Christmas Holiday in Bermuda

My lady and I went away on a Christmas holiday at the end of last year. We wanted something relatively close, relatively warm and with no possibility of contracting the Zika virus. The closest international destination that fit the bill was Bermuda.

Bermuda Triangle

When I was a young boy, I had heard of the Bermuda Triangle, where ships and planes went in but often didn’t come back out. I always had a curiosity about what was there. Bermuda is actually an archipelago of islands that have now been connected with bridges and ferries. It is surrounded by reefs just below the water’s surface. It is in the hurricane belt. All of this, with many shipwrecks, is likely the reason for its fearsome reputation.  At one point Bermuda also used to be known as the Isle of Devils, probably also due to the over-population of a local noisy bird (cahows) and feral pigs.

Bermuda has a sub-tropical climate.  Before booking, we checked the temperature and it ranged from the 60s to mid-70s Fahrenheit that time of year. The flight took only two hours from NYC. It is approximately the same latitude as Savannah, Georgia but about 10 degrees warmer because of the Gulf Stream.

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Guesthouse near Hamilton

We found a great little AirBnB guesthouse near the capital of Hamilton. It had everything we needed. The host offered to arrange a taxi pick-up but the check-in wasn’t until 2pm. We were arriving around 10:30am, so we had plenty of time to kill before we could even check in. We decided to look into public transportation options. It turned out there were buses that went to the central terminal in Hamilton from the airport for only $5 per person. Sweet. It was then a short walk to the cottage.  The bus took longer than a taxi, making stops along the way, but we weren’t in any rush. Our bus ride afforded us a nice view of this verdant island as well as the locals who got on and off.  There was a diverse variety of flora every where we looked with several species we had never seen before.

There is no car rental in Bermuda. It’s probably just as well since they drive on the other side of the road and get a lot of American tourists. The speed limit is 20mph with some unlit, curving, narrow roads and, in many places, no sidewalks. Scooters and small electric vehicles not much bigger than a motorcycle are available for hire. Prices range from approximately $60-$120/day respectively, with the daily rate declining the longer the rental.

Upon arriving to Hamilton we purchased a book of bus tickets. The island has a zone system that I was familiar with since they had the same thing in London where I had previously lived. So we planned out our next few days and decided to stay within three zones and purchased the cheaper book. I think it was $25 and that gave us about 15 rides total.

Upon arriving, our Airbnb host suggested we go the supermarket since it was Christmas Eve and markets were going to be closed for the next couple of days. She was going into town and graciously offered us a ride.  Although food prices were expensive, we stocked up.  Bermuda being an island, almost everything has to be imported and given that Bermuda has no income or corporate tax, they raise revenue partly through sales taxes.

Hamilton had a number of restaurants, bars and shops although it was relatively quiet the beginning of Christmas week.  We often found ourselves at the Princess Hotel which was on the way to our guest cottage.  It had shops, bars, restaurants, an impressive art collection, beautiful grounds, marina and waterfront.

Our host suggested we go to Elbow Beach to see many locals come out on Christmas Day.

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Elbow Beach on Christmas Day

When we arrived, we saw beautiful, clear, blue water, and a friendly crowd wearing Christmas hats, drinking Dark and Stormy’s or Mimosas and some taking a dip in the ocean. The water was as warm as at Long Island beaches in late summer. There was a DJ by the bar and it seemed like many groups of friends and family came to participate in this festive tradition. It kind of felt like SantaCon, only it was on the beach and people were more familiar with each other. We had never heard of this event and felt like we were privileged to have been able to join this, to us, secret party.

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Horseshoe Bay Beach

The next day we went to the famous Horseshoe Bay where we encountered the pink sand beaches and beautiful outcrops of weathered limestone. We learned that Bermuda was formed by a volcanic eruption, which formed a 3 mile high sea mount. During a previous geological period when the oceans were higher, sea life lived and died and the remains formed a sediment that was compressed, eventually forming what is today a limestone cap on top of the islands.

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Limestone Cavern fed with rain and seawater

The next day we went to visit some caverns that were filled with stalactites and stalagmites caused by rainwater seeping through the limestone into caverns 80-100 feet below the surface. We enjoyed hearing the anecdotes of how these caverns were discovered and about the geological processes that formed them.  Because the rock is porous, there is no fresh water sources on the island, so every home has a system on their roofs to collect rainwater and store it in cisterns.

Bermuda’s main industries are tourism and financial services. Its tax advantages and respected regulatory climate made it a natural tax domicile for international businesses and in particular the insurance industry, which has become sizable there.

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The oldest house in the oldest continuously-occupied English settlement in the Americas

St. George

I am a bit of a history buff and Bermuda has played a notable role in early American colonial history. After the Americas were “discovered,” the British tried to obtain a toehold in the “New World” by founding a colony at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. The settlement quickly fell on hard times due to a suspected drought and a conflict with natives. The colony requested help from its corporate sponsors, the Virginia Company.  It sent a mission of 9 sailing ships in 1609 to aid the colony when, in order to avoid a hurricane, Admiral Sir George Somers, shipwrecked the SeaVenture onto the reefs of Bermuda.

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Blooming Aloe Vera

The shipwreck survivors successfully lived on Bermuda for 10 months until they could build two small ships to escape the island. The ships were named Patience and Deliverance. The group were originally only going to build one ship but found so much wild boar left behind by previous Spanish castaways, that they built the second ship to bring the salted pork to Jamestown.

Sir George, finding Bermuda quite livable, decided to stay behind and in 1612 founded the oldest continuously-settled English town in the New World.  It was originally named New London but today is known as St. Georges. It is now a UNESCO world heritage site. The other castaways continued their journey to Jamestown and replenished that historic town in 1610 after it had already been abandoned once. It is said Shakespeare’s The Tempest was partly based on the story of Admiral George Somers’ wreck on the Bermudan reefs.

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Royal Dockyards

On the last day before leaving Bermuda we explored the Royal Dockyards, a former Naval Base. It is the deepest port on the island where the largest cruise ships normally dock. The Royal Dockyards had a Keep that was heavily fortified and armed with big guns as a British outpost off the coast of America. The British no longer use it, however, and it is now the site of the Bermuda National Museum.

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The Museum has many historic artifacts covering all of Bermuda’s history, from it’s original sighting by the Spanish Explorer Juan de Bermudez who the islands were named after, to present day. It covers myths and legends, the islands role in the American Civil War (blockade runners and profiteers), the Boer War (POW camps), WWII (capture of a German submarine), as well as, the origins of the many people who make up the rich fabric of the islands. We spent much time there learning about the history of such a small country of only 62,000 people.

Another attraction at that location is Dolphin Quest where people can swim with, you guessed it, dolphins.  The Royal Dockyards also has a large marina (with several more all around the island) and in 2017 Bermuda once again hosted the coveted America’s Cup Race.

We found the people of Bermuda to be a friendly, diverse mix with British, American and island sensibilities.  With crystal clear blue waters, pink sand beaches, the oldest English town in the Americas, myths and legends, a maritime tradition, interesting history, tax freedom and close proximity to the US, Bermuda is an easily accessible destination that has something for everyone.

 

A Visit to the Vanderbilt Mansion

Ever wonder what it was like to live in the Gilded Age?

We escaped for a day to Hyde Park, NY for a free holiday visit to the Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site. It was a beautiful hour and forty minute drive upstate to the “country home” of Frederick Vanderbilt.  Frederick was the youngest surviving son of William Vanderbilt and the grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt who founded the family fortune.

Once we went through the gates, we had to cross a bridge on the estate to reach the house and nearby parking area.

For this special event, the Park Service opened the home to the public and welcomed visitors with festive decor, refreshments and live entertainment.

The first room we entered beyond the foyer had twin Christmas trees with a string quartet between them and aromatic holiday flowers to welcome us.

The adjoining room was the dining room where they entertained their guests. On this occasion they displayed china from the 1700s according to one of the Park Rangers.

The dining room had TWO stone fire places, rich wood paneling, all accented by bountiful poinsettias and other details that even made kids wonder about who once lived there.

The ceiling was intricately detailed woodwork and painting.

The second floor has about 8 bedrooms many of which had beautiful ceiling frescoes.

The organizers placed cute little mice strategically in every room so the kids could see how many they could count.

Each bedroom had very high ceilings, large windows, its own fireplace and master bathroom although the Louis IV furniture might be a bit too old school for many who visit today.

Although they were doing repairs to the exterior, the well-proportioned mansion was impressive from every angle. It was designed by the prominent architecture firm McKim, Meade and White.

The home was situated on top of a hill along the Hudson River.

As one surveyed the landscape, the Catskills came into view.

The niece that inherited the childless owners’ estate could not find any buyers for the property. She donated it to the National Park Service, upon the suggestion of President Franklin Roosevelt, so all Americans could learn about the Gilded Age. This is an easy day trip from New York City.  It combines the architecture, history, society and culture of an important part of New York and America’s past during the Industrial Revolution and into the 20th century.

To plan your own trip, access this link:

Vanderbilt National Historic Site

Some free/inexpensive things to do with kids in New York City this holiday season

NYC gets many tourists during the holiday season.

Some kid-friendly ideas for free inexpensive options:

Belvedere Castle in Central Park is a fun destination for kids.
– Do a walking tour of holiday windows
– Check out the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center
– Walk up the Highline from the Meatpacking district to Hudson Yards. The entrance is at Washington St and Gansevoort St.
– Go out to Queens and eat at the many inexpensive ethnic restaurants such as in Jackson Heights.
– Check out the view from the waterfront of Long Island City. It’s only one stop from Grand Central Terminal on the 7 train. There are some cool playgrounds in Gantry State Park also. Have a hot chocolate at Coffeed and then take the ferry back to Manhattan for the cost of a subway ride.
– Visit the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which grants admittance with a suggested donation (you could pay what you want) or visit the Natural History Museum.

– There’s an indoor carousal in Battery Park City called SeaGlass Carousel
Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge

Riverside Drive

Riverside Drive is a scenic winding tree-laden street that goes from midtown Manhattan up the West side to the George Washington Bridge. It is not as fast as either of the highways can be with no traffic but we often drive down it because it is sooo much more pleasurable.

The most beautiful part of the thoroughfare is bounded by views of Riverside Park and the Hudson River to the West and several parks and the rich architecture of buildings on the Upper West Side, and Morning Side Heights to the East. The street meanders up and down and side to side and at times dividing and then coming back together.   Frederick Law Olmsted, arguably the pre-eminent landscape architect of his day, designed Riverside Park as well as Riverside Drive.

There are grand historic structures such as the towering neo-gothic Riverside Church, the tallest church in the United States with the largest tuned bell in the world in its carillon. John D. Rockefeller Jr was one of the original patrons. The Ulysses S. Grant National Monument, the victorious Civil War General and former President’s final resting place, is just across and one block South from the cathedral. Some of the buildings on the street are uniquely shaped to follow the outlines of their blocks, which are often curved to follow the street. We often see groups of cyclists riding here on the way to the George Washington Bridge and onward to the Palisades Park in New Jersey.
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The cool fresh air invigorates you as you walk among the fallen leaves piled up in the parks while the low winter sun backlights the trees displaying a mix of greens, orange, yellows and reds. A rainbow colored school bus was parked on the street and it just added to the vibrancy of the scene.
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Riverside Church

There are stately townhouses and brownstones on the side streets especially as you get closer to midtown. Not all is idyllic however. There are often stark contrasts one sees in the city. On one corner we noticed a French Chateau-style home similar to something the Vanderbilt family may have built in another era albeit a fraction of the size. In front of it was a shopping cart filled with black garbage bags waiting to be collected by its owner. It reminded me of a homeless lady I used to see in Hells Kitchen who had all of her possessions in shopping carts. A wealthy homeowner lives in close proximity to the destitute. As we pass by, we are reminded of the range of different lives lived here and know that it also has everything in between.

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A Tale of Two Cities

By Grant’s Tomb there are multiple large cannons and 400ft of colorful tile-covered seating areas for rest and, in our case, contemplation. The first one states “City Arts” and dates from the early 1970s.  Who put this here I wondered. What do the various whimsical scenes mean? I later found out CityArts was a non-profit organization that had put up murals and mosaics throughout the city and had restored these curving benches not too long ago. Known as the “Rolling Bench,” it was claimed to be the at-the-time largest public works project in the nation. Neo-classical historic monuments combined with modern public art in a meticulously planned urban park that doesn’t seem to be frequented by many tourists yet is accessible to all New Yorkers. It makes you feel better just traversing through it.

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Grant’s Tomb
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“Rolling Bench”

Hello World!

Today is Black Friday 2017!  I, like many others shopping for gifts today, bought myself something.  It happens to be a domain name.  And this is my blog.

But why should I have a blog?  Why not? Many others do.  And I want to try something new.

So the name of this blog is Gotham Bon Vivant.  Living the good life in the big city.

Why Gotham?  Because I was born and raised in New York City.  And I don’t like it here.  I LOVE it!  And I believe one can live a good life here and it doesn’t need to cost a fortune. But New York City is SO expensive.  It certainly can be.  Money can easily be spent here. But one of the things I would like to show is that one can live here well without spending a lot of money.

Now one may ask, how could someone who has lived in NYC all his life know what the good life is?  Luckily for you, dear reader, I was an avid traveler for many years.  I worked and studied in other American cities, as well as abroad, and had the opportunity to travel to many cities in the US, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America.  I cannot claim I have been to Asia even if I crossed the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul which straddles the European and Asian sides of the city.  But I definitely plan to go there! I was gone for a total of 7 years.

Every place I have been to has had it’s good points and it’s bad points.  What I found is that you could focus on the negative or the positive.  I have always been a positive person so I had a great time everywhere I went. I learned that some things are better in other cities.  Gotham doesn’t have it all.  It doesn’t have the history and antiquities of Europe.  It doesn’t have the beautiful beaches of the Caribbean.  Or the natural beauty  found in many parts of Latin America.  But I learned to appreciate what was great about NYC.  The energy, the diversity, the conveniences, the seemingly endless things to do and so much more. I look forward to sharing past and future travel experiences.

I was fortunate to learn multiple languages both at home and through my studies and travels.  French was the first foreign language I studied and a Bon Vivant seems to me to be my most apt description.  “One who lives well.”  I think we should all aspire to live well, no matter where we live or how much we make.

I look forward to conversing with you and sharing ideas, tips, tricks, experiences and knowledge on this great city, travel ideas both near and far, and a variety of other topics which may be of interest.  I hope you will become part of the community.  Thanks for stopping by!

-Rico