Surfing The Channel

Archive for April, 2010

New York is a city that has been an inspiration to artists for years. The city has inspired film, television, music, paintings, plays, and the list goes on and on. There is no city in the world that has been used as an inspiration in so many mediums as has New York City. Rent, a famous Broadway play highlighting the life of young New Yorkers living with Aids and living standards in the city. It quickly became a cultural phenomenon and was made into a musical for the big screen in the early 2000’s. Sex in the City is another show that has become a cultural phenomenon of the 90’s. The show follows four women as they date and learn life lessons in New York. The fashions of the show were replicated by women of all ages and the characters lived in the hearts of many. This series was turned into a movie as well. Unlike rent, the movie version was a continuation of the series and showed what the lives of the characters ended up becoming. It was a heartfelt movie that continued the phenomenon into another decade. Living in New York is a dream to so many people. Click here to find a place for the night in New York City. Be inspired like so many others.

Jay z and Alicia Keys were both inspired by the great city in their duet/ collaboration “Empire State of Mind”. The song lyrics feature dozens of references of places in the city. Even exact addresses are listed in reference to certain lifestyles in New York. The song highlights the city as being a melting pot of immigrants. Dominicans get a shout out in a line referencing Broadway in Harlem, an area with a large cluster of Dominicans. Anna Wintour also gets a shout out as the editor in chief of Vogue magazine. Bedford-Stuyvesant , New York, is where rapper Notorious B.I.G. grew up. Jay Z pays homage to the deceased rapper by shouting out his name and home town. Along with the famous streets and neighborhoods that Jay Z references throughout the song, he also references some of the darker sides of the city. Several drug references are made and also the addiction to the fast pace lifestyle of the streets. He mentions that is easy to get lost in the big city. Alicia Keys sings about the dreams that are made about the city, the inspiration that comes from the big lights and the feeling of being reinvented.

The Liberty Hotel, a gorgeous Boston hotel , didn’t start out as a luxury hotel. This historical building was originally designed as a prison. It operated as a prison from 1851 until the early 1970’s over a century later when the prisoners revolted due to poor living conditions. Over the years, the jail has housed a number of famous inmates including James Michael Curley, Malcolm X , Sacco and Vanzetti, and World War II prisoners from the German submarine Unterseeboot 234. When President Woodrow Wilson visited Boston in 1919 there were suffragists imprisoned for protests.

The transformation of the site into a hotel began when the building was bought by the Massachusetts General Hospital. The Liberty Hotel is the result of historians and conservationists collaborating with a team of designers and architects to grantee that the end result is a historic building that combines and maintains a careful balance between preservation and its dynamic new use.

The Charles Street Jail’s granite exterior and expansive interiors remain largely unchanged from it’s original design. the core of the hotel is formed by the jail’s central atrium which was beautifully preserved and soars 90 feet above visitors surrounded by the cat walks and soaring windows the jail was known for. The jail cells are most visibly preserved within the hotel restaurant and through the wrought-iron work visible on the windows. The exercise yard has been cultivated into a beautifully landscaped, private courtyard that is expected to one day take its place among the Beacon Hill neighborhood’s beloved hidden gardens.

Given the task of infusing the hotel with a distinctive personality that honors the building’s rich history while providing visitors with a feel of contemporary vibrancy and comfort. You’ll discover they succeeded admirably just by glancing at their lobby. There is exposed brick of the original walls and an eye catching wrought iron chandelier above that add visual elements to the lobby express commitment to historic materials in an elegant and understated manner.

For Americans heading to London can be a very expensive thing to do. The exchange rate of the dollar is poor and it makes one feel like our money is worthless. This city was extremely expensive even before any economy problems in America. But it would be a shame to miss London all together just because you don’t have much money. Find a couple of things to do that you spend the big bucks on and then check out the many things that can be done with out spending money on anything but lunch and dinner. Just walking around London is a great experience. The Royal Parks are free and open to the world. Parks like Hyde Park, the Buckingham Palace parks and the Regent Park all have such beautiful grounds and a history of their own. The Parks are historical sights in London. In Hyde Park there is the Diana Memorial Playground as well as a great statue of Peter Pan. Museums are also great places to visit with out spending to much money. They are free with only some special exhibits costing some sort of fee. The Museum of London has a great catalog of history. You will learn a lot about the early days of Britain and London.  

As you walk along different areas of the city you will see some entertaining street performers. Covent Garden Market has a number of them out on the walk ways putting on some amazing shows and the market place itself is really fantastic. There are also other street markets through out the city. Some of the most popular ones include the Camden Market, the Portobello Market and the Greenwich Market. The Camden Market is very historical. It has been around since 1791 and there are many buildings that are filled with open shops and restaurants. It is located right along the famous Thames river, which gave it its life and is a historical sight on its own. Getting to these different places is really easy in London the trains don’t cost very much and have stations near the   London hotel of your choice.