Who says you can’t go home again? I just did and am here to testify that though it was a bit strange, it was more than wonderful to return to the place I lived in 41 years ago. Planning my recent trip back east where I would be staying with family and two of my oldest and dearest girlfriends, I decided to start off my trip by staying in a hotel for a few nights. After checking the rates in our two favorite New York hotels, The Regency and The Surrey and catching my breath I decided to look at a few other options.
My husband and I have become huge fans of VRBO and through it we’ve rented great vacation houses in Hawaii, London and San Francisco to name a few. The house in Kauai we rented several summers ago was spectacular. Seriously we lucked out big time. But getting back to NYC, I combed the VRBO listings and didn’t find anyplace I felt like staying in. Those that looked good were either too big or in neighborhoods I didn’t know, or just looked like what it was: someone else’s nice apt but not mine! Then I remembered that a friend had once mentioned that she’d stayed in a lovely Bed and Breakfast in NYC. What the heck, with nothing to lose, and possibly hundreds to save, I googled B and B’s in Manhattan. Quell Surprise! Welcome to a whole new way to go! I had plenty of options to scroll through and scroll I did!
With renewed enthusiasm, scrolling, smiling, practically drooling, something caught my eye. Wait! I know that room! I know those windows! Backing up for a closer inspection, my enthusiasm turned into awe. I stopped and enlarged the picture of the room. That was my apartment! Decades ago, four to be exact! I read the name of The B and B, the 1871 House. The name confused me, but knowing those windows, I clicked onto the 1871 website.
Generally, the time to avoid is the hurricane season that officially runs between 1 June and 30 November. However...
I am from Philadelphia, and when I meet someone who isn’t from Philadelphia they always say “Oh! You are from Philadelphia. You must love cheese steaks,” because this is the only thing people know about Philadelphia. 
What was supposed to be nothing more than meeting my good friend
Robert – who is like a brother to me – in Dublin, Ireland to celebrate our
birthdays in December, turned out to be something of an excellent
extravaganza. Robert is the CEO of Clive Christian, "the world's most
beautiful kitchens" according to their monthly ad in Architectural
Digest. He had a meeting in Dublin that happened to fall on my birthday
2 days after his. He appears to be a stuffy, British guy with his
finely tailored 3-piece suits with Hermes ties who speaks the proper
"Queen's English", but his biggest claim to fame is that he was a
'roadie' for ABBA back in the 80's. Depeche Mode, another rock band from
that decade was playing in Dublin at the time, so that's what we decided to do
for our birthdays. 
Last week I endured the two most dreaded days of my life each year for
the past 20 years. FAA mandated 'stewardess training,' formally known
as "CQ." Stands for 'Continuing Qualification.' Ladies and Gentlemen,
this has nothing to do with serving you drinks and meals, listening to
all of your problems, helping you stow your 100 pound compact
suitcases, with an everlasting smile on my face.