My well-traveled daughter, Jenny, was back in Chicago for just five days after her Europe sojourn  before she and her good friend Emily took off for their final spring break trip. The two seniors gave themselves a graduation gift (with a generous kick-in from Mom and Dad) of a five-day trip to New York City. It was a first-time trip to the Big Apple for both, and they were extremely excited to experience as much of the city as they could. Her trip triggered memories of my own college graduation trip to New York with my roommate Diane, 30 years ago.

Jenny believes one of the best parts of the trip was their accomodations at the Duane Street Hotel in the TriBeCa neighborhood. She had had her fill of youth hostels and the YMCA after her two months overseas, and she and Emily spent plenty of time researching to find a nice place that could accomodate their budgets. Located conveniently not far from Wall Street and the financial district and in a trendy area with great restaurants and shopping, the Duane Street Hotel sounds like it would meet the needs of both business and leisure travelers. The girls appreciated the fact that they could hop on the subway just two blocks from the hotel  and get to the myriad sites on their extensive list of “to-sees.” With only 45 guestrooms, this was a good choice for them, and they found the staff friendly and very helpful with tips and directions. They also appreciated the property-wide free Wi-Fi, warm cookies available 24/7, plush bathrobes in the room and a spacious, well-appointed bathroom.

I got a kick out of Jenny’s Facebook posting on her first morning in New York: “You know you’re in NYC when: they are filming Law & Order right outside your hotel.” Another New York moment (on the other end of the thrill scale) was spotting rats on the subway platform, but it seems everything else was pretty much a thumbs-up. Both girls were moved to tears at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum (just blocks from their hotel) but were glad to have experienced it. They also visited MOMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, took the ferry to Liberty and Ellis islands, stopped in at a jazz club on the Upper West Side and saw The Lion King on Broadway. They wandered around Little Italy, compared New York pizza with the Chicago variety they know well and, of course, enjoyed the shopping (”Mom, no sales tax on clothes!!!”). One disappointment: They weren’t picked up by Cash Cab.

Arriving back in Chicago late Friday night, Jenny now looks ahead to her final months of school. She will graduate not only with her formal degree but also some great real-world experiences gained on her travels. Best of all, she’s grown in confidence in herself and her ability to navigate a big new city (even if she mistakenly ends up in Brooklyn at some point!) and has gained a grand appreciation for the world and its peoples. 

– Patty Vanikiotis, proofreader

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

As March approaches, people are stuck in an end-of-winter-beginning-of-spring rut. It is the transitional time of year when Mother Nature teases us with a warm weekend and then hits us with yet another snowstorm!

It is hard not to get discouraged by the unreliable weather this time of year, which is why I appreciate reliable services such as Netflix. Pretty snowstorms mean ankle deep slush in NYC, which means many nights spent indoors. This year, I am on season three of Friday Night Lights, a show about a small town in Texas which loves its football. The drama revolves around a high school football coach, his family and his team. The town is small, but the problems are real. The season one pilot kicked off with the senior quarterback becoming paralyzed in the middle of the game. The problems snowballed from there.

The show touches on family issues, racism, high school hierarchy and the conflicts that come with growing up in a small town that revolves around football. I highly recommend this show for anyone looking for some consistency this time of year.

– Courtney Centeno, account executive

I penned my letter from the publisher recently and took a bullish stance on the future of travel based on the return of the Emirates A380 to New York and OpenSkies‘ new service between Washington, D.C., and Paris.

Add to that the recent announcement that American Airlines will be increasing international flights from New York. This spring, AA will add three new destinations from JFK, including San Jose, Costa Rica; Madrid, Spain; and Manchester, England. The new flights to San Jose will begin April 6, while service to Madrid starts May 1, and flights to Manchester will begin May 13.

Jim Carter, American’s vice president in New York City, rightly stated: “New Yorkers are international travelers.” He is absolutely correct. Add the feeder markets around New York, which can stretch as far south as Philadelphia, and there is a huge potential market for AA.

Hopefully, this is another sign that travel will continue to pull the country, and the world, out of the global recession.

– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO

We are about to enter another wine survey season. GT is the only magazine that conducts a survey of business- and first-class wine in the United States. It is a major task, and I certainly understand why other financially strapped publications don’t take this on.

We are all looking forward to dealing with the airlines that never seem to be able to get the wines to us without our help. Some airlines finds a reason not to send their submissions because they are understaffed or just don’t care enough to follow through. It is really quite amazing how difficult some people can make this very simple task.

The survey itself is very interesting to watch. Not only is there a panel of about 25-30 professional judges, but every wine is poured in a back room and each glass is labeled at the bottom with an identifying number. It is truly a blind tasting. Read about last year’s survey here.

When we award the winners of the GT Tested awards (this past year we held the function at the Andaz Wall Street), we like to have the winners of the wine survey send samples to be served at the function. This year we had about 350 guests at the Andaz Wall Street. It is a big hit, but some airlines, much like the survey itself, try to have their wines at the event and fall short. This year, we had confirmation after confirmation from winners that the wines would be supplied. We listed them on the event program, never to have the wine show up. Of course, this causes problems.

All this so that you, the business luxury traveler, has the best possible wine while traveling at 35,000 feet!

– Fran Gallagher, publisher and CEO