Author: Kev

The Circle Line Cruise is an excellent 2 and a half hour cruise that took us along all three NYC rivers, and gave us a fantastic view of the city’s most iconic landmarks. The Manhattan skyline,  Little Island, Hudson Yards, One World Trade Center, Brooklyn Bridge and downtown Brooklyn, Yankee Stadium, the George Washington Bridge, Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Highly recommend the Circle Line Cruise as a great way to see a large chunk of the iconic New York sites.

Quintessentially New York, Ellen Hart-Sturm’s Stardust Diner is a retro 1950s theme restaurant located at 1650 Broadway on the southeast corner of 51st Street in Theater District, Manhattan, New York City. The diner is regarded as one of the best theme restaurants in New York. Ellen’s Stardust Diner is considered a breeding ground for singers. Our waiter, mid song, casually handed us the dessert menu. Former Ellen’s staff members have been known to star in almost every Broadway and major off-Broadway musical such as South Pacific, Avenue Q, Jersey Boys, The Lion King, In The Heights, On The Town, Wicked, and Godspell. The food was over priced and ordinary, the cocktails were good, but the entertainment was amazing! Worth a visit next time you’re in New York City.

The sights, sounds & smells of New York City are overwhelming. There is so much to see, and there’s a million ways to destroy your credit card. Tiffany’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, FAO Schwarz, it’s a shopaholic dream or nightmare, depending on your point of view. Here’s a small sample of our first day.

The incredible apartment we’re staying during our week in New York City, was once ‘8BC’ – a nightclub, performance space, and art gallery located at 337 East 8th Street in the East Village. Notable performers included: Steve Buscemi, They Might Be Giants, and k.d. lang. 8BC is referenced in the song “La Vie Bohème” in the Broadway musical RENT.

Our first morning in New York, we had breakfast at the world famous, Katz Deli. It’s a no-frills New York deli with theatrically cranky service, serving mile-high sandwiches since 1888. The restaurant has been frequented by scores of celebrities and politicians over the years and was even featured in the classic 1989 romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally…” — Katz’s is where the iconic “I’ll have what she’s having” scene took place. I had the Reuben sandwich. It’s a grilled sandwich composed of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing or Russian dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread. I washed it down with a New York ‘Egg Cream’. An egg cream is a cold drink consisting of milk, carbonated water, and flavored syrup (typically chocolate or vanilla), as a substitute for an ice cream float. Despite the name, the drink contains neither eggs nor cream. The Reuben tasted awesome, but could have easily fed the entire Keeler family.

This was our first time flying business class with United and we were not disappointed. Service was great, food was great and the icing on the cake was the realization that this was also the first time, that Lou Lou and I had ever been on the same plane/flight, together, out of London.

New York, here we come!

They’ll always be the one source of love we’ll never have to earn; the place we run to for help and comfort; and the ever-steady constant in the inevitable tides of change. The love of our families sustains us and keeps us going when we need it most. Family is everything.

The chairs at Runnymede are 12 intricately worked bronze chairs standing together on the ancient meadow at Runnymede, created by artist Hew Locke to examine the changing and ongoing significance of Magna Carta. The Jurors is not a memorial, but an invitation to sit down and reflect upon the histories depicted in the artwork. Magna Carta Libertatum (Medieval Latin for “Great Charter of Freedoms”), commonly called Magna Carta (also Magna Charta; “Great Charter”), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15^th June 1215. Magna Carta was written by a group of 13th-century barons to protect their rights and property against a tyrannical king. The chairs memorial were placed in the meadow at Runnymede in 2015, to commemorate the 800^th Anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. Why does Magna Carta matter 800 years after it was first sealed? Magna Carta is a cornerstone of the individual liberties that we enjoy, and it presents an ongoing challenge to arbitrary rule. But over time, while not envisaged at the time of its drafting, Magna Carta has for many been seen not only as a foundation of liberty, but also one of democracy. And this broader notion of the wider significance of Magna Carta makes it especially relevant today. Sadly, the concept of democracy was lost on Blake & Josh, who opted for a more feudal approach. They were still ‘jousting’ when we left and as far as we know are still fighting in a field somewhere near Windsor.