Category Archives: United States

Delta’s NYC ‘Pop-up’ Lounge In Flight Until May 22

In celebrating the upcoming opening of its JFK Terminal 4, Delta invites the public to visit T4X, a pop-up lounge in Soho until May 22.

In celebrating the upcoming JFK Terminal 4, Delta invites the public to visit T4X, a pop-up lounge in Soho until May 22.

With airports, the average person’s experience consists of the rig moral of check-ins, security lines, and gate departures. Delta is doing a neat thing in giving the general public the chance to see what lounging is like.

Until next Wednesday, visitors can stop by T4X, a “pop-up” space in New York City’s Soho district. And, just hang out.

Since May 1, Delta has been hosting this experimental setting in a three-story building, at West Broadway and Broome Street, to celebrate and promote another recreation that’s more permanent. The major carrier’s newly transformed Terminal 4 at JFK will open on May 24, complimented with a 24,000-square-foot SkyClub and a SkyDeck!

T4X, or in using its full name Delta T4 Xperience, gives off a sneak peek. Upon entering, Delta representatives take you to show you neat offerings and goodies to choose from. For example, you can pick a travel-related knickknack (a passport holder, mirror, cold drink cup or luggage tag) from a vending machine.

At T4X, order a boxed lunch inspired by an international destination.

Visitors can register for a chance at winning giveaways like a set of beauty products. A kiosk allows for Delta passengers to check on or adjust itineraries on spot. There’s even a countdown clock anticipating Terminal 4’s debut. (I’ll be seeing it firsthand this summer, with my flight to Reykjavík.)

As meals and airlines go hand in hand, T4X provides four daily lunch selections that go beyond traditional serving options.

Lunch in a little suitcase!

With the new Terminal 4 centering on only international flights, T4X’s daily changing menu reflects top world destinations. Edible options inspired by London, Rome, Mexico City, Athens and Istanbul feature sandwiches or salads with flight treats such as cookies, pretzels, fruit and a choice of water or soda. Decide on your meal by viewing a flight information screen listing the day’s choices.

Grabbing lunch has a baggage claim approach as a conveyor belt setup has suitcase-looking boxes circling around. Each lunch is priced at $4; credit card payments only.

Outlets and plush setting enable visitors to recharge their batteries, physically and electronically.

Head upstairs and hang out in T4X’s lounge section.

Go upstairs to the second level, and here is where to find the lounge. In one area, there is café-style table seating. Across from this section, a more of a sit-down room has plush chairs and tables with nearby outlets for charging up laptops and smart phones. Free Wi-Fi is also provided.

True, T4X is a cool marketing setup. Yet it’s a little treat for those who don’t fly continuously or never had access to an airport lounge before, or perhaps whose travel budgets really have been tightened up. Or, maybe they just work in SoHo and are heading out for their lunch break.

T4X is open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays until May 22. For maps, the street address is 376 West Broadway. Check it out!

Wine and Yoga in Washington Crossing, PA

3 Replies

Washington Crossing is a historic town in Pennsylvania.

Day trips are fun and recently I went on a Saturday afternoon outing to Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania (a new place to visit) whose itinerary merged together two of my (long-time) likes: wine and yoga.

Heading to the Hells Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan – and a last minute shopping dash to and from a sporting goods store upon realizing I left my yoga mat at home – I boarded a bus with about 35 others for a day of stretching and sipping.

Roughly about a two-hour ride from New York City, our group reached Washington Crossing, a small village in Pennsylvania’s Bucks County. It’s a rural and quaint town with significance in U.S. history.

For our first stop, we arrived at Washington Crossing Historic Park in Upper Makefield Township for an outdoor yoga session. The park is a lovely outdoor venue, based on the banks of the Delaware River. There are opportunities for strolling, jogging, and yes, even yoga by the water.

Washington Crossing Historic Park has an important link to the American Revolutionary War.

Though my group’s time there just lasted an hour, I got to learn a bit more about this park. As you may have guessed, the park gets its name and fame as the site where General George Washington crossed the river around Christmas 1776 during the American Revolutionary War. He and his troop surprised Hessian troops stationed in what is now called Trenton, N.J.

On the U.S. National Register of Historic Places, the park contains a number of buildings that give glimpses into Washington Crossing’s past: 18^th and 19^th-century homes, a former general store/post office (used when the town was known by its previous name, Taylorsville), and a replica of a boathouse used by Washington and his men. Also, find there an inn/tavern run during Washington’s time. Of course, our future first president ate and planned his military strategy there.

Crossing Vineyards and Winery, located on a 200-year-old estate, produces a number of whites, red and specialty wines.

Moving onward, the day’s part two led us to lengthen our taste buds at a winery less than a mile away.

Crossing Vineyards and Winery is located on a 200-year-old estate, where the current vintner grew up as a child, and operates on modern sustainable practices and with state of the art technology. For example, a computerized weather station records data on rainfall, temperature, dates of frost, and hours of sunshine to help with determining grapes that will grow best in the microclimate. Laser planting has been used in planting 10 acres of Vinifera winegrapes to help budding vines get a better and safer growth start. Today, grape varieties grown here include Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Vidal Blanc and Chambourcin.

With its focus on handcrafting subtle yet refined wines, Crossing Vineyards and Winery produces a variety of whites and reds as well as specialties including Sangria and Chocolate Cherry Truffle, a Port-style dessert wine. My group enjoyed a late afternoon tasting with 10 wines paired with various cheeses and chocolate. Samplings including Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Viognier, Merlot and Sangria. A fan of Sangria and flavors of chocolate and cherry, I purchased two bottles to take home. Definitely make a day trip to Washington Crossing!

New York Travel Festival Breaks Consumer Show Mold

8 Replies

Bohemian National Hall was the venue for Saturday’s portion of the New York Travel Festival.

I got involved in helping with the promotions for the New York Travel Festival, and I’m glad I did. The inaugural event, held last weekend (April 20 and 21), ushered in travel experts and explorers from New York City and beyond.

Produced by RW Social, this new festival was to redesign the concept of the consumer travel show with an innovative program. Focusing on tech-savvy travelers already seeing the world, the event catered to them by inviting travel media’s elite to share insights and perspectives on why we travel, and how we should.

Attendees came out for the festival’s first day at the Bohemian National Hall on the Upper East Side. Andrew Evans, National Geographic’s Digital Nomad, began the morning with his keynote, “Why Your Bucket List Sucks & I’m Gonna Tell You Why.”

Evans isn’t fond of the idea of bucket lists because they sound as though “we’re setting specific travel goals” and not leaving ourselves open to other potential opportunities.

“If we only travel on our bucket lists, we will never get out of our comfort zone,” he said.

Andrew Evans, National Geographic’s “Digital Nomad,” talks to a show attendee.

Evans had a similar scenario happen after having to stay in Tennessee when the plane he was on had an emergency landing. The next day, Evans decided to go see Graceland, a place he admitted he never wanted to see at first. After spending a few hours there, and seeing Elvis’ personal items like clothes and learning more about him, Evans said he “gained this deep appreciation for who Elvis was, and I started liking Elvis.”

Evans also changed up his talk to reflect on the recent tragedy in Boston, which fit in understandably, and how travel has been impacted by terror in many ways such as with TSA policies that bewilder us all.

Breakout sessions on niche travel along with local/regional topics highlight specific scenarios for women, families, LGBT, and those seeking other alternatives. Here are some highlights:

– A great talk on women’s travel, led by Go! Girl Guides Founder Kelly Lewis and Christine Maxfield, a former editor at Budget Travel magazine. The ladies offered common-sense safety measures all girls can take. Here’s one: buy a doorstop to securely lock your hotel door in place.

From left, Rainer Jenss, Charu Suri and Carol Cain share their advice and experiences on traveling with children.

– Yes, it’s possible to successfully navigate family travel. A session on this topic offered solid proof from speakers that were parents of children ranging in age from months old to teens. They were: Carol Cain, travel writer and blogger of GirlGoneTravel.com; Charu Suri of Butterfly Diary; and Rainer Jenss, founder of Smart Family Travel, Inc. and a 13-year veteran of National Geographic.

– Lee Abbamonte, the youngest American to have visited every country, was a contestant in a travel trivia “show,” and got stumped a bit by the audience. He was a good sport.

– Jason Cochrane, now the soon-to-be the editor of Frommers.com, warned his audience about current travel scams such someone “spilling” mustard on you and shared important tips on how to dodge them.

AnneLise Sorensen throws travel questions at Lee Abbamonte, and takes some from the audience.

It was also nice to see and listen to bloggers and experts whom I’ve met virtually, through social media, in person. Plus, as travel circles go, I got to catch up with friends and meet fellow writers that I already followed via Twitter or through Facebook Groups.

With a visit to the Mexico tourism area, I enjoyed samplings of authentic dishes provided by the restaurants, El Mitote and Café Frida. Translated as “drowned sandwiches,” tortas ahogadas are a Guadalajara favorite, in which a sandwich is submerged in a sauce made of a dried chili pepper or tomato sauce. Mini tortas and ceviche tostadas were also on the tasting menu.

Beverages were included, with agua fresca (watermelon water) and tastings of several kinds of Mezcal, a liquor made from the heart of the maguey plant, the piña. La comida Mexicana es deliciosa!

Guests savored flavors from Mexico and New York’s Hudson Valley Saturday afternoon.

With New York State, a “Taste of the Hudson Valley” showcased the culinary and cultural offerings in this attractive region. Taking up one of the show floors, the area hosted a restaurant grouping of The Artist’s Plate, Madava Farms, Gigi Hudson Valley, and Zitoune. Dishes of pasta, cheese and duck highlighted regional fare. Wine and spirits samplings from Millbrook Vineyards & Winery and soon-to-open Dutch’s Spirits were also offered. And on the first floor, a range of New York beers from Shmaltz Brewing were available to sip.

Sunday’s schedule focused on food with guided tours around NYC’s five boroughs. In all, the inaugural New York Travel Festival was off to a good start. See you next year!