The Big Apple - Dial 7 Car Service

This post really should've came before the last one about the apartment, but better late than never, right? As you have noticed from my previous restaurant posts or for any future posts, I don't just like to talk about my experience, but I also post pictures of each dish. (I do apologize in advance that there will be a few posts regarding my dining experience that does not have the actual food that I ate, it is because I was too hungry and gobbled down the food before I took the camera out, and most likely cried out "OH NO!" when I realized what I have done.)

The reason why I like to do this is because I realize that a lot of times I would read reviews or do research on the web, and I find myself wanting to see photos of the actual item in question, and I'm often not satisfied with the photos that are provided by the company's website, cause you know how realistic those pictures can be, right? So now I try to take photos of most items I talk about here, which can benefit others and serve as a reminder for myself.

With that said, let's take a look at Dial 7 Car Service, shall we?

Not wanting to risk waiting in a long line for a cab ride, we decided to make reservation with a car service company to pick us up at the airport when we arrived. After doing some extensive research on the web, I narrowed it down to Carmel and Dial 7, which both received good reviews on tripadvisor.com, plus their rate are more reasonable. The prices for both companies are about the same, although I think Carmel is a few bucks cheaper, I decided on Dial 7 because someone mentioned that they look more professional.

I booked the least expensive vehicle, which was a 4 door sedan, and of course they do not have a photo on their website to show what kind of vehicle it is. It costs $45.00 to go from Newark International airport to Midtown Manhattan, which takes about 25 minutes with no traffic. Oh and the toll is an additional $9.00.

Here is a photo of the vehicle that came to pick us up. A black Toyota Camry Hybrid. I took this one hastily so I won't hold up traffic and cause an angry mob to beat me up, but there is a better picture further down the post.

We dialed the number that was provided to us to reach the dispatcher when we got off the plane, and was instructed to wait at the pick up 3 area. The vehicle came in less than 10 minutes and the driver was very friendly, polite, and professional. The vehicle was very clean and we learned that each of the driver actually owns the vehicle they drive.

I also reserved a vehicle to take us back to the airport, but unfortunately I do not have a photo of the car. I also booked a 4 door sedan, but we got an SUV, which was a nice surprise, and the driver was actually 5 minutes early. It costs $52.00 plus toll on the way back, which is a little bit more expensive; however, they do provide you with coupons after your first reservation and on your first receipt. So be smart and don't book both vehicles at once like I did and you'll be able to save a few bucks on your trip back to the airport.

The drivers for Dial 7 are very professional, puntual (which is a big deal), and provides good customer service. For my next trip back to the New York area, I would definitely dial 7 again!

The Big Apple - Million Dollar pad

Welcome to our friend's apartment in Midtown Manhattan!



Situated at a safe and ideal location close to the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, 5th Avenue shopping street. This 2 bed/2.5 bath apartment comes fully furnished and also features a media room, balcony, high ceiling, open floor plan, and the most important part of all: a washer and dryer combo set! No more changing dollar bills for quarters and being bored while you wait for your clothes to be dried. How cool is that!?!? Am I starting to sound like a real estate agent yet? heehee!




I know compared to a lot of apartments in Manhattan, this apartment probably isn't that big of a deal, but to us, this 2 bed/2.5 bath pad is just gorgeous and we can never dream to afford a place like this; it's twice as big as our 2 bedroom condo but 10 times the price, ouch! So we were lucky enough that instead of spending $300+ for a decent small little hotel room, we got to stay here!



Here's the view from the living room, you can see the Empire State Building from here.



This is the room we were staying in, there's actually another door that leads to another room/office space/closet.




Each bedroom has its own private full bath and a wonderful view.



This is what it looks like out the window from the bathroom. Seriously!



So everything in this apartment is great, but there's one thing that we didn't quite get and that is there's no curtains on the window in the bathroom; and as you can see, we're not talking about a small little window near the ceiling just to let some air in/out. This is a BIG window! Which means you're putting on a show for your neighbors to see every time you shower. Since we're kind of shy that way, we made our own curtain out of a bed sheet, it's a bit ghetto, but it worked!



That's so ghetto!



As for how a single, young, bachelor can live in a place like this alone? Well, you'll just have to keep on guessing. Oh and a side note: Any single bachelorette in NYC available? He's looking! :P

Weekend trip to the Big Apple

This year has officially been the most amount of travel we have done in a year. We have already been to L.A. (3 times), Wisconsin, Chicago, Beijing, and now we went to New York City for this past weekend.

I know I mentioned before how impromptu we like to travel; Friday rolls along: hey do you want to go to L.A.? Ok! and off we go hitting the road. For people we like to plan things in advance, or to most of my family and friends that is just outrageous, but to us, it's becoming kind of normal, however, I think we just went over the top this weekend, and this is officially the most impromptu trip we have ever taken!

How did this trip happen? Well, my boyfriend's friend from Germany just got to New York and will be starting his new job on Monday; they talked on the phone on Wed, and his friend mentioned that he was bored as he is new in town and doesn't know anyone so he invited us to visit him, and offered to put us up at his pad in Midtown Manhattan (sweet!!!). Of course, all of this had a half joking tone to it, I mean, fly from San Francisco to New York just for a weekend?!?! Who does that? Well, apparently we do!

On Thursday night, we found out that we could use our mileage for the trip and the cost for the flight would be relatively inexpensive, which was the number 1 reason holding us back. There were some other factors that we discussed and in the end we decided that we're going to NYC! Called his friend, booked our flight, packed our bags, and by early Saturday morning we were in Manhattan knocking on his door ready to hit the town.

It was such a surreal feeling, and even though this is after the fact, I am still amazed that we have actually went to New York. And of course I have taken my trusty camera with me and will be posting some pictures here shortly.