Taking a Bite out of The Big Apple

Air travel opens a community to the world and the world to a community. West Virginia is blessed to have the number of non-stop flights to major US cities and one-stop connections to virtually every major city in the world. American Airlines started non-stop service to New York City in April of 2009, with a flight leaving Charleston at 6:40 am and landing at LaGuardia Airport at 8:30 am. My wife and I took advantage of a great deal on airfare and hotel rates for a 3 day get-a-way at the end of August. (A tip: look for deals on non-traditional travel days and times of the year.)

Upon landing at LGA, we bought subway/bus unlimited trip tickets for three days and headed off for our hotel located on 44th Street just off Times Square. Because it was a Monday there were open rooms so we were able to check in early and drop our bags and make our way down to Chinatown and Little Italy. Tudor’s Biscuits for breakfast and Eggplant Parmesan on Mulberry Street for lunch on the same day, air travel really is a miracle of the modern age.

New York City is such an adventure, we had tickets for Phantom of the Opera, at the Majestic Theater also located on 44th Street, after a dinner at Saju Bistro, where we took advantage of a late summer tradition in NYC the Prix Fixe menu where you can have a 4 course meal chosen from the regular menu for thirty dollars each. The next day we visited museums on 5th Ave, known as the Museum Mile, I think one could visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art every day for a year and still not be able to see every exhibit.

That night we had a special treat of having front row seats at the legendary Birdland Jazz Club, and we heard Leny Andrade. Tony Bennett was in the house that night enjoying dinner and the show. Birdland is a very intimate setting with seating for maybe 150 at most. Before the show we had tapas at a Cuban bar and had walked along 5th Ave looking at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Rockefeller Center and the famous high end retail shops that dot the street.

I know this is more of a travelogue than is usual, but the point of all of this, is that air travel provides so many opportunities for people to effectively do business together or to enjoy the offerings of one of the worlds truly great cities. Take advantage of the deals available and select a location and see the wonders of the world, and while you are there invite people to travel to West Virginia to experience Almost Heaven.