Laura has been dying to go to this as long as I've known her. I'm kind of interested, but had never really given it that much thought since it's an industry show and almost impossible to get into unless you work in the publishing industry. Not to mention the expense- the registration is something like $400. But then we found out that this year they're offering a $45 one-day pass to booklovers not in the business.
Well, that still wasn't quite enough to tempt me...until I did my taxes the other day and discovered that I'm actually getting refunds this year! WOOOOOOOOT! Laura is doing hers this weekend, but suspects she will be getting one as well. So we decided we're going. Luckily we seem to travel well together.
Now for the fun part. *eyeroll* BEA is in NYC. Yeah...that's gonna be expensive. The hotels offering discounts to the Expo guests are all $200-300 a night. We're going to have to stay at least 2 nights. (the day pass is for Saturday, June 1, so we'll have to fly up on Friday and come back Sunday) I'm playing around with different sites, hoping to score a lower price, but it's not looking too promising right now. The lowest I've found so far was $189 and somewhere out on Long Island. (The Expo is close to Times Square)
Ticket prices are a booger too. So far it's looking like $230-300 each to fly, and that's if we fly into Newark, which means getting transport into NYC. Normally I'd be willing to drive to where I'm going, but the idea of drving in NYC (with MY roadrage?!?) sends cold chills down my spine. And since Laura sucks at navigating (sorry, chica), the odds of us getting hopelessly lost are pretty good. So flying is our best bet, especially if we wind up at a hotel near the Expo. I'm not too sanguine about the NY subway system, but we may have to use it for some of the things we're hoping to do while we're there.
Things to do while we're there- we both have ideas for that. I'm sure Laura will be posting hers on her blog, but here's mine:
1. Have a pastrami sandwich at Katz's Deli. I have been dying to do this since I saw them on an episode of Man Vs Food.
2. Visit the Strand Bookstore
3. Visit the NY Public Library and take a picture with the lions (shock, right?)
4. Find a stitch shop.
5. Visit Chinatown
Any other suggestions or travel tips?
No comments:
Post a Comment