Category: Airbnb

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NYC 2022

Our trip was mostly a success – we had a few minor issues due to an entire day of rain on our arrival day, the venue for the concert was just too small for what was going on, and the never-ending search to find a DAMN BATHROOM in the city.

 

The Oculus in NYC

Ghostbusters Fire Station 

The Highline

Winter Lights Powered by Genesis

Rockefeller Center & The Christmas Tree

We stopped into FAO Schwartz – not for buying anything but both of us wanted to go check out the toys and stuff. We are both still very much kids at heart I guess. BUT we had a human NYC moment that was super random and very much created a sense of “we are humans together”. 

The song Sweet Carolina by Neil Diamond was playing and all of us in the store were totally into what we were looking at but when the chorus hit, EVERYONE SANG IT. And everyone did it just once, didn’t do it again on the next chorus….and I wish I could find the words to explain perfectly how it felt in that small space of time – but it was really extraordinary. 

Times Square

The Great Heathen Army hat and Times Square

 

Central Park

  • Bethesda Terrace
  • Bow Bridge – one of the first structures built in Central Park, this is an iconic bridge that’s appeared in several TV shows and Movies:  Manhattan, The Way We Were, Spiderman 3, Highlander, Keeping the Faith, When in Rome, Made of Honor, Night at the Museum, Autumn in New York, Great Expectations, Uptown Girls, Glee 5. We had the fun experience that this video ALMOST captured, I was so focused on the bridge that I missed what was happening to the right of the bridge, the laugh from Jason on the video is what clued me in that something else was also happening – sometimes I’m just in my own world. 
  • Alice in Wonderland
  • Strawberry Fields

 

Hoboken, New Jersey

Wicked Wolf Tavern

Hoboken Waterfront Trail

 

Things to Know for Next Trip

Tips from video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MSL-VdS8e8

FREE NYC tours from locals – Big Apple Greeter

Free Tours By Foot 

This is interesting: McGraw Hill Waterfall Enter Middle of 49th Street bet. 6th and 7th Ave but reading here see that KISS did a photoshoot here. That’s neat info. 

American Folk Art Museum – free with two floors. Near Columbus Circle/Central Park. 

This one is neat if you’re a fashionista – The Museum at FIT – also FREE! 

Holiday Stuff – located with 10 blocks of each other – lower Manhattan 

The Peninsula Hotel on 5th Ave – display in lobby free to take pics. 

Hudson Yards – BONUS SCARY escalator ride – prettiest mall decorations 

Brookfield Place – also has a lesser known ice skating rink

Zuccotti Park – 1 Liberty Plaza –

The park is home to three sculptures: Joie de Vivre by Mark di Suvero; Double Check, a bronze businessman sitting on a bench, by John Seward Johnson II; and Rose III by Iza Genzken.[11][7][12][13][14] Joie de Vivre, a 70-foot-tall sculpture consisting of bright-red beams, was installed in Zuccotti Park 

NYSE Christmas Tree 

South Street Seaport – Check out Pier 17 

Side note of interest – POPS is Privately Owned Public Spaces in NYC. This may be helpful in finding a DAMN BATHROOM in this city. 

 

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Stoked – An Airbnb Review

I’ve been trying to find a nice way to say that I would never in a million years rebook this listing or recommend it…. I guess that sentence is enough for clarify on how I feel.

Maybe it’s just my expectations that when I agree to pay almost as much money for a one night stay in a cute looking Airbnb rather than a high end hotel within walking distance of town, I kind of expect a certain level of comfort regardless of what the package looks like.

Airbnb isn’t doing itself any favors lately though from what I’m seeing and reading. The cleaning fees are outrageous in many instances and it does require a certain level of “cleaning” up after yourself. Which, if I’m paying $100 cleaning fee, you’d think that would apply….

Which brings me back to Stoked.

The saving graces for this experience is that I absolutely knew it would be an “experience” considering it’s a renovated bus.  J and I have talked about having an Overlander or living in a tiny house (or boat in his fondest dreams) so it’s best to know if small space living would even work AND to see how other people do their renos so we know what we like and what we don’t like and that it was for only ONE night. So worst case scenario, we can manage that if it’s at all even viable and I’d say it’s not viable for us.

I am not a cold weather person, I don’t need it to be 70 or above when sleeping, actually get better sleep in a cooler environment, but it’s nice to control the drafts and environment itself. With that, I am SO FREAKING GLAD we brought the heating blanket and my woobie.

It’s good points is that it’s just a few miles away from a grocery store and a couple more miles back towards downtown Asheville.

But honestly, for $335 bucks a night? There are better options out there. Keep looking.