November 9, 2016 - W2GW - NYC, Rhinebeck, Philly AND SoCal

Elisa's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 

NYC, Rhinebeck & Philadelphia

GOOD DAY ALL!!

What a day we came off of yesterday - interesting day in our country yesterday.  Hope you all survived!


Me and my kids were up quite late watching the results come in. I'm so glad they were part of the political process.  

Well, back to our daily scoop!

Today is W2GW and as I promised I'd tell you about some things to do in November in the cities of New York City, Rhinebeck, NY and Philly!

And I'm going to focus on the seasonal aspect of this month - the foliage; the beauty of nature to enjoy in each of these three destinations, within a few hour's driving distance from the NY Tri-State area.

So, let's take a look...

New York City

Central Park, New York City (credit: pinterest)

New York Walking Tours

If you are like me, you love "FREE" walking tours! In fact, Tanya and I have done these all over the world and they are truly fun, informative and a great way to connect on an intimate level with a city like New York.

When was the last time, you "got away from the city" inside the country-like setting of Central Park as a tourist?  

It's an opportunity to see famous sites from movies and TV, find out about fun, free things to do in Central Park, and of course, an opportunity to take in the beauty of Autumn with the plethora of trees turning colors.

CLICK HERE for a list of some of these from New York Insider Guide.

Circle Line Hudson Cruises
We often forget how one of the most lovely rivers is right here in New York, along the west side of Manhattan.  

Cruises up the Hudson River - namely the Circle Line Cruises offer breathtaking views of the Fall foliage.  One such cruise, the Bear Mountain Octoberfest Cruise, sails past the Palisades, Grant's Tomb, the George Washington Bridge, and the the Cloisters before traveling up the scenic Hudson River to historic Bear Mountain. 

The Onboard Oktoberfest includes German food and beer specials with live German oom-pah bands on Saturdays and festive background music on Sundays. 

​
Rhinebeck, NY

The Vanderbilt Mansion, Rhinebeck, NY (credit: thepinnaclelist.com)

Rhinebeck is an adorable town in Dutchess County, New York. If you are looking for a mini road trip either for the day or for a weekend, you may want to consider including the following destinations on your itinerary.

Cuillinary Institute of America
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is an American private college specializing in culinary and baking and pastry arts education.  

But, for the visitor, it is a great place to come and enjoy an afternoon of tasty food by some of the nation's best up and coming chefs.  CLICK HERE for more information to plan your visit.


Vanderbilt Mansion
​Built in 1895, on six hundred acres on the the east bank of the hudson river is the Vanderbilt Mansion.
What makes it a special place to visit is it is a wonderful example of architecture, interiors, mechanical systems, road systems and landscape, of a gilded-age country place.

It also llustrates the political, economic, social, cultural, and demographic changes that occurred as America industrialized in the years after the Civil War.  

 CLICK HERE to plan your visit.
 

​Philadelphia, PA

Franklin Square Holiday Festival & Electrical Spectacle Holiday Light Show

November is not only a time for great Fall Foliage, but it is also the traditional kick-off for the Christmas season.

Philadelphia has a great many fun events to experience during a weekend visit during the holiday season.

Franklin Square Holiday Festival & Electrical Spectacle Holiday Light Show
November 10 - December 31, 2016

Filled with spectacular lights and holiday cheer for all ages, this free event in Franklin Square feature the main focus - the Electrical Spectacle light show, which utilizes thousands and thousands of twinkling lights and a dynamic holiday soundtrack.

Rothman Institute Ice Rink at Dilworth Park
November 11, 2016 - February 26, 2017
Don't forget your ice skates when you travel down to Philly!

Opening for it's third year, this is the perfect location to enjoy some good, old fashioned ice skating as well as take in some of the best views of the Philadelphia skyline.

What a great way to get in the holiday spirit - bundled up and enjoying one of America's winter pastimes. 

 
I do hope I've give you some ideas for planning one or two spur of the moment weekend trips this month!!


Travel-wise, I'm still reseraching the best dates for me and the girlies to leave for Florida for Christmas break.  I'm making a bunch of calls to see Disney World availability. That's pretty much my day, as well as the usual (boring) stuff like laundry, vacuuming and homework when the kids come home.  

Before I know it, Friday will be here and I'll be heading to see Ms. Kristen Chenowetch on Broadway!

I hope it's a great day for you!!!

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
​NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 6 DAYS

Time for renewal

Hello Hello.

It's mid-week again. Hump-Day as we sometimes like to call it.

We are busy over here getting ready for another trip, plus we've got one heck of a full weekend planned.

Soooo only 2 more weeks plus a day until Thanksgiving and I started on our menu yesterday. Lots of hungry mouths to feed and lots (I mean LOTS) of cooking to be done. Which means lots of prep work, lots of shopping  and lots of planning.

Another thing that I finally took care of yesterday was getting the kids new passport pictures taken.

I plan on taking them to get their passports renewed tomorrow morning. And probably not for the reason you might be thinking! LOL

The kids current passports happen to expire in April, and since we are going on our Euro Ski Circuit  / FIS competition / Venetian Carnival in February and passports need to be valid for at least 6 months beyond your stay - it is a necessary. 

NO, I AM NOT MOVING OUT OF THE COUNTRY!

The reason I hadn't done the renewal so much earlier is because we were obviously using them (the passports) this year for other trips like:
 
QUEBEC 

Montmorency Falls (c)travelincousins.com

And of course there was our trip to the Azores and beyond...

​FRANCE

Mont Saint-Michel (c)travelincousins.com

SPAIN

Barcelona (c)travelincousins.com

AZORES

Sete Cidades (c)travelincousins.com

Then most recently there was our trip to the Bahamas.

NASSAU

(c)travelincousins.com

FREEPORT

(c)travelincousins.com

And since the turn around time is approximately 6 weeks, there really was no time in between these trips for us to go and renew. Now is the time to go, since we have almost 13 weeks before taking off for this most exciting European winter trip!

Now how about some W2GW things to do???

LA Beer Festival

PC: lacslife.com

WHEN: November 12th starting at 12pm
WHERE: Los Angeles Center Studios
WHAT: LA Beer Festival
Timeout.com shares:
Featuring over 200 beers, food trucks, live music and more, the LA Beer Festival hosted by Drink|Eat|Play is back for another year of sudsy revelry. Held at LA Center Studios, attendees will be able to enjoy beers from Boomtown Brewery, Absolution, Iron Triangle, Ohana Brewing Co., Golden Road, Bell's and plenty more. Tickets range from $45 to $80, and proceeds will go towards Noah’s B-ark, Inc, whose aim is to rescue dogs from shelters and provide them with permanent homes. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Japanese Food & Sake Festival

WHEN: November 13th - starting at 11am
WHERE:  Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City
WHAT: Japanese Food & Sake Festival
Also according to Timeout.com:
Unlimited ramen, rice balls, sake and beer? Pinch us, we're dreaming. The 2016 Japanese Food Festival is bringing some of Japan's best dishes to the U.S., including JOSUI (a famous ramen shop that will be premiering in the states for the first time), sashimi, chicken karaage, sushi and onigiri. The all-inclusive ticket includes drinks as well: sake, sochu and beer. In addition to the bounty of delicious food and drink, the Japanese Food Festival is featuring some top-notch entertainment, like a taiko drum performance, rice ball workshop and sake tasting contest.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

That's about all for today folks. I've gotta hit the gym and take Cosette to her Horseback riding lesson before taking Dominic to his class.

See ya'll tomorrow,
​-T