Recommended Baby Products in Year 0-1

Guys. Thought I’d share some of the things I’ve bought over the last year that I’ve found invaluable with the baby.

Balls
Bath Kneeler
Bath Mat
Beach Tent
Black Out Blind
Booster Hi Chair
Breathable Bumper
Car Seat Bag
Crib Rail
Drink Cup
Duck Thermometer
Feeder
Food Pouches
Floor Tiles
Hand Muffs
Humidifier
Inflatable Nursing Pillow
Latches
Mosquito Swatter
Mozart Music Cube
Noise Machine
Pacifier
Pouch Toppers
Snack Container
Splat Mat
Stroller Organizer
Table Topper
Thermometer

Tulum Tips

Tulum, part of the Rivieira Maya, is an easy 3.5 hr flight from New York and then a 1.5hr drive.

FLY direct to Cancun with a choice of airlines. We flew with American using miles.

TRANSFER to your hotel depending on how active you're going to be. Driving is very easy - the airport is right on the motorway and hugs the coast very close to all the resorts. And cars are very cheap at around $20 per day. If you don't plan on leaving your hotel, then take a cab.

STAY
In Tulum we stayed at The Mezzanine which is at the north end of the town. Nice accommodation with friendly staff and a cool vibe. We stayed in the nicest room with a balcony and view for $260 per night. The issue with Tulum is its pricey for what it is. Either stay cheap at around $100 per night for a non AC hut on the beach. Or pay up to $400 for somewhere like Be Tulum for swankier digs.

Further up the coast we stayed at the Banyan Tree Mayakoba.  Half way between the airport and Tulum. All are villas with private pools. Pure luxury but at a cost of $415 per night.  Top notch accommodations, staff, food etc. Highly recommend it.

EAT at Hartwood. Owned and run by the same team at Vinegar Hill House in Brooklyn, truly great food

DO snorkel in a cenote - an underwater cave. Also visit the Mayan ruins. But note it gets very hot

Nashville tips

Nashville, birthplace of a lot of the country music and rock and roll from back in the day, is a pretty easy trip from New York

FLY on a few different options. We used miles on American Airlines regional carrier American Eagle. Was pretty easy – 2.5hrs there and 2hrs back, to/from La Guardia. LGA is so much easier to get to than JFK or Newark, so I encourage to fly from there as much as possible. Also, we learnt about gate checking bags. These kind of planes are too small for some carry on so they gate-check them for free and then give them to you as you get off the plane

DRIVE a rental car. For some reason, I hadn’t rented one initially, but soon realized we’d need one. Everything is quite spread out into neighborhoods, so a car is vital. Avis standard car worked out at $25 per day

STAY either downtown or near Vanderbilt. We stayed at the Hutton Hotel for $200 per night. Looks average from the outside, but very nice inside and excellent service. Walkable to the Parthenon and Vanderbilt

AREAS
East Nashville: Very cool and trendy area, similar to Williamsburg
South 12th/Hilsboro/The Gulch/Vanderbilt: All west of downtown and each a pocket into themselves and worth taking the time to see
Downtown: Has a strip of music bars on Main St, the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena
Germantown: Home to a couple of good restaurants
East: The Grand Ole Opry, and The Hermitage (Andrew Jackson’s house)

EAT at the Wild Cow (East Nashville) for some pretty great vegan food. City House (Germantown) has great reviews, but we didn’t get there. Catbird Seat (Vanderbilt) is supposed to be a cracker but you have to book a month in advance. Hattie Bs (Vanderbilt) for some of the best fried chicken you’ll ever taste. Jeni’s (East Nashville) for some of the most flavorful ice-cream you’ll ever taste. Frothy Monkey (South 12th) for a cool coffee shop. Fido (Hilsboro) for a good lunch. Marche Artsican Foods (East Nashville) for brunch

DRINK along the bars of Main St (Roberts is famous). And the “speakeasy” above Catbird Seat called Patterson House. Also recommended are Douglas Corner café, Stone Fox, Gold Rush, Wolfy’s, Flying Saucer, Boscos and F Scotts

DO go visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, Belle Meade plantation, Grand Ole Opry, The Hermitage, The Parthenon, Vanderbilt .

Wedding Info

HOTELS

1) Waldorf Astoria
301 Park Ave at 49th St
Great location and one of the old “Grand Dames” of New York.

We’ll be using this as a base for family and friends

Follow the link to book http://www.waldorfnewyork.com/

Use the code “HKW” to get rates of $249 (Deluxe) and $279 (Superior) (plus 14.5% tax)

If you are unsure about where to stay, we strongly encourage people to book here at least as an option. The rates are fantastic and you can cancel for free up to 24hrs before your stay

2) The Strand: TBC

3) The Verve: TBC

Bermuda Tips

Bermuda. Talk about a tropical destination. Thoroughly recommend it for a weekend away. So beautiful and yet so simple. Maybe we were lucky with the weather, but i've honestly never felt more amazed at seeing such pristine beaches and clear blue water. Describing the people as friendly would be an understatement!!

FLY out of JFK (JetBlue or American) or Newark (United) - we flew American out and JetBlue back for a total cost of $300 return. Flight time is a whopping 2hrs!!

STAY at a resort on the beach if you can afford it. We stayed at the Royal Palms. A really lovely hotel and we had a great deal at just under $200 per night. While it was great to walk into Hamilton, it was a taxi ride to the beaches. We spent the day at the Rosewood at Tucker's Point which was gorgeous. I also hear the Fairmont's are very nice.

EAT at Mickey's on Elbow Beach. Good food and a lovely beach to spend the day on. (Otherwise, we were at a wedding, so had everything else organised)

OTHER STUFF TO NOTE. It's a golfers paradise, so bring your clubs if you so desire. Taxis are needed everywhere and can really add up - the transfer from the airport to Hamilton takes about 20mins and costs $30.

Israel tips

Just came back from a wonderful visit to the holy-land!!   Here are my tips…

FLY direct with El Al. No better or worse than any of the other carriers, but they do fly direct and they were the cheapest ($1,100) – they tend to offer upgrades at the gate for a standard $700 if available

TRANSFER to Jerusalem for a shuttle bus outside the station for 62 shekels. Cabs are 4 times this price. If going to Tel Aviv, then cab is probably easiest and quickest at around 150 shekels

CAR RENTAL is quite cheap. Standard car is around $25 per day. Insurance is not usually covered by credit cards and will cost a further $20 per day. Gas is expensive. London prices, at 7.50 shekels per litre.

JERUSALEM

STAY at the Mount Zion. Pretty dated inside, but great views and lovely pool. Decent breakfast for around $260 per night. There are other hotels, but they all seemed to be a lot more expensive

EAT and hang out in the German Colony along Emek Refa’im. Also the restaurants around Nahalat Shiva and Feingold Courtyard, such as Adom. The Colony is also supposed to be a cool hangout

SEE the Old City, obviously. The Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian quarters. There is a very good free tour if you ask in the tourist office near the Jaffa gate. 

TOUR the tunnels by the wall – you need to book in advance. Dome of the Rock is only available for viewing at certain hours so check ahead. And a lot is closed on Shabbat (Friday night and Saturday daytime). 

VISIT Yad Vashem – the Holocaust memorial. Free access and very insightful

DEAD SEA

STAY nowhere!  Really tough, cause the hotels are all really poor. We used points to stay at Le Meridien, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You can probably visit over 2 days and one night

EATing is tough too. We actually went on a random 30min drive to Arad, to a football themed bar called Muza that had a fun atmosphere and good food

SEE the Dead Sea. Best to go to Mineral beach, where they have vats of the mud to cake yourself in – a lot of fun. 50 shekel entry and much nicer beach and amenities than elsewhere. 

CLIMB Mount Masada for sunrise. It takes an hour to get up and 40mins to come down. It gets very hot, so dress appropriately and bring lots of water. 25 shekels entry

HIKE to Ein Gedi. Not sure there is any need to do more than the 40min hike to the main waterfall which is fun and very refreshing

MITSPE RAMON

STAY at the Beershet. Simply amazing hotel with cracking views. A little on the pricey side. Another option is Chez Eugene. Ecletic and well designed hotel, but with no views. Cost is $180 for a basic room or $280 for a room with your own terrace and hot tub.

EAT at Chez Eugene. Unbelieveable restaurant

VISIT the crater. Some jaw dropping views and you can take a jeep tour into it or go star gazing at night. There’s also a llama farm which is fun to visit and you can go wine tasting and do archery if you so desire

ALSO go to Sde Boker to Ben Gurion’s house to learn about his vision for Israel – about a 20min drive north of Mitspe Ramon

TEL AVIV

STAY at the Hotel Gilgal if you want something basic but efficient. Some people call it a fancy youth hostel!!  For $170 per night, you can’t complain. Excellent location, simple but comfortable rooms, friendly staff, but poor breakfasts. The David Intercontinental is nice, but twice the price. Most of the other hotels in Tel Aviv are dated and overpriced

EAT at one of the many wonderful restaurants in Tel Aviv. So many to list. The Social Club is excellent. For more local food check out Dr Shakshuka in Jaffa. Old Man by the Sea is also a great experience

VISIT the beach!  Great sand and fun atmosphere. You can rent beds and umbrellas for 12 and 6 shekels respectively

PARTY either in the port (Namal) or Clara’s

Russia tips

IN ADVANCE sort out your Visa. Takes around 3-4 weeks and costs around $150. Highly beaurureucratic. Much easier to use a dedicated Visa company (CIBT) and pay the small premium for it. Otherwise, risk standing in long lines and stressing it won’t be done in time.

LEARN a bit of Russian. Or at least the Cyrillic alphabet. Will make life a lot easier

GET THERE by flying into Moscow with BA from Heathrow. Surprisingly quick flight (4hrs) and good times. Two airports. We landed into Domodevo. Custom lines are long, so get to front of plane and be prepared to wait. Easiest way into Moscow is with the Aero Express. Follow signs for it (the only ones in English). Buy your tickets for around RUB200 each and it takes 45mins. Once you arrive into xxx station, get used to the subway. Tickets are standard prices RUB28 per journey. It’s fun and very quick for getting around as traffic can be a nightmare and getting a cab is daunting. No official cab system unless you organize through your hotel. “Stab” cabs as they’re affectionately known are basically guys in their cars working for extra cash. No doubt they’ll try to rip you off, so agree the fare first - it’ll be expensive whatever happens so take cabs only when required and the subway more often

STAY somewhere central within walking distance of the Kremlin. Although it’s very very expensive. We used points and stayed at the Park Hyatt, which somehow crazily normally commands $800 per night

VISIT the Kremlin and go to the Armory. Buy your ticket for this on the west side of the Kremlin, but check in advance as there are set visiting hours. Particularly visit the Diamond fund – buy tickets for this in the Armory. Go visit Lenin’s tomb. Entry is free, but lines start early in the morning from 9:30am. We came back a bit later around 11:30am and hardly had to wait. St Basil’s cathedral is also here. That can all be done as part of one visit. For another visit go to the church the other side of Patriach’s Bridge and eat at Art Strelka (see below). The Pushkin museum is here too although we didn’t get a chance to go

SHOP at GUM. An amazing building next to the Kremlin but every designer under the sun. Although save actually buying anything until you come home. Stupidly expensive prices

EAT At Café Pushkin. Very traditional and expensive local restaurant (opening a restaurant in NYC in Fall 2011). Café Margarita. Another local place, but much smaller, cheaper and has local music students playing fun sing along tunes. Art Strelka. A trendy place on the river serving really nice dishes and great views. Drink at the top of the Ritz at O2 for great views of the Kremlin.

GET to St Petersburg by train. Most trains go from Leningradsky to Moscovsky station. We took a fast day train which took around 4hrs and cost $150 per person. Another option is to take the night train which will save on accommodation and take 8hrs.

STAY in similar fashion to Moscow. Somewhere central in walking distance to the Hermitage and Nevsky Prospect (main street). Again, very expensive. We used points to stay at the W which normally costs around $400 per night.

VISIT the Hermitage – ideally get a guide which will pass the lines and show you the most interesting bits. We paid RUB4,000 for 3hrs. Peterhof was the King’s old summer estate and you can get there on a 30min hydrofoil ride from in front of the Hermitage. Really pretty gardens and lovely to walk around and relax in. Peter and Paul’s Cathedral/Fortess was where Peter first landed and built his fort which is interesting to see. Yusupov mansion shows the decadence of the Russian elite – each room has a different theme and they even have their own theatre. The Vodka museum is a fun side thing to do to learn a short history about vodka and to try a few different brands. St Isaac’s Cathadral is huge and you can climb the 200 steps for great views while the Church of the Savior of Spilled Blood looks like it’s from a candy store

EAT at Idiot which is a cosy local place.