Location | New York City
Went to Central Park to see how the snow covered the park. The Mall was closed unfortunately, but you could walk around and take photos. Went around the Mall to Bethesda Terrace then up to the boathouse.
Central Park Mall
The Mall looks really peaceful without anyone walking through it.
Little snowman
Not much to the post besides that I adore Central Park 
Location | New York City
I’ve had a fantastic day. I decided to go on a date with myself. It began with a trip to H&H Bagels, which, if you have never gone there before, you must. I was incredibly happy with my favorite toasted everything bagel w/ lite lox spread (delectable!). Sat there enjoying my lovely bagel and writing in my journal.
Facade of the Cloisters
Then I walked across town and got on the M4 bus to go to the Cloisters. The bus ride literally took more than an hour. When I got there, I decided to take some shots outside first because the daylight was perfect. Then I went in and walked around. It’s really a lovely museum. A lot of courtyards and places to rest and just enjoy the museum.
Stained Glass
I definitely need to return in the spring when the gardens open up.
Statue
Then afterwards, I walked through Fort Tryon Park (the museum is located in the middle of the park). I walked through snowy pathways and to the entrance where there was a playground. Of course, me, being the child I am, totally went on the swingset.
The bus came and I took the hour and a HALF long ride back to the city where I stopped off at Book-Off and then Zaiya before running 10 blocks to meet up with my coffee date, and specified lover from SF, Albie. We sat around and had 2 coffees, fries and sweets before he walked me back home.
I believe tomorrow I may be going to the opera with Albie. Soooo excited to finally go!
*humming opera songs
Location | New York City
One thing I’m always thankful for is that I live in a city where there’s plenty to explore. My cousins are currently visiting from Michigan, so I took them on a mini tour of New York. We went up to Central Park to walk around. The lighting was perfect, but I wish I had someone who enjoyed shooting as much as me there. The weather was beautiful, it was around 50 degrees, beautiful clear blue skies and sunny.
Perfect lighting in "The Mall" section of Central Park
We strolled through the section of the park known as “The Mall” over to where the Bethesda Terrance & Fountain, where we found that the fountain had been drained. We walked up to where the sailboat pond (known as The Conservatory Water) is and found that it too had been drained! Earlier in the summer Greg and I had visited to go inside the Kerbs Memorial Boathouse where the Central Park Model Yacht Club houses their boats.
We walked upwards toward the Met and over to Belvedere Castle. I’d never gone there before and this was a treat. The view is pretty breathtaking up there. Although when you look south, you can only see treetops, but when you look north you get an amazing view of the Turtle Pond below, then over the Great Lawn and into the Upper East Side.
The view from Belvedere Castle
After spending some time there, we walked through The Ramble over to Strawberry Fields near the Upper West Side. I’d never seen the Imagine memorial (for John Lennon) and stopped a second to take a picture.
I love this song.
After that we exited the park and took the train down to Midtown and walked over to Rockefeller Center to see the big tree. The crowd was insane. They blocked off the roads because there were just too many people flocking to see the tree. It took us about half an hour just to get through the crowd.
We walked down Fifth Avenue (a bad idea during the holiday season) toward the New York Public Library on 42nd street. We sat in front of the library for a bit to rest before we went around to Bryant Park. They had their holiday shops up and their lovely little tree and ice skating rink. They rename the winter version “The Pond.” We took a bunch of pictures around the tree and watch the Zamboni go round and round on the rink.
Bryant Park Tree
After that we walked over to Grand Central where I showed them the inside and then we went our separate ways.
My cousins, Billy, me, Andrew and Tim.
Location | New York City
If there’s one place I’ve been meaning to visit for awhile, it’s The High Line. Sometimes I just love being a tourist in my own city! Yesterday was a chilly 17 degrees while also the calm before the biggest snowstorm of 2009 (well the end of 2009). We accumulated around 12-15 inches last night.
Yesterday, in snow and cold wind, my friends Yaya, Matty and Steve walked from my apartment to The High Line. The High Line is a park built on the remnants of an elevated rail line that lifted freight cars 30 feet above the streets in the west side of Manhattan. It runs from the Meatpacking district (Gansevoort St) up to 34th Street.
The High Line is really pretty lit-up
So The High Line is a cemented sidewalk with some wildlife on each side. At night they light it up so it is a really beautiful setting against the backdrop of the city.
Keep It Wild! Stay on the Path!
Location | New York, NY
This past Sunday, I went to Philadelphia to meet up with my cousin, Jessie. Billy, Jessie’s brother, drove us there. We left around 9 and arrived around 11. We met up with Jessie and her research assistant Yi-zhen. The first stop was South Street. We headed to Ishkabibble’s Eatery to have some Philly Cheesesteaks. I noticed that the line for Jim’s Steaks, the typical tourist stop, was already out the door and down the block. Ishkabibble is rated highly on Yelp, which tends to be my bible for finding delicious places.
Although I wasn’t elated about the quality of food, I wasn’t quite disappointed either. Between the four of us, we ordered 3 South Philly Cheesesteaks (red pepper, spinach, provolone and beef), 1 South Philly Chicken Cheesesteak (same, but with chicken), a large order of fries, 2 Gremlins (half grape juice, half lemonade), 1 Diet Coke, 1 Apple Juice.
The inside of Ishkabibble’s is tiny, but we found a space for the 4 of us at the counter. There we chowed down, but I was only able to get through half of mine, but I also ate half of the large fries (oh man!) and also downed the Gremlin, which was amaaaaazing.
Making Philly Cheesesteaks!
After Ishkabibble’s, Jessie needed to get back to the conference center (she was there to give a speech on public health), so we dropped her off and took Yi-zhen to the Eastern State Penitentiary. I called up Danny (my friend from college) to come chill with us as well.
The outside of the Eastern State Penitentiary looks like a castle. It looks completely out of place in the outskirts of Philly. Due to Halloween, the haunted house decorations were still up. $8 for a student ticket, and $12 for regular adult. With every entrance ticket you get an audio set to take you on your own tour. There’s also free tours with guides if you go at the right time.
Creepy Hallway
Walking in, you just go between a thick wall and you see the old buildings to your left. When you enter for the first time, you realize that it’s cold. Not just cold temperature wise, but just like that eerie cold you get when you feel like you’re all alone. It was actually a nice day outside (where jackets were not needed), but I was practically shivering inside the building.
Who is this prisoner!?
Walking hallway through hallway, I knew that I would never want to experience prison or jail. Even if it is supposedly “nicer” these days (whatever that means).
We walked down the different cells peeking in doors (if possible) and just feeling the eeriness of the prison. We went past death row, the greenhouse, outdoor area, and completely dilapidated cells. It was a great and surreal experience.
We walked by Al Capone’s old cell (which was “beautifully” furnished). Over all it was highly recommended.
After the penitentiary, we headed back to find my cousin. We went to Capogiro Artisan Gelato and had some truly divine gelato. Pera, heirloom apple and bacio (chocolate w/ hazelnut). Not only those 3 flavours, but also a huge dollop of homemade whipped cream! YUM!
Delicious gelato! YUM!
We walked a mile or so to a small store that sold some Japanese goodies, but otherwise, we didn’t do much besides drop off my cousin and her assistant back at the hotel and then my cousin and I headed back to NY.
Location | New York City
I’m thinking about starting an explorer’s club where we can be tourists in our own city. There’s so much to learn and see in New York City that I’m amazed that I don’t spend more time walking around and reading books about the rich history of this fantastic city.
This weekend, Oct 10-11th, was Open House New York Weekend. It’s when many not usually open-to-the-public places becomes a big “open house” for free. There were over a hundred different events and it was a little overwhelming to pick ones that I wanted to attend. Unfortunately I didn’t plan my weekend very well so I only saw 3 sites. At least in the end it became a very eventful and fun weekend.
Saturday began with breakfast at Clinton Street Baking Company (not part of OHNY, but worth speaking about). If you are visiting NY or live in NY you must try Clinton Street Baking Company at least once AND you must get their pancakes. They are my absolute favorite pancakes ever. Although I normally get the banana walnut pancakes, this time was the first time I did not. I ordered the special, which was a waffle with pear and sour cream and wine reduction. Or that’s how I remember the description, although in reality it was a fantastically fluffy waffle with plum coloured pears and a whipped and sweetened sour cream topping that had some spices in it. Delicious! Greg ordered the banana walnut pancakes (I reiterate, my absolute favorite) and Amy ordered the farmer’s plate (yummy, but I still prefer their pancakes and waffles).
Waffle w/ Pear and Sour Cream and Pistachio at Clinton Street Baking Company
After breakfast, we wandered around until it was time for the East Village Walking Tour. The walking tour is sponsored by the Lower East Side History Project, which hosts many other tours if anyone is interested. The tour was led by Andrea Coyle, who, although slightly awkward, was very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the East Village.
The tour was 2 hours long, and we actually didn’t do much walking in the first hour. We saw the birthplace of punk rock, the world’s smallest opera house, one of the last remaining cast iron buildings in the E. Village, shop with the best egg cream in Manhattan, spot where Abraham Lincoln’s famous Cooper Union Address earned him the Republican nomination, Warhol’s last residence, and the Merchant House, the last family home to be completely intact from the 19th Century ! I know, information overload right?
Merchant House Museum
If you get the chance, take the tour. The one I took runs every Saturday and Wednesday at noon. If you don’t have time (or can’t), read more about the history of the E. Village at this site. There’s some pretty remarkable stuff.
After the tour I went to Washington Square Park to chill a little bit, but then walked through Washington Mews (my favorite street in New York) to take some pictures. Then a stroll through the Union Square Greenmarket ended my OHNY Weekend Day 1.
Washington Mews
So then Sunday was day 2. It began early (9:30am) where I arrived at Cafe Pedlar in the Cobble Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn. There I had a delicious Stumptown latte, complete with adorable heart shaped foam (European style lattes are THE BEST!). After coffee, was the 11am Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tour. Read about the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel Tour in my “Underground” post.
When the tour finished, it was already 2 pm. We were supposed to meet Greg’s friend, Robyn Lee (who is also an amazing food blogger and does just about everything that I can only dream of in an awesome career) at the Newton Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant. Unfortunately the tours were booked full, so we decided to head over to the Belltel Lofts. We thought there would be some sort of architecture tour, but instead they sent us to the 19th floor’s roof deck. (The building is really 27 stories high, but the open decks were on the 19th floor). There were some so-so views of Brooklyn, but it was very hard to see the Manhattan due to many high rises blocking the view.
Afterward, I was starving since the only thing I had eaten since 8:30 am was a latte. We ended up at Char No. 4. I had been wanting to go since reading about it on Serious Eats and I became a very very happy camper afterward. For the $16 prix fixe, you get a poached egg, slice of ham, onion and chives potatoes (which were droolworthy amazing), a biscuit with cranberry jam, homemade chunky apple sauce, coffee and juice. YUM! I will post a picture once I get a copy from Greg (he took the pictures of the food).
After eating, it was already 4pm. We decided to head over to the Financial District to the U.S. Custom House. It’s a great looking building. Inside there’s a beautiful rotunda with a very large skylight. The Custom House also houses the National Museum of the American Indian. We walked around for awhile, but the doors closed at 5pm. We then left and I saw the Wall Street Bull for the first time. The last time I went looking for it was in 2007 right before I officially moved to the city and my dad and I wandered around but couldn’t locate it (we didn’t have a map at the time).
U.S. Custom House
Then Greg took me on a mini-tour of the FiDi. I’d never really taken the time to explore it, but since Greg works in the area he actually knew quite a bit (thanks Greg!). We looked at One Broadway, which used to be known as the “International Mercantile Marine Company.” Although now it’s a Citibank (eek!), the building still has the markings of its history. You can still see “First Class” and “Cabin Class” passenger signage over the doorways because the building used to be for receiving passengers.
After that, we took a walk down Stone Street, then to Federal Hall (where George Washington was inaugurated). We sat there for awhile observing all the tourists. Then it was up the street where I spotted… *GASP*… SAD PANDA! Most of you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, but there is this person dressed up in a giant panda costume that frequents the Financial District seeking tips. I’m obsessed with Sad Panda, but so is the Daily Intel Blog from New York Magazine. Anyway, the reason why he is called “Sad Panda” is because he, indeed, looks sad. Spotting him made me really happy and I was lucky enough to get a picture with him! YAY!
OMG IT'S SAD PANDA!
Then Greg and I walked without aim. We walked by Century 21, the giant J&R, the Woolworth Building, stopped at Korin (a knife store which closed minutes before we arrived), and then made our way up through TriBeCa. We got sidetracked when we saw this GIANT building with no windows. We found out it was the AT&T Long Lines Building. Apparently it is filled with telecommunications equipment and each floor is 18 feet high. After figuring that one out, we walked through part of Chinatown where there were tons of vendors selling knock-offs on the sidewalk. It was incredibly congested. Then we were in SoHo. We made stops at Muji, CB2, Topshop, UNIQLO and tried Sur la Table and Banana Republic, but they closed.
Then it was up through SoHo, NoHo then back over to the East Village. We made a quick stop at Japanese Premium Beef Company. They only sell premium Washugyu beef (a kobe-like beef).
Finally it was back to Astor Place where Greg proved that the cube could spin… (I didn’t believe him because I’d seen people struggle to push it, but apparently it’s just VERY heavy).
So that ends the day. It was a great weekend to explore New York. Beautiful weather, not too hot and a lot of fun things to do! Hopefully I’ll do more “explore New York” type things in the future so look out for more blog entries if you managed to even finish reading this one!
Location | Underground, Brooklyn
We’re underground and I wanted to get a few facts in here. [I started this post earlier today.] So while on the tour I typed away furiously the facts that our guide, Bob Diamond (the one who discovered the tunnel again) spoke about. So here is the story of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel with many stories as told by Bob Diamond (and their supporting evidence). So underneath Atlantic Avenue in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, lays a tunnel approximately half a mile long. Opened in 1844, closed in 1861.
Bob Diamond and others give tours of the tunnel twice a month, and as part of the Open House New York Weekend, I was able to secure 2 spots on the tour along with 120ish others. The tour begins at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Court Street next to the Brooklyn Trader Joe’s. A line snakes against the sidewalk. You can only enter the tunnel 20 at at time since the entrance to the tunnel is actually a manhole in the middle of the intersection. In groups we cross halfway to a cordoned off portion of the street and wait our turn to climb down a (short) ladder about 6-7 feet in the ground.
This was actually climbing out, but I'll pretend we're climbing in...
Then it’s a careful maneuvering as you walk across a short plank, under a large beam wrapped in bright yellow caution tape and then through a small-human sized hole in a cement wall labeled “WATCH YOUR STEP.” On the other side of the hole is a wooden staircase that leads you into the very humid subway tunnel.
WATCH YOUR STEP!
The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel is considered the oldest subway tunnel in the world. It was built in 1844 by Cornelius Vanderbilt because Brooklynites (pedestrians and wagons alike) were getting run over by the train system that ran along Atlantic Avenue (since apparently the trains had no brakes and came barreling out of the then-forest without warning.) Too bad, according to Bob Diamond, Vanderbilt didn’t build the tunnel to save lives, but to save time in when they had to clean up the streets of carriage and pedestrian carnage.
Anyway, so the railway, and then tunnel, were built because during that time they needed a way to get shipments from the New York Harbor to Boston via train. The tunnel began construction in May of 1844 and they were given 4 months to complete construction. Of course, it wasn’t completed until December 1844 (well opened, according to Wiki, fully completed in 1845). During this time, because Brooklyn and the rest of Long Island is actually a pile of soil due to debris left by glaciers that had traveled across the North American landmass, it is impossible to dig a tunnel. So they used the “cut and cover” method, where you dig a trench, roof over the area then cover again.
To try to meet the deadline of 4 months, apparently they hired an overseer who is a cross between a construction foreman and a slave driver to make the (mostly Irish) sandhogs (those digging and making 13 cents a day) work everyday of the week (yes, including Sunday, the Sabbath). The workers did not take too kindly to this and apparently they shot and killed the overseer, chopped up his body and buried it in the walls of the tunnel.
Love it. So much fun history in this tunnel.
So fast forward, the tunnel closed in 1961 due to Lynchfield Brothers who wanted the LIRR to leave Brooklyn. After a controversial ruling that banned underground trains, the tunnel shut down in 1961. The tunnel was to be filled in, but in reality the man hired (strangely enough, a Lynchfield) only sealed off the ends, filled in some space with dirt and the tunnel lay forgotten (although appearing occasionally in random news articles) until 1979 when then-19 year old Bob Diamond went looking for the tunnel.
Luckily, despite being discouraged, he found the tunnel and now tours are given and he is trying to preserve the history with the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association.
Inside the Tunnel
There’s a lot more history to the tunnel, but you can go hear about it on the tour (or check out the BHRA’s website).
You can also read more details at:
Location | New York City
*Note* This letter is a work in progress. May have new additions and be edited at any time… I also don’t mean to offend anyone. Don’t kill me.
Dear Puerto Rico,
You, the most random of travel destinations, are like the bastard child conceived from the union of Los Angeles and Detroit. You are the wasteland of American territories. For you, I’d like to outline a few issues I encountered on your island and perhaps some solutions to some seemingly easy-to-solve problems. I hope that this letter does not come as a surprise to you or is too complicated to understand.
Signs
A visitor is driving along, reading their guidebook, when they realize that the directions to a location is something to the likes of “Carretera 110, km 8.7.” This is one of those moments when I’d like to express that I am not a person that gets easily lost. In fact, I have an excellent sense of direction and am also skilled in reading maps. So why on earth are your landmarks impossible to find? Probably because there are, in fact, no well placed signs found anywhere in the country. Firstly, you must spot the small kilometer sign. 1 kilometer. 1.5 kilometer. … and so on. Where’s 8.7? Well it’s not marked. Where’s that lovely mangrove you wanted to visit? Well that, it’s DEFINITELY not marked.
I could make millions on becoming a sign consultant in your country. With some well placed (and possibly well-lit) signs, the island could stand to make so much more in tourism revenue! The best signs we found were to Arecibo Observatory, yet, you definitely didn’t want you to leave, because there were no signs pointing you out of the mountain forest of winding roads back to the main road.
If there are signs, the signs are overly descriptive. Want to know that it’s a bus stop? A picture of a person standing under an awning with a bus.
Signs are very descriptive
What about the rainforest? Would you like to know what a rainforest is like in a sign?
Outline of Puerto Rico + mountains + rain cloud = Rainforest
Turning signals, right of way, speed limits, from what I could tell, none of these things were observed in Puerto Rico. Taking a nice drive along the road, often you’d find yourself in a situation where you couldn’t locate the lines defining the left lane and right lane. You’d find yourself in roads so narrow that you’d have to pull off to the side to allow another vehicle to pass. Want to get into a gas station? So does half of the other cars on the road. Want to turn around in the middle of the road and block traffic, go right ahead! We’re in Puerto Rico! You can do anything here! Car stalled on the side of the road? Well, don’t mind me as I drive 2 miles per hour to gawk and block traffic for 6 miles behind me.
Emergency Vehicles
Is there perpetually an emergency in Puerto Rico? With your red and yellow siren lights always flashing, I would think so. Even as you are behind us, lights flashing I wonder, should I move out of the way, but it doesn’t seem as if you are in a hurry to get anywhere. In fact, you are driving slower than most of the other traffic.
Um. Should we move out of the way?
Suggestion? Save the light bulbs. Why… WHY!? Would must you continuously flash your lights?
Underwhelming Beaches
Somewhere in a guidebook I had read about white sand beaches with crystal clear blue water. I’m wondering if the tour book author actually went to Fiji instead and confused it with Puerto Rico? I mean Puerto Rico kind of sounds like Fiji. Kind of. Or not at all. Or perhaps the west coast of Puerto Rico should just be described as “regular brown sand and regular blue-green water that isn’t that clear.”
Maybe all the photos online are photoshopped? Or maybe I’m suffering from some sort of color disorder. I must have been hallucinating when I saw pictures of bright blue water.
Giant Empty Parking Lots
I left for your small island with the understanding that it was the low season for tourists, but I did not expect to find myself one of 5 tourists there. Arriving at one of the “most secluded” beaches, there were 3 parking lots the size of 3 football fields. In the parking lot sat 2 other cars. Where are all the people? From what I have seen, there is no tourism. When you say “low season” you mean “ghost town.”
Fast Food Mecca
Have you read Fast Food Nation? I’m pretty sure your island is obsessed with it. Or why else would the left side of the road have a Church’s Chicken… and oh! the right side of the road has one too! Go a few more feet, McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell… I predict major health problems…
Fried food? Fried potatoes, fried chicken, fried fish, fried dough, fried… anything else. Like the shrimp soliloquy from Forrest Gump, only with fried food and you’ll get the national foods of Puerto Rico.
Roaming Dogs + Chickens
Drive carefully, or you may run some poor dog or chicken over. More than once did we run into the occasional almost-accident with a stray dog that just sauntered out into the middle of the road (and then proceeded to chase us as we drove away). Also, chickens on the side of the road?
Chickens??
Oh, that’d be dinner if we hit that.
Chicken!
Now I’m a little hungry, but I think I’ll stay away from the fried food mecca of the world and save my stomach. Thank you very much.
Puerto Rico, I’m not sure I have hope for you, but I do hope that there is hope for you somewhere… out there.
Sincerely,
Joanna Lin.
Location | New York City
Back after the trip. I miss laying out on the beach. Would you like to see Greg’s sad face?
Greg's Sad Face
We got to the airport in Aguadilla, put the car in the parking lot, went through the agricultural inspection, then got breakfast, then went through security then got on the plane… when we realized… we never returned our keys to the car rental counter! Now we need to get those keys sent out ASAP back to the airport. We’re getting charged per day until we get it back to them.
It’s funny because it’s fitting that our trip ended as it did. With some sort of big absentminded mess-up. Maybe that’s karma hitting us in the butt? (After we got out of our original hotel).
Anyway, I’ll be writing an “open letter to Puerto Rico” in my next entry, but not tonight. Maybe tomorrow. A final picture for you:
Goodbye Puerto Rico!
Location | Rincon Beach Resort
Today was a day to not do anything. We woke up late (11am-ish) before we headed down to find breakfast. Unfortunately the restaurant was closed, so we went back upstairs, packed up all the food that we had, and carried it down to the beach. We spent the morning and early afternoon laying out reading magazines and books. We were drinking piña coladas that did not turn me red, so Greg went out and bought some rum, which we then added to our next piña coladas. Greg is my hero because he brought back a roasted chicken! It was delicious to finally eat some street food. Earlier we had eaten the papaya we bought from a fruit stand, and we had kiwis too.
Roasted Chicken
Then there was swimming on the beach until the sun set. Even though there were storm clouds in the sky, the sun was still bright and it couldn’t have been more perfect. The storm clouds passed right over us and we had some great weather! The sunset was beautiful, a bright red (and HUGE) sun on the horizon.
Sunset
After sunset was more twilight swimming, dancing around in the pool (yes I said, dancing), then hot tubbing. More beach, then hot tubbing. Essentially I’m surprised my skin is withstanding all the water.
Instead of going out to dinner we ended up staying in eating snacks… beer – Medalla Light – apparently the Puerto Rican beer of choice; salted cashews, canned pulpo (octopus), and pan de agua. Now it’s just reading and chatting late into the night…
