Page 2 of Spanners Travel Blog Posts


North America » United States » New York » New York » Manhattan October 19th 2022

I finally called Avis to ask about any compensation about the vibration issue with the car and they explained I should have just exchanged it during the rental but thought I’d ask anyway and they agreed to give me a 1 day rental coupon to use in the next 12 months but when the email arrived shortly afterwards it was only for $30- and can only be used in USA. They also confirmed that in relation to the toll I’d only be charged the toll free of around $2.00 plus small change. Today is our last day in NYC so we have planned a lazy day as we’ve ticked off the main things we wanted to do so today is all about enjoying the food ! I was keen for one last diner experience so we ... read more
This is the B.B.C Omelette specialty at the Classic Diner
Menu of cakes at Vaniero’s
My first Vanilla Canolli from Vaniero’s

North America » United States » New York » New York » Manhattan October 18th 2022

Another good night sleep with little noise which is surprising here in NYC as during the daytime you do hear lots of ambulances and fire truck sirens going off. Our hotel has 4 apartments per floor and we face the back of the building and there is a view of a courtyard where we can see the back of the buildings beside and behind us on the next block so I think the buildings around us are blocking out a lot of the ambient sound so that is good. Kerry got in trouble from the breakfast host lady when trying to put some bread in the toaster without using tongs (naughty). It is weird given everyone is touching the tongs and other items like the fridge door to get the yoghurts etc. and I tried later ... read more
The Lake inside Central Park where all the amateurs go to try rowing a boat
View with Bow Bridge in the background.
Tribute to John Lennon in the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park

North America » United States » New York » New York » Manhattan October 17th 2022

Today we had one objective and that was to go to the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at the old World Trade Centre site. We had tried to do this when we were here in NYC on a previous visit but we were unable to secure tickets so this time we made sure to buy our tickets online yesterday and we paid a bit extra for the 90 minutes tour of both the memorial and the museum which would start at midday. We caught the train down to the end of the subway line at World Trade Centre which was a short walk from the memorial and I saw a sign saying “Oculus this way” and I had a recollection that the Oculus was something important to visit so off I go and indeed it is an ... read more
Inside the amazing Oculus
Creative iPhone shot at the Oculus
This image was taken on September 11, 2001 at 8.30am

North America » United States » New York » New York » Manhattan October 16th 2022

Woke up around 9.00am and it was nice to know after a 16 day road trip we did not need to check out or a hotel or drive the car anywhere. Breakfast was pretty basic in a tiny room downstairs being 2 slices of toast with cream cheese and a strawberry yoghurt. Spent the rest of the morning chilling in the room and updating the blog as I’m a few days behind now. We have noticed this hotel only has 1 small lift that fits about 4 people at the most to cater for a 7 storey building so one has to be patient waiting for the elevator. We left the room around 11.00am and walked up E48th Street past the Rockefeller Centre which will soon have its famous Christmas Tree installed and saw people roller ... read more
We had a relaxing view from the back of the ferry crossing under the twin bridges of Brooklyn and Manhattan
Veniero’s Pasticceria & Caffe
Kerry is about to enjoy her first Vanilla Cannoli and I’m having a New York Cheesecake with a couple of American style cappuccino’s. Enjoy

North America » United States » New York » New York » Manhattan October 15th 2022

Breakfast today was very ordinary at the hotel with the options very limited, but no real drama as I was not really hungry anyway so I just had the cream cheese on some stale bread and a raspberry yoghurt. The drive to Manhattan looked pretty clear of traffic and was scheduled to take us a tick under 2 hours being a Saturday (no commuters on the road) and we went via the Tacoma Parkway which was a lovely drive through the hills with plenty of fall foliage and no trucks allowed. It was amazing that we saw no buildings at all or any signs of sighting New York City until we were only about 20 km away. Google maps suggested a late route change which worked out well to avoid some congestion heading onto Manhattan Island ... read more
Inside the impressive Grand Central Station
Kerry outside “The Vessel” one of NYC’s newest attractions.
This is the start of the High Line near The Vessel

North America » United States » New York » Poughkeepsie October 14th 2022

Well the rain has gone and it is now clear, sunny skies are predicted around lunchtime and we have a late checkout today of midday which is quite unusual. I’m going to try my best and not talk about food today. Yesterday we were in the car pretty much all day as we left Burlington around 9.00am and arrived here at 5.45pm with lots of stops so today we only have about 1.5 hours of driving time to undertake. It will be interesting to see how the wind and rain overnight has impacted on the foliage as we are now well and truly into the “fall” part of the season. Last night we made a decision to book a cruise on the Hudson River that leaves from the town of Kingston which used to be the ... read more
Taking a shortcut through a Jewish Cemetery. Really !
Our diner in Kingston
Stockade District Photo # 1

North America » United States » New York » Albany October 13th 2022

When we woke up today we found there was finally no road workers in place out the front of the hotel and I was pleased Kerry had a great nights sleep. This hotel has been a great place to stay in Burlington, but today it is time to move on and we are traversing Route 100 south along the Mad River Valley which is a famous Vermont Scenic Byway, and yes the Mad River is the correct name ! First stop was the village of Wakefield to see the covered bridge where they have a live webcam we have been watching on You Tube for the last 5 years as the seasons roll by seeing the fall colours of the trees, the snow arriving, the river freezing and then the river melting where a cascade of ... read more
The Waitsfield Covered Bridge as seen on the Mad River Valley live webcam.
How well does this tree and chairs frame this picture ?
A few things to look at here

North America » United States » Vermont » Burlington October 12th 2022

It’s now been 4 weeks since we’ve been away which is hard to digest and I don’t fancy jumping on the scales anytime soon. Alarm was set for 8.00 am so we could have breakfast downstairs and be on the road by 9.00 am for the 60km drive to the ski resort town of Stowe. No traffic issues encountered so it was an easy drive to the Von Trapp Family Lodge. You may find that name familiar and you would be right. It was made famous by the movie Sound Of Music starring Julie Andrews. Well what I did not know until quite recently is that the movie is actually based on a real story and there is a real Captain Von Trapp from Austria who had 7 children who were taught how to sing by ... read more
The picture says it all really !
RIP
The headstones of Georg Van Trapp and Maria Von Trapp

North America » United States October 11th 2022

Well as for staying in a quiet area of the hotel as requested we woke up around 7.30 to the sounds of roadworks outside our window. They are resurfacing the road so lots of grinding sounds going on including the use of jackhammers ! The room upgrade has placed us right at the front of the building overlooking the main road where the works are taking place ! It’s a beautiful and sunny day but only 2 degrees outside but will eventually reach 17 degrees but not until around 5 pm. It’s quite different here in that the maximum temperature does not occur around midday like at home but usually occurs quite late in the day around 4 pm. I was looking forward to wearing my blue jeans today but can’t find them anywhere so must ... read more
This is the cheap poncho on sale for only $90-
Check out the Art Deco style and light fittings at Henry’s Diner
Mustard coloured seats. Really ? but it worked.

North America » United States » Vermont » Burlington October 10th 2022

Up around 8am for a quick bite for breakfast and we said farewell to the Holiday Inn Express at North Conway and hit the road yet again. One thing about our Chrysler 300S is that it vibrates so badly at speeds of 40 mph, 55 mph and over 65 mph so I’m guessing it needs a wheel alignment or something and is so annoying I have just adjusted to drive at a speed where it is not so annoying but it’s always there and it’s not just the steering wheel where you feel it as we have a dozen water bottles on the floor of the back seat and they just shake rattle and roll all day long ! We just did not have any time in our schedule to consider going to Avis to swap ... read more
We’ve made it to all 50 States. Yippee !!!
Mt Washington Hotel
18 of these babies. Ummmmmm.




Tot: 0.296s; Tpl: 0.008s; cc: 13; qc: 100; dbt: 0.1455s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb