#me having to explain the 5th package that came in a row like

[bittersweetbeet]

FUCK BEING SAD BRO HES COMING HOME

[broadwayandshakespeare]

I’m still in awe that I was able to travel to NYC a couple weeks ago. I’ve been dreaming of Manhattan since I was a little girl, and somehow I convinced my sister that we should do a weekend trip to the Big Apple. Our two days in NYC cost as much as a week on a Caribbean island, but I don’t care. It was soooo worth it.

I’m going to tell you the story of our weekend. Fair warning: it’s really long, but it’s worth it. For some weird reason, every time my sister and I travel together, something goes wrong. When we went to DC, we got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere at 2am and then had to turn around—postponing our trip by a few days. Thankfully, Peyton and I decided to fly to NYC instead of going on another road trip. We thought that would be a lot easier (we were wrong).

We had a rough start to our Saturday morning. Our alarm went off at 5am, we scarfed down bowls of frosted flakes, quickly got dressed, and then made our way outside. It was absolutely pouring, and it was cold. We shared my tiny umbrella and tried to stay as dry as we could as we walked the 10 minutes to the streetcar station at Bloor and Spadina. I had planned our route to Billy Bishop Airport, and I checked online every day for a week to see if the streetcars would be operational that morning. The websites said everything was running the way it should. However, when we got to the station, a notice was posted on the door telling us that the streetcar wasn’t running, and we’d have to wait for a shuttle bus (which could show up as early or as late as it wanted). Typical Brittani: I panicked. We only had 45 minutes to get to the airport, I had no idea when this bus was going to show up, and I reeeeaaally didn’t want to waste the money I’d saved for the trip on a cab. Luckily the bus showed up in a reasonable amount of time, and it dropped us off where another streetcar would pick us up. After another transfer, and then another, we finally hopped off the streetcar right out front of the airport. I’d never been to Billy Bishop before, and I guess the tunnel under the water is pretty cool. But damn, there are so many stairs to get back up to airport level. Thank god for escalators!

Thankfully there wasn’t a line at security. After we’d deposited our belongings and shoes in the little plastic bins, they waved us through and we were one step closer to New York! Billy Bishop is great, because in the “Porter Lounge” they have a refreshment area where you can take all the water, pop, coffee, tea, and juice that you want. Oh, and did I mention they also had a table covered in shortbread cookie packages? I think I grabbed eight and stuffed them in my bag (I lived off the shortbread in NYC). Soon they were calling for us to line up for our flight. I started squealing with excitement. We pulled out our passports, we got to our seats, and then it was time for takeoff. We were sitting on the city-side of the plane, so we got to see some pretty awesome views as we flew away from the 6.

We watched a bit of “Sing” on Peyton’s iPad, and then I bugged her until she turned off the movie and started playing the Hamilton soundtrack. We were going to New York; it only made sense to prepare for the show we were seeing that afternoon. I may or may not have started singing/rapping into a water bottle. It may or may not have been captured in a photograph.

The flight was pretty quick: 68 minutes from takeoff to landing. We got off the plane in Newark, New Jersey, and got kinda lost in the airport, but two middle-aged men who were on our flight helped us figure out where we were going. We bought two tickets on the New Jersey Transit (basically NJ’s GO system), hopped on a train, and made our way to Manhattan!

Penn Station was so friggin busy. We kinda just followed the flow of people until we saw signs of where we wanted to go. We ended up on 7th and Fashion Ave (Peyton pointed out after we got home that The Devil Wears Prada shows the same street signs… so cool!) As we’re walking down the street, we look up and see the Empire State Building peeking out from behind another skyscraper. It was 11am at this point and we were starving, so we stopped at the first food place we found: Wendy’s, across the street from the Empire State Building.

After satisfying our hunger, we headed back out in the cold and walked up 5th ave until we found the New York Public Library. Again, I squealed. Maybe that time it was more like a squeak. Either way, I was excited. The building was beautiful; old architecture always makes me happy. We popped inside for only a moment—I wanted to see the stairs where they filmed Carrie Bradshaw’s failed attempt at a wedding in Sex and the City. The security guard said we couldn’t take pictures until we’d paid to go inside, so being the sassy monster that I am, I snapped a photo of the marble staircase, said “Just took a photo,” and walked out the door. YOU CAN’T CONTROL ME, Mr. Security Guard!

Down the street from the library is Grand Central Station. Man oh man, it was massive. People always say that Union Station is just a smaller Grand Central, but I think it’s more of a miniature of Grand Central. There were over 100 train platforms. Union Station has at max. 26. The ceiling of Grand Central is painted with constellations, and it was beautiful. I think Peyton even snuck onto a train platform… see, I wasn’t the only rebel on that trip.

We also saw the Chrysler Building down the street from Grand Central, but we kinda didn’t care too much about it so we just looked at it from afar.

After Grand Central we saw the holiday windows at Lord and Taylor (kinda like the Bay windows in Toronto… except bigger), St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Saks Fifth Avenue! We popped into for just a few seconds, but the setup was beautiful. It looked like a winter wonderland, interspersed with really expensive makeup and handbags and shoes and ohmygod I could’ve spent a ton of time in there. But it was really hot, and we still had our coats on, so we left after about a minute.

  We kinda stumbled upon Rockefeller Center after we left Saks. It’s just across the street, actually. They were still setting up the massive Rockefeller tree behind a tall tower of scaffolding, but we saw parts of it. I can’t believe how big that tree is, and that it’s real! They must have to airlift that thing into the city. In pieces. I could tell Peyton really wanted to go skating at Rockefeller Center, but the line was huge and we were on the clock.

Down the street is Radio City Music Hall, and the NBC building (aka where The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon films). There was also some random food festival on 6th ave so the whole street was shut down. It was pretty cool though. After that, we had one destination in mind: Times Square. It’s so crazy. I swear, an epileptic wouldn’t be able to handle it; the amount of flashing lights and electric billboards is insane. And there were sooooo many people! Thank god we’re both okay in a crowd, because there was no personal space to be had.

By this time it was about 1pm, and so we made our way down the street to the Richard Rodgers Theatre to see HAMILTON! When we bought the tickets back in September, they were the last two seats in the house, and we were in the second last row in the Mezzanine. I had opera glasses in my bag just in case, but the view of the stage was actually really good from our seats.

Peyton and I stocked up on Hamilton merchandise (t-shirts for us both, a cup for Peyton, a shot glass for me), and then a sassy black usher (she called herself that) told the entire balcony section that the only bathroom in the theatre was 66 steps down the stairs in the basement. She said “you have been warned. Go before the show, or fight to get all the way down there before the rest of the theatre at intermission.” She then went on to say, “You may L-O-L, but you cannot text your BFF throughout the show. Turn the phones off.” She was great, and also, like 60, so that made it even better. The show started soon after that, and I was in heaven for the next 3 hours. I’d been waiting to see that show for so long, and my dream finally came true. Now I don’t have to fight against the massive hordes of people trying to get tickets for the Toronto run in 2019/2020. I saw it on Broadway!

After the show, the cast stayed onstage and explained the charities they were raising money for. All the Broadway shows were collecting donations for AIDS/HIV research, and they made a little competition between each show to see which cast come could up with the most. So, at that Hamilton show, they auctioned off a shadow box frame with a signed poster inside that the producers presented the cast on opening night. They started the bidding at $500. It sold for $3500. Could you imagine that? Going to the theatre, paying a ridiculous amount of money for the ticket, and then dropping another $3500 on a poster and frame? Whoa, I wish I could drop that kind of cash. Anyways, the cast was awesome, and I’m glad they could raise the money for a good cause.

As we left the theatre we found that it was pouring outside. We shared my tiny umbrella again and found our way up 7th Ave to our hotel on 57th. We were actually across the street from Carnegie Hall (and apparently a few doors down from the most expensive apartment building in New York City). I went up to the desk to check into the hotel, and the man told me that we’d been upgraded to a suite on the top floor. Apparently they’d oversold the hotel, and since we were only staying one night, it was easier to upgrade us then to upgrade anyone else. So there we were, on the 17th floor, occupying a 2 room suite with a massive bathroom and a kitchenette. No complaints here! At that point, the room was actually worth the amount I paid.

It was about 5:45pm so Peyton and I dropped off our big backpacks, changed into our nice clothes and our high heels, and then headed back out in the rain. We wanted to eat at this cool diner near the Gershwin Theatre, but the line to get in was around the block, so we ended up eating at a McDonalds across the street. Two classy-looking girls in the back corner of a Mcdicks restaurant… Yeah, that was loads of fun.

After we’d eaten, we walked across the street and into the Gershwin. It’s more of a modern theatre than the Richard Rodgers, but it was still incredible to be in the theatre where Wicked was born. We sat down in our second-row seats (yeah, we went from second last row for Hamilton to second row for Wicked) and soaked in all the amazing feels from being on Broadway.  The show started, Peyton and I were blown away, and even though it was the fifth time we’ve seen the show, it was by far the best. The Glinda actress was so ditzy (she played the character really well), and the Elphie actress was throwing out notes that I’m pretty sure Idina Menzel doesn’t even know exist. After the show, the cast did the same charity announcement, and they auctioned off a costume piece for $500.

When we left we saw that the rain had finally stopped, so Peyton and I went back to the hotel, changed into our boots and normal clothes again, and then wandered to Times Square. We just had to see what it was like at night. It was just as busy, if not busier, but it was very cool to see.

We made it back to the hotel around 12:30am, and we crashed hard. I think I fell asleep in under a minute. In my own bed. In the suite. In NYC. I slept so well that night 🙂

(End of Part 1… to be continued)

Let’s Hear It For New York (Part 1) I’m still in awe that I was able to travel to NYC a couple weeks ago. I’ve been dreaming of Manhattan since I was a little girl, and somehow I convinced my sister that we should do a weekend trip to the Big Apple.

[touristguidebuzz]

Review: A Superior Room at the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon

When I decided to stay at the swanky Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon, I didn’t realize that I was effectively prioritizing luxury accommodations with white-glove service over immersion in an authentic Portuguese setting. Sure, the hotel is just a 15-minute walk from the old town center, but it’s in a radically different neighborhood. And no one wants to walk back up the hill after they’ve spent the day navigating the narrow alleyways and cobblestone roads in high heat. So expect to take a lot of taxis.

In This Post

Booking

I arranged for a four-night stay using the concierge service that comes with my Citi Prestige card, which offers a fabulous fourth night free perk if you book directly. I booked a “Superior Room with one queen bed” for a total of $1,848.79. After subtracting the fourth-night rate ($462.19), the total came to $1,386.60, or $346.65 per night (and I earned 4,160 Citi ThankYou points). I paid for virtually everything else during my stay with my Chase Sapphire Reserve card since there were no foreign transaction fees and I earned 3x points on all my travel and dining purchases.

Note that Amex Platinum cardholders can also book this hotel through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, which gives you access to exclusive perks like guaranteed 4:00pm checkout, noon check-in and room upgrades (both are based on availability), daily breakfast for two, complimentary Wi-Fi and at this particular property, an 85 euro (~$90) credit toward spa services to use during your stay.

The room naming here is not intuitive. A “superior room,” for example, is actually the (relative) bottom of the barrel and gets you a 452-square-foot room with a view of the city (could be on floors 1 to 10) and a marble bathroom. One level up from this would be a “deluxe” (527-square-foot room on the 1st to 7th floor), while a “premier” gets you a room of 527-square feet on floors 8, 9 or 10. At the top is the presidential suite, with 2,655 square feet on the 10th floor. Translation: do your homework before you get on the phone so you know what you’re booking.

Check-In

The building’s façade has a kind of minimalist/brutalist appeal — it does not look fancy until you spot valets in top hats opening the doors. The entrance is located at the top of a hill (the Intercontinental Hotel is across the street). Cabs stand by at all hours to whisk passengers away to the Alfama or Belém neighborhoods. Palm trees and flowers line the street-side entrance.

The inside is unequivocally stunning. Exotic vines dangle from a skylight and barely brush the floor below, a real work of art and not something you see every day in a lobby. The reception desk usually has two people ready to help customers so I never had to wait to talk to someone.

The attendant who checked me in explained all the amenities — the pool, spa and gym, among others — and made it very clear that free breakfast did not come with the package/rates I paid. I hadn’t counted on the free meal, but honestly, I was slightly disappointed. A quick call to my Citi Prestige concierge confirmed that what I purchased did not guarantee any meals. Not a big deal — better to find out now and not after gorging on the buffet.

One reason I didn’t care so much was that I was told I’d be on the 10th floor — the top — which meant I’d have great views. So my wife and I hopped into the elevator to see what kind of experience we’d been granted. The hallways were extra wide, with potted orchids, which lends an air of elegance. No narrow corridors in this place.

The Room

It seemed to be a little on the small side when we entered, but there was a private terrace, a killer view of the nearby park and in the distance, the buildings and town squares of Old Lisbon.

There was also one problem: The room smelled bad. My wife was much more sensitive to this odor than I was; she described it as if someone had just sprayed insect killer and then tried to cover that smell up with some room deodorizer.

I suggested we open the terrace door (note white curtains above), leave for a few hours and come back and see if we still detected the smell. Sadly, the room was no better three hours later. We called the front desk and they said they would send housekeeping.

We waited a while and then heard a knock. The housekeeper had arrived but she didn’t seem to know what she was coming in for, so we had to explain it using gesticulations and facial expressions due to the language barrier. She agreed something was off and summoned the head of housekeeping, who could only communicate to us in French, since we don’t speak Portuguese and she didn’t speak English. She, too, admitted there was a smell — we were glad no one was denying it — but when I pointed at the carpet, she just shrugged.

Having hit a wall, I decided to step up my level of concern with a polite chat back down at reception. All I wanted was to move to a non-smelly room, or to know that we could move the following day, at the very least.

Management acted swiftly, saying this was no problem at all and immediately upgrading us to a deluxe room on the 5th floor. We went up to inspect the new room — praying that the smell was not an institutional problem — and found ourselves in a much better place.

The new room was more spacious and smelled of roses instead of Raid. The decor was more subtle — solid beige and blue, from the carpet to the curtains and from the chairs to the bed sheets to the lamp design.

The closet situation was much improved as well: we could access our clothes without having to walk into the entrance hallway, and there were two full-length mirrors behind the doors. Most important, we now had our own single-cup coffee machine.

Though located on a lower floor now (5), the view was virtually the same: We overlooked the park, a sea of trees and older districts of Lisbon in the distance toward the water. It was very quiet throughout our stay.

The terrace, though spartan, had two chairs and a table, just enough space for us to bring back some snacks to eat outside and to dry some hand-washed clothes.

If there’s a criticism to be made, it’s that the room is definitely not modern in any way. The switches to the lamps, for example, look like something I used to see in my grandparents’ apartment. Classic may be the word. Or perhaps: old-world charm.

Back in the bathroom, I fell in love with the sinks as soon as I saw them. Yes, it’s always nice to see double sinks for couples, but these were super-wide and had plenty of counter space. We could really spread out — a rare and decadent form of luxury.

There was a separate bath and shower — bonus points for couples that like both tubs and showers — and tons of chrome in the faucet handles, towel racks and handle bars.

The toiletries came from L’Occitane.

The only thing I didn’t like: The light switches were on the outside the bathroom and you could accidentally cut all power to the bathroom by flicking a switch as you first enter the room.

When I saw that the bidet and toilet faced one another… I could not stop imagining spouses facing one another while seated on their respective thrones. My wife and I did not try this.

Amenities

This building, constructed in 1959, houses more than just 282 guest rooms. There are small shops set up on the lobby level for brands like Prada and Cartier, as well as a��grand restaurant on the ground floor, Varanda, which serves a range of seafood and several Portuguese dishes (steak, veal, pork) that’ll set you back 29 to 49 euros (~$31 to $52) per entrée. And then there’s the Ritz Bar and nearby sushi lounge, which were the busiest areas of the ground floor. Couples leisurely tossed back a few drinks in this more casual setting and ordered from the sushi chef, who worked his magic from behind a nearby counter.

Also on the ground floor are several lounges — a man played piano creating movie-like ambience when I was traversing the grounds. For the most part, these were totally empty, like a ready ballroom just waiting for guests to arrive.

Think that looks fancy? It gets better: The spa, gym and pool at this particular Four Seasons are equally ravishing. But first, to get to the pool and spa, you have to pass by the unusual chairs formed from an oversized sculpture of feet. This was the only light-hearted, borderline-kitsch touch in the hotel.

A woman overseeing the pool and spa area snapped to attention as soon as she saw me walk through the elevator and offered to take me on a tour. In that time, I took in the 59-foot pool (heated to 80 degrees), which rarely sees more than a few swimmers at one time. Comfy beach chairs line the side of the pool and also overlook the hotel garden.

I didn’t make time for a manicure (155 euros, or about $164), pedicure (175 euros, or about $185) or the “Princess for a Day” treatment (425 euros, or about $449 for four hours), among other services the spa offered. Had I wanted it, the hotel could also have assisted in booking a make-up artist or hairdresser. Good to know.

The gym, located on the roof, is magnificent. Aside from having an exceptionally large selection of equipment — bikes, ellipticals, treadmills, rowing machines, pilates, you name it — spread over more than 7,000 square feet…

…there’s also a track that goes around the periphery of the roof, allowing you to take in 360-degree views of Lisbon as you jog (or gawk, in my case).

I visited the 24-hour business center too, just because I sleep easier knowing that I can leave my hotel room and type loudly somewhere else if need be. Wi-Fi is free throughout the hotel, is not limited to one or two devices and worked well consistently. This office space also offered printers, fax machines, copiers and, best of all, more coffee.

Food and Beverage

To feed the sudden hunger pangs — midnight munchies, post-shopping low-blood sugar moments and so on — there’s an in-room mini-bar that comes stocked with candy bars (like Toblerones) and bottled water, juice, soda and minis (including Absolut Vodka). Free bottled water is also left in the room after every cleaning.

To experience a level of formal service that you may never encounter again, I highly recommend trying room service dinner. My wife and I ordered a salad, a seafood stew, a Portuguese pork-and-clams dish and a dessert and were blown away by the way the server presented our dishes — this was dinner theater and came across almost like a magic act.

First, he wheeled in a table covered in a white tablecloth. The hot dishes were being kept warm in concealed compartments, cold dishes in a portable fridge. The seafood stew came in a copper pot; he lifted the lid like it was some great reveal: voila!

Within seconds he had unveiled mini Tabasco bottles, a butter tray, cute salt and pepper shakers, oil and vinegar and a bread basket filled with crackers, rolls and breadsticks (we saved them and ate them for days). Suddenly, there we were, in a bedroom but sitting at this magnificently decorated table with more silverware than we knew what to do with. The food was impeccable.

The piece de resistance: The dessert was set on top of a shallow bowl filled with ice so the ice cream would not melt too quickly. The cost was not insubstantial, but could have been worse: $143 for the two of us, everything included.

Overall Impression

The level of service did not dip for a moment. When we asked the concierge if he could write down the name of a cold medicine we could buy at a local pharmacy, he not only wrote it down, he asked if we wanted him to go get it or if we wanted him to call a doctor for us.

When we asked if there were any grocery stores in the neighborhood (because we like browsing the aisles and bringing home rare goodies for friends), he described two spots, drew the directions on a map, Googled the business to find out their hours and explained which destination offered the more gourmet items.

On the last night, the manager called me at 8:00pm to find out how our experience had been and if we were happy. Yes, they’d gone above and beyond. And finally, when I was checking out, the front desk guy came out from behind the counter and handed me the receipt in an envelope using both hands. Well done.

Have you ever stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel Ritz Lisbon? Tell us about your experience in the comments, below.