Chillin’ in NYC – Day 4

This morning I was on my own for awhile – what with it being a workday and all. I didn’t end up planning well, though, since the Met is apparently closed on Monday. Instead, I explored, and ended up doing a fair bit of walking. I grabbed a cupcake at the famous Magnolia Bakery – thank you SNL! – and then wandered through a bit of Central Park. It’s gigantic though, and I barely scratched the surface.

Once on the east side of the park, I started walking down 5th Avenue. I was tempted to walk through the zoo, but didn’t really feel like paying admission. Perhaps another time. Continuing down, I found the Plaza Hotel, where Mariah Carey was apparently shooting a music video, and a crowd of people was standing around trying to catch a glimpse of her. How terribly exciting. I kept going, and made it down to Saks Fifth Avenue and the Rockefeller Center. Saw the space where the skating rink goes, and stared up at the giant tower.

I continued over to the United Nations. I meant to go on a tour, but the next one was almost 2 hours later, and by that point I was kind of tired and dehydrated, so I did what little exploring I could do on my own, and headed back to my friends to relax for a little ’til she was done with work.

When she returned, we decided to take the Staten Island Ferry to get a closer view of the Statue of Liberty and to grab some Italian. In front of the ferry terminal there was a little breakdancing performance.

Once the performance was over, we did get onto the ferry, and I got my first close(r)-up look at the statue:

We enjoyed our dinner (and garlic bread!) at the local vegan-friendly, gluten-free friendly, corn-free friendly, option-friendly Italian place, grabbed the ferry back and called it a night. Good times.

Posted in Photography, Travel. Tagged with out and about, Travel.

By beautyredefined

July 1, 2009

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Chillin’ in NYC – Day 3

Sunday started with another delicious bagel at Absolute Bagels – how could it not? – and then over to 5th Avenue to see the annual Pride Parade. It was an event, but I think I expected it to be a little more crowded. Either way, we could get close enough to mostly see the parade and there was a lot of colorful people walking past. I’m not quite sure what Jack Sparrow was doing on the float for the Renaissance Faire, though:

We had to duck out of the parade a tad early, unfortunately, but we had good reason – our matinee Broadway play! We went to see Accent on Youth starring David Hyde Pierce. I made the mistake of looking up some reviews for this before hand (but after buying tickets). They’re not all generous to the play, so I went in a little disappointed. Thankfully, I thought the show was great anyway. It was well-delivered, and it kept the audience laughing. I think the butler was my favorite character.

After the play and some dinner (a bagel – sandwich this time – from Absolute Bagels), we took the rest of the evening off. I’m not really made for full-time touristing, so I was quite pleased with the downtime. (And there’s some work to be done as well. As always.)

Posted in Travel.

By beautyredefined

June 30, 2009

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Chillin’ in NYC – Day 2

After a good night’s sleep, my friend and I sought out the best bagels in NYC – which was only a few blocks away, according to yelp. It was busy, but we asked what was hot, and I got an amazing plain bagel with strawberry cream cheese. There were actual strawberries in it. I understand now about bagels. It was incredible, and quite filling. I’ve since eaten there twice more, and may yet go back before leaving.

After breakfast, we headed downtown towards the South Seaport. We got off the subway in the Wall St. area, and nearly immediately got this view of the New York Stock Exchange. We headed to the river, stopped at the TKTS booth to buy some half-off broadway tickets, and met up with some old friends at the Seaport.

We spent some quality time chatting, and caught the bus to the East Village in search of the vegan ice cream shop. This place was amazing. Their hard ice creams are nut based, and I’m really curious how they make them. While I could maybe detect some differences, I would’ve easily believed you if you’d told me it was dairy based. Everything in the shop is vegan – all the way down to their coconut whipped cream. Delicious. After our ice cream, we found a little place and talked all afternoon over a pitcher of sangria. Good times.

That night, we met up with a couple of other friends who had spent all morning in line to get Shakespeare in the Park tickets. Now, I hadn’t quite realized what we were getting into, but I’m incredibly grateful to them – this show was amazing. Twelfth Night in Central Park, starring Anne Hathaway, and some beautiful sets and music. I knew nothing about the play beforehand, nor the quality of the Shakespeare in the Park. Absolutely blown away. I think I want to get the soundtrack when it’s available. I would’ve easily paid to see the play, but since it was free, I think I can afford to buy the soundtrack.

Saturday was a good day.

Posted in Travel.

By beautyredefined

June 29, 2009

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Chillin’ in NYC – Day 1.

Been hanging out in NYC with my good friend this weekend. It’s my first time here, so everything is a new experience. After a ridiculously early morning flight into the city, I braved the bus to get to my friend’s apartment. Took awhile, but relatively calm. After a nap, we looked up some places to go for lunch and settled a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place. Nom. Way better than the Mexican food back home, though I was slightly disappointed with the guac. Guac is important!

That evening we headed out on the subway to Brooklyn to walk over the bridge and the night skyline. While trying to find the stairs up to the bridge, we ran across someone filming a music video. It was a bizarre affair, with a cameraman holding the camera and walking all around and doing random close-ups and things. We had to wait for the singing/grinding to end before we could climb up to the bridge. The bridge (and view) was beautiful, though, and I caught my first glimpse of the Statue of Liberty.

We meandered our way back uptown, and eventually ran into the Times Sq. area. Maybe it was just that it was a Friday night, but it was way too much for me. Too many people, too many ads – so overstimulating I just wanted out. Finally, we made it through and ended up back at the apartment. We went and got a vegan pizza from a nearby place. Tasty, but I think I still need to try a NY slice of plain ol’ cheese pizza.

Posted in Travel. Tagged with out and about.

By beautyredefined

June 28, 2009

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Cedar Point to NYC

Photo courtesy of monkeyatlarge on Flickr

This past Sunday, Logan and I headed to Cedar Point with a number of other grad students. It’s been on my list of things to do since moving to Michigan, but we never actually made the effort to plan a trip down there, so when the grad school organized one, I was quite happy to tag along. It was a great day – perfect weather (as long as you were in the shade or had some ice cream), good company, and the lines to most of the coasters were ridiculously short. Seriously. Some of them we could walk practically right up to the coaster. I ended up taking a dozen coaster rides, which is a pretty good rate for one day at the amusement park.

Now here’s the thing about coasters. I enjoy them after the fact – or at least, after the first hill. However, on the way up that first hill, with the loud clicks of the ratchets and the oh-so-slow ascent as you watch everything get smaller behind you and the sides drop away – that part I’m not so okay with. My hearts beating a little faster even now just thinking about how nervous it makes me. And yet, I do it anyway.

We started off the day with Raptor, one of the dangly-feet type coasters. I like those. Usually not so much of a giant hill to start off with, and the large shoulder harnesses are quite secure feeling. The twists and turns I can handle much better than huge first drops. This was a good one too, although these rides always seem so short when you’re actually on it.

Next we headed off to Millenium Force, the most popular coaster there, and the one in the first picture. It’s a good thing I didn’t know this before hand, but that first drop is an 80 degree drop, and 300 feet tall. It’s a rush, I tell you. Logan and a few others were tempted to go back and do it again in the front of the train, but I don’t think I could’ve brought myself to go on it again. ::shiver::

Photo courtesy of buschap on Flickr

Magnum XL-200 was another one of the rides I couldn’t quite bring myself to do again, but I think I would if I were to return. It’s celebrating it’s 20th anniversary this year, and was the tallest and fastest coaster back when it was built in 1989. (Cedar Point always has to out-do itself.) By the top of the second hill I could actually appreciate the beautiful views of Lake Erie and enjoy the rest of the ride, but again, that first hill…..

Maverick was the only ride there with a substantial line that day, and that induced the most drama of the day. A couple of people decided they didn’t want to wait in line, and so jumped over a number of the barriers, causing great discontentment amongst the crowd. Apparently, someone knew who to call though, and eventually a police officer showed up, and then two more, and then two more still. The crowd applauded as the jumpers were escorted out of line. The ride itself was a mix for me. It’s got a 95 degree drop in the beginning, but you’re launched and it’s not ridiculously tall, so it was fun. However, it seemed to last a couple of twists and turns too many, and I walked out of it with a pounding headache. Thankfully one of Logan’s classmates came well-prepared with advil, and I was better shortly thereafter.

I think my favorite ride of the day was Gemini. The tallest and fastest coaster of 1978 – it was just the right height and excitement level for me to enjoy the whole ride from beginning to end, and there was no line at all. It was also unique – it’s got two trains that go side-by-side, and you race. (I was on the winning train each of the three times I rode it, I’m not sure what the says about me, but whatever. And no, the same train doesn’t win each time.) Good, classic wooden roller coaster.

So yeah, I had a good day on Sunday, and after a busy week, I’m now in NYC visiting my good friend before my trip to Austria next week! I should’ve probably learned some German, huh. Oops.

And one little cell phone picture of me before I go (boldly wearing my Michigan shirt in Ohio):

I even got a couple of snarfs in while there. Good times.

Posted in Random. Tagged with cedar point, roller coasters.

By beautyredefined

June 26, 2009

2 comments

Baby Goat

Back home safely from Minnesota, and jumping right back into work, and a new knitting project. (By they way – I finished the first sock on the drive there! Pictures to come at a later date.)

Anyway, I had a great time with sister goat and family, played a lot of Dominion, and took some pictures of the baby goat as well. Still more to edit and send off to her, but here are a couple of my favorites from the weekend:

Posted in Random. Tagged with Baby Goat, family.

By beautyredefined

June 16, 2009

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Minnesota, briefly.

I’m here in Minnesota, visiting the sister and the baby goat, as well as a couple of friends. Having a good time so far, and last night I finally saw the famous “Spoonbridge and Cherry” in the Walker Art Garden. I’ve seen pictures of it advertising the cities in the various airports and things, but I hadn’t actually gone to see it for myself yet. We’ll be doing a baby photo shoot later today, so I’ll probably have some shots for you later.

Posted in Random.

By beautyredefined

June 13, 2009

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#44: Eat once at Blimpy Burger

Last weekend was my friend’s last weekend in Ann Arbor. As he had never been to Blimpy Burger, and I had never been to Blimpy Burger, it was obvious that we had to go. Krazy Jim’s Blimpy Burger is an Ann Arbor institution, complete with long lines and tasty burgers. This is not a place for the health-conscious, nor is it a place for people who expect servers to dote upon them. You have to wait in the inevitable line, and be prepared to know exactly what you want when they ask you. This is not always an easy decision. They boast 2,147,483,648 possible combinations, so there are plenty of choices. (They even have a set of instructions about how to correctly place your order. They may make fun of you if you don’t follow their rules.) First, you have to choose how many patties you want. No, you can’t get just one. I ordered a double with a fried egg and grilled onions, while Logan ordered a quad with bacon. You can get a quint if you’re really hungry.

They put your patties on the griddle right when you order them, so you see every step of your burgers preparation. It’s hard to tell exactly what it is that makes these burgers so good, but you can tell that it’s not your standard grilling technique. The patties are pounded flat in the process, and the griddle is extra hot, so the edges get a tad crispy around the edge. Logan’s pretty sure there’s some Worcestershire sauce in there somewhere too. Either way, it’s hard to reproduce the burger at home. Logan’s tried.

All in all, I have to say that it was a tasty treat. Between the onion rings, and the hefty burger though, I can’t let this become a habit. I did find myself wishing they had avocado as one of their many topping choices, but I can see how it’d be hard to do in such an assembly line fashion. I’m pretty sure this was also my first time having egg on a burger. It’s not something I would’ve thought to do on my own, but it worked. Nom.

Nom, indeed.

Photo courtesy of phil dokas and used under a Creative Commons license.

Posted in 101 Things. Tagged with 101things, ann arbor, food, restaurants.

By beautyredefined

June 6, 2009

4 comments

#97: One month of Wordless Wednesday’s

So, I failed to post a Wordless Wednesday yesterday. Imagine that. I haven’t been posting a lot lately. I’m good at that! However, I did manage to post one for each Wednesday in May. Success! So, here is my not-so-wordless recap:

Master Labeler
I’ve always had a fondness for label makers. In the beginning of the month, my good friend was preparing to move to New York. Her apartment in New York would be quite a bit smaller than here, so she was downsizing. After she had labeled a great many things (including the master labeler), she left it for me.

Happy birthday to me!
Ah, birthdays. This year, my husband surprised me with a shiny new monitor. It’s beautiful. And between it and my heated footrest, I can have a much better posture than I used to. (Not that I always do. But still.) So much desktop space! So pretty!

Sunflower in Progress
I took this picture with my shiny new smartphone. It’s wi-fi enabled, and I had just gotten it. I was terribly amused that I could take a picture and upload it to flickr all from my phone. I could’ve even made the blog post with my phone, but I chose not to.

Garlic Basil Flatbread
Awhile ago, I learned about Mark Bittman’s flatbread recipe. It’s quite simple, and quite customizable. Given my love for bread, it’s kind of amazing I don’t make it more often. This was the creation of choice for that Wednesday. It was rather tasty, although I still need to tweak how I make these.