighted entry. Up a small escalator is an expansive lobby with a couple of slick bars and a huge outside terrace. We opted for the Library bar (inside, cause it was starting to rain), and treated ourselves to a $22 martini.

We had 7:15 reservations at Bar Boulud. I had read about Bar Boulud in Esquire. Esquire said it was one of the best new restaurants in the country. So how bad could it be. I looked at the menu, and they focus on Lyonnais food. Sounding better and better. Boulud did not disappoint. I had Tagine d'agneau, and Boeuf aux Carrottes. Heike had Pate grand pere, and Loup de Mer. Everything was fantastic. Alan ordered a beautiful bottle of 05 Burgundy to wash it down with. Note from Alan: Every bottle of 05 French wine is great...good to know. Dessert of poached pear and a plum tart, followed by a bottomless cup of excellent coffee ended the meal.

10:30pm. Arturo Sandoval at the Iridium Jazz Club. I had seen Arturo twice before, but always at big venues. This was something special. The music was fantastic. Arturo is getting older now, and didn't really play that much trumpet. It was his second set of his second night so he played a lot of piano, which is fine, because he might be as good a pianist as a trumpeter. They played an hour fifteen set of smoking music and came out for an encore (again on piano).

Midnight. Some woman walks right in front of Alan and takes the cab he was hailing. This happens every time we go to NY. Do you think Alan was gracious and let her have the cab in peace? No. Screaming and swearing and making menacing gestures with his oversized umbrella Alan graciously told the woman what he thought about that move. We get a cab quickly and are off to Brooklyn. Should we go home and sleep off the long day? or should we continue the excess? Off to Blue Ribbon for a snack. Chicken Wings that you reheat on a Pupu-platter-style grill, 6 oysters, Perogies, and the most decadent bone marrow you have ever seen. Wash this all down with 2 Zyr dry martinis and you've got yourself a nice little late night snack.

From NYC Arturo and Alan

A $5 cab ride home. Some more Wii bowling. And good night.

Sunday:
Got up, frisbee in the park, Peter Luger steak bagel from La Bagel Delight, and back in the BoltBus (only 4 hours this time, and we watched Hot Fuzz on the laptop)

So you tell me, is that excessive or just the right way to do NYC?