Photo of the Week - The Plaza in Central Park

This week's photo is of the Plaza hotel peaking through the trees in Central Park. New York City is an amazing city. We love to go for the weekend, both as a couple and with Montana. Montana absolutely loves New York for the excitement and shopping of it all.

Warren and I have a soft spot for New York City as our very first trip away together over 13 years ago was to Manhattan. We stayed at the Plaza solely due to the movie Home Alone 2 (if you can remember that one!). We have done that a lot in our travels. We choose a hotel or destination because of a movie we liked. Hey inspiration can come from anywhere!

Through a series of mess ups (on the hotels part) we were upgraded to the actual "Home Alone Suite" It was HUGE and overlooked 5th Avenue. It was a perfect first trip away together.

Since then, the Plaza was bought, renovated and reopened in 2008. The Plaza now offers 282 hotel rooms and 152 private condo hotel units. It is operated by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts.

One day we would like to stay in the Plaza again, but with the prices around $1000 a night, we will have to find a more "value for our money" type of rate.



The World Famous Plaza peaking Through the Trees in Central Park

 Have you stayed in the Plaza in New York City? Comment below on your experience

Find the best deal, compare prices, and read what other travelers have to say at TripAdvisor about the Plaza

What is your Perfect Day in New York City?

I just finished a few pages on New York City for our website Excellent Vacation Ideas. We love New York City and try to get there often.

Our first trip to New York City was actually our first trip away together as a couple. Warren and I stayed at the Plaza and were hooked on New York from then on. We took a carriage ride in Central Park, shopped, did the NBC studio tour and got to see the Rosie O'Donnell Studio (yes that was how long ago it was!). As an added bonus, the Gay Pride Parade was going down 5th when we walked out of our hotel one day. It was AWESOME!

We took Montana there for the first time in March of 2008 and she was hooked! So we took her back for our 10th Wedding anniversary and her 14th birthday this past weekend - see our blog post here.

From Central Park to street fairs to shopping on Canal Street to dining in some of the best restaurants in the world to wandering through neighborhoods, we love to spend a weekend there. Especially if we can get a good deal!

That led me to think...what is the perfect day in New York? So I ask you...what is your perfect day in New York City. Share it here What would you add to our New York Travel Guide?

Last minute New York values at Expedia.com.

The Big Apple for Fleet Week - New York City - Our 10th Wedding Anniversary

This past weekend we enjoyed a quick family vacation to New York City. We had a blast! It was Fleet Week and Memorial Day weekend so the city was horribly busy. I honestly had to question if we really were in a recession in North America?

We arrived on Friday afternoon went for an amazing deli lunch at Carnegies Deli and went straight to work looking for a dress for Montana's Grade 8 graduation. I was surprised as Bloomingdales had limited selection and Macy's had nothing! She ended up with a beautiful dress from Bloomingdales in SOHO.

We wandered through SOHO, and then back to the hotel - Sheraton Hotel and Towers at 53rd and 7th, a perfect location as it is right next to the subway and a short walk to Times Square.

We wandered through Times Square that night and I was happy to see the tkts booth and the bleachers and table and chairs they put out for people to sit and enjoy the area. On the Sunday they closed the traffic to the main area of Times Square to traffic. I think this is an AWESOME idea. I love Times Square and think they have done an amazing job of making it a "town square" type concept.

On Saturday morning (our 10th wedding anniversary we made our way to Canal Street. This is a shoppers paradise for knock offs and bargains. We were amazed at the bargains we found for costume jewellery and sunglasses. There were hundreds of people selling off knock off bags, offering to take us through their hidden stores looking for the "perfect" knock off.

I have to say the quality is suffering. I used to buy these bags etc a few years ago, but they don't look as good as they used to.

We ended up in Little Italy and had a nice lunch outside. I would recommend Angelo's, the place we ate this time wasn't so great, but we have always had a nice meal at Angelo's on Mulberry Street.

We made our way back to the hotel, had a rest and off to Times Square to do a bit of shopping and get a Starbucks - How original, drinking Starbucks in New York City!

That night we had booked to go to Swing 46, a jazz supper club in Hells Kitchen. A twitter friend @SarahC1978 had recommended. It was a great night out, and kind of fit in with "Fleet Week". The food was incredible, and they did a swing dance lesson right before the band started playing. It is was fun, but we will need alot more practice if we want to keep the dancing up! The music was great and it was fun to watch the guests dancing away. You could tell that they had lessons!

Sunday we were tired, we had walked for what seemed like forever this weekend! We went back to Carnegie's Deli for Salami and Eggs for breakfast. When we walked out of our hotel the "Times Square Fair" (7th ave between 47th and 57th street) had set up. So we got another hour of bargain shopping. I got to buy several more pashminas. I love pashminas for travelling, they work as a fashion accessory, a scarf when it is cold, and a light blanket while flying!

We got our stuff packed up and checked it into the bell desk and walked up to Central Park. It got warmer and warmer as we walked. By the time we made it to the park it must have been 85 F and muggy. People were enjoying the park and the horses and carriages were out in full force.

We wandered through the park and over to the Apple Store to cool down. We were hungry by this time and didn't know where to eat. "Wait we are in the Apple store, and we have our Iphone's" so we did what the commercials on TV said, downloaded "Urbanspoon" and let the program decide where we would eat. We were in the mood for a hamburger, and the program came back with "Popburger".

It was right around the corner, and very cute. Food was good too! Next was shopping on 5th Ave, well more browsing on 5th anyway. Worked our way to Rockefeller Center and the NBC store.

On our way back to the hotel, on the Avenue of Americas, we ran into a new "Magnolia Bakery". This is the bakery that is featured in "Sex and the City". Usually there is a line down the block and people have been known to wait an hour for the cupcakes. I got excited and insisted that we get one each!. We didn't wait long, and we took them back to the hotel. We sat in the lobby, catching up with our email eating the most incredible cupcakes! The hype was right - they were awesome!

Next we were off to the airport for our trip home :-(.

Thank you so much to Montana and Warren for an awesome 10th wedding anniversary weekend!

Last minute New York values at Expedia.com!

New York Posts

The Big Apple for Fleet Week!
What is your Perfect New York Day?

Planning a Trip to NYC for our 10th Wedding Anniversay

Our 10th wedding anniversary is coming up in May. It is hard to believe, but it really has been an amazing decade!

I am so thankful to have Warren and Montana in my life. I can't imagine life without them. When we got married, Montana had just turned 4 years old. Our wedding was a celebration of the family we were creating.

It has been an honour to be apart of raising Montana. She is such a beautiful young woman now. She is growing into an amazing person that still amazes me everyday with her maturity and kindness towards others.

And Warren, my partner and my friend, I love the life we have created together and I can't wait to see what the next few decades have in store for us!
Our wedding was really the beginning of our travels. Since we got married we have been to Europe, on a dozen cruises, throughout the USA, the Caribbean, Australia and Hawaii together.

We made a commitment to each other we would travel and explore the world together and as a family - I think we are living up to that commitment!

So what better way to celebrate this momentous occasion than to have a family weekend getaway. Warren, Montana and I decided to go to Manhattan (one of our favorite cities). We will be in New York on our Anniversary date, and I am so excited. We have booked the flights and the hotel - now we have to determine what restaurant to have dinner in!

Anyway since I was researching our weekend away - I wanted to share with you some of the last minute deals that Expedia has going on - If you are looking to go to New York City - check these out!

Last-minute NYC deals: Hotels from $75 - Expires 4/15/09

Book your New York activities at Expedia.com and see the sights

If New York isn't on the map, then what about other US destinations?
Top Vacation Package Deals at Expedia.com