Al, our Bell Captain, was born in the beautiful island of Puerto Rico and came to New York when he was just 6 months old. He loved playing basketball as a young boy in the Bronx. He started his employment at the Salisbury Hotel 32 years ago and mentions that the best thing about working here are the friendly and professional people he works with.
Al likes to spend his free-time with his family and enjoys cooking Japanese cuisine such as Okonomiyaki (savory pancakes containing a variety of ingredients), Nabe (hot pot dish), Udon (noodle dish) and Zosui (rice soup). Why Japanese cuisine? That's because he loves traveling to Japan. Al has been there multiple times and seen Fuji, Kyoto, Kobe, Osaka, Use, Arashiyama and many, many other places.
Al's home borough, the Bronx, is also a great place to visit if Japan is too far for you. It is the only New York borough that's physically attached to the mainland and it's most famous for these three attractions: the beautiful New York Botanical Gardens, The Bronx Zoo and The Yankee Stadium.
Hop on the train to the Bronx and spend some quiet time in the nature. The Botanical Garden spans some 250 acres of Bronx Park and includes a 50-acre forest, featuring some of the oldest trees in the city.
The Bronx Zoo is one of New York's most popular attractions, with more than 4,000 animals housed on its 265 acres. Common favorites, including gorillas and polar bears, reside at the nature park. Keep an eye out for the daily penguin and sea lion feedings, plus other rotating activities and demonstrations.
The Yankees are one of the most famous sports teams in the world. On a guided tour you'll be able to admire the enormity of the most expensive baseball stadium ever built, and admire the ballpark from Monument Park - an open-air museum where the retired numbers and plaques honoring Yankee greats like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle and Lou Gehrig are displayed.
Arthur Avenue - The Bronx's own Little Italy Just south of the Botanical Gardens, Arthur Avenue runs north to south through the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx. The area is known for the high quality and great value of its fantastic assortment of Italian-American restaurants, delis, grocers, pasta-makers, butchers, fish markets, bakeries, gourmet coffeehouses and other shops and services.
THE BRONX MUSEUM OF THE ARTS
Founded in 1971 and featuring more than 800 works, this multicultural art museum shines a spotlight on 20th- and 21st-century artists who are either Bronx-based or of African, Asian or Latino ancestry.
Pay homage to Poe in the very house where he wrote literary gems including “Annabel Lee” and “The Bells.” From 1846 through 1849, the cottage housed the writer and, until her death from tuberculosis, his wife, Virginia. It is now overseen by the Bronx County Historical Society.
