Backstory, for those of you new to this series: In August I began a new job that provided me with a lot of vacation time for the rest of the year but very minimal vacation time for next year. In an effort to make the most of it, I'm planning four trips in five months (now, two) with updates weekly on how the planning process is going.
With trip #1 out of the way, I am left with:
Trip #2 – New York City, Trip #3 – New Orleans, and Trip #4 – ?!?!
Here's what I accomplished this week…
Trip #2
Entertainment –
I keep following Billy Joel on Stubhub to see if ticket prices will go down closer to the event, but they just aren't. It's so irritating. The good news, though, is that by checking sites like TicketMaster and StubHub, I was alerted to an event in my hometown that I was interested in seeing. We got tickets the day before the event and saw La La Land with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It ended up being fun, but not quite worth the money, in my opinion.
Hotels –
In other news, I'm currently trying to decide whether or not to book the Park Hyatt with 30,000 points. It's an $800 room (can be upwards of $1,000) with heated bathroom floors, a tv inside the bathroom mirror, and turn down service. In other words, it is an extravagant hotel. And for 30,000 points, a very good value. I typically would get a max value of $400 in a hotel room for that many points. The problem I'm running into is that I don't know if a heated bathroom floor is worth the experience. Why not use my 30,000 points for less value at a hotel I actually want to visit?
I was checking out the French Quarters Guest Apartments near Times Square and they look nice. While I'm not too big into Times Square, given that most of our activities will be in Manhattan, it seems like a good location. Plus, the hotel is very boutique-like. I love how each room is styled in a unique way, and they serve croissants as part of their continental breakfast. I mean – I can get a good breakfast on the cheap in Chinatown in NYC ($5 or less), but there is something about waking up to breakfast at your hotel and not having to worry about finding it. Plus, there is no shortage of good food in NYC, anyway. So, should I?
I considered booking both, but the French Quarters costs more than the Millennium Hotel (Hilton brand) that I booked back in September. And, if I wanted to change dates, the Millenium Hotel has gone up in price by more than $100! So maybe I keep that room and just pick one of the others. I can always come back to NYC. It's not like I will eventually run out of things to do there! (Decisions, decisions.)
Food –
One of the things I most interested in exploring in NYC is the food. I recently learned of rainbow bagels with glitter on them served with cream cheese that has sprinkles inside. I'm not really a fan of NYC bagels, but Instagram fads? Reasons to take my camera for a stroll? ABSOLUTELY.
Also, brioche ice cream sandwiches. I mean – who would have thought?
I tried to find some other food fads to try, specifically something more savory, but nothing has come to mind. Maybe dim sum? It's not really a current food fad, but I've never had it. Or the Chinese-style hot pot?
Shopping –
In searching for food fads, I did discover that I could check out C.O. Bigelow, a pharmacy with products from all over the world. Definitely intriguing. And maybe I'll get the chance to finally explore B&H, a used camera store.
My husband and I will be exploring NYC just before Thanksgiving, so we are trying to figure out where to go and what to bring back to our families for the big feast. Surely there is something Italian, German, French, Chinese, etc… that Georgia doesn't have. I mean, Georgia doesn't have much in the way of unique foods, anyway. Maybe babka?
Trip #3
For my New Orleans trip, I've actually gotten quite a bit more accomplished since last week. Two more hotels booked and a few restaurants added to my list.
Hotels –
First up, Hotel Monteleone with the carousel bar, a must-visit while we are in New Orleans.
Then, The Pontchartrain, in the Garden District. It just looked pretty.
I momentarily considered the Loew's hotel, but ultimately decided against it. *shrugs*
Food –
Obviously, Cafe du Monde is on the short list, but I watched an Emeril Lagasse youtube video on New Orleans and he recommends both one of his flagship restaurants (Meril) and a po-boy favorite, Domilise's Po-Boys. Does anybody that reads my blog have opinions on these?
Finally, Trip #4
We discovered we have car insurance due in December as well as an expensive credit card fee. (Is the card worth keeping a second year? We need to determine that.) Anyway, the point is: we keep cutting back on how much of a trip we should take in December. Should we drive? Will the roads be bad? But I want to see a beach. Y'know. The usual.
But hey! Despite how much time I've spent on Google Flights lately, I still am quite proud of the decisions I have made! Forward moving (and still blogging) for the win!
(We also snuck another leaf-peeping trip in this past weekend as we went in search of Christmas gifts and pretty fall colors. Who doesn't love this time of year? Also, yay for getting Christmas shopping done early!)
Anyway, enough of me. Let's talk about you. How's life? What's up? Are you counting down the days to Thanksgiving? Fighting personal battles as you get through NaNo? Eating lots of apples and leaf-peeping? Getting your Christmas shopping done early?
