Last night I encountered one of the many reasons why I love living in New York. Around 9 p.m., I made my way to the nearby 24-hour grocery store (yet another reason why I love living here). As I was rounding the corner, I passed a giant black bear standing just under the stop sign. Not a single passerby took a second look.

No, this wasn’t a real black bear that had escaped from the Prospect Park Zoo. It was a seven-foot-tall man dressed in black and wearing a giant plastic black bear head. Popularly known in Brooklyn as “Death Bear,” this performance artist will help you part ways with any painful reminders of an ex-lover or friend.

Too heartbroken to give your ex-boyfriend his favorite t-shirt back? Can’t bear (pun intended) the sight of your deceased cat’s toys lying around the apartment? Call Death Bear and he’ll come to your door to take it off your hands. The whole concept might sound a bit creepy or morbid at first, but if you think about our need for closure in such instances, it makes sense. I am interested to know what sorts of goodies Death Bear has collected. I do, however, hope that I won’t need to call him any time soon.

– Courtney Centeno, account executive

I thought you would all be interested in an update on the Hotel Bel-Air. As you know, Global Traveler held many events at the property, and it become our home-away-from-home. It closed this past October for massive renovations, including the completion of the spa.

The Hotel Bel-Air refurbishment is still in the design phase, and I am told it will be spectacular. The owners are bringing the property up to the standards of today’s guest while still maintaining the residential feel for which the HBA has been known for many years. Those of us who frequented the property are anticipating the changes as well as looking forward to what will remain the same.

The swans are still on property and are very happy to be home throughout the refurbishment. As those who have been to the Hotel Bel-Air know, the swans are a signature of the property. They make their home in the little pond over which guests cross to enter the hotel.

Alexandra Champalimaud, the famed designer of other Dorchester Collection properties as well as Boston’s Liberty Hotel and the American Airlines Arena skyboxes, is the interior designer. She just won an award for “Interior Designer of the Year.” David Rockwell, the HBA restaurant designer, was just awarded, for the second year, the opportunity to do the 82nd Academy Awards production. The Hotel Bel-Air definitely has the top people on this project!

The Bar will be also be upgraded, yet the area’s illustrious history will be maintained, which I think is very important. Overall, I am told the process is going well, with an anticipated completion date in mid-2011. That might be a bit optimistic, but one never knows.

– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

Our Mediterranean cruise concluded in Barcelona, arriving about 5 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon, allowing us a final overnight on the ship before disembarkation early Sunday morning. We ladies had already planned for an additional night in a hotel in Barcelona before returning to our “real” lives (work, laundry, cooking) via flights home on Monday. We decided to grab a cab into town (the cruise terminal is only a few miles, at most, from Las Ramblas) as soon as the ship docked so that we could get a quick sense of the city and how we might want to spend our next day there.

One of the things I loved about this trip is how it brought home to me again how very different and exciting each city can be. I had read descriptions of Barcelona — its abundance and variety of amazing architecture, its vibrant vibe, its position on the cutting edge of all things modern while dwelling gracefully with its wealth of history — and all of them got it right, as much as one can try to capture in words the pulse of this place. Gothic churches, Modernist buildings, post-modern hotels and tree-shaded boulevards lined with 18th-century mansions provide visual delight without a jarring note, all of them somehow coexisting with and complementing each other. Beyond the physical attributes the city enjoys, there is a palpable energy here, neither frenetic nor keenly focused on one industry or sector, but providing a current of exuberant living one senses underlying every aspect of daily life.

We plunged into that river of energy at the top (north end) of Las Ramblas, the city’s famous, primarily pedestrian boulevard which runs from the Placa Catalunya to Port Vell, terminating at the towering Colon (Christopher Columbus) Monument. Deciding to stroll the length of the almost-one-mile avenue, we were immediately surrounded by crowds of people, citizens and tourists alike, making their way home from work or shopping the myriad booths lining the way. Las Ramblas is edged on either side by a one-lane roadway (one headed north, the other south), and between these two is an expanse of pavement shaded by a double row of towering elms, embroidered by lush planter boxes and powered by commerce in every direction. One area was primarily devoted to flower- and plant-sellers, offering everything from herbs to orchids, cut flowers to cacti. There were the to-be-expected cosmetic, jewelry, art and clothing booths alongside those selling cellphones and domestic goods for the home. Most interesting of all, perhaps, was a whole section where small creatures, suitable as pets for city dwellers in not-so-spacious apartments, were sold. Cages full of brightly colored songbirds vied with more unusual options including reptiles, gerbils and honeygliders and large insects (I didn’t venture very close to those!).

We looked briefly into La Boqueria, Barcelona’s large public market which opens on to Las Ramblas, but decided our limited time wouldn’t allow a satisfactory exploration of its tempting displays of what seemed to be everything one could possibly want. Knowing that the market would be closed on Sunday, I reluctantly followed our group back to the boulevard, tempted to make a dinner of whatever appealed at those colorful and crowded tables. Oh well, it just means I’m meant to return to Barcelona for a more extended stay in the future!

Although we had been warned to be careful of pickpockets and the more “seedy” aspects of the southern end of Las Ramblas, we were cautious but felt comfortable in our meanderings, if a little overwhelmed at the sensory overload. The group decided to return to the ship for our final, late dinner aboard (I was still yearning for some tastes from La Boqueria) and to attack the city fresh in the morning. Our taxi conversation on the drive back to the dock was full of possibilities and options — clearly we would need to make some hard decisions on how to spend a single, completely insufficient day in this amazing city.

More on that, tomorrow.

–Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

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Tuesday was the first day of actual flights for a new airline, Pet Airways.  Pet Airways started weekly flights for pets to five destinations across the country.

Pet Airways is offering flights to and from Chicago Midway Airport (MDW), Baltimore-Washington International (BWI), Republic Airport (FRG) (serving New York City), Rocky Mountain Airport (near Denver) and Hawthorne Municipal Airport (HHR) (near Los Angeles).  Dogs and cats can fly in the cabin as long as they are in carriers; however, owners will have to fly separately, as the only people on board will be the crew and some pet attendants.  There is no limit on the pet size, and one-way fares start at $149.  The initial offering of flights has sold out, and there is a short waiting list for some cities.

I am sure studies were done, but I could not find out the reasoning behind selecting these specific airports.  I guess New York, Chicago and Los Angeles were chosen because of their population.  I wonder if Denver was chosen as a sort of midway point between Chicago and Los Angeles.

I also wonder if this is a huge deal for pet owners.  Some airlines already allow small pets in small carriers to travel in the cabin as long as they fit under the seat.  Pets are also allowed to ride in the cargo hold areas.

As I said, I am sure market research was done (at least I would hope so), but I am extremely interested to see how Pet Airways does in the upcoming months.  Is the timing right?  Are there enough choices of destinations?  Are people willing to pay the price?  Is there enough continual demand?

As a pet owner, would you like your pet to fly in the cabin with you on a different flight?  Is this a much more desirable option than simply having your pet fly in the cargo area?

I’ll be keeping my eyes on Pet Airways.  I’ll report back here in a few months.

Check out GT’s eFlyer report on pet travel.

–John Wroblewski, distribution specialist

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I try to avoid flying from JFK Airport at all costs. I live in Pennsylvania, not too far from the airport, but it can still be a hike and a hassle to get there. Many times it is hard to get the routing I want from PHL, so I have resigned myself to the fact that, oftentimes, I will be traveling to more out-of-the-way airports, but I much prefer Newark.

The second reason I avoid JFK is because it is almost guaranteed flights will be delayed. As we pushed off for a 15-hour flight to India, the pilot informed us we were 30th in line for take-off. We didn’t leave the ground for almost an hour and a half. The trend often repeats itself, at least in my experience.

As I was reading the travel news headlines the other day, I came across a news story about very unusual flight delays at JFK on Wednesday. The airport was forced to close down a runway because 78 turtles had crawled onto the runway from the bay! It took airport employees 35 minutes to wrangle up the turtles and return them to safety — back in the water and further away from the airport. The turtles were about eight inches long and weighed two to three pounds each. As a result, flights were delayed up to an hour and a half.

Can you imagine hearing that message from the pilot as you are sitting on the runway wondering why you haven’t taken off? “Sorry, folks, we are a bit delayed because of 78 turtles on the runway!” I’m sure more than one passenger rolled their eyes in disbelief.

And, according to this recent news story, it looks like the JFK delays are only going to get worse.

–Kim Krol, eFlyer editor, circulation and public relations executive

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