Maritime Hotel Review

Our next hotel review on the blog is The Maritime Hotel in the area of Chelsea. I was in the city for the weekend for a cruise (which will be on the blog shortly and was AMAZING) and this was the perfect choice. I was always fond of the Chelsea area, but staying here made me love it even more. The location is just perfect. So much within walking distance, which I favor, no need for subway or cabs. 

The hotel is home to La Sirena, Mario Batali and Joe Bastianich's first new restaurant in New York in over a decade. La Sirena serves traditional and updated Italian dishes, and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The woodwork is gorgeous and I love the porthole windows! 

The window in the room actually opens but weather wasn't working in my favor! 

I wanted to take this chair home with me! What a fabulous print! 

Great toiletries ! Love Marvis toothpaste. 

As you walk in, the lobby is really very lovely.  

Very cozy to relax, lots of books and a fireplace  

Such cool lighting 

Positives: 

• 3 to 4 blocks from 5 subway lines 
• On site Italian restaurant from Mario Batali 
• iPod Docking radios in every room 
• Walking distance to Meatpacking District and Highline 
• Right across from Chelsea Market 
• Beautiful lobby 
• Comfy Bed 
• C.O. Bigelow Toiletries
• Bike Rentals 
• Walking distance to The Whitney Museum 
• Walking distance to Chelsea Piers 
• 24 hour fitness center

Negatives: 

• Small Standard Guestrooms  (Superior Room is 250 sq ft)   
• Small Bathroom

The Maritime Hotel 

363 West 16th Street  
New York, NY 10011
212-242-4300

4 star hotel
Nautical-themed boutique hotel 
Location: Chelsea/Meatpacking District   
120 guestrooms; non-smoking available  
No Spa or Pool 
Room Service Available 
Free WiFi
Pets are allowed No Weight Limit or Fee    
Trip Advisor Ranking 72 of 479 (as of 7/29/18)
Trivago Rating  9.2 out of 10 (as of 07/29/18)
Price Range $234 - $493 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)

Hotel prices are at their lowest in the months of January and February; their highest September and October. Sunday nights are the lowest prices for hotel rooms, in most cases. My go to places for checking prices for hotels are Trivago, Trip Advisor, Hotels.com and Travelzoo. Always remember to check the hotel's website itself, they are really trying to have you book direct and sometimes offer specials or a discount with AAA that is cheaper than the websites I mentioned above. I am also finding that if you book on your mobile device, you can save some money as well. I actually got a better rate via my mobile phone than using my AAA discount online direct at the hotel. You should really do some research on your price for hotel a few different ways, and ALWAYS book a room that you can cancel, you never know what may happen in the future. 

Remember to take into account for your total cost the NYC Hotel tax of 14.75% plus Daily $2.00 per room occupancy fee.

Would I reserve a night at the Maritime Hotel again? I believe so. This hotel's location was just everything. You are right across the street from Chelsea Market, the Meatpacking District, the Highline, Chelsea vintage shopping, Soho. My biggest issue was the room size, which for me on my own was fine, but more than 1 person in a room could be an issue. The bathroom was so tiny that as I brushed my hair I was hitting the door! If you can get over the room size, and you wish to explore the areas I just mentioned, this is your hotel. If you are doing a cruise from Chelsea Pier, this location is perfect. The Dream is right next door, and you will pay a higher price for that selection.  

 My rating for this hotel, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being perfect in every way, is a 7. 

Disclosure: This stay was paid for by me. I will always state at the end of each review whether my stay was paid for by myself or if I was hosted by the hotel. I will honestly tell you about my experience at this hotel, not being swayed in any way by complimentary services. I know you value my opinion, and it is important to me to be as honest as possible. All opinions are my own. Thank you so much.

Note: The hotel rating improved from original post date from 122 (as of 01/2017) to 72 (as of 07/2018) which shows folks are becoming more aware of this hotel and the wonderful location it has to offer! 

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The Purpose and Power of Jewelry at The Met

Exhibition at The Met to Examine the Purpose and Power of Jewelry

Exhibition Dates: November 12, 2018–February 24, 2019 Exhibition Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, Floor 2, Gallery 999,  Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Exhibition Hall

What is jewelry? Why do we wear it? What meanings does it convey? Opening November 12 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the exhibition Jewelry: The Body Transformed will traverse time and space to explore how jewelry acts upon and activates the body it adorns. This global conversation about one of the most personal and universal of art forms brings together some 230 objects drawn almost exclusively from The Met collection. A dazzling array of headdresses and ear ornaments, brooches and belts, necklaces and rings created between 2600 B.C.E. and the present day will be shown along with sculptures, paintings, prints, and photographs that will enrich and amplify the many stories of transformation that jewelry tells. The exhibition is made possible by Albion Art Co., Ltd. Additional support is provided by Alice Cary Brown and W.L. Lyons Brown, the Diane W. and James E. Burke Fund, Diane Carol Brandt, the Druckenmiller Foundation, and Galerie Magazine. If the body is a stage, jewelry is one of its most dazzling performers.  Throughout history and across cultures, jewelry has served as an extension and amplification of the body, accentuating it, enhancing it, distorting it, and ultimately transforming it. Jewelry is an essential feature in the acts that make us human, be they rituals of marriage or death, celebrations or battles. At every turn, it expresses some of our highest aspirations.  Exhibition Overview The exhibition will open with a dramatic installation that emphasizes the universality of jewelry—precious objects made for the body, a singular and glorious setting for the display of art. Great jewelry from around the world will be presented in a radiant display that groups these ornaments according to the part of the body they adorn: head and hair; nose, lips, and ears; neck and chest; arms and hands; and waist, ankles, and feet.  The remaining galleries will be organized thematically in order to encourage visitors to make cross-cultural comparisons. The Divine Body will examine one of the earliest conceptions of jewelry—its link to immortality. Featured here will be a rare head-to-toe ensemble from ancient Egypt that accompanied the elite into the afterlife, as well as items from the Royal Cemetery of Ur, implicated in one of the most mysterious rituals of ancient Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). Also highlighted will be the regalia of the rulers of Calima (present-day Colombia), who were lavishly covered in sheets of gold. The Regal Body will examine the use of jewelry throughout history to assert rank and status. Among the examples on display will be sapphires and pearls from Byzantium, finely wrought gold from the elites of Hellenistic Greece, and ivory and bronze from the Royal Courts of Benin.  The Transcendent Body will focus on how jewelry is used to traverse the temporal and spiritual realms. This section will celebrate jewelry's power to conjure spirits, appease gods, and evoke ancestors.  Sculpted images and exquisite jewelry from India will underscore the active role of gold ornaments in Hindu worship.  Adornments from Coastal New Guinea, splendidly fashioned from shell and feathers, will speak to jewelry's capacity to channel the spiritual well-being of the wearer.  The Alluring Body will explore how jewelry engenders desire. Woodblock prints and period ornaments will convey the ways in which hair dressing indicated a courtesan's availability in Edo Japan. Photographs and spectacular jewels will highlight the eroticism of pearls in the Victorian era and beyond. Jewelry designed by Elsa Schiaparelli, Art Smith, Elsa Peretti, and Shaun Leane will document how contemporary artists push the limits of glamour, courting danger and even pain.   The Resplendent Body will call out the marriage of material and technique for the purpose of ostentation. Examples will include the opulent adornment of the Mughals; the aesthetic of accumulation in the gold and silver jewelry of the Akan and Fon peoples of West Africa; and the elegant designs of such legendary jewelry houses as Tiffany, Castellani, and Lalique. Contemporary jewelry makers—including Peter Chang, Joyce J. Scott, and Daniel Brush—who question and re-imagine notions of luxury and adornment will also be celebrated. Replete with new acquisitions and recent discoveries from the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jewelry: The Body Transformed will test assumptions about what jewelry is and has been. It will also confirm that these precious objects are among the most potent vehicles of cultural memory. Credits The exhibition represents a dynamic, collaborative partnership of six curators—lead curator Melanie Holcomb, Curator, Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, consulting curator Beth Carver Wees, the Ruth Bigelow Wriston Curator of American Decorative Arts, The American Wing; Kim Benzel, Curator in Charge, Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art; Diana Craig Patch, the Lila Acheson Wallace Curator in Charge, Department of Egyptian Art; Soyoung Lee, Curator, Department of Asian Art; and Joanne Pillsbury, the Andrall E. Pearson Curator, Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas—assisted by Hannah Korn, Collections Management Coordinator, Medieval Art and The Cloisters, with Moira Gallagher, Research Assistant, The American Wing. A series of education programs will be organized to complement the exhibition. The exhibition will be accompanied by a lavishly illustrated catalogue featuring essays by Met curators from across the Museum. Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and distributed by Yale University Press, the book will be available for purchase at The Met Store (hardcover, $50). Met curators, conservators, and outside experts will contribute to a series of regular blog posts on the techniques and materials of the jewelry on display. The exhibition will be featured on the Museum's website, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Image: Outside to center:  Broad Collar of Wah, Egyptian, ca. 1981.1975 B.C. (40.3.2); Bracelet with Crocodile Heads, Edo peoples (Court of Benin, Nigeria), 17th–19th century (1991.17.80); Yves Saint Laurent (French, born Algeria), Earrings,1983–84 (2009.300.2224a, b); Serpent Labret with Articulated Tongue, Aztec (Central Mexico), 1300–1521 (2016.64); René-Jules Lalique (French, 1860–1945), Necklace, ca. 1897–99 (1985.114); Comb with Rooster, Baule peoples (central Côte d'Ivoire), 19th–20th century (1980.430); Necklace with Leaf-Shaped Pendants, Javanese, second half of the 9th–first quarter of the 10th century (1998.544.11a-i); Headdress Ornament, Calima-Yotoco (Colombia), 1st–7th century (66.196.24). Image: © The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

This sounds like another wonderful exhibit at the Met, one you do not want to miss!!

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Throwback Thursday "1890's Madison Square"

What an amazing vintage photograph! So clear and crisp with so much detail. This is from the 1890's at Madison Square. Madison Square Park (one of my favorite spots) was owned by William Vanderbilt, and opened in 1879.

Madison Square Park is named for James Madison (1751-1836), a Virginian who was the fourth President of the United States (1809-17). Madison earned the title “father of the Constitution,” from his peers in the Constitutional Convention. He also co-authored The Federalist Papers (1787-88) with New Yorkers Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. Madison was Secretary of State from 1801-09, serving through both of President Thomas Jefferson's terms. As President, he was Commander-in-Chief during the War of 1812 with the British. Madison was the rector of the University of Virginia from 1827 until he died in 1836.

There is so much history to learn about this great city. It is always so cool to read about these places and then see them in person.

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Take a Tour of Grand Central Terminal

When I visited the city in September, I had the pleasure of experiencing the Grand Central Terminal Audio Tour . I have visited the terminal many, many times and enjoy it's beauty as well as shops and eateries. I thought it would be really cool to take this tour and be able to give you some information about it, being a very affordable treat while in the city.  

This is where you start the tour and it is available 7 days a week, 365 days a year. A big thank you to Jason for allowing me to take this tour in order to share it with my blog readers! My schedule changed several times due to the weather issues in late August and Jason really worked with me very easily. 

How gorgeous is this ceiling? The tour starts with a welcome from the Mayor himself, Michael Bloomberg, which is a nice touch. This tour is an excellent way to obtain history of this magnificent building. You can have a long or short tour, depending on how much time you have available, which I thought was a great idea. Here is some info on the terminal from their website: 

Shipping magnate "Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt acquired the Hudson River Railroad in 1864.  Soon after, Vanderbilt added the New York Central Railroad to his holdings and consolidated his position by creating a rail-link between Spuyten Duyvil and Mott Haven, allowing Hudson River trains to arrive at a common East Side terminal.  In 1869, Vanderbilt purchased property between 42nd and 48th Streets, Lexington and Madison Avenue for construction of a new train depot and rail yard.  On this site would rise the first Grand Central.

Grand Central Terminal officially opened to great fanfare at 12:01 am on Sunday, February 2, 1913, and more than 150,000 people visited the new terminal on its opening day.  Although construction was not yet entirely complete, Grand Central Terminal had arrived and New York City would never be the same again.

With Grand Central acting as an anchor, development around the terminal took off.  Between 1913 and 1917, the Biltmore Hotel, the Yale Club, and two office buildings were constructed on railroad property across Vanderbilt Avenue.  During the 1920's, as hotels and apartment buildings began to rise on the "air rights" tracts of Park Avenue, skyscrapers simultaneously sprang up along East 42nd Street.  Warehouses gave way to the 56-story Chanin Building, the 54-story Lincoln Building and the 77-story Chrysler Building.  On Lexington Avenue, the Hotel Commodore opened in 1919, and the Eastern Offices Building -- better known as the Graybar Building -- was completed in 1927, each with a passageway connection to Grand Central’s Main Concourse.

As the neighborhood prospered, so did Grand Central.  Grand Central Terminal, at various times, housed an art gallery, an art school, a newsreel movie theater, a rail history museum, and innumerable temporary exhibitions.  All the while, it remained the busiest train station in the country, with a bustling Suburban Concourse on the lower level and famous long-distance trains like the Fast Mail, the Water-Level Limited, the Wolverine, and the Twentieth Century Limited departing from its Main Concourse.  In 1947, over 65 million people -- the equivalent of 40% of the population of the United States -- traveled the rails via Grand Central Terminal.

Grand Central went downhill in the 1950's and almost got the wrecking ball! But luckily for us, it was restored to all it's Beaux-Arts( the style of architecture) glory, and in December, 1976, it was declared a National Historic Landmark with the help of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. 

After many millions of dollars in repairs, restoration and updated plans it re-opened to a huge gala event October 1, 1998. 

This is the Lower Level Dining Concourse....just so pretty and colorful !! Lady GaGa's father just opened a fried chicken spot in the lower level dining area. 

I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. It is very affordable and you can go at your own pace which is awesome. You can also download the tour to your iphone/smartphone and the tour comes in different languages as well. They also give you a little booklet with some coupons for dining in the Lower Level Concourse. Then when you are done with the tour: 

A special Magnolia Bakery Grand Central Terminal Cupcake would be in order !! 

Grand Central Terminal

42nd Street and 3rd Avenue

New York, New York 

MTA Metro-North Railroad, which operates the Terminal, has teamed up with Orpheo USA, one of the world’s most experienced producers of audio tours, to give tourists, travelers and locals alike a history of the Terminal filled with interesting details and insights.

Orpheo’s state-of-the-art audio device and headset comes with a map of the terminal for just $9 per adult and $7 discounted (seniors, military, students, kids).

Group rates are available by contacting: 917-566-0008 or by email: gct@orpheo.us

The audio tour is also available seven days a week (closed only on Thanksgiving day and Christmas day) at the Tours office in the Graybar Passage. Hours are 9am to 6pm, but may be extended during the holidays.

DOCENT-LED TOUR
The tour lasts 75 minutes and departs each day at 12:30 pm. The cost is $30 for adults or $20 for seniors (65+), students with valid ID, children under 10 years old, military, and MAS Members with valid ID. Group rates for 10 or more people, and private tours are also available. Call 212-464-8255 for more information.

Get tickets to the docent-led tour, or visit the Tours office in the Graybar Passage, just past Track 11. Hours are 9am to 6pm, but may be extended during the holidays. Space is limited.


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Dining at Eataly

I figured this wonderful photo of chocolates would get your attention! We are dining at Eataly, and if you have never visited, you must! The food here is amazing, and they have quite a few restaurants to dine which are all fantastic. This time I picked Il Pesce which mainly serves seafood, which I just adore. I am so not a steak person, I love so many different kinds of seafood. I can't even say which is my favorite!  

I just LOVE Smeg appliances, don't you? They are the coolest in the world.  

My dinner choice was scallops and they were so yummy. Cooked a very simple way, but when you use a few good flavors like garlic and olive oil, you are one happy person.  

I didn't photograph but I also ordered green beans to go with my seafood and they were pretty wonderful as well. This restaurant is a first come first serve as far as seating but if you are a seafood lover like myself, you won't mind a little wait. It is well worth it!  

Such great selection of homemade pasta to take home!  

I love these Italian candies containers, so adorable!  

A cookie with a pool of Nutella inside makes for a great dessert at the end of the day! 

What is your favorite spot in Eataly to dine? 

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In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at The Met

Dutch Golden Age of Rembrandt, Hals, and Vermeer to Be Highlighted in Exhibition at The Met

Exhibition Dates: October 16, 2018–October 1, 2020 Exhibition Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, Lower Level, Robert Lehman Wing,  Galleries 964–965

Dutch paintings of the 17th century—the Golden Age of Rembrandt, Hals, and Vermeer—have been a highlight of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection since the Museum's founding purchase in 1871. Opening October 16, the exhibition In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at The Met will bring together some of the Museum's greatest paintings to present this remarkable chapter of art history in a new light. Through roughly 65 works organized thematically, the exhibition will orient visitors to key issues in 17th-century Dutch culture—from debates about religion and conspicuous consumption to painters' fascination with the domestic lives of women. The exhibition will provide a fresh perspective on the canon and parameters of the Dutch Golden Age by uniting paintings from The Met's Benjamin Altman, Robert Lehman, and Jack and Belle Linsky bequests. Works typically displayed separately in the Museum's galleries—such as Rembrandt's Gerard de Lairesse and Lairesse's own Apollo and Aurora—will be presented side by side, producing a visually compelling narrative about the tensions between realism and idealism during this period.   The presentation will offer an opportunity to display recently conserved and rarely exhibited works, including Margareta Haverman's A Vase of Flowers—one of only two known paintings by the artist and the only painting by an early modern Dutch woman in the Museum's collection. The exceptional quality of Rembrandt's late self-portrait will be even more evident following the removal of a synthetic varnish dating to the mid-20th century.   The title of the exhibition comes from one of the period's major works of art theory, Philips Angel's The Praise of Painting (1642), a pioneering defense of realism in art. Exhibition visitors will also be able to peruse a comprehensive two-volume catalogue by the late Walter Liedtke about The Met's Dutch paintings collection.   In Praise of Painting: Dutch Masterpieces at The Met is organized by Adam Eaker, Assistant Curator in The Met's Department of European Paintings.   The exhibition will be featured on The Met's website, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter using the hashtag #MetDutchMasterpieces.   On view concurrently in The Robert Lehman Wing, Celebrating Tintoretto: Portrait Paintings and Studio Drawings will focus on the small-scale, informal portraiture of Venetian painter Jacopo Tintoretto in celebration of the 500th anniversary of his birth.

This looks to be a wonderful exhibit as I love Vermeer works and have viewed quite a few in person. For sure a real fall highlight in the museum exhibits coming up!!

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Heavenly Bodies Part 4 "The Vatican"

All diamonds this was just really quite fantastic 

Totally beautiful 

How fabulous are these shoes!!! 

Mitre of Leo XIII (1878–1903). German cloth of silver embroidered with gold metal thread, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and semiprecious stones, from 1887.

These items just leave you breathless 

Another angle of those shoes, they look like they could be pretty comfy! 

Tiara of Pius IX (1846-78), German and Spanish, 1854. Cloth of silver embroidered with gold metal thread, gold, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds and pearls. 

How gorgeous is this tiara? It gives the English royal family a run for their money!  

All Current Exhibitions Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

At The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters

MAY 10–OCTOBER 8, 2018

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Galleries 300–306, 955, and 980–981, and at The Met Cloisters in Galleries 1–10, and 13–20

The Met Fifth Avenue 
Open Seven Days a Week

For visitors from outside New York State:
Adults $25
Seniors (65 and over) $17
Students $12
Members and Patrons Free
Children (under 12) Free
General admission tickets include exhibitions and are valid for three consecutive days at The Met Fifth Avenue, The Met Breuer, and The Met Cloisters.


Sunday–Thursday: 10 am–5:30 pm*
Friday and Saturday: 10 am–9 pm*

Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, January 1, and the first Monday in May. Friday evenings are made possible by the Ruth Lapham Lloyd Trust. Saturday evenings are made possible by the William H. Kearns Foundation.

*Galleries are cleared 15 minutes before closing.

The Met Cloisters
99 Margaret Corbin Drive
Fort Tryon Park
New York, NY 10040
Phone: 212-923-3700

Open Seven Days a Week
March–October: 10 am–5:15 pm
November–February: 10 am–4:45 pm

Closed Thanksgiving Day, December 25, and January 1

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