TRIP!
I wish I had thought of writing this post earlier, but I'll do what I can to give ya a taste before work ends.
New York was crazy, colorful, beautiful. All sorts of character and all sorts of CHARACTERS. We stayed in this budget hotel in midtown Manhattan that was relatively cozy, if a bit sparse - everything is apparently built smaller out there. 7 channels or so on the TV ;) bathroom right next door (sink in our room, and I don't think we ever saw anyone else on our floor), clean and decent. One of the concierges was probably in his 80's or 90's and short, with fading hearing and sight, and he looks up at Matt in the elevator and goes "So, shorty, is the weather up there the same as it is down here?" XD
We saw MOMA (there are some things I just don't get about art, but other pieces were quite beautiful, and there were some fibre pieces I caught on camera for syianna's benefit), the Guggenheim (Matt got to see some Kandinsky up close, which is his favorite artist), some of Central Park, a comedy show at the Broadway Club (apparently where Seinfeld does his stand-up on his show), a couple of off-broadway shows, a jazz show at the Blue Note (for free; yay for friends in high places ;) ), the Bronx Zoo, the famous bridges, Coney Island (mamasita_muerte you would fit right in and probably befriend the entire staff at the sideshow location, along with the burlesque girls XD )...
Highlights:
- trekking around on the subway... I am a giant nerd about transportation (or so it seems) so figuring out what went where and getting us from place to place was something I really enjoyed
- an amazing Cuban food place just off the Theater District - all the food was cheap and most of it was super impressive, save for one diner experience we had. We had delicious shrimp ceviche and octopus salad, and I had palomilla steak (don't ask me what that means, but it's sliced thin and marinated in a savory sauce) with rice and beans. I also had a shake with a fruit called mora which I'd never had before. Like a raspberry but less tart. I also got to practise my Spanish there.
- Avenue Q, front row, $26. This was the night-before-the-night-before we left. We stumbled on the cheap seats out of sheer luck. We had gone to line up for the Wicked lottery (go to the box office, enter your name in a draw, if your name is called you get the chance to buy up to 2 front row seats at $26 ea). We didn't win, but while standing around deciding what to do next we heard a guy talking about rush seating for Avenue Q. We asked him about it and got it the next day - it's as simple as walking over to the box office when it first opens and buying the tix until they sell out. It's an amazing musical - if you haven't heard of it, I guarantee you've heard The Internet Is For Porn. Yup, it's from that musical. Think "adult Sesame Street".
- Italian food. REAL Italian food. Not just in Little Italy. We stopped at a place not far from our hotel on the first or second night and had a Caesar salad with a slice of anchovy in it. (wow, salty). Little Italy is a phenomenon all its own, too. Think of Chianti's pasta frenzy deal. Now picture a bunch of competition for Chianti's, offering similar deals, all day every day, for 2 straight blocks on both sides, all vying for your business. Yum.
- Coney Island. The beach, putting my toes in the Atlantic Ocean (for which I am also a giant nerd), seeing the sideshows (snake charmer, sword walker, fire eater, etc.) and a totally raunchy burlesque show that evening. SO much fun.
- PopBar. A little food place that has sorbetto/gelato/other treats in popsicle form. Dipped in chocolate and nuts. So tasty. I had a berry gelato with white chocolate and nuts. Matt's was pistachio and milk chocolate and nuts. Seriously.
- Tokyo 11, this Japanese "fast food" place that had just opened up across from our hotel. Ginger duck... YUM. It had the works: hibachi meats, udon, stir fry, sushi.
- YooHoo. Chocolate milk-ish in a can. We need it here.
Downsides were weather and crowds, and garbage smell made WORSE by the weather (they don't do alleys - garbage goes out front, so it was RIPE by nighttime) but all were bearable given that we were expecting them and they definitely paled in comparison to the upsides. Neat place :D
Okay it's home time, but I'll write about the cottage later.
Tah!
New York was crazy, colorful, beautiful. All sorts of character and all sorts of CHARACTERS. We stayed in this budget hotel in midtown Manhattan that was relatively cozy, if a bit sparse - everything is apparently built smaller out there. 7 channels or so on the TV ;) bathroom right next door (sink in our room, and I don't think we ever saw anyone else on our floor), clean and decent. One of the concierges was probably in his 80's or 90's and short, with fading hearing and sight, and he looks up at Matt in the elevator and goes "So, shorty, is the weather up there the same as it is down here?" XD
We saw MOMA (there are some things I just don't get about art, but other pieces were quite beautiful, and there were some fibre pieces I caught on camera for syianna's benefit), the Guggenheim (Matt got to see some Kandinsky up close, which is his favorite artist), some of Central Park, a comedy show at the Broadway Club (apparently where Seinfeld does his stand-up on his show), a couple of off-broadway shows, a jazz show at the Blue Note (for free; yay for friends in high places ;) ), the Bronx Zoo, the famous bridges, Coney Island (mamasita_muerte you would fit right in and probably befriend the entire staff at the sideshow location, along with the burlesque girls XD )...
Highlights:
- trekking around on the subway... I am a giant nerd about transportation (or so it seems) so figuring out what went where and getting us from place to place was something I really enjoyed
- an amazing Cuban food place just off the Theater District - all the food was cheap and most of it was super impressive, save for one diner experience we had. We had delicious shrimp ceviche and octopus salad, and I had palomilla steak (don't ask me what that means, but it's sliced thin and marinated in a savory sauce) with rice and beans. I also had a shake with a fruit called mora which I'd never had before. Like a raspberry but less tart. I also got to practise my Spanish there.
- Avenue Q, front row, $26. This was the night-before-the-night-before we left. We stumbled on the cheap seats out of sheer luck. We had gone to line up for the Wicked lottery (go to the box office, enter your name in a draw, if your name is called you get the chance to buy up to 2 front row seats at $26 ea). We didn't win, but while standing around deciding what to do next we heard a guy talking about rush seating for Avenue Q. We asked him about it and got it the next day - it's as simple as walking over to the box office when it first opens and buying the tix until they sell out. It's an amazing musical - if you haven't heard of it, I guarantee you've heard The Internet Is For Porn. Yup, it's from that musical. Think "adult Sesame Street".
- Italian food. REAL Italian food. Not just in Little Italy. We stopped at a place not far from our hotel on the first or second night and had a Caesar salad with a slice of anchovy in it. (wow, salty). Little Italy is a phenomenon all its own, too. Think of Chianti's pasta frenzy deal. Now picture a bunch of competition for Chianti's, offering similar deals, all day every day, for 2 straight blocks on both sides, all vying for your business. Yum.
- Coney Island. The beach, putting my toes in the Atlantic Ocean (for which I am also a giant nerd), seeing the sideshows (snake charmer, sword walker, fire eater, etc.) and a totally raunchy burlesque show that evening. SO much fun.
- PopBar. A little food place that has sorbetto/gelato/other treats in popsicle form. Dipped in chocolate and nuts. So tasty. I had a berry gelato with white chocolate and nuts. Matt's was pistachio and milk chocolate and nuts. Seriously.
- Tokyo 11, this Japanese "fast food" place that had just opened up across from our hotel. Ginger duck... YUM. It had the works: hibachi meats, udon, stir fry, sushi.
- YooHoo. Chocolate milk-ish in a can. We need it here.
Downsides were weather and crowds, and garbage smell made WORSE by the weather (they don't do alleys - garbage goes out front, so it was RIPE by nighttime) but all were bearable given that we were expecting them and they definitely paled in comparison to the upsides. Neat place :D
Okay it's home time, but I'll write about the cottage later.
Tah!