CNT Passport

iPostcards from Chicago, IL

I've connected several times via Chicago's international airports, O'Hare and Midway, but have never been to the "Windy City". Well, I finally made it to Chicago. I met up with my colleagues from New York to spend the weekend in the "Second City" for work. We had to familiarize ourselves with our clients' preferred hotels, which happen to be three of the city's top luxury hotels, The Peninsula Chicago, the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago, and The Ritz-Carlton Chicago - A Four Season Hotel. It may have been a business trip, but it was more like a vaca(sean), since we we had fabulous accommodations and were pampered with delicious gourmet meals and luxury gift items.

With my flight from LAX, not surprisingly being delayed,
it was already 1AM by the time I got in ORD.
I could have slept in the 12-passenger stretch limo
that transferred me to my fabulous hotel, The Peninsula Chicago

view of Lake Michigan from the Four Seasons Hotel Chicago

***

We only had a couple of hours to spare for free time on our own,
so I decided to use up some X'mas gift cards
at the Men's Store of Saks Fifth Avenue,
then walk the rest of the Magnificent Mile
all the way to Millennium Park and Daley Plaza.

the Old Water Tower and John Hancock Tower behind me

at the start of Magnificent Mile on N Michigan Avenue

The Tribune Tower

view of Chicago River from the Michigan Bridge

iPostcard from Chicago

The Millennium Monument (Peristyle)
in Wrigley Square @ Millennium Park

Cloud Gate, unofficially dubbed "The Bean" behind me

"The Bean"'s reflection of the west facing towards the "Loop"

Cloud Gate on the AT&T Plaza

The Chicago Cultural Center and Smurfit-Stone Building
in the background

Jay Pritzker Pavilion by Frank Gehry
is the centerpiece of Millennium Park.

by the Chicago Picasso,
Pablo Picasso's untitled, unpainted 50-foot Cubist sculpture
is a focal point of this open-air gallery in Daley Plaza

view of Chicago River from the Michigan Bridge

John Hancock Tower behind me by dusk

on my way to the airport,
my driver was kind enough to drive me by the Sears Tower

London Calling - Missed Call/Bad Connection

My company was sending me to London for 48 hours to experience and review the business class seats of American Airlines's flight from New York (JFK) airport to London Stansted (STN) airport (as an alternative to the super congested London Heathrow (LHR) airport) and stay at the Athenaeum Hotel. Coming from L.A., I knew this would be quite a tiring trip due to the distance. I agreed to go on this business trip only if I could spend some time in New York and have some R&R on some beach in the Caribbean prior to the trip. Well, our trip to the Big Apple and Saint Martin/Sint Maarten went very well without any hitches. Unfortunately, on our last day on the island, our return flight from SXM to NYC was cancelled. We were protected on the next flight out, but it was too late for me to make my connecting flight to London. It was futile to protect me on another flight, since I had to be on that specific flight. F +_)(*&^%$#@! Missed London Call!

Saba - The Unspoiled Queen

No, silly, "Saba -The Unspoiled Queen" is not my nickname, but what the world calls the Caribbean island of Saba, which is part of the Dutch Windward Islands. I bet most of you didn't know that it existed and/or that my family even owned an island!...LOL. I was aware of its existence even as a child, and I told myself that I would one day get to explore it. When I chose Saint Martin/Sint Maarten of all the Caribbean islands to spend our beach vacation, I suddenly was more excited when I realized that Saba is located only 28 miles south of S. M.. I knew I didn't want to spend the money to fly over there just for a day trip, so I waited until we got to our hotel to arrange the ferry service. During the entire time we were in St. Martin., the waters in between both islands where considered too choppy for the ferry service to operate, thus all boat rides were cancelled. We immediately decided then to fly using Winair. To my dismay, the airline informed me that they could fly me there, but, unfortunately, all return flights had been sold out until Sunday. "Grrr+_)(*&^%$#@! to be so close, yet so far!" When Bill read the disappointment written all over my face, he asked the concierge to see if they could find an alternative way of getting there, even if it meant going all by myself. They came back shortly with, "Well, Mr. Saba, we can get you a private yacht to take you to your island for only 1300.00 Euros". After I picked myself up off the floor, I politely declined. LOL
Oh well, I guess I can now sing with full emotion, "I've been to paradise, but I've never been to me...".

For more information on Saba Island, please click here and here.

iPostcards from La Samanna, Saint Martin, French West Indies

After our hectic activity-filled 16-day trip to Central/Eastern Europe last October, I promised Bill that our next trip would be a chill/relax/beach-type vacation. Since I had never been to the Caribbean, it was not as easy for me to sell this destination to my high-end clients due to my lack of familiarity. With all the different islands to choose from, my pick was actually made pretty easy. A friend of mine who works as a top executive of one of the top luxury resorts in the region, gave me an offer I couldn't refuse: Stay in one of our premium beachfront suites, which normally go for $1300.00-$2300.00 a night, practically for free. So off with nothing but our swimsuits we went to La Samanna in Saint Martin!

"The island! The island!"

a rainbow welcomes us as we land

view from the breakfast nook

view from the main building

La Samanna's private beach

view from our digs

awww shuckks...sweet scribble from Bill
in front of our crib

heart on the sand

with my surrogate dog

" Sean of a beach" with his surrogate bitch

My iPostcard from La Samanna,
Saint Martin, French West Indies

in the infinity pool

ahhh...cocktail hour

Where is that nude beach?...

...ahh, it's just south of our resort!

Bill on the beach walking off to the sunset

iPostcards from Isle Pinel, French West Indies

Some of our fellow guests at La Samanna highly recommended that we drive up to the northwest side of the island, take a small motor boat, and have lunch at Pinel Island. It is also known as Isle Pinel, a tropical paradise off French Saint Martin.

But as soon as we finished exploring this small island, which only took less than half an hour, we couldn't wait for the next boat ride to take us back to the main island. The food and amenities were a bit overpriced, the beach was overcrowded with a Euro-trash crowd and was nothing great compared to our private beach back at La Samanna. So we were just there long enough for the next boat. Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. At least I now know better than to highly recommend this stop.

My iPostcard from Isle Pinel, French West Indies

iPostcards from Marigot, Saint Martin, French West Indies

Marigot is the main town and capital

on the French side of the Caribbean island of

Saint Martin, French West Indies

My iPostcard at the end of our shopping/French dining treat

iPostcards from Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles

Philipsburg is the main town and capital

on the Dutch side of the Caribbean island of

Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles.

My iPostcard from the end of Front Street

view of the beach and cruise ships

Paparazzo of the Caribbean

In L.A, celebrities & the paparazzi that indefatigably hound them are a pretty common sight. I feel bad for "some" celebrities whose privacy is constantly invaded by these detestable paparazzi. Well, during our vacation in Saint Martin/Sint Maarten, I constantly kept bumping into American actor, Jason Biggs of "American Pie" fame, who also happened to be a guest at our hotel, La Samanna. Somehow, I found myself falling into the trap of the sordid world of paparazzi, and participated in the shameful act of playing paparazzo.

lounging at the La Samanna swimming pool.

Well, he obviously no longer needs an "American Pie". LOL

zooming in on the lovebirds all goo-goo eyes on each other

walking on Front Street in Philipsburg,

Sint Maarten, Netherlands Antilles

I was in the middle of filming my iPostcard for my travelblog,

when Jason and his unidentified girlfriend

walked to my left

and inadvertently distracted me. LOL

iPostcards from New York, NY - Winter 2007

Before we headed to the Caribbean,

I thought it would be great to break the trip with a weekend in one of our favorite cities.

So much to do...so little time.

We decided to just chill in my sister's fabulous apartment in Murray Hill, walk around, try some restaurants, and catch some Broadway shows.
We went to see the following musicals:

Legally Blonde, the Musical at the Palace Theater,

Curtains, the Musical at the Al Hirshfeld Theater,

and The 25th Annual Putnma County Spelling Bee, the Musical

at the Circle in the Square Theater.

Rockefeller Center's Christmas Tree 2007

iPostcards from Eastern-Central-Western Europe

We're back!
Had a fabulous time!
It was an eye-opening trip of a lifetime!
This was a wonderful 16-day private tour
taken with my life partner, Bill
and our friends, Tom, Leonard, Bob, and Ian
across-down-around-up-and across
Eastern-Central-Western Europe
on a Fiat Ducato van
with a driver who spoke very little English.
Thank goodness for GPS! ... LOL
Please click on the name of the country
to be directed to the specific post
or simply scroll down:
(appears in reverse chronological order)

CZECH REPUBLIC

POLAND

SLOVAKIA

HUNGARY

AUSTRIA

GERMANY