Monday is Veterans Day: Here’s What’s Open and What’s Closed

by Jesse Sokolow

Monday is Veterans Day in the United States, a holiday that honors military veterans.  The holiday coincides with Armistice Day and Remembrance Day in other countries, both marking the anniversary of the end of the First World War in 1918, as an armistice ending all hostilities went into effect at the11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.  Armistice Day was observed in the United States …

Mauerfall: The Berlin Wall Fell 30 Years Ago

by Jonathan Spira

On November 9, 1989, a somewhat comical slipup toppled the Berlin Wall when Günter Schabowski, the newly minted spokesman of the East German Politbüro, as a footnote to a press conference, added a statement concerning plans to lift travel restrictions between East and West.  When an Italian reporter asked when the change would come into effect, Schabowski assumed it would be the same day and replied, “Das tritt nach meiner Kenntnis …

ANA Throws a Party for its New First- and Business-Class Suites

by Paul Riegler

All Nippon Airways transported hundreds of guests to Japan at an event in New York City to celebrate the introduction of new first- and business-class suites on its Boeing 777-300ER jets that operate on flights to and from New York.
The ANA Experience: Japan Elevated event took place at the 70,000-square-foot (6,500-square-meter) Pier 36 on South Street near the Seaport. Guests were able to sample the delicious cuisine of different cities …

How to Phone For Help Across the Globe

by Paul Riegler

Few travelers know what to do and whom to call in an emergency when traveling, whether that emergency is an accident, a fire, a heart attack, or something else of similar nature or magnitude.
Emergency telephone numbers are typically three-digit numbers that can be easily memorized. The problem is that there is no universal standard for them and they typically vary from country to country, although the European Union has standardized …

Review and Test Drive: 2019 Jaguar F-Type SVR

by Jonathan Spira

Jaguar’s most powerful and muscular offering, the F-Type SVR, combines high performance with striking design. It’s separated from its lesser F-Type brethren –  those with a mere 550 horses under the hood – with a 575-horsepower 5.0-liter V-8 paired to an eight speed automatic and all-wheel drive.
The F-Type has been offered by Jaguar since 2013 (there was a minor update in 2017) and is the spiritual successor – but not the …

Review: The Alida Hotel, Savannah, Georgia

by Jeremy Del Nero

Alida Harper Fowlkes, a famed Savannah architectural preservationist and antique collector, stored some of her most prized belongings in a warehouse on what is now Savannah’s riverfronthistoric district, in the mid-1900s.   That warehouse has since been emptied of these collections, but the site has been converted into the Alida Hotel.  A jovial and spirited entrepreneur, Alida was known by many as a warm and friendly person, and it would become …

Review: ‘Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation’ at Triad Theatre

by Jonathan Spira

When “Forbidden Broadway” opened at what was then known as Palsson’s Supper Club in New York City in 1982, it targeted a pastiche of the most popular shows of the day including “Annie,” “Amadeus,” “Evita,” and “The Pirates of Penzance.” Playwright and parodist Gerard Alessandrini skewered Carol Channing with the song “Call on Carol,” a parody of “Call on Dolly,” and Ethel Merman with “It’s DeMerman,” a takeoff on “It’s De-Lovely.”
The …