Taffy is an 11 year-old rescue beagle mix who currently lives in Midtown Manhattan. She’s the best guide in New York. She roams the city in her spare time and she’s in Central Park every single day. So the park is practically her front yard.

In fact, New York is her favorite city in the world, and Central Park is probably her favourite place. It’s a skip and a hop from her home after all.

And when she’s not patrolling Central Park, you’ll probably find her hanging out with the New York Police Department (NYPD). Yes, she’s a well-connected dog with friends in high places. So you know who to call if you find yourself in trouble in New York.

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Taffy also loves window-shopping at New York’s best department stores. She’s often at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman’s, where she’s always welcomed like a regular. Just like every other true New Yorker, she’s a shopper and she’s always on the look-out for sales.

Taffy is known as the “official” Beagle Instagram tour guide of New York City. Her regular routine involves patrolling the city and going to the most famous places in Manhattan. Occasionally she’ll venture outside Manhattan too. We’ve seen photos of her across the bridge and tunnel, and even in the Bronx.

THE BEST GUIDE IN NEW YORK

Taffy has her own Instagram account, which she uses to introduce the best sightseeing spots in New York. These include unique spots only locals would know. She really is the best guide in New York. However, make sure you can keep up the pace if you plan to tour New York with her.

She’s created quite a following, too. People from around the world actually recognise her. Some have been known to shout “We love you, Taffy!” from passing cars when they spot her somewhere around Central Park. 

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If you do bump into her somewhere in New York, she’ll probably greet you with a quick jump. But that’s her way of asking how you are. So if you see her somewhere in New York, go up to her and say hello. She sure would love that. And maybe she’ll point you in the direction of her favorite bagel place too.

Read more about traveling around New York in Travelife Magazine.

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This is a story about a piano player at a piano bar in New York and requesting a song by Michel Legrand. The original version, written by Travelife Magazine Publisher Christine Cunanan, first appeared in the op-ed section of the New York Times.

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THE PIANO PLAYER IN NEW YORK

My friends and I had drinks at a piano bar in New York one evening while on holiday in New York. The piano player was extremely skillful so I decided to request my favorite song by Michel Legrand.

It was not the sort of place where one would normally make song requests but I decided to give it a try. Nothing makes me happier than hearing my favorite songs while on a wonderful night out at a piano bar in New York with friends.

SONG BY MICHEL LEGRAND

So I took out a pen, reached for a paper napkin and simply wrote down the song title, ”What are you doing the rest of your life?”

”Could you give this to the pianist?” I asked the waiter. He then delivered the note during the break.

CROSSED SIGNALS IN A PIANO BAR

When the pianist at this piano bar in New York returned from his break, he glanced at our table. Then he smiled and winked at me as he sat down. I read this as a sign that he would be playing my song next.

A few moments later, the waiter returned to our table with a grin on his face.

”Ben says he’s busy tonight,” he told me. ”But if you’re free next Tuesday night he knows a nice little spaghetti place not too far from here.”

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Click on this link to hear the song “What Are You Doing The Rest of Your Life” by Michel Legrand.

The post A song by Michel Legrand and a piano bar in New York appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.

The steak and lobster dinner at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse by Wolfgang Zwiener instantly transports customers to New York. The moment diners enter the restaurant, from they will see the mahogany wood bar, the earth-toned booths and the mosaic tile ceiling. These are all reminiscent of the original Gustavino in the first New York restaurant of Wolfgang’s Steakhouse. The classic New York ambiance is finalized by the sizzling plate of steak on the table. Travelife Magazine describes the dinner experience.

WOLFGANG’S STEAKHOUSE: AUTHENTIC NEW YORK CLASSICS 

Wolfgang’s proudly serves USDA Prime Black Angus. Angus steaks account for only 2% of all USDA meats. The steakhouse also stores its meats in its own in-house dry-aging box for an average of 28 days. This ensures that the meat is at the peak level of tenderness when it’s cooked. Each Wolfgang’s Steakhouse also has its own wine cellar and bar. 

So now, diners don’t have to fly all the way to New York to taste these authentic New York-style steak dishes. With over 19 locations worldwide, there’s bound to be at least one Wolfgang’s near you.

TASTE OF NEW YORK BY WOLFGANG ZWEINER

The lunch special is a perfect sampler for first-time diners and loyal customers alike. The Caesar’s Salad is an excellent appetizer drizzled with the Wolfgang’s Steakhouse classic  caesar dressing. This is followed by a tender and flavorful USDA Prime dry-aged sirloin.

Pair this steak with sides and vegetables such as the mashed potatoes and the thick and rich creamed spinach. The spinach is cooked with a secret recipe. For dessert, try the Wolfgang’s Steakhouse New York-style Cheesecake. It’s a true classic that will take you back to the Big Apple.

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Wolfgang’s Steakhouses in New York and around the world are all headed by President and Managing Partner Peter Zwiener; Vice President of Operations and Partner Lydia D’Amato; and Corporate Executive Chef Amiro Cruz. So their restaurants around the world all follow the joint venture business model instead of the franchise model. The team partners with like-minded local associates who can then implement Wolfgang’s Steakhouse experience based on the original standards in their location.

“One of the key principals of our mission statement, as well as our global expansion plan, is to keep consistency throughout all locations. We believe that by franchising, consistency among each of the units will suffer and deteriorate due to the different work standards, ethics, and vision of having many various operators,” Peter Zwiener shares.

Everything at a Wolfgang’s Steakhouse restaurant has to be approved by the US partners. This includes marketing and the operations in the kitchen and the bar. Consequently, the unique and authentic Wolfgang’s New York steak dining experience that can be found in every Wolfgang’s location.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE PHILIPPINES

Resorts World Manila is the 14th location of the group.  It’s also the first Wolfgang’s in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, the 19th and latest location is in the newly renovated Ortigas hub, The Podium. Another location is coming up in Bonifacio Global City later this year. 

Wolfgang’s continues to serve only the best of New York.  This ensures that everyone can enjoy their mouthwatering All-American menu. 

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Here’s a nice little New York story I’d like to share with you today. And thinking about it made me remember how I haven’t been to New York in a very long time.

My friends and I had drinks at a Manhattan piano bar one evening while on holiday in New York, many years ago. 

The piano player was extremely skillful so I decided to request my favorite song.

This is the song “What are you doing the rest of your life” by French composer Michel Legrand. When I was a child, I went to Beijing and this was where I first heard this song. Of all places, you’re probably thinking.

But, yes, I heard Michel Legrand’s song as a child in Beijing, and I’ve liked it ever since.

This piano bar was not the sort of place where one would normally make song requests but I decided to give it a try.

I reached for a paper napkin and simply wrote, ”What are you doing the rest of your life?”

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Then I hailed a passing waiter.

”Could you give this to the pianist?” I asked the waiter.

Later on, I saw the waiter deliver the note to the pianist during the break.

A few minutes later, the pianist called this same waiter over, and they had a short conversation.

TAKING A RAINCHECK

The waiter even nodded in my direction, and so the pianist looked at me. I assumed he wanted to know who was requesting the song.

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There was once a time when people actually talked to their seatmates on airline flights, perhaps because there was little else to do.

Airlines then didn’t offer the smorgasbord of in-flight entertainment they do today, business class seats were still configured for congeniality rather than privacy, and notebooks—the paper kind—were the standard carry-ons.

Socializing was the other activity travelers looked forward to, as an acceptable way of relieving the long flight’s ennui.

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With the frequency of our flights on a never-ending Travelife, there’s no shortage of amusing stories or encounters in-flight.

In fact, just last month, on the return flight back from South Africa to Hong Kong, an Asian couple had struck up a conversation with us just as we were about to land in Hong Kong.

“You were also on the flight with us two weeks ago from Hong Kong to Johannesburg,” the guy said to us with a smile, as we stood in the aisle fixing hand luggage and all.

We then compared notes on trip itineraries as they’d done almost exactly the same route we’d taken: Johannesburg, safari and Cape Town. However they’d chosen a self-drive safari while we’d flown to the Sabi Sabi Game Reserve for one of these all-inclusive safari holidays.

Read about our amazing safari experience in the current issue of Travelife Magazine. On sale everywhere now.

On our part, we’d not noticed anyone on any flight as we’d both slept most of the way to and from South Africa.

On the way to South Africa, the flight left Hong Kong at midnight and I knew I needed to sleep since we were hitting the ground running as soon as we reached Johannesburg. So as soon as the plane was at cruising altitude, I hit the “flat bed button,” put on my eye mask and went to sleep — waking up just in time for breakfast before landing.

And on the way back to Asia, the flight left Joburg in the afternoon, but we forced ourselves to sleep even at that odd time, since we were landing in Manila and both heading straight for work from the airport, after two weeks away.

Then, just as we were ending our conversation and landing in Hong Kong, the guy said to me: “By the way, you were wearing exactly the same clothes on the way to South Africa.”

I looked at my pretty generic overnight travel outfit, which consisted of a white polo shirt, loose black pants and red ballerina flats, and thought to myself: There were so many flights and so many seats on the airplane, and I was wearing the most nondescript clothes possible. What are the odds of this happening?

Read about other inflight entertainment stories on flights to Paris, London and New York in the next blog entry….

For more stories like this, please pick up the latest issue of TRAVELIFE Magazine at the nearest bookstore.

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