http://www.nycgo.com Archives - Jim Murty’s TravelTravelTravel

America, Countries

Washington deserves a guided tour

28th February 202628th February 2026 funtime65

And because Washington deserves a guided tour instead of a dangerous midwinter barge Crossing of the Delaware.

We’d like to take him on a hop-on, hop-off bus around the city which bears his name.

Which, of course, we can do because we have the right connections.

Having bumped into George on the National Mall.

And then having been tour guided around the capital of the US by no less a figure than DC mayor Muriel Bower.

Hot in the City

Good luck on topping that but you’ve got more than a fighting chance this USA 250 year on board with City Experiences.

The 24-hour hop-on hop-off ticket gives visitors the chance to take in the capital at your leisure.

All the Smithsonians, the Capitol, your must-do selfie in front of the White House, and the monuments, memorials, and parks.

While, DC being the great cycling city that it is City Experiences are giving us a complimentary one-hour bike rental. And all starting from £44pp.

Now to borrow from Aleta Adams a minute.

We really should get there how we can for America 250 and when we do hop on the range of modes of transport and entertainment CE are offering.

New York, New York

Now one of the best ways to take in New York is on the Hudson and East Rivers.

And CE will take you on a signature dinner and dance cruise.

Where you can take in views of the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Brooklyn Bridge, and One World Trade Centre.

The two-and-a-half-hour cruise features a chef-prepared buffet, live DJ entertainment, a fully stocked bar, and open-air rooftop decks. Prices start from £63pp.

Out on the Great Lakes

Chicago-go-go: Taking in the Second City

If that whets your appetite, and you are in some of these other great American cities, be our guests and go cruising.

On Lake Michigan, with a chef-prepared buffet on a two-and-a-half-hour cruise taking in panoramic views.

Of the orginal American Skyscraper City, or the Second City Chicago, including the Willis Tower and Adler Planetarium. Prices start from £47pp.

Frisco dancing

Or wine, dine and cruise for two and a half hours in Frisco.

In San Francisco Bay in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge, Bay Bridge, and Alcatraz Island. Prices start from £99pp.

San Diego chargers

While if you want to enjoy too those who live in the seas, then City Experiences put on a San Diego Whale & Dolphin Watching Adventure.

Where your three-and-a-half to four-hour adventure will give you the chance to spot Grey, Blue, Minke, and Fin Whales, along with dolphins, sea lions, and marine birds.

Expert narrators from the San Diego Natural History Museum provide live commentary. Prices start from £50pp.

And again we say Washington deserves a guided tour and so do you, and particularly this America 250 year.

America, Countries, Europe, Food & Wine, Sport

Long Island Iced Teas and Ryder Cup cocktails

19th September 202519th September 2025 funtime65

And back when I turned out my Jocktails I almost blinded the Scary One… and my Long Island Iced Teas and Ryder Cup cocktails will do the same for you.

Now the beauty of cocktails is their surprise element and the Iced Tea kicks like a mule.

Because it is devilishly misnamed as an innocent soft drink when it’s an excuse to knock your socks off.

A hole lot of fun

The famously raucous New York golf fans, of course, need no extra stimulant for next week’s biennial clash with Europe.

Golf tournaments have never been, nor would we want it to be, a booze-free haven.

With visitors to our own Open Golf Championship as likely to be seen in a Guinness tent or hospitality suites (guilty?)

All good when it doesn’t spill over to antisocial behaviour from the balconies, banks and grandstands.

We will, like many of you, be shouting at the television, glass in hand.

And not putting off any player.

Over to your bartender

Part of the team: On my travels in France

If you want to channel your own Long Islander then this is how to make Robert ‘Rosebud’ Butt’s Oak Beach Inn from 1972.l

Courtesy of our own go-to BBC site.

You will need 25ml of vodka, of tequila, of gin, of triple sec, of white rum, of lime juice and of lemon juice.

Fill with ice cubes and garnish with two lemon wedges and two mint sprigs.

Now with the Ryder Cup being played out and supported by dozens of nations, we can have even more fun with it.

And adapt a cocktail for all the different nationalities of players on show or the states from which they originate.

This year’s Ryder Cup cocktails

There is even an official Ryder Cup cocktail for this year’s Bethpage shoot-out.

Following on from the Elijah Craig Roma Old Fashioned from two years ago.

Check out the Elijah Craig bourbon and fix The Mulligan.

By pouring 2 oz. Green Tea Infused Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon.

With 4 oz lemonade, a splash of soda water and garnish with a mint and lemon wheel.

Just a little something to get your party started.

My Long Island Iced Teas and Ryder Cup cocktails.

And should the Ryder Cup whet your appetite for a visit to Long Island and it should.

The. we found a random Aer Lingus return flight to JFK from €603.81 from Dublin with pre-clearance.

Just don’t let me fly!

MEET YOU ON THE COURSE

America, Countries, Sport

Take me out to the ball game

20th July 202520th July 2025 funtime65

No marks for originality here but don’t tell me the song hasn’t been going through your head… take me out to the ball game.

A lot has been going on in the world in the last seven days.

But the one thing everyone has been talking about is the Coldplay Couple.

Caught on a kisscam in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Not that the kisscam originated to expose amorous astronaut company CEOs but sneaky Pete’s and Petras will be extra-wary now.

Kisscam has become part and parcel of the American stadium experience, now extended to music concerts.

And, of course, the first thing humiliated Mrs Astro will have said to Bad Boy Businessman will be ‘I will fix you’.

When it was my first rodeo

The truth is that none of us are safe from the prying lens so just be sure you’ve nothing to hide.

As I discovered at the Coors Field in Denver… and I was indoors at the time.

Practising my rodeo skills on the electronic bull.

Only for it to be shot up on the big screen.

Now entertainment in the Oo Es of Eh has always been even-handed with the fan as valued as the athlete.

And even if you’re not clued up on the intricacies.

And it took two quarters for The Scary One to work out that in American Football you pass the ball forward.

Fly balls and podgy presidents

There is always plenty going on in the crowd.

Whether it’s having your hot dog thrown along the row of seats to you.

Trying to catch a fly ball and fans will push their grandparents outta the way for these lucrative artefacts.

While the Seventh Innings Stretch transcends sport.

Dating as far back as the 1860s with Brother Jasper, who brought baseball to Manhattan University.

And started the practice when he called for a break in the game to catch breath.

Where it really takes off is in 1910 when the portly President Howard Taft took time out to stand and stretch his legs.

During a Washington Senators and Philadelphia Athletics match.

And the crowd followed suit in respect.

A date at the game

Duck stops here: The Anaheim Ducks hockey team

The Seventh Innings Stretch now being a thing all that was needed was a song to sing along with.

And so the legend of the baseball anthem Take Me Out To The Ball Game written a few years earlier by Jack Norworth.

Who the story goes was riding a subway in New York.

When he saw a sign that read Baseball Today –Polo Grounds.

In Polworth’s room, Katie’s (and later Nelly’s) fella calls to ask her out to see a show.

To which she agrees but only if he takes her out to the baseball game.

The tradition, of course, has been built upon over the years.

Harry’s game

And if there is one figure most associated with it in modern days it is Chicago sportscaster Harry Caray.

Who any visitor to Wrigley Park, the second oldest ballpark in the country will recognise from his statue.

And who we all honoured in the Windy City at the American Travel Fair, IPW, last month.

Though on this occasion my antics weren’t captured on the big screen.

Not that I ever would but certainly not if I ever want these, or future hosts, to take me out to the ball game.

America, Countries

Holidos and Don’ts – tipping

14th May 202514th May 2025 funtime65

And in readiness for the Oo Es of Eh and prompted by an Italian guide on such matters we bring you Holidos and Don’ts – tipping.

A tip first of all is a contract To Insure Promptness and our American friends certainly provide that.

We have all seen cab drivers hurl luggage down at a measly tip or God forbid none at all.

While even of you have just got out of the Uber in the dodgiest and wrong part of Washington DC you are expected to open your wallet.

Tipping 100%

But what percentage of your bill should you give your service provider?

Well from experience a fifth of your tariff will elicit a warm wide smile and priority the next time you seek custom.

And so as not to look foreign, or worse, mean work it out beforehand so you’re not scrabbling around for notes.

Boston a gut

The rule of thumb too is that every service provider is entitled to your extra gratuity.

Even if you are that gormless inexperienced 21-year-old waiter getting your order wrong.

At the Black Rose Irish bar in Boston.

Now every American service provider knows the drill.

And that it is tips that make the job viable.

Everybody you would think, apart that is Faceache.

The Tragic Bus (Boy)

One of our waitress bosses at the sadly departed Guadalaharry’s Mexican restaurant by Quincy Market, Boston.

When we worked as Bus Boys, the lowest rung of the hospitality sector.

The convention for clearing the tables while the waiters schmoozed was widely accepted to be 10 per cent of their overall tips.

Which of course, said Faceache, and no I can’t remember her real name, ignored.

What was free, as well as Nachos which I have hence gone off for life, were the daily putdowns.

And getting called ‘Biafra’ on account of my then svelte figure.

All of which would have been helped with a healthy cut of her tips which I had helped win.

Customer is always right

Share it out: Everybody should get their cut

Those post-university experiences and my cousins running bars and diners in New York has led me to value the American tipping culture.

And it does work too as we witnessed first hand when our table were given free drinks on the eve of Cousin Eddie’s wedding.

Because of our extended wait.

Our American friends and family, of course, expect similar courtesy when they visit foreign shores.

A Brit of a lesson

But alas, at least here on our shores it can be erratic at best.

Which is when my formidable Auntie Kathleen, daughter of Donegal turned Queen of Queens hospitality would come in.

Reminding staff on these shores of the Holidos and Don’ts – tipping.

And what she would require for herself and her party if they did not meet her standards.

Countries, Europe, Pilgrimage

Pure selfiesness of Insta Papal pics

25th April 202525th April 2025 funtime65

They look unthreatening but we wouldn’t advise challenging the Swiss Guards tackling the pure selfiesness of Insta Papal pics.

It would, of course, be too much to expect that people would respect Francis’s dignity.

By desisting from stealing a selfie with the Pope as he lies in state in St Peter’s Basilica.

And I can’t imagine my mum’s cousins, monks and nuns.

All in the same family, copying the sisters with mobiles at the Pope’s casket.

Processing the processions

Whatever the rights and wrongs of processions to visit a dignitary as they lie in state.

And we would argue that it elicits a gawkishness or overdeference among those who stand for hours to worship at a mortal’s feet.

Whether that be a queen, a president or a pope.

It must be wrong that the great modern icon of Insta-gratification has come to overrule normal rules and conventions.

And we won’t even get started at those who smile inanely at the gates of Auschwitz and other Holocaust or dark tourist sites.

World turns off its phones

Stick to this: The Beefeaters at the Tower of London

Back in the Vatican the Swiss Guards and Polizie have for now not brought the full force of the law down on the miscreants.

But the tide is turning around the world against the Insta-social behaviour which is ruining our visitors experiences.

At the moment the ban on selfies has been restricted to matters of safety and security.

And so visitors are forbidden from taking selfies, photos or videos in the Jewel House of the Tower of London where the Crown Jewels are kept.

The big beasts

No bull: Selfies are banned at the Running of the Bulls

Elsewhere it’s animals’ safety that is the consideration.

Theirs and ours with pics with the big cats ruled out in the zoos and circuses of New York.

And photos with bears are a no-no in Lake Tahoe in California.

Although the authorities would probably be best just letting the grizzlies enforce the law for them.

With some humans instinctively averse to boundaries the rules have to be laid down for them.

And so, and think about, the authorities have had to legislate against selfies at the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona.

Respect for religion

Now while that adrenaline rush is an athletic pilgrimage our spiritual odysseys also need protecting.

And the Islamic world does it best with the ban on selfies on the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Pilgrims only have a short time left in the snaking queue before the casket is closed tonight on the Pope.

Before his funeral tomorrow and Francis gets some peace from the throngs.

And the pure selfiesness of Insta Papal pics.

America, Countries

Donald ‘Jay’ Trump and The Great Gatsby tour

10th April 202510th April 2025 funtime65

And as everything always comes back to him anyway today we’re taking you on a Donald ‘Jay’ Trump and The Great Gatsby tour.

The Great Gatsby, oft-described as the Great American Novel, was first published on this day in 1925.

And social and political observers in the Oo Es of Eh and elsewhere have been falling over themselves.

To draw similarities between Gatsby and the 47th President and their worlds.

And, of course, straight off the bat, both The Donald and The Gatsby have New York in common.

Making their name and fame in glitzy Manhattan and going on to build a world and a base around them.

Which, of course, we can discover for ourselves on what we’re calling a Donald ‘Jay’ Trump and The Great Gatsby experience.

Plaza Suite

Gatsbyphiles will know well The Plaza Hotel, near Grand Army Plaza and Central Park.

Where Gatsby demands Daisy admit she never loved Tom and which sets in motion the characters’ unravelling.

And which Trumpohiles will know too that The Donald owned in the late 80s and 90s.

To channel your inner Gatsby visitors can book the Plaza’s Gatsby’s Suite Experience.

The package includes a minimum two-night stay in the art deco-inspired Gatsby Suite.

And two tickets to see The Great Gatsby Musical on Broadway and a complimentary drink at The Broadway Theatre.

For stays through Wednesday, April 30.

Trump Tour de force

And while you are in the neighbourhood explore the Gatsby of our times, The Donald.

With the OnBoard Tours Trump Tours (4.5hr bus and walking tour for under $60 adult and under $50 for kids).

Apprentice fans will jump at the chance of placing themselves at the front door of the building.

Where contestants have left with the parting shot ‘you’re fired.’

Back to the Roaring Twenties

Your Trump Tours will drive you next by Trump Parc and Trump Parc East which date back to the Roaring Twenties.

And 40 Wall Street which briefly in 1930, was the tallest building in the world.

Now Trump Place remains a particular favourite of The Donald which he calls ‘The Crown Jewel of the Upper West Side.’

The great New Yorker is at every turn with Trump International Hotel near Columbus Circle.

America, Canada, Countries, Cruising, Ships

A deal for Greenland

19th January 202519th January 2025 funtime65

It’s the kind of offer The Donald himself would be celebrating… a deal for Greenland.

And Oceania Cruises are pitching an Iceland, Greenland and Canada in the Fall 20-night package with savings of up to 20%.

You’ll fly from London Heathrow to the Icelandic capital Reyjkavik on August 25 and make your way on the cruise ship Insignia to the fishing village of Husavik for whale-watching.

Skjalfandi Bay boasts minke, humpback and blue whales and white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises.

Before heading for The Donald’s next real estate acquisition.

Green with envy

All the human life in Greenland is in the south in Qaqortoq (and you’re welcome for that Scrabble word).

Qaqortoq is known for its stunning fjord views and colourful buildings.

You’ll visit the Greenland National Museum and see the famous Stone & Man sculptures throughout the area.

You can also take a boat trip around the nearby islands and hike up the Sermitsiaq mountain.

Or enjoy the vibrant local culture and delicious Greenlandic cuisine.

Old Canada and New England

This year’s blond: ‘The Donald’ in New York

Now you’ll go back in time for the Canadian leg of your odyssey to Saint John, New Brunswick, the country’s oldest city.

Known for its rich maritime history, highlights include the Reversing Falls, historic architecture and the Saint John City Market.

The Oceania Cruise bills itself as Iceland, Greenland and Canada but you’ll also get to enjoy the charms of New England too.

And visit Bar Harbor, Maine, Boston, Massachusetts and President Trump’s home city New York where you’ll fly back to London.

Ship ahoy

Your Ocean View cabin will come in at £5,799pp, down from £7,519.

And we’re advised to book by 8pm on January 26 to receive a free case of wine.

Now a bit about the ship… and Insignia is midsize with an elegant yet contemporary atmosphere.

With all the features you would expect… baristas, Grand Bar, bridge, card room, boutique, casino, shuffleboard, fitness center and track and putting greens.

There’s a Grand Dining Room, library, lounge, dining experiences and pool.

A spa terrace, steam room, styling salon and sun deck.

Not that our friend The Donald would ever need any toning up.

It all adds up to a deal for Greenland and we should all jump on board.

MEET YOU ON THE SEAS

America, Countries, Deals

By train across America’s iconic Eastern Cities

4th January 20254th January 2025 funtime65

It’s taken us four decades and several transatlantic jaunts when we could easily have gone by train across America’s iconic Eastern Cities.

Public transport is much pilloried in the Land of the Car and that extends to travelling between states.

With travel providers assuming that visitors will automatically prefer a self-drive option.

Now, of course, that is not for all of us although I nervously was prepared to go that route in the Florida Keys when Covid struck.

I have, of course, been back to the States many times since and criss-crossed too through New England.

Sitting back in a buffet car, talking to fellow passengers and taking in the world outside your window is the way to go.

Try Freedom

And don’t Freedom Destinations know it as evidenced by their Eastern Cities By Rail package.

You will cover the Big Four, Boston, New York, Washington DC and Philadelphia on your FD tour.

And the beauty of the FD experience is that they will customise your trip with extra nights or destinations.

And the news from the Capitol: In Washington

You will fly into Logan Airport in Bean City, Boston and out of John Dulles which remember is in Virginia.

By train across America’s iconic Eastern CitiesAnd enjoy 11 nights hotel accommodation along the way south.

Pass marks

Now we’d always recommend a city travel pass to get around America’s cities.

And FD agree which is why they include a Boston All-Inclusive Pass and New York CityPass for their customers.

And Boston and Washington D.C. Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tours.

Now they’re not the Big Four for nothing and we’d advise too to walk the cities.

Of course, the Freedom Trail and Harbour in Boston, Greenwich Village and Central Park in NY.

And South Street and any street with a letter or state name intersecting it which is all of them in DC.

Train takes the train

The FD package retails at from £1590 or with flights from £2,190.

So that’ll allay your anxiety about jet lag, driving on the other side of the road and getting the vehicle back as you found it.

It’s better by train across America’s iconic Eastern Cities with Freedom Destinations.

America, Countries, Europe

Uncle Samta Claus

20th December 202420th December 2024 funtime65

He’s the world’s most recognisable man with his red and white felt fat suit and bobble hat and bushy white beardie but he’s really an American… Uncle Samta Claus.

The Father Christmas we all know and love is surprise, surprise, a US creation and more precisely a New Yorker.

Which the more historical, or Dutch, will recognise as New Amsterdam.

And this matters because it was the early Dutch settlers.

Who brought their Sinterklaas across the Atlantic with them in the 17th century.

Sinterklass act

The colonialists being the masters of reinvention turned the thin Sinterklaas into a more rotund Santa Claus.

In furs rather than bishop’s robes and riding a sleigh pulled by reindeers rather than a flying horse.

And arriving on Christmas Day rather than January 6, Epiphany.

Twas the night

Of course, we should credit writers Washington Irving and Clement Clark Moore for the part they played in the Uncle Samta story.

With Irving’s Knickerbocker’s History of New York popularising the name Santa Claus as the translation of Sinterklaas.

And Clement Clarke Moore’s poem A Visit From St. Nicholas, or Twas the Night Before Christmas, turning Santa into a jolly old elf.

So how do holiday revellers best mark these pioneers and Santa’s journey?

A New Amsterdam Christening

Skate expectations: Rockefeller Center ice rink

Well, there’s the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade (100 years this year) the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting and ice rink.

And the Radio City Christmas Spectacular (The Rockettes).

An Old Amsterdam Christmas

While Old Amsterdam also puts on a show.

With Museumplein turned into Amsterdam Christmas Square every year with markets and an ice rink.

While the most famous lighted area of all in Amsterdam puts Christmas illuminations gloss on the season.

But whether you’re celebrating in New Amsterdam/New York, Old Amsterdam or any point in between or further afield.

Offer a big show-ho-ho of gratitude to Uncle Samta Claus.

America, Countries

Wish you were queer for Stonewall 55 in NY

25th June 202425th June 2024 funtime65

It’ll be more of a case of going in than coming out in the newest cultural visitor center in Manhattan… yes, wish you were queer for Stonewall 55 in NY.

It was designated by Barack Obama this week back in 2016.

And the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center will be the the first U.S. national monument dedicated to LGBTQ+ rights and history.

When it opens its doors on Friday, June 28 on 51 Christopher Street, Greenwich Village for this free attraction.

Fifty-five years is obviously an age, and very nearly my age, ago.

And those bright young things who defied the police raid of 1969 are now the grand old gay men and women of the movement now.

Honour the heroes of 1969

‘History was forever changed for the better here,’ said Theresa Pierno, of the National Parks Conservation Association.

‘And now millions of people can immerse themselves in the story of Stonewall.

‘When you explore the new visitor center, you’re learning from and honouring those courageous people.

A changing face

In the years since the Stonewall was a gay bar/dance hangout, the physical space has undergone some change.

Including separating into two separate businesses with the current bar at 53 Christopher Street reopening in 1990.

The historic project began six years ago spearheaded by two Queer women of colour.

With Pride Live co-founders Diana Rodriguez and Ann Marie Gothard embarking on a mission to celebrate and preserve the legacy of Stonewall.

Pride Live’s Ann Marie Gothard echoed their efforts, saying. “We hope it stands as an enduring and resilient symbol and serves as a beacon for generations to come.’

Serving as an educational resource, the Visitor Center will offer an immersive experience featuring a rich tapestry of LGBTQIA+ history and culture.

Tour de force

There will be a variety of programmes, including in-person and virtual tours.

As well as lecture series, exhibitions, a theatre space and visual arts displays.

Upon entering the center, visitors will be guided through a multifaceted learning experience that speaks to today’s generations.

Now what the SNMVC don’t tell us but we take it as a given is that there will be the best dance music.

Gaying it up

Because sure, doesn’t that belong to the gay community.

While I promise to add the gaiety of the nation with the moves I’ve picked up.

From Pride nights from Washington DC when I fed dollars into a podium dancer’s not so brief briefs.

Through Denver, West Hollywood, Anaheim and Los Angeles.

So when my friends in NY and particularly The Village tell me…

Wish you were queer for Stonewall 55 in NY.

I’ll sashay and tell them ‘right back at you, boyfriend, right back at you girlfriend.’

And let’s stay alive and see you in ‘25.