NEW YORK CITY 

What’s more exciting during the holidays than being in New York City? Seriously! And every year, when it comes to dining out, visitors and locals alike eagerly want to know “what’s new and what’s hot.”

There is no one better to turn to than Kate Edwards, a restaurant consultant here in New York City, for her insider tips on where to make your holiday (and beyond) restaurant reservations.

Kate Edwards Consulting is a boutique restaurant consulting firm that specializes in opening new restaurants and retail concepts as well as revitalizing existing, long-standing restaurants. Some of Kate’s clients include The Palm Court at The Plaza Hotel, Le Cirque, and South Gate at The Essex House. Kate also is an instructor at the Institute for Culinary Education, my alumni culinary school (yes I am a foodie) here in Manhattan.

Carolyn: For a fast and festive New York City experience, where do you suggest dining?

Kate: For seafood fans the Grand Central Oyster Bar is a NY classic. It has a daily menu with a huge variety and features dozens of types of fresh oysters. It is an iconic restaurant in an iconic building (Grand Central of course), one of a kind!

Carolyn: Now… what about a casual enviroment where its lively and the food is great.

Kate: For great Japanese noodles and food there is Ippudo on 4th Ave and 9th street. It is always packed (so arrive early) but is super delicious and fun…when you enter the dining room the entire staff (american and japanese staff) all call out in unison in Japanese, something like “welcome!”. Is surprising and then you hear them throughout the night, is a lively atmosphere!

Carolyn: I love trying new wines, and having delicious “bar bites.” What NYC spot would you suggest? [Read more →]

Sure, when the snow is on the ground it’s great to throw off scarves and boots and warm up with an island getaway. But sometimes it’s great to do something different, and people are always asking me for new ideas. So here are a few winter vacations you probably haven’t thought of before. I haven’t actually been to any of them myself, but they’re really tempting to try.

1. How about staying in a treehouse?

No, this isn’t like the treehouse your daddy may have built when you were a kid. Wipfelglűck Treehouse Hotels has two properties in Germany where you can lie in bed at stare at the stars, then wake up to be served a delicious breakfast of fresh baked goods with ham, cheese, butter, honey, and jam, along with juice, coffee, tea, or hot chocolate before heading out to visit a vineyard, a gallery, a castle, or even the famous caves of the Black Forest. To me this sounds like the perfect combination of adventure travel with a bit of culture and all mod cons thrown into the mix.

2. Take a symphony cruise

Love the sun? Love the water? Love music? A symphony cruise may give you the best of all possible worlds. Celebrity Cruises offers luxurious Symphonic Voyages with a 54-piece symphony orchestra, world-renowned solo artists, and a chamber music group. See the sights when in port, sit back and enjoy the music while at sea. Get some sun, and enjoy the many other activities Celebrity offers its well-pampered guests.

3. Visit Uruguay; see the art

Estancia Vik in José Ignacio, Uruguay boasts an unparalleled collection of contemporary Uruguayan and international art in a beautiful, luxurious setting. Now guests also have the opportunity to spend a day with local artists in their ateliers, take private workshops, and tour local galleries and museums with a knowledgeable guide. And when you’re not immersed in art you can sit by the pool, go to the beach, take a horseback ride, or simply luxuriate in the outstanding landscape and architecture of this unique resort. [Read more →]

Airplane travel during the height of the holiday season can be tough enough, but when you’re traveling with young children it can make the whole trip seem not worth the trouble.  Here are a few tips that will make flying with family a lot less frustrating and more fun for everyone.

1. Do plan in advance. Make lists of what you’ll need for each family member and check it off as you pack. The last thing you need is the added anxiety of forgetting some essential item or having to run out at the last minute to buy more diapers.
2. Don’t assume that you’ll be able to buy whatever you need at the airport. Have a supply of baby wipes, diapers, and bottles or juice boxes in your carry-on before you leave home. Reasonable quantities of formula, baby food, breast milk, and juice are not subject to the TSA’s 3.4 ounce carry-on limitation and do not have to be in a quart-size zip-top bag.
3. Do make sure you have enough supplies and medicine in your carry-on to get you and your child through a day or two of lost luggage.
4. Do bring toys to keep your child occupied during the flight. But don’t bring things a baby or toddler can bang on the tray table or seat back to annoy your fellow passengers. And don’t bring toys with too many tiny pieces that can get scattered and lost or toys that make al lot of noises or beeps. Soft toys or a coloring book and crayons are good options. [Read more →]

Trip Viewer (right) is a great new iPad app to use in conjunction with the Trip Journal 6.1 app for iPhone. Trip Journal allows you to track, document, and record your travel experiences, personalize them with notes, photos, and videos, and share them with your friends.  Now, with Trip Viewer, you can export those experiences to an iPad, view your stopping-off points overlaid on a map, and enrich the whole experience with real-time locations and photos for the richest, most complete record of your travels you could possibly imagine.

iTranslate makes you instantly fluent in more than 50 languages. Just speak an English word into your phone and iTranslate will show it to you in the language of your choice. Spoken voice translations are also available in 18 languages so that you can have an actual conversation anywhere in the world. Trying to give a cab driver directions? Looking for a restroom? Lost your way to the hotel, restaurant, shop, or museum you were looking for? Can’t find anyone to ask who speaks English. No worry! iTranslate will do the translating for you. [Read more →]

It’s that time of year again, this Sunday November 6th at 2:00 am it’s time to fall back! And when it comes to traveling, most of us are aware that there will be some time change to deal with—which is how jet lag got its name. But at certain times of year—specifically spring and fall—the time change can be a bit more confusing than usual.

Most places in the world “spring ahead” and “fall back,” time wise that is. But not always on the same day. For example, virtually all of Europe and Russia already began Daylight Savings Time (DST) on October 30th, 2011, which is 1 week earlier than November 6th, when we do it here in North America.

For example, in Brazil (the states that observe DST) the time already changed on October 16th. In New Zealand it was on September 25th, and in Israel the “fall back” date was October 2nd, 2011. And even when you’re traveling within the USA it can be a problem because Hawaii and Arizona don’t change their clocks at all.

To avoid unnecessary confusion, you can check online before you go at worldtimezone.com, call your concierge, or the local embassy of the country you’ll be visiting. Especially if you’re traveling on business, you don’t want to run the risk of missing a flight or arriving at your first appointment an hour early—or worse, an hour late.

India and Russia Visa Changes

The governments of both India and Russia are planning changes to the visa regime for US citizens, though neither country has made official announcements with details of those changes.

The online visa application for India will change to a revised version on Monday, November 7.  There has been no official announcement of what the revisions will entail, but our contacts in the Indian Visa Offices say that the online visa application will no longer be editable after it has been completed.  Any changes would require completing a new application.  There are also reports that visa requirements may become stricter at all consulates, but again there have been no announcements as of yet as to which requirements may change.

Russia will be moving to an outsourcing system, similar to the one used by India, starting as soon as December 1.  Outsourcing is expected to be implemented first in Washington, DC, and will be phased in at other consulates in the US this winter.  It is reported that there may be different outsourcing companies in various cities, so we may begin to see more differences between visa processing at the consulates.  Changes to the fees and processing times are likely, but we do not anticipate that the online application will change. [Read more →]

When I was in London recently, I was both amazed and charmed to see a classic London cab “wrapped” like an iconic Tiffany blue gift box complete with a golden chain and a lock on the hood in front. Of course I knew there were Tiffany shops in every major city throughout the world, but I’d never seen a Tiffany’s on wheels before.

It got me thinking about what else Tiffany might have to offer the traveler beyond jewelry (of course), key rings, and passport covers.

Then, not long after that, I discovered that the one of New York’s most luxurious hotels, the St. Regis, had recently opened a Tiffany suite created by Tiffany’s own renowned design director emeritus, John Loring.  An elegant yet playful mixture of modern and deco design, the rooms are done in tones of white, charcoal gray, and silver with Tiffany blue accents throughout, including the headboard on the bed. So now you really can have breakfast—in bed—at Tiffany’s.

And when you’re ready to do a little shopping, you can pack up your handy Tiffany reversible tote and walk two blocks north to the store itself!

The travel friendly bag, which comes in either Tiffany blue and platinum or camel and gold, also has a detachable zipper pouch. It’s soft enough to pack easily in your suitcase and roomy enough to hold a few of those famous blue boxes.

Tiffany making handbags? Who knew!

Is everyone watching the new glamorous and enticing Pan Am show on ABC? It certainly has stirred our fantasies about flying and travel… And more than that, I find that people are very curious about how it really is flying around the world as a crew member.

I’m asked all sorts of questions: What are my best insider tips and tricks? How do I stay safe when traveling and especially in hotels? What are my do’s and don’ts? What’s interesting is that when I give them my “hotel room to-do check list,” people act a bit surprised. That’s when I decided to ask a few of my frequent flyer friends and see what they do when they first get to their room.

My favorite response came from a worldly and savvy business woman. In a very matter of fact way, she said ”I go straight to my window and see what my view is like!” I bet most of you would agree that that’s as important as the quality of your room (I’m right there with you… I took this photo last month, an intoxicating view of Venice from my hotel room). So I let her in on what I was taught from day 1 as a crew member, and it is my routine to this day. I assured her that ”if you do these things (and it takes just a few minutes) you will have peace of mind that your room is clean, safe, and properly stocked”. [Read more →]

As all the globe-trotting foodies know, the world famous The French Laundry had a pop-up restaurant at Harrods in London from October 1st-10th this month. This video gives you a sneak peak into the production, as the acclaimed head chef Thomas Keller speaks passionately about this “brilliant” and exciting challenge. Although I did not dine there (this time), I was lucky enough to get this menu (so I could share with you) and enjoy a glass of Moet’s Rose Champagne in their lovely French Laundry “terrace” while perusing all the fantastic cookbooks and specialty items.

China Visa Changes

by Fabiola Garcia, Country Information Coordinator for China

China has recently implemented changes to their visa application that impact all travelers, and have added requirements for certain types of visas and nationalities.

All Chinese Consulates now require the application to be typed using a computer, and all fields must be filled out. When the question is not applicable, the applicant must enter N/A. Applications with any blanks spaces will not be accepted by the Consulate. The only fields that may be handwritten are the signature and date on the last page of the application.  We have made the application “user friendly” by adding fillable fields for all questions and notes in the margins to provide some clarity to the questions and assist with answers,  if applicable. If you would prefer to have a G3 Associate type up your application for you, this service is included in our Concierge Level Service. (Additional service fees apply for Concierge Level Service requests.) [Read more →]