Traveling Green - Guest Post by Cliff Barre

Many people are switching to a green way of living.  This allows more sustainability within the environment as well as the opportunity to save yourself some money on energy and other costs. While you may not think of yourself as the most green or eco friendly savvy person on the planet there are small steps that you can take to achieve a more green way of living.  These steps can be incorporated into almost every aspect of life from daily life to commuting and even travel.  Travel is one of the easiest and best ways to make small switches towards being more green.  From sustainable resorts to eco friendly traveling methods, you can quickly become a green traveler.

Begin your green travel by starting at home.  One way to become a more earth friendly traveler is to start before you even leave for your trip.  Preparing your home and packing responsibly are both great ways to make your experience more eco friendly.  Prepare your home by unplugging all of your electronic devices.  There is no need for these to be plugged in, leaking energy while you are away.  Make sure to set your thermostat at a lower- or higher- temperature than you would need it to be at to stay comfortable.  If it is winter, be sure that the temperature is not too low that pipes will freeze.

Packing can be one of the most exhausting parts of planning for a trip, make it easier by packing green.  Make sure you pack a lot of mix and match outfits to avoid having one or more set outfit everyday.  Also opt for one coat instead of two.  Heavier planes and cars use more fuel and your lighter packing will help keep the weight down and ultimately reduce carbon emissions.

Once you have packed, prepared and taken your eco responsible mode of transportation to your destination be sure that you are maintaining the green attitude throughout the trip.  If you are staying in a cool climate keep drapes or blinds open in the daytime to naturally warm the room. Alternately, if you are in a warm climate keep the blinds or drapes closed to keep the sun from coming in and making the room hotter.  This will reduce your use of artificial climate control systems which will in turn be green friendly.

While it may be tempting to buy into the tourist trap chains in your specific travel area make sure that you are getting everything you need locally.  Just like when you're at home locally grown food and locally produced items.  This saves on the transportation rigors that are often bad for the environment.

There are many green travel destinations within the United States and Upstate New York has something to offer every green traveler.  From the exciting adventures on the Finger Lakes to other outdoor adventures, you will be able to connect with nature and do it responsibly.  If the great outdoors are not your type of fun, there are many different wine tours you can go on and the world's largest green shopping mall.  Destiny USA offers a green shopping environment and boasts many stores that are eco responsible.  You can find something for everyone at this mall.  Choosing Upstate New York as your green travel destination will allow you many different activities no matter what your tastes all without ever having to leave the United States.

If tropical travel is more your style you may be surprised to find that Costa Rica is a great green travel destination.  Costa Rica is the largest green travel destination and has a vast array of eco friendly hotels and travel options for people who want to stay green when they leave home. Volcano exploring, hiking and exquisite beaches are all activities that can be done in Costa Rica. The tourist areas in the country also offer many different and delicious food and drink items that are produced locally so you will be able to eat locally and responsibly when you decide to go out for a night on the town.  It is one of the most popular destinations in the world among all travelers and will be sure to suit travelers that are looking for eco friendly opportunities.

Whether you are a mountain person, a beach person or somewhere in between the two there are green travel options for almost anywhere you visit.  Even if your particular location of travel doesn't offer green options you can quickly and easily use a few different tips and tools to help your experience become more eco responsible.  Whenever you decide to travel green you will be able to have a better time, help the environment with small steps and sometimes be able to save money in the process.   Traveling green is easy, responsible and enjoyable for any type of traveler.

http://responsible-tourists.blogspot.com/

Amé Amé (or Rain and Candy)

I haven't posted for a while about just a great little New York shop, but I love Amé Amé on East 9th Street in Manhattan. I went in on a rainy day to buy an umbrella. At first I balked at paying $27.00 for a collapse-able umbrella, even though the designs were all so cute, and the one I was interested in was super-compact, because I was sure I'd lose it or it would break. But the salesperson, who I think is the owner,Teresa Soroka, assured me that if I put it back in it's waterproof case every time I used it, rather than letting it flop onto the floor to dry wherever I went, I wouldn't lose it - nor would it break. Though little, it was super strong, she said. Since my other problem is that my son always borrows my umbrellas and loses them, I bought one with black, white and grey roses so he wouldn't be tempted. It's very pretty and very vintage-y looking. Sure enough, one year later, I still have it, it still works perfectly, and it stands up in any wind. I adore it. Points for that, Amé Amé!

Then, I needed rain boots and saw some cute yellow ones in their on-line store. When I went in to the shop, they were higher in price, but the same salesperson let me have them for the low on-line price of $40, I believe it was. They are comfy, warm, adorable, and really sturdy. More points!

Yes, Amé Amé is a little pricey. I checked just now and didn't see anything in their on-line store as cheap as the prices I mentioned, but there's more variety in the store. And besides, most of their items are made in Canada, England or the U.S. They are the epitome of a great, local business. And did I mention they sell candy too? I used to think they were called Rain and Candy... just an adorable idea for a store. Please patronize them this holiday season, either in person or on-line. You can order from anywhere in the world!

Ame Ame
318 E. 9th street

New York, NY 10003

http://www.amerain.com/

Evaluation:
Pretty sincere

The Best Public, Public Bathroom in New York City, and Other Suggestions

Locals and tourists alike are often looking for the same thing, no matter what city they're in: a convenient, clean, FREE, public bathroom. I've heard that in some cities, like London, you pay for certain public bathrooms. In many places, we rely on McDonalds, Starbucks or other fast-food joints that we recognize. In New York City, McDonalds is rarely clean, and at Starbucks you have to ask for the key. Neither of those options work for me.

I like to know my bathroom choices, whether I'm traveling abroad, or traveling around my own city, New York. Here, I know where there's a bathroom I can use no matter where I am, though there are different levels of restroom preferences. Hands down, the best public bathroom in New York City, and by public I mean free and not on or in private property, is the bathroom on the 42nd Street side of Bryant Park, between Fifth and Sixth Avenue. Though a little small, only three stalls in the ladies room (and I'm afraid I can only speak to the ladies' side), as you enter, the first thing you see is a huge bouquet of fresh flowers. Inside, the room is spotlessly clean. An attendant, whom you are not pressured to tip, is on hand to keep things clean, and make sure people don't linger needlessly (I hate to say this, but let's face it, she keeps the homeless people from mucking it up, though I hope she allows them to use it.) There's even classical music playing! Sometimes there's a line, but it's usually not a long one. It's definitely a place for the quicker pit stops, and I don't believe there's a diaper changing table.

All of NYC's parks have restrooms. Another decent one is in Central Park, along the stairs that are near the Bethesda Fountain. It's big, and usually clean, but there's no guarantee of that, and it's only handy if you're in the middle of Central Park. There are several other OK bathrooms in CP, but as in the other parks, none of them is great.

If you're not in the Bryant Park area or the vicinity of another city park when you need a bathroom, I recommend a few other options that don't involve going into a restaurant where you have to buy something or ask for a key:

1. Department stores - big, clean and you can generally take your time, but you have to be

willing to go in, find it, and get out without being distracted by shopping.

2. Sit down/take out cafes - I'm thinking of places like Europa Cafe, Panera Bread, or similar. Some are better than others. At most of these kinds of places, no one notices you coming in just to use the bathroom. However, some of their restrooms are quite small, and they're not always clean. Certain other places, like Le Pain Quotidien, are designed to make it really obvious if you're just going in to use the bathroom, so you have to choose carefully.

3. Churches. These can be iffy because churches in NYC are not always open to the public except on Sunday morning. However, a place like St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is a tourist attraction as well as a church, is a good choice - free, clean, and no one is paying attention to whether you are only going in for the bathroom.

4. Bookstores: same pros and cons as department stores.5. Pizza or bagel joints. Anything that is considered a restaurant is supposed to have a public bathroom, but in NYC these little pizza and bagel places, delis as well, don't always, and even if they do, they're generally disgusting, just to discourage you from using them. Same with Chinese take-out places. I once used one where I had to step over a huge hole in the floor to use the toilet. Ew. (However, this doesn't compare to the actual hole in the ground that passed for a ladies room at the train station in Chiusi, Tuscany. That one, however, was far superior to the filthy hole in the ground I once used at a "bathroom" at a beach in Acapulco.)

5. Whole Foods/Trader Joes, etc. Similar issues to department stores and bookstores.

6. Libraries. Passable, but you have to get well inside and be scrutinized by the security. (Another anecdote: I was in a small town in England and needed a potty. I went into the library, and politely asked if they had a restroom. The woman replied, "We don't have anything so fancy as that here, but there is a public toilet down the street." I can't remember if I had to pay for it or not.)7. Public atriums. They all have to have restrooms and they can be really nice, but they don't make them easy to find. There's a big, beautiful one in Trump Tower, 5th Ave and 56th street, but you have to go all the way downstairs, past the restaurants and down a long hallway. It's worth it when you get there though.

Knowing where these kinds of places are in relation to where you're shopping, doing errands, or site-seeing, can really make a difference. If I'm downtown in the Village, I might stop into the Whole Foods in Union Square for a pit stop. More preferable still is The Strand bookstore on Broadway and 12th, and there's a Barnes and Noble on Union Square North as well as on on 18th and 5th Ave. Around St. Mark's Place there's a pizza place on the corner of St. Mark's and 3rd Ave that will do, though it's not very clean, and the bathroom in Washington Square Park will do in a pinch. I don't go all the way downtown to around Wall Street very often, but there's a Burger King down there that immediately comes to mind. In Chelsea, there's Chelsea Market, around the FlatIron District I believe you can find bathrooms in Eataly, but that's the most distracting and fascinating place in the world, so be careful. Around 34th Street there's Macy's, then farther uptown is the afore-mentioned Bryant Park restroom. Midtown, there's a Whole Foods in Columbus Circle, several atriums - you can Google these just by entering "Atriums, Manhattan" - libraries, and of course Central Park. I have to say, I'm not that familiar with the Upper West Side, but tourists don't spend a lot of time there anyway, except in Central Park or the Natural History museum, which of course have lots of bathrooms. That brings me to museums in general. Even if they're pay-what-you can, like the Met or the Natural History, it's not worth that buck or two because they're hidden in the depths of the museum, and unless you have lots of time to spare, you really risk getting pulled into the wonders that lie within the museum itself. On the Upper East Side there's a Barnes and Noble on 86th & Lex, also a Bed Bath and Beyond around 63rd and 1st Avenue - they always have bathrooms. I once used a bathroom in Ralph Lauren around Madison Ave. and 72nd street, but I really had to pretend to be shopping. 

I hope this post helps you be prepared for your time in NYC. After all, these little realities of life are important when you're planning that dream vacation - especially with kids.

Evaluation of Bryant Park Public Bathroom and by default the NYC Parks Department: Extraordinarily sincere!

Here are some suggestions from other sites:

http://gonyc.about.com/cs/atozinde1/a/bathrooms.htm

http://www.nyrestroom.com/

http://untappedcities.com/newyork/2010/02/07/i-have-to-pee-public-bathrooms-in-nyc/

Pita Hot...What?

Sometimes you just gotta put the spotlight on the little guy. I doubt anyone cares about a tiny gyro shop tucked away on a busy street in Astoria, Queens, NYC, but my son is such a fanatic about their shawarma (sliced, ground lamb in a pita) that I had to give Pita Hot a try. First of all, the name is awfully cute, don't you think? A little play on Pizza Hut except that it doesn't really make sense, since in English, of course, we would say Hot Pita. I'm sure the owner either doesn't know or care, and why should he?

But I digress. Anyway, I went in to order a felafel (ground chick peas and spices rolled in balls and fried, served in a pita with veggies and sauce) and found the counter man, probably the owner, a large, middle-aged, middle-eastern type, as friendly as could be. He cheerfully took my order, then proceeded to offer me hot pita triangles dipped in fresh hummous (ground chick peas and spices in a paste.) It was phenomenal. He offered the same to all the customers who came in, and knew some of their orders before they spoke. My son tells me this is true of his - the guy knows to add extra hot sauce but no veggies.

I got my felafel in about 5 minutes and took it home to eat instead of there in the tiny restaurant with just a smattering of tables and chairs. It was good. Not as good as the fresh hummous, but good. Good enough to remain impressed with Pita Hot's level of sincerity, and want to recommend it to others. So if you are in Astoria anytime soon, drop by for a cheap, satisfying, middle-eastern sandwich, made to order. It's the friendliest shawarma you'll find anywhere.

Evaluation: Very sincere
25-15 30th Ave
Astoria, NY 11102
(718) 932-8282

Kid's Center, Tucson - the Anti-Big-Box

Every time I come to Tucson, which is at least once or twice a year, I discover a new treasure. Sometimes, I re-discover a place I've known about since I was a teenager growing up here. A place I've loved, not since I was young, but since my son was a toddler, is called Kid's Center. This is a magical little toy store where we used to go to get parts for his Brio train set. Now, I guess, you can get them at Target, maybe even Walmart, but they used to be found only at higher-end toy shops because they were high-quality wooden trains and tracks from Sweden; these days, the company seems to have gone mega-corporate.

Anyway, I hesitate to mention those two evil big-box stores, Walmart and Target, because they don't belong anywhere near a sincerity blog. Especially when this particular blog post is about is about one of the most charming, sincere, mom and pop stores I know of in Tucson. I stopped by there today, six days before Christmas, to look for things that were on my niece and nephew's Christmas lists. I remember the year I did go to Target in Queens, NY to find things on their lists, and came out nearly sobbing with frustration and disgust. I've never set foot in one again. What a different experience today! I called ahead to find out if they had Sea-Monkeys and Art Kits, which of course they did, and not only was each item well under twenty bucks, but the art kit was %20 off today only. The lady in the store guided me to the higher quality kits, still only $16, and then I had fun picking out adorable and unique stocking stuffers that you wouldn't find anywhere else.

At Kid's Center they gift wrap for free, their toys are mostly educational or at least well-made, and the ladies who work there know exactly what they have and for which age kids, and are super-friendly. They also have a great selection of children's books. As I breezed by Walmart on my way home from successfully accomplishing my Christmas shopping for the kids, I stuck my tongue out at it and all the suckers slogging their way through that made-in-China, small town-killing nightmare. Do yourselves a favor people, find those sincere, local gems in your own towns and give them a chance again.

Kid's Center
1725 N. Swan Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85712
520-322-KIDS

www.e-KidsCenter.com

Curious Frog Theater Company, New York City

Romeo and Juliet

What has no office, gallery, theater or headquarters and yet manages to exists as a unique and inventive organization? Curious Frog Theater Company of course. This tiny group has two people in leadership roles, Nic Musolino and Artistic Director Renee Racan Rodriguez, plus a handful of staff members. All of them, it seems, mostly run things out of their homes. However, it is their ideals that make them stand out from all the myriad off-off Broadway theater companies in New York, renting space as needed or just plunking themselves down in a park somewhere. We've seen maybe six of their productions over the past three years, and not only was each one just plain, damn great, but each stayed ultra-true to the company's mission: "to present new, modern and classical works with the goal of showing a new, multicultural perspective through non-traditional casting that does not hinder understanding or believing a work, but rather enhances the work in an innovative manner and fosters fresh perceptions."

They embrace this ideal, they live by it, they use it to inform all the work they do and they never veer from it, ever. So this, and the fact that they have the vision to unfailingly hire the most intriguing actors and excellent crew while keeping ticket prices low, or free, such as their summer Shakespeare in the park productions, makes them Extraordinarily sincere!
You can check out some of my reviews of their shows if you want to:
 http://georginapress.blogspot.com/2010/08/magical-marvelous-midsummer-nights.html
http://georginapress.blogspot.com/2010/04/curious-frogs-maids-review.html
http://georginapress.blogspot.com/2009/09/romeo-juliet-and-greek-comedy-great.html
http://georginapress.blogspot.com/2009/05/urious-frogs-theater-cos-true-west.html

www.curiousfrog.org

Evaluation: Extraordinarily sincere!

The New York City Tenement Museum

In the heart of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where huddled masses of immigrants teemed a hundred years ago, a testament to their lives and their struggles beckons. It is called the NYC Tenement Museum. To go there is to time-travel to an era and a place which, if one had their choice via time machine, one would probably not choose to go. For it is at the Tenement Museum that you experience the cramped conditions, the lack, the desperation, but also the pervasive hope and determination of many of our ancestors and remember that, after all, we are a country of immigrants. 

You have to make an appointment to visit the Tenement Museum and you go on your tour in a small group. You choose the experience you wish to have - to learn about one particular family, be it Irish, Jewish, Russian, Greek or Italian, and their struggles. In my experience, the best one is the Confino Family tour where you meet a young actress, flawlessly portraying a Greek/Sephardic immigrant from early in the 20th century, see her home and ask her questions, which she answers completely in character. On the other tours you go with a guide through a family's restored apartment in this once condemned building and he or she explains the family's history and the artifacts therein.

Admission is a little steep: $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors, but they're pretty generous with discount coupons. They also do public school tours for a much lower price and they provide free tours to ESL groups. For all the grand museums in New York City, this small, rundown brick building on Orchard Street is for so many reasons, in my opinion, truly the most sincere.

Evaluation: Very sincere



http://www.tenement.org/ 
108 Orchard Street
New York, NY

Strand Bookstore

They like to say that they  have 18 miles of books. Frankly it's quite possible that the number of miles is underestimated. Yes, this store is enormously larger than Bookman's in Tucson and one would be doing a disservice to say that this enormous New York institution could be anywhere close to the same level of sincerity as that fairly good sized gem in Arizona, but as it happens the Strand comes pretty close. The two stores operate in much the same way. They are both local chains, and they tend to hire friendly people who actually give a damn.

My recent experience: having accidentally purchased two copies of the same book (don't ask me why) I needed to return one. It was just no problem at all. They asked if I wanted to exchange it or if I would like my money back. I ended up using a combination of the two. No manager needed to be called. there was no overt inspection of the book to see if had been read by George Costanza in a public restroom.

Let me make this comparison: I once purchased a bag of chocolate chips from a health food store that I've been going to for years (and choose not to evaluate in this blog). Those chips were so old that they'd turned gray! Naturally, I took them back for a simple exchange. After several levels of buck passing and inspection of the product the manager hesitantly agreed to the exchange. I  accepted my fresh bag and was  left to slink off into the night like the thief that I so obviously was. Why do I go back? So far they have the best selection and they are a local store. But I continue to look for true sincerity in a health food store, and when I find that perfect combination of selection and sincerity - this one will be history.

So the Strand isn't perfect (it's just too gigantic for that) but it is superior, and they make a real attempt at hometown authenticity in our huge metropolis. They manage to walk a fine line and must be admired for that.

Evaluation: Pretty sincere

 

http://www.strandbooks.com/
828 Broadway
New York, New York
(Corner of 12th Street and Broadway)

The Modern Snack Bar - Aquebogue, New York

You know that fork in the road we wrote about earlier? Well, eventually those two roads come together continuing on into the North Fork of Long Island, and one of the great things about that drive (and there are many) is The Modern as we are fond of calling it. What you need to know is that the lobster-salad rolls are the best, there's a great kids menu (along with plenty of crayons), and that the ambiance of the place is worth walking in the door for. There is that sense of walking back into the era when places like this were commonplace, where waitresses wear white uniforms and stiff hats like old-time nurses. The place was perhaps quite modern when it first opened its doors 60 years ago. but what has happened since that time is a kind of stasis... What was truly modern at the time is now quaint and interesting: it's a visual pleasure, the waitresses are friendly, service is good and the selection of pies is beyond belief.

It's a local favorite haunt that we stumbled into by chance, and now feel inclined to go back to whenever we're out that way. A couple of times we've ended up out there when the Modern happened to be closed, so we went to other seemingly likely joints that for all appearances looked comparable. That has never turned out for the good (with one notable exception that we discovered recently) which will of course show up in a later posting. Sorry, you'll just have to wait.

There is one thing to watch out for - and that's ordering stuff that is clearly out of season (don't do it!) since they continue to serve it because people (not those in the know) ask for it and the Modern folks want to be helpful... But hey - that's not the reason to go to this place. Really - go for the lobster rolls, and maybe an old-fashioned-modern root beer float.

Evaluation: Very sincere

 

Route 25 * Aquebogue, New York 11931
(631) 722-3655
http://modernsnackbar.com/
Tuesday - Thursday.. 11:00 am - 9:00 pm Friday & Saturday.... 11:00 am - 10:00 pm Sunday..................... 12:00 noon - 9:00 pm Closed Mondays, Easter Sunday, & Thanksgiving Day

Starbucks in Capital One Bank in Starbucks in Capital One Bank

When I was about ten or so my friend and I (both of us avid Mad Magazine readers) laughed uproariously as we speculated on a new business we called, Bob's Bank and Grill. 

Evaluation: Words Fail Me (WFM)

 

Shore Towers - Condo - Astoria, NY

Vast stretches of bare paint-gray concrete surround a building that hogs some of the best views of Manhattan from Astoria. When this monstrosity went up, it blocked about 50% of the view from Astoria Park. A "public" walkway along the river is scrupulously monitored to keep us riff-raff out...

Evaluation: You need to ask? Really?

  

Off the Vine - Astoria / Banville and Jones Distributor

Now, I must admit I've never actually walked into Off the Vine, which usually would mean it's not qualified for this blog, but I had such an amazing phone experience with them, as well as their having been recommended by a good friend, that they've earned a high place on the sincerity index. Here's the story: a friend was having a bridal shower and had registered for a particular wine at a Manhattan wine shop. I went to their website to buy it, but the site didn't work each time I tried it over several days. The day before the party, I was frantic. I called the store, they said they could ship it for 12 bucks, practically the same price as the wine, or I could come in and get it though they're on the Upper West Side and I live in Astoria. I knew I'd have no time before the shower to do that. So I called Off the Vine, based on my friend's recommendation. They didn't have it, but were very friendly over the phone. They gave me a website to go to to locate the wine in NYC. The website took me back to the Manhattan shop. I called Off the Vine again, by accident, thinking I was calling another store. The man I spoke to then personally looked through his database to find the distributor of the wine and told me to e-mail him. I did so, and the distributor, Banville and Jones, (big shout out to them!) personally delivered the wine to me at my house that evening at no charge. Between the two of them, that's service!

Evaluation for Off the Vine - Very Sincere for phone service and could go higher once I have the chance to go in and check the store out.

Evaluation for Banville and Jones - Extraordinarily Sincere!