Yesterday was the perfect fall day to experience Hell's Kitchen in New York City. Hubby and I wanted to capture the essence and colors of the area (as well as spy on a few Hallowe'en costume clad eager beavers).

Although I'm a writer, I cannot argue with the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words." Whether it's a storefront seen through a different lens, or an unexpected view of a bakery that you only remember from the inside, being a photo journalist trains your eye to look for that "Golden Ratio" of views.

Take a look at some of our pictures and let us know which ones really capture the essence of Hell's Kitchen on "All Hallows Eve."

A view from the inside of Starbucks on 43rd and 9th Avenue: this reminds me of a Picasso painting

A cute youngster channeled his inner "Karate Kid" on the corner of 44th and 9th

A study in intense sunflower and coral: Cara Mia Italian Trattoria caught our eye because the store front pops

Some champagne flutes inside one of my favorite home decor stores, Delphinium. I love the way the nautical blue stands out

Spider tributes to the season inside Delphinium will remind kids of a more sinister version of "Charlotte's Web"

Graffiti is not a lost art form in Hell's Kitchen. You can rent bikes from Liberty Bicycles

In case you forget you are staring at a bike shop, this handy reminder is forever embedded in concrete in front of the store…

The line inside Amy's Bread is long and winding road, always. This store had humble beginnings and then morphed into something huge…

We'll be doing more city pictorials over the coming weeks, and we invite you to come back, relive the experience and tell us some of your favorite and picturesque locations in New York City.

For now, here's wishing you a very happy Hallowe'en, which ever part of the world you may be!

- Charu Suri

A few weeks ago, I visited my long-time high school friend in Framingham, MA. It was a last minute trip and I wasn't in the mood to shell out over $150 to take the Amtrak to South Station.

So, in true "collegiate" style, I took the Greyhound Bus from Port Authority Bus Terminal, and paid $69 for the round trip, and directly to Framingham, MA (the Amtrak goes to Boston South Station, and the trip to Framingham adds another hour to your commute, and no, you can't take the T!).

I looked at the price for the Bolt Bus and found out that because I booked my tickets last minute, I wasn't eligible for the $17- $23 fare (each way). And I certainly didn't want to go down to Chinatown to take the definitively collegiate Fung Wah Bus Company because you end up waiting for hours in a long line and then get bumped off the bus at the last minute due to capacity issues.

Yes, I do have a car but it was in the repair shop. So, I decided to take the newly-upgraded Greyhound, which features outlets and Free Wi-Fi. 

For those of you who like the planes, trains and automobiles version of getting to Boston, this post may not be for you, but for those who DO like buses, here are a variety of ways to get from NYC to Beantown:

1. Bolt Bus: The pros: extra leg room, free Wi-Fi, outlets to charge your laptops, reserved seating and even $1 fare (the Bolt for a Buck option exists if you purchase it in advance).

The cons: they tickets sell out like hot cakes, especially during the weekend, so make sure you purchase early.

2. Greyhound/ Peter Pan: Pros: there is a newly upgraded version of the dismal Greyhound bus you probably know and loathe, with outlets and Free Wi-Fi. There's also a low $10 Express Fare from NYC to select cities (not to Boston, sorry) and you can save up to 50% on your ticket price if you reserve early.

The cons: Not all buses are upgraded, so don't be surprised if you're stuck with a dinosaur version on one of your rides.

3. Fung Wah Bus Company: This is seriously for the college kid who is trying to save a few dollars to get back to campus, and I would strongly recommend you look at other forms of transportation to get to Beantown, particularly if you want to ride with more style.

The Pros: Each way is as low as $15.

The Cons: Long lines and endless wait times may not be something you bargained for.

4. Limo Liner: THIS is truly the way to travel by bus.

The Pros: You get a pleasant, experience on-board attendant, outlets and Free high-speed Wi-Fi, clear reception for business calls, and extra leg room, not to mention comfy leather seats.

The Cons: $89 per person each way, but we think it's worth it. And it certainly beats taking the shuttle.

- Charu Suri

Back from the heels of a press trip already I have a strong, potent feeling of restlessness. My traveler's mind needs its WD-40; my story telling powers are already red with rust.

A good trip yields greater friends and memories so powerful they can trigger the nuclear fission of consciousness.

Even before the bags are unpacked, the shirts half–laundered and in their state of limbo, the spirit is already packing for the next trip. This could be virtually anywhere: a mental exercise performed on a cartographer's dartboard, really.

The Gardens of Luxembourg in Paris, misted in rain.

A trip to the Passion Play in Oberammergau, where Method acting and Biblical narrative fuse.

A simple visit to the San Diego Zoo, to watch the pandas in childlike wonder.

The idea of simply cutting the umbilical cord of social and civic responsibility and backpacking until the soul grows cold of travel is not new. It's a very romantic notion, certainly, but definitely not new.

But what IS new to me is the idea of channeling the mental restlessness. Each day, I am trying to channel my mental energies into a quasi-monastic state. To live and travel like a monk, appreciating the wild flowers of a journey for what they are but equally mindful of the carefully-pruned roses in a vase on your dinner table calls for enormous quantities of mental clarity and focus.

It is during these moments that I try to just let it go, and try not to fuss too much with "creating a piece of pottery." The clay will form whatever shape it will, but the mind just has to be clear and willing.

In the aftermath of a journey studded with encounters, there comes a period of silence, a period of mourning for the next shape-shifting experience. I am in that limbo now, sometimes sure of where the next direction will be, but often letting the mental Forrest just run. Past the harvested corn fields, thinning scarecrows, bouquets of Cinderella pumpkins…until the energy is just a raw beam of travel light.

Often, good tales require a nice, stiff aging process.

Tell me, do you take a long time to craft your posts? Or do they just honey out in a matter of minutes?

- Charu Suri

Who doesn't really like upgrades? Most of us will try to do anything to upgrade: turn cartwheels..promise the first born…offer to be extra nice to airlines during the holiday season.

The fact that is pays to be nice to the agent behind the counter should serve as a lesson to all of us who fly. Jim Dailakris, an actor and writer, was standing in line for his Quantas flight from New York to Sydney, Australia — an over 21 hour, 6,800 mile journey. That's certainly no distance to fly coach for sure!

The flight was oversold and he was exceptionally nice to the agent behind the counter, so much so that she upgraded him to premium class. Jim offers these golden words for travelers to live by, "Sometimes, I'll see somebody yelling and screaming at a flight attendant or a booking agent at the airport. It gets them nowhere. I don't see the point of that kind of behavior. I understand that sometimes airlines may screw up and they definitely have done so in my travels, but I've always managed a positive outcome by being respectful and kind."

The bottom line? Just be nice, as much as you humanly can be. It can be trying on your nerves sometimes (doing the right thing almost ALWAYS is a lesson in patience), but your traveling experience will be much sweeter for it.

- Charu Suri

You're in an airport and cranky. Cumulus clouds are everywhere and you know this means canceled flights, disgruntled passengers and stormy weather (both in the meteorological and psychological sense).

I've had canceled flights before, but never on major holidays like Thanksgiving — thank goodness. But I can only empathize with all the passengers sitting in the airport, setting up tents, playing solitaire on their iPhones and trying desperately not to let their nerves become as raw as meat in a butcher's window.

Michelle Maskaly sent me a more optimistic point of view on this subject. It DOES pay to be patient.

On a trip from Tampa to Newark, N.J. Michelle and her best friend encountered severe weather delays as they came back from Spring Training. The plane was obviously delayed, and the two friends decided to wait it out at the airport bar. When their flight finally was ready to board, around 5 hours later, no one was at the gate. An attendant came and found them at the bar and asked them, "Are you Michelle or Kelly?"

They were a little frightened and startled, but it turns out that everyone had left on a different flight, or had just given up and checked into a hotel. It was just Kelly and Michelle on the entire plane and furthermore, they rode first class and chatted with the entire captain and crew.

The moral of this story is that there sometimes (not often) is a silver lining when it comes to being a patient traveler. Sometimes (not often) that silver lining turns into a truly platinum opportunity. These girls were lucky, but it's such a feel-good story that I simply had to share it because it shows that patience does pay.

Even if it means you sitting for hours at an airport bar with nothing but Jimmy Bean to keep you company.

- Charu Suri

It always pays to learn the rules of negotiation whenever you go to a foreign country. In countries like India, haggling in bazaars is expected. This norm is characteristic of several Asian countries, but the practice of haggling and bargaining are found in the Western Hemisphere as well.

When I was a student in Greece, my speaking Modern Greek to a vendor led him to give me a steep discount on a bust of Athena (let's put it this way…the price tag was lowered by a whopping 80%!).

Tyler Tervooren, professor of riskology, gives us an interesting anecdote on his trip to Ciampino, Italy (a small city near Rome). He and his girlfriend flew into the airport just a little after 10PM, when all the buses were done running for the day.

They decided to take a cab to their hotel, and didn't really know how far it was from the airport. They did not negotiate the rate ahead of time as is the norm in Italy, and ended up paying 40 euros ($60 at the time) for a 5 block cab ride.

As he rightly says, "If you're traveling somewhere new, you're usually at your most vulnerable when you get off the plane," especially if it's night-time and you don't know where you're going.

It pays to be prepared, and remember that in the violet hour, you may just be tempted to shell out every buck you have for the comfort of a ride. In today's post-recession economy, where every dollar is a privilege, learn to negotiate your way to a discount, and you might just have more to spend on souvenirs and tourist attractions.

- Charu Suri

I received an interesting anecdote from Betty, author of "Betty in the Sky with a Suitcase," and it was too good to pass up that I simply had to share with my readers. Betty is a flight attendant with over 23 years' experience traveling, and she's seen just about everything from overstuffed cabin bins to snotty attitudes.

On one of her trips to Fort Lauderdale, she rented an economy car, a white four-door with a pretty generic look. The next morning was a particularly early flight for her, and she needed to return the car and catch the first flight back home.

She checked out of her hotel with her car key, and gets into her car ready to drive it back to the car rental agency when she noticed fast food wrappers all over her car. She had not indulged in fast food nor had she littered the car with any.

The first thought that would have entered my mind (as it did for Betty) that someone had entered her car during the night and taken it for a Ferris Bueller-style spin. That would have totally creeped me out! Then she noticed a pair of sunglasses in the glove compartment and then it dawned on her that this was NOT her car.

Her own rental car was parked a few spots down from this "slovenly" car, but the craziest thing was that she had used her remote control car keys to enter someone else's car.

She certainly WAS grateful that the car owner was a bit of a slob; otherwise she would have never spotted the fact that this was not her car.

Betty did approach the rental company and tell them about her crazy experience, and they were quick to point out some remote keys can open car doors of the same make and model (likely for their own fleet of cars). Talk about a case of mistaken identity!

I'm put off by this story and not eager to rent any cars after hearing this story. Have you had similar experiences? Do share and tell us how you resolved them.

To read more of Betty's delightful adventures, please visit www.BettyintheSky.com.

- Charu Suri