There’s never enough time to do everything I want to do in London, but on my most recent visit I managed to squeeze in quite a lot in just three days.
Activities were wedged in between a meal seasoned with performances by contortionists and flame-embellished dancers at a West End cabaret bar named Circus, Afternoon Tea at The Langham’s Palm Court and whiskey tasting (before and after dinner) with the whiskey sommelier at The Athenaeum Hotel.
Forks-down highlights included a visit to the funky top floor apartment Jimi Hendrix lived in from 1968-1970 (more about honoring Hendrix here); a Fat Tire Bike Tour past iconic monuments, memorials and palaces (more about that here), and walking tours of upscale, low-key Primrose Hill and East London, which is brimming with hip art galleries and stores chock-full of clothing by up-and-coming designers.
Hendrix fan waiting to tour Jimi Hendrix's London flat
I couldn’t afford to buy anything in any in-city shops, so that left souvenir shopping at Heathrow Airport.
Souvenir Sunday was coming up – the day Stuck at the Airport looks at fun, inexpensive items for sale at airports – so I focused on items selling for under £10, which right now equals about $16.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Giant Princess Diana postcard
Heathrow Airport Souvenir - post box banks
And of course:
Meet the (scary-looking) Beatles. That's not really Ringo is it?
If you find a great souvenir while Stuck at the Airport, please take a photo and send it along. Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.
[Note, my trip to London was part of a research trip for several articles in progress unrelated to whiskey, cabarets and shopping and was hosted by Air New Zealand, Visit London and The Athanaeum. Thank-you.]
It’s Souvenir Sunday – the day we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive gifts you can buy when you’re stuck at the airport.
This week, we ponder why the Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR)- which is definitely located in New Jersey – has stores stocked with so many souvenirs that promote New York City.
I’m not complaining.
Last time through, I was also pleased to see that EWR also had a branch of the iconic Oyster Bar & Restaurant from Manhattan’s Grand Central Station.
EWR also has a few other new restaurants to check out on your next layover:
Currito Cantina and Tony Roma’s in Terminal A, Blue Point RA Bar (raw bar) and Champps Americana in Terminal B and Hamachi Sushi in Terminal C.
Did you find some great souvenirs last time you were stuck at the airport?
If the price tags are around $10, and the souvenirs are “of” the city or region and, ideally a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along.
Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.
In my msnbc.com column this week –Fresh airport amenities make the wait fly by – I offered a run-down of some of the programs and services air travelers can take advantage of this summer.
Using a touchscreen, customers choose a flavor (12 are available) and a mix-in. The machine then prepares and delivers the dessert. Boston Logan Airport has two MooBella machines installed: one is at Terminal C at the Back Bay Café (Gates 11-21); the other is at Lean & Green (Gates 40-42).
If you test it out, please send a report – and a photo.
What else is fresh and new at airports this summer?
Mimes among the entertainment at PHL this summer
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) now has free wireless and a Passenger Chillin’ Zone with sofas, tables, chairs, ottomans and foliage (Gate D-3). Throughout the summer, PHL is also hosting a Just Plane Fun program with live music, appearances by mascots from local sports teams, contests and other activities.
From now through the end of August, Miami International Airportis throwing weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) parties with a different theme each week. This weekend’s theme is Havana Nights, with domino tables, mojito demonstrations, a DJ, rumba dancing and cigar rolling. August 20-23 you’ll find a flamenco dance show, Latin food sampling and more.
Observation Deck at LAX now open on weekends
AtLos Angeles International Airport, theoutdoor observation deck on top of the Theme Building in the center of the airport is finally open. Closed since 9/11, and during the building’s $12.3 million renovation and earthquake retrofit, the deck is open weekends, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with free telescopes offering great views of arriving and departing aircraft, the airport grounds and the surrounding area. Pink’s, an iconic Hollywood hot dog stand, has also opened a branch in the Tom Bradley International Terminal.
AtOutagamie County Regional Airport (ATW) in Appleton, Wisconsin, they’re still lining up to get candy from the giant purple machine with flashing lights.
Located pre-security, the Willy Wonka candy machine is one of 25 such machines in the country (there’s one at the Mall of America) and is currently the only one at an airport.
Passengers had so much fun during the special events held at Vancouver International Airport during the 2010 Winter Olympics games that the airport decided to host Take-off Fridays festivals all summer, complete with face painting, DJs spinning music, prize drawings, meal specials and frees samples from a variety of airport shops.
And San Francisco International Airport is presenting You are Hear concerts again this summer. Performances take place every Friday through August 28th between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at three different stages in the airport. This week the line-up includes Quinteto Latino in the International Terminal, Lavay Smith & The Red Hot Skillet Lickers in the United hub and, in Terminal 1, Threeocracy. See the SFO website for the full season schedule.
Airport employee Timothy Ihle's recipe was chosen for the LAX International Dog
(Photo credit: Jay Berkowitz/LAWA photographer)
Hot dog fans rejoice. There’s now a branch of Pink’s Hot Dogs in the pre-security food court at the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) at Los Angeles International Airport. On the menu: the LAX International Dog, based on a “recipe” suggested by an airport employee.
And in Oregon, there’s now a branch of The Barbers at Portland International Airport.
Look for the lighted barber pole
(Photo courtesy szlea, via Flickr Creative Commons.)
Like the company’s 16 other Pacific Northwest locations, the pre-security airport shop has an old fashioned barbershop appearance and offers haircuts, hot lather neck shaves and shoe shines. (Still checking to see if the free popcorn served at other branches will be offered here.) To celebrate the grand opening, haircuts are only $5 through August 15th. Another reason you – and your hair – should head to the airport early.
Well, a lot of the country is having a heat wave. The kind of tropical heat wave Ella Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe and Gale Storm sang about.
And when there’s a heat wave there’s only one thing to do: eat ice-cream and lots of it.
Back in the 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice-Cream Month and set aside the third Sunday of the month as National Ice-Cream Day. And, as this photo proves, President Barack Obama is a big fan of ice-cream too.
(Photo courtesy Wells’ Dairy, Le Mars, Iowa)
So as you’re traveling around this month, be sure to stop and eat some ice-cream. If you’re stuck at the airport, it’s a good chance you’ll find a branch of Ben & Jerry’s, Haagen-Dazs or some other well-known ice-cream or frozen yogurt chain in the food court.
Know of some other airports where you can get great ice-cream? Please share your find in the comments section below.
And while you’re out on the road, why not learn something about this sweet treat? For a recent msnbc.com article, Ice-cream fans celebrate sweet treat – I found a few factory tours that not only offer an ice-cream education but, in the three cases below, a free sample.
Ben & Jerry’s, Waterbury, VT
(Courtesy Jeff Pecor, Yapta)
If you’re in New England and your travels take you anywhere near Vermont, make your way to Waterbury for a tour of the Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream factory. The adventure includes an entertaining “moo-vie” about ice-cream production and a visit to the “Flavoroom” to taste the flavor of the day. Details at Ben & Jerry’s.
Blue Bell, Brenham, TX (Broken Arrow, OK; Sylacauga, AL)
Named for the Lone Star State’s native bluebell wildflower, the Brenham, Texas-based Blue Bell Company offers tours of its ice-cream plants in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama. Each tour ends with a complimentary scoop of ice-cream and the opportunity to purchase additional scoops for $1 or less. Details at the Blue Bell website.
Velvet Ice Cream, Utica OH
(Blue icing getting mixed into a special birthday cake ice cream)
The Velvet Ice Cream factory in Utica, OH makes more than five million gallons of ice-cream a year in “small” (for the industry) 800-gallon batches at the Ye Olde’ Mill, a 20-acre site that houses an ice-cream museum, a historic grist mill with water wheel, a fishing pond and other attractions. Factory tours don’t usually include a complimentary taste of ice-cream, but for National Ice-Cream Month visitors who show up weekdays between 1 and 3 p.m. will get to taste the flavor of the day as it comes off the line. For details see the Velvet Ice-Cream Company website.
If your travels don’t take you near these shops, consider stopping by one of the Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants participating in the company’s “Scoop for Success” program. During National Ice Cream Month part of the proceeds of a specially-designed ice-cream dessert at each restaurant will be donated to Dress for Success, an organization devoted to helping women re-enter the workforce.
And we’re not just talking chocolate sundaes. At Firefly inWashington, DC, the designated dessert is peanut butter ice cream sandwich with chocolate decadence, banana’s foster sauce and praline crumb.
NIOS, in New York City, is serving vanilla bean gelato with caramelized popcorn and caramel sauce. And at the Red Star Tavern & Roast House in Portland, Oregon,the decadent dessert is red velvet doughnuts with bourbon-pecan cheesecake ice cream.
On July 15th, 2010 Kimpton Hotels will also be hosting a National Ice Cream Social. All proceeds from special desserts sold in the hotels’ “living rooms” will be donated to charity.
Do you need any more reasons to go eat ice-cream? Go!
If you’re going to be at Miami International Airport on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th), be sure to stop by the Corona Beach House Miami. The new Corona-themed restaurant in the American Airlines Terminal, between Gates D23 & D24, will be having a kick-off party between 3 and 5 pm with a live mariachi band providing the music.
The restaurant offers a “mock vacation scene” with petrified palm trees and mosaic glass tile ceiling, and a menu that includes Corona beer cheese soup, braised pork shank carnitas and other authentic Mexican dishes.
And while you’re at MIA, be sure to look around at the airport’s temporary and permanent artwork, including Teresa Camozzi’s Temporary Altars, which are mobiles made of chiffon panels in the tradition of Tibetan Thankga paintings – portable references for meditation.
Look for these in the South Terminal J, East Elevator Lobby, near Club America.
The South Terminal is also now home to two giant murals Brazilian artist Carbyé created in 1960 for the American Airlines terminal at JFK. The murals were set to be demolished along with that JFK terminal, but were rescued, repaired and relocated at MIA.
I love hanging around airports, of course, but I also find bliss when let loose in small museums filled with odd and unusual artifacts or if there’s a wacky roadside distraction somewhere and I’ve got the keys to the car.
So I’m fortunate to be able to produce radio features and write books about my discoveries. More than two hundred of my favorite offbeat attractions in Oregon are in the newly updated Oregon Curiosities book you see pictured in the craftily-titled Buy My Books section here on this site. There are an equal number of unusual people, places and things in the Washington Curiosities book I’m starting to update right now.
One of the aviation-related places in the Oregon Curiosities book is The Bomber Restaurant complex in Milwaukie, about six miles south of Portland.
From 1947 until 1991 this vintage World War II B-17G four-engine bomber served as shelter for a forty-pump independent gas station that was one of the top performers in the country. When the gas station closed, the bomber fell on hard times and for years the plane was just a sad-looking roadside attraction suffering from bird poop, vandalism, and Oregon’s rainy climate.
Now restoration of the bomber is under way. Her nose is all shiny and new and on display inside the on-site WWII-themed Wings of Freedom Showcase. And while the gas station is long gone, you can fill up your stomach at the memorabilia-packed Bomber Restaurant, where the menu includes Bomblettes (omelettes) and Bombarded Hash Browns for breakfast, and Tokyo Rose BLTs and Bomberburgers for lunch and dinner.
If you want to see The Bomber for yourself, be sure to enter the Oregon Mt. Hood Territory’s Secret Sweet Spots contest. Each week you’ll be asked to answer a (very easy) question about a “hidden gem” in the region. You’ll find the answers in the short videos on the Mt. Hood Territory website.
Of course, one of those Secret Sweet Spots is The Bomber.
Today, Thursday, February 25th, 2010, Ivar’s Seafood outlets in Washington and California are celebrating National Clam Chowder Day by offering a 2-for-1 deal on cups of chowder. Happily, the deal extends to the Ivar’s Seafood Bar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA). “The airport Ivar’s is open way longer than the Ivar’s in town,” an enthusiastic employee at the airport Ivar’s told me on the telephone on Wednesday, “So you can get that deal starting at 4:30 in the morning.”
You’d think they’d also be celebrating National Clam Chowder Day over in Boston, where the Legal Sea Foods chain is well represented at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS). But no. Via Twitter, the folks at Logan Airport told me,that there was “nothing planned. But we can tell you clam chowder is an airport favorite…and available in every terminal at BOS!”
Great news for travelers heading to or from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) this holiday season: The Airport Station of Sound Transit’s Link light rail system between downtown and the airport will open at 10 a.m. on December 19, 2009.
That means that instead of getting shuttled by bus between the airport and a light rail stop a mile or so away, passengers can now hop on and off the light rail right at the airport.
Well…not right at the airport: the airport station is in the airport garage and passengers must walk about a quarter mile to the terminal. But at $2.75 from downtown vs. a $25 or $30 cab ride, it’s a great deal. So travelers will probably be skipping along that walkway and not even notice the distance.
Also, just in time for holiday travel, there are two new food offerings in the Lindbergh Terminal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP). There’s now an Arby’s in the main food court and, more impressive, on Concourse F there’s a spinoff of Ike’s Food & Cocktails, a downtown Minneapolis favorite that’s already a hit in airport with a white-tablecloth branch in the airport mall.
Even better: MSP’s Jingle, Jingle Savings Days Coupon Book has discounts for these new spots and dozens of other shops and restaurants throughout the airport. Get a copy here.
Next Wednesday, October 7, during the first Customer Appreciation Day at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), passengers will be treated to free candy, newspapers, coffee samples and more.
Some airport stores will be giving away free Arizona Republic newspapers. Others will hand out candy, snacks and post cards. Many airport restaurants will offer food specials and discounts. Starbucks will have beverage and pastry samples. And Travel Ex currency exchange will be waiving fees on all currency transactions.
Sky Harbor’s mascot, Amelia the Airplane, will be flying around (and posing for pictures) and there will surely be a crowd out at the Rental Car Center when the folks at Fresh Gourmet to Go bring out the performing chicken.
