Appreciating NYC - Part duo

A brief visit from Iman and Nadim was all I needed apparently, to get my touristness on. I've never done a lot of things that one does in NYC - but yesterday I rode the Staten Island ferry. It was fairly amusing to get on, right over, disembark (they make you), and get right back on! We had a good laugh. And when looking for free things to do in NYC, it's a good one. Who would have thunk? Plus you get a pretty decent view of the good ol' statue of Liberty.



I had a moment before I fell asleep two nights ago where I was struck with an interesting thought. I have been looking to get out of this city for some time now. So I lay in bed wondering if I had any regrets about leaving NY now, and the answer was actually yes. I can admit now to myself that I regret not going out and taking advantage of dance classes and even more yoga classes. These are things I realize I may not have access to again - things that I think I still love and would love to be doing for myself. Oh well.. Can't go back in time. I have to think what i can do in the future is all.
I guess the dancer isn't all out of me.

Appreciating NYC

I admit to being a bit a of grump about NY alot of the time, but now that I'm actually leaving for real I think it's easier to sit back and appreciate the wonderful bits. For me that really comes down to the amazing food one can find here and the energy (when you're looking for it.) Had a very nice visit from Shirin and enjoyed being out and about in the city. I can also strongly recommend the Negril Village - an awesome Carribean restaurant in the village. YUM.

A New Addition

As if Bugsy's life hasn't been tough as it is the past few weeks, on Thursday we brought Samba Blue home with us. After taking care of Bugsy this past year I thought we had a good idea of cats. Not so. Samba is everything Bugsy is not. He's adventurous, fast, friendly, loud, talkative and just a bit Nutso. To bring such a small animal into a new environment with a new animal should have been a little more disturbing and scary, but not for him. He's made good use of his time and has become well acquainted with every patch of apartment we have allowed him in. Bugsy is adjusting to the new comer with a lot more trepidation, but we are hopeful that the two will become close before long. Watching them both is better than TV.

Samba wedged between couch cushions

Samba with his favorite football toy

How do you do it?

I feel like the worst "mom" in the world for taking Bugsy to be spayed yesterday. She's a cat; she has no idea why she's being taken some place and handled by foreign faces and worse still, put through pain. I know this is the most common proceedure, but I am having a tough time getting my mind around what I have had done to her. She came back to us very drowsy and drugged up with a ridiculous cone on her head. Her first attempts to be mobile were so sad. She walks into things all the time and even now that the drugs have mostly worn off, she has no idea what this obscene thing around her neck is.

I confess I caved in and took it off for a while this afternoon and let her scratch her own neck and wash her face. It was also the first she had a chance to eat anything. Now the cone is on she looks depressed and sits with her one eye wide open like sleep is never going to come...

Weekend of Fun and Sun

Having Ju, Nu and Jessi in a the same place together spells trouble. It did when we were 14, and it does still now. It's a rare occurence but when it happens (like 2 weeks ago) it is outrageously entertaining. I don't think I've giggled and snickered that much in months!

Lucky for us winter decided to finally up and leave and we had the most glorious 2 days of 70 degrees and up to spend frolicking in parks and generally soaking up the outdoors.

We picnicked in Prospect Park munching on some of Brooklyn's best sandwiches courtesy of Piazza Merchado. Love that place. We also had free entertainment which we had hoped to capture on video but alas was out of the zoom reach. A very spritely chap with no shirt on decided to choreograph a few bits and pieces while those of us around looked on in amusement. Think african dance meets jazzercise aerobics meets bad tai chi and you're starting to get an idea.

After and lunch and show we decided to investigate the state of the cherry blossoms in the Botanical Gardens. They were trying to come out, but the main orchard had unfortunately not bloomed yet. However, the rest of the place was looking absolutely gorgeous. All greens and flowers. And as if that wasn't enough outdoorsness we went to DUMBO for a stellar Hot chocolate from good old Jaques Torres, and meandered around peoples wedding photos on the pier and then up to the promenade for the sunset. Fab.

All I have to say is after the winter that didn't want to leave I think everyone was in good form to enjoy the change.

As for sunday - Brunch at Applewood is my favorite thing. Lucky for us having guests is an excuse to go there again. YUM. Of course since Tracy used to cook there we had to drag him along so that he could experience being on the other side of the kitchen. Brioche french toast sound good to anyone?!

An Ode to All-Inclusives

I never thought I would be the one to vacation in an all-inclusive resort, but now that I have given it a go I have to say that I highly recommend them. Well obviously it depends where you stay and when, but the concept of going somewhere to simply relax and not worry about anything is quite necessary from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I could certainly not become convinced to only go on those types of vacations, but I'd say every so often it's a must.

We stayed in Dreams, Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, and loved it. It really is a well run beautiful place, and the service was unbelievable. All rooms have ocean views and there are no reservation requirements to have dinner at the specialty restaurants. The food was decidedly good and beautifully presented. James and I were able to go and sit on the beach, drink yummy sugary frozen drinks, eat, swim and generally do a whole lot of nothing. Bliss. The advantage of the Dreams resort is the private beach; many other resorts are layed out on a strip with one beach going into the next. It never felt overcrowded though we were there at a busy time, and we were always able to get a little hut for beach shade. In case you can't get enough to eat in the 5 restaurants they also include the 24hour room service in the package. If there is one thing that I would do differently it is to omit the additional service from the airport to the hotel and back. I think we paid a ridiculous $76 for both of us, and found out that a taxi ride from the airport isn't normally much more than $10. Of course never having been, we were uncertain what other options were available - now we know and we are making sure others know!

A few favorites during our 5 night stay:

Favorite employee - Gaby - front desk

Favorite frozen drink - Passion Punch (non alcoholic naturlich!)

Favorite dinner: sea bass from Oceana restaurant or pesto linguine with duck at Portofino

Favorite beach spot: South side close to the old tower - it's a little quieter

Favorite pool: infinite pool and Jacuzzi. It helps that it's adults only there!

Favorite breakfast choice: mini waffles with nutella and whipped cream

Best entertainment: circus night - the rest was actually quite bad but we didn't care since we had plenty to keep us busy.

There's more I'm sure but for now that's enough. So if you've been hankering for a getaway, check it out...

Naw Ruz - A time to explore eating!

So this year like most, Naw Ruz came with the sudden urge to eat things one normally isn't interested in - preferable of course, during the day, but any time will do! James and I have begun a more adventurous exploration of New York food as our new year resolution (not really a discussed thing, but anyway). I think we have been sort of conservative on that front simply because we don't spend much time in Manhattan. However thanks to our pal Tracy, we now have a deck of 52 places in Manhattan to have a go at in the next year. Can it be done? I'm not certain since we got a late start, but so far we have tried 2.

On the eve of Naw Ruz we chose to dine with Matt and Karen at a little slip of a place on the lower east side. O.G. stands for Oriental Grill, I read. As a food critic I would say I probably wouldn't rush back, though I must say I did enjoy the food. Atmosphere was nice, waiter a bit nuts, but humorous enough. I would say the dumplings were the highlight. We tried Chicken and mango and a very interesting spinach and goat cheese. If you are offered the Tuna - don't. It wasn't good. However, the soon to be extinct (Karen gave me a lecture before ordering it) sea bass was quite delicious and had a very interesting coconut sauce around it. Yes to the chocolate spice dessert thing too.

Our second foray - in the same week even! - was the City Crab. Right in the Union Square area it seems a safe place to order seafood as it boasts it comes in fresh from the fish market each day (shouldn't that be a given?). A little pricier but hey, it is seafood, it was GOOD. We enjoyed cold crab for an appetizer but the true piece De resistance had to be my Red Snapper wrapped with smoked bacon with stewed apple slices on top, served with Yukon potatoes and very tasty, not over cooked string beans. What a fine combination! It's kind of a weird place inside - surprisingly large and during this sat afternoon a Jazz band was playing downstairs. However, as we were upstairs we were simultaneously hearing Spanish music. Not sure what that was about. Didn't get to dessert but they did look good....

We have also discovered two new things about bugsy. She loves sharp cheddar cheese, and she would eat crepes if she could only figure out how. This picture below is before she got it on the floor. From there, without the fold in the crepe she just couldn't find an end to pick it back up with!

Now that the weather is changing I am ready to come out of hibernation a bit more. Finally! And in just a weeks time I will be flying to Mexico. Life is good.