The Honeymoon - Part 1: The Stop in NYC

Friday marked the beginning of our journey to Bali, although not exactly direct. Given the extreme distance we would be flying, we decided to cap it off with a day in New York City before and after our flights. We kicked off our trip with a champagne toast on the train up to NYC. The attendant looked at me a little funny when I ordered a glass of champagne with Susanna, so I quickly deflected his side-eye with the "It's the start of our honeymoon" explanation.

Once we arrive, we grabbed a taxi to the hotel. We stayed at the Park Hyatt New York, which was by far the most amazing hotel I had ever stayed at to date. It's in a great location as well, right off Central Park. Upon arrival, a gentleman met us at the door asked for our name, and grabbed our bags. He escorted us to the welcome area, where he introduced us to the young lady that would be checking us in. Unlike a normal hotel, though, this wasn't the check in desk. In fact, there was no check in desk. We were immediately whisked to our room where they checked us in and gave us our room keys using their iPads. We were given a tour of our room, which despite being a "normal" room, had features such as remote controlled blinds, a rainfall shower, clawfoot tub, TVs in the bathroom mirror, and heated bathroom floors. The room was also huge. It would be considered big for any city, but for New York, it was absolutely enormous.

For the rest of the day, we grabbed a couple cocktails at the bar, walked around Central Park, and of course, got a couple hot dogs. When we got back to the room before dinner, we were surprised with a gift from the hotel after they learned it was our honeymoon. We had a bottle of champagne on ice with some glasses just waiting to be enjoyed, as well as a box of chocolate truffles. As if that wasn't enough, there were two handwritten cards from the hotel staff congratulating us, thanking us for choosing the Park Hyatt as part of our stay, and wishing us well on our trip to Bali. I was blown away at not only how thoughtful that was, but the level of attention to detail from the staff to specifically mention our destination.

For dinner, we met up with Susanna's brother and his wife... so I guess my brother- and sister-in-law, now! The food was delicious, but for the life of me, I can't really remember the appetizers we got (hey, it was 4 weeks ago at this point) besides some fried oysters. Susanna and I got a giant beef filet en croute meant for sharing.  They had some pretty cool and unique cocktails. After dinner, we all went back to the Park Hyatt for some more cocktails. Our server remembered us from earlier and surprised us with the best cheesecake I have ever had to wish us well on our honeymoon. Another example of how the staff at the Park Hyatt is incredible.

The next day was our departure day for Bali. Our flight wasn't until late, so we still had the entire day. We spent some more time walking around the city, enjoying Central Park and stopping by Ladurée for some macarons. Of course, we also made sure to swing back to the Park Hyatt bar for a couple more pre-departure cocktails until we had to get to the airport. A short Uber ride later, we checked in with Qatar Airways to begin the journey to the other side of the world.

The Phoenix Arises

Time to bring this bad boy back to life. It's been about 3 years since my last post, but mainly because things had gotten monotonous and busy. Ok, maybe not that monotonous, but I'm not sure how many stories you want to read about Philadelphia, New Orleans, or the Florida Keys. But, I just got married. Yeah, I found a girl that was willing to spend the rest of her life with me. Shocking, I know. Nonetheless, Over the next couple weeks, I'll drop a few lines about the wedding in New Orleans and the amazing honeymoon in Bali. Stay tuned!