New York City

Yesterday, I arrived in New York City. Harvey and I took the Amtrak train up. The train itself was nice. I particularly enjoyed seeing the various sights roll by the window. It's one thing you miss when you fly. One thing I wish I would miss with Amtrak is their tardiness. They arrived 40 minutes at BWI Amtrak station and were 25 minutes late pulling into New York Penn Station. They're definitely not a mode of travel to rely on when you MUST be some where by a certain time.

After we arrived, we footed it the 12 blocks or so to our hotel the Milford Plaza. I was surprised how busy the hotel was. We had to wait at least 15 minutes to check in. I found my single room to be small and English looking. The wallpaper and pictures remind me of ones British hotels use. I confess for the size of the room, it grates me to think I've paid over $300 a night for it.

Once we'd dropped off our stuff, Harvey wanted an early dinner. I suggested an Italian restaurant called the Southside Cafe which was supposedly less than have a mile away. I'd researched it when I looked for restaurants in the dining rewards program that were close to the hotel. He was game so we went in search of the restaurant. We were able to find it pretty easily. The restaurant is a little small but the food and wine were excellent. They have a fixed prix dinner that will definitely fill you up while not breaking the bank. I had their grilled calimari, angel pasta with fruits of the sea (shrimp, mussels, clams and calimari (squid)) and apple pie. I was throughly pleased with each dish. As Harvey likes wine, we ordered a bottle of chianti which was good as far as I know (I don't know tiddly about wines). The bill came to $98.50 with the bottle of wine which I thought was cheap for the dinner we had. I also have to praise the service. Our waiter Armando did an excellent job. If you're in New York City and your in the mood for Italian food, you might want to try the Southside Cafe.

After dinner, we'd agreed we would see the new James Bond movie Casino Royale. I'd heard it was good. As I haven't seen a movie in a movie theater in a long while, I thought it would be nice to see that one. Also, there happen to be a movie theater just 2 blocks from the hotel (AMC 25). The movie was excellent. Daniel Craig plays a great and moving James Bond. He has plenty of toughness but can also show pain and grief as well when Vesper Lynd dies. The movie definitely has more grit and realism then previous James Bond movies which seemed to get more ridiculous and outlandish. Hopefully, the owners of the franchise will continue with this new tangent on the James Bond series. Another thing I have to praise is the script. Craig has some great lines in the movie and does them justice. Overall, I would definitely recommend this movie. I know I'll be looking forward to the follow on movie. Based on the first, it promises to be an action packed thriller.

That's all for my first report from the Big Apple. Today, I get to see the famous Rockettes perform. Harvey and I will also also try to figure out what other sights we want to see. To my embarrassment, I dug out my NYC travel guide and then forgot to pack it. At least I didn't forget to pack anything important as far as I know. Cheers to anyone who reads this.