Carole Terwilliger Meyers's Blog, page 58

Good Eats: Jackson Diner, NYC-Queens

Jackson Diner  37-47 74th St., (718) 672-1232.  The Indian buffet lunch is refreshed regularly and is well-priced if you are hungry.  Additionally, the menu offers interesting vegetarian items--including kofta balls and vindaloo potatoes--and a variety of tandoori breads and barbecue.  The open dining room is spacious, attractive, and comfortable.



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image ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyer

Great Sleeps: Leeson Bridge House B&B, Dublin, Ireland

Leeson Bridge House B&B  1 Upper Leeson St., in Fitzwilliam Quay, +353 1 668 2255, Dublin 4.  30 rooms.  E59+/2; booking.com E98.  Breakfast.  Free parking.  Located on a street of Georgian Houses adjacent to Dublin’s Grand Canal, this guest house is itself within a Georgian House and the special architectural features have been preserved.

Room 117 has high ceilings and free WiFi that works.

However, it also has a very small “wet room” bathroom, in which the shower had no floor tray so the
water went throughout the bathroom floor and down a center drain, but still required using all available towels to sop it up.  Actually, I got used to it, and for the price I was able to tolerate it.  As an aside, the first time I saw this type of bathroom was about 30 years ago in Switzerland and, indeed, it seems to be a Swiss innovation that was brought here by an advocate.  The idea is that the natural heat will dry out the space in a short time, but that turns out not to be the reality. 

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images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Sights to See: National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland

National Gallery of Ireland  Clare St., Merrion Square West, Dublin 2; +353 1 661 5133.  M-Sat 9:30am-5:30 pm, Thur 9:30am-8:30pm, Sun noon-5:30pm.  Free.  This collection of more than 15,000 Irish and European works from the 13th through mid-20th centuries includes paintings by Rembrandt, Goya, and Monet.  The exceptional Jack B. Yeats Collection features works and items related to the Irish painter, who was the brother of poet and playwright W. B. Yeats.  Adult drawing packs and children’s activity packs are available to borrow at no charge.  I bought the museum’s desk calendar as a souvenir and it is a great reminder of my visit to Ireland. 
My favorite painting here is "A Convent Garden, Brittany," c.1913-William John Leech, Irish, 1881-1968, depicted at left.
 
More things to do in Dublin.

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images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Travel Articles: Travel Insurance Info

It's that time of year . . .

If you have questions about trip insurance, here are some good resources that I have personally collected.  If you read them, you’ll probably learn something.  I find the subject very confusing and so always have my eyes open for good reports on the topic.  Before a trip, remember to check with your . . . Read more.

Travel articles to inspire and help you plan some spectacular local and foreign getaways.  

image ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Things to Do: Trolley Tours, Cape May, New Jersey

Trolley Tours  Washington Street Mall Information Booth, on Ocean St., (609) 884-5404.  Even if you have a car with you, a ride on one of this town’s cheery red-and-green trolleys gives you a rest and a cooling breeze while a knowledgeable guide tells you about the town’s Victorian heritage and maritime history.  You’ll see many of the town’s best magnificent Victorians.  Several specialty tours are available, including one that includes a tour of the Emlen Physick Estate.

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images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Things to Do: shops, Cape May, New Jersey

●Sunset Beach Gifts  502 Sunset Blvd., Cape May Point, (609) 884-7079.  This beach-front gift shop has a vast selection of items--everything from a tiny 29-cent dried starfish to sparkling Cape May diamond earrings made from the frosted white-quartz pebbles found on the beach here.  The earrings start at $28, and I wear my dangle studs often.  This end-of-the-road concession conglomerate includes a restaurant and a miniature golf course. 
          The sunken concrete ship “Atlantus” is just off shore here from lovely Sunset Beach.  On summer evenings, a flag ceremony occurs just before sunset.



●TreeHouse Antiques Center  742 Seashore Rd./Route 626, (609) 884-4600.  Prices are good and the selection is varied in this multi-dealer shop spread throughout a repurposed house.  A small garden is filled with all things outdoors. 

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Travel articles to inspire and help you plan some spectacular local and foreign getaways.  

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Travel Articles: Machu Picchu, Peru

TO MACHU PICCHU
in Peru
There are times for roughing it and times for not.  Peru, with its Third World plumbing, is one of those places where a comfortable hotel room is greatly prized.  I’ve heard about freezing temperatures at some of the less expensive hotels in densely populated Cuzco and more primitive Aguas Calinentes.  Bear in mind that in Cuzo (at 11,000-foot altitude), Machu Picchu (at 8,000-foot altitude), and in Aguas Calientes (at 6,000-foot altitude), nights are usually cold and altitude sickness also enters the mix.  Read more . . .

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Good Eats: Washington Street Mall, Cape May, New Jersey

Washington Street Mall  Along Washington Street.  Though this downtown became an outdoor mall in 1972, it retains many buildings dating back to the 1800s.  Shops are small and most are one-of-a-kind—no Starbucks here!--and also no cars. 


●Dellas 5 & 10  #501-503, (609) 884-4568.  M-F 8am-10pm, Sat-Sun to 11pm; $.  This old-time five-and-dime has been going strong since 1947. 
     In back, Margie D’s Soda Fountain serves up old-time milkshakes, sodas, egg creams, grilled cheese, hot dogs, and more.



●Stewart’s Restaurant  #500, (609) 849-9255.  Now part of a chain, this sweet spot has been here since 1924.  Hot dogs, burgers, and cheese steaks are the perfect sidekicks for the huge and famous $4.99 root beer float or orange-and-cream float (a bigger one is $5.99). 

●Comparison shop the mall for some fresh saltwater taffy. 

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Travel articles to inspire and help you plan some spectacular local and foreign getaways.  

images ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Things to Do + Good Eats: Historic Cold Spring Village + Cold Spring Grange Restaurant, Cape May, New Jersey

Historic Cold Spring Village  720 Route 9, 3 mi. N of town, (609) 898-2300, x18.  Tu-Sun 10-4:30, June-Aug, some weekends in spring and fall.  $10, 3-12 $8.  No picnicking.  Early-American history for the period of 1789 to 1840 is brought to life in this open-air living history museum.  All 26 historic buildings are authentic, though most have been brought in from other sites.  Among them is an operating bakery, an ice cream parlor in an old farm house, and a tavern.  While visiting this invitingly grassy and shady property, you’ll have the opportunity to meet and watch in action a blacksmith, potter, basket maker, and more, plus interact with some farm animals.  My favorite demonstration is a scroll saw velosiped dating from 1900 that pedals like a bicycle.  Themed events occur on weekends and might include a Revolutionary War Encampment or antique show. 





●Cold Spring Grange Restaurant  735 Seashore Rd., (609) 884-0114.  People in the know start their visit here with breakfast or lunch at the spacious restaurant inside the Grange Hall.  Built in 1912 to serve as the meeting hall for the Cold Spring Grange #132, this is the only village building standing on its original site.  Breakfast includes French toast and oversize fresh-blueberry pancakes, while lunch brings on sandwiches and chicken pot pie. 

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Travel articles to inspire and help you plan some spectacular local and foreign getaways.  

images and video ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers

Great Sleeps + Good Eats: The Merrion Hotel, Dublin, Ireland

The Merrion Hotel  Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2.  123 guest rooms and 20 suites.  Health spa.  Restaurant.  
This luxurious 5-star hotel was created in 1997 from a row of four meticulously restored 1760s Georgian townhouses.  A contemporary-style Garden Wing was built as an addition.  Situated across the street from government offices and just a 5-minute walk to Grafton Street, the hotel holds one of Ireland’s largest collections of private art—it is 90 per cent Irish artists--and has two lovely period gardens.  In addition to sumptuous bedding and furnishings, my spacious room had a luxurious grey-and-white-marble bathroom with a deep tub/shower; I adored the fragrant Asprey Purple Water amenities. 

The hotel’s famous Art Tea is served in the Drawing Rooms lounges and is a don’t-miss.  Cozy fires in these period rooms burn fragrant local peat bricks composed of prehistoric decay neatly pressed into log-size rectangles.  
An indulgent experience, the tea lasts about two hours and can optionally include Champagne--I recommend that it does!  The tea is poured into pale green-rimed Wedgewood china cups.  First comes a tiered tea tray bearing delicious little sandwiches and scones as well as striking brightly colored slices of Battenberg cake with almond icing.  
Later, the piece de resistance arrives--a plate bearing exquisite pastry interpretations of three pieces of art chosen from the large collection displayed throughout the hotel.  
The hotel's "Art Tea" catalogue, which depicts the hotel’s art collection, is a part of the experience and a gift to take with you.




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images and video ©2014 Carole Terwilliger Meyers



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