Snuggling

Me lying on my best friend's apartment floor with her dog/my doggie niece. One of the best parts about visiting NYC, in my opinion.

NYC & DC Photos

I'm proud to present my photos from NYC & DC. They're really not as exciting as that intro made them sound, but oh well. ;)

Belvedere Castle in Central Park

The Hall of Northwest Indians at the Museum of Natural History

The Apple store on 5th avenue

Busy afternoon at the Met

Mosaic from the entrance to a Babylonian temple

The gorgeous ceiling of the Met's main staircase

The Capitol building in sunlight

And moonlight

Carl Yastrzemski's batting helment, circa 1970. On display in the "Treasures of American History" exhibit, now @ the National Air & Space Museum

My best friend's doggie Vixen :)

If you want, you can view the rest here. I spent more than I had hoped, but definitely far less than I could have. In the end, I had a lovely time visiting friends, touring museums, and eating & drinking far too much. :)

It's Late

and my bus to DC leaves in about 12 hours. Hence, this will be quick. :) And links will be added when I'm home next week. ;)

Had a good time since I posted last. Dinner with a dear study abroad friend on Sunday night (Camels and Chocolate), then drinks with the best friend & some of her law school friends at a nearby bar.

I spent part of Monday walking through Central Park & roaming around the Museum of Natural History. Stayed in Monday night instead of going to see a high school friend's band play. It was just too far away & no one was feeling up for it.

Tuesday, it was 66 degrees out! The best friend & I took her dog on a two-hour walk through Riverside Park, ending with a trip to Pinkberry for yummy frozen yogurt. Then, we & two of her friends had reservations for a 10pm show at a jazz club nearby. Lovely dinner, accompanied by sangria, red wine, and some nice jazz. Proceeded to have drinks at three more bars before heading home around 4:30am.

Today, I had lunch downtown with the high school friend with the band, then spent a few hours at the Met. Rounded things off with dinner & drinks with one of the best friend's boarding school friends at a little wine & panini bar in the West Village.

Off to DC tomorrow! Will try to post if I can. If not, I'll be home in Portsmouth on Tuesday, so I can update then. :)

New York is Nutty

OK, I'm on my third day in New York & it's just as nutty as I remember. ;) I got in Thursday around 6:30pm, then spent the evening at Wine & Roses and Dive 75.

Friday - we were lazy to the nth degree & spend the day reading, eating & drinking red wine (this is what my best friend & I tend to do on vacation, btw).

Saturday, we were a bit better. We took the pup for a walk in Central Park in the afternoon, then went out at night. MObar at the Mandarin Oriental, Stone Rose, then some Irish pub in the 80s.

At said Irish pub, a number of odd things happened. #1 - I got hit on by a guy pretending to be English. I was just drunk enough & the bar was just loud enough for me to believe it for awhile. #2 - It turned out that his friend, who was cute but very short, was actually the one who wanted to talk to me. There were other odd things this group did & said, but this is a family show, folks. So odd that my best friend jokingly posited that they were a traveling circus troupe. ;)

Anyways, I've got three more full days here & then I head down to DC. Tonight, I'm having dinner with a study abroad friend down by Columbus Circle, then we're seeing a high school friend's band play tomorrow night. Busy, busy. Will try to update at some point! :)

And I'm Off!

View Larger Map

Tomorrow @ noon, I'd off on my grand East Coast Tour! :) I'll be taking the bus from Portsmouth to New York, staying for a week, then heading down to DC for a few days. Back to NYC on the 14th, then home to Portsmouth on the 15th.

I'll try to take some good pictures & update from the road. If not, however, I hope you all have a great fortnight. ;)

Picture Post #1

The first of many on Mondays, I would guess. ;)

I've got a ton of reading to do before class, but wanted to post this photo from New York. I was looking through my NYC photos last night & I think this is one of my favorites. My best friend lives in the city, so I get to visit her there a few times a year.

The photo is of St. John the Divine Cathedral & the featured statue in its gardens. It was taken on December 31st of last year. I just love the way the form of the statue complements & contrasts with the structure of the cathedral. Click on it to make it bigger - it helps with the details. :)

New York Redux

One of my favorite photos from this past weekend. Taken from the Cloisters in Fort Tryon Park, looking southwest towards the George Washington Bridge. Composition - my idea. Black & white execution - Nick's. We're a good team. :)

NYE in NYC

And yeah, I know I'm not the first one to use that title. Had a great weekend in New York, ringing in the new year with Nick, best friend Rach, study abroad friend Kristin, and other assorted people. I'm tired tonight, so I'll just give you the pics and a quick recap. The New Year's resolutions can wait until tomorrow night. ;)

Highlights -

• Roaming the Cloisters with Nick on Sunday afternoon
• Spending time just relaxing in Rach's apartment with her, her puppy Vixen & the boy
  
• My first New Year's kiss from a boyfriend - ever
• Walking from 54th St. to 41st St. with an open container
  

Lowlights -

• Walking thirteen city blocks in 4" heels
• Consequently shedding said heels at the bar (my feet were black)
• Spilling my beer - all over the bar, my shoes, my purse, and the floor

It was quite the night, kids. ;)

NYC Wrap-Up

So NYC was lots of fun. Above is a picture of my mani/pedi from Saturday. It's still doing pretty well, despite lots of walking, typing, and being drunk since then. ;)

Speaking of walking, I had quite the workout on the day I came home. I bought a ticket on the noon Fung Wah & hopped on the subway around 11:15 a.m. However, I wasn't thinking about the fact that the Canal St./Varick St. subway station is a good 16 blocks from the Fung Wah office. I surfaced at 11:50, with ten minutes to go until my bus left. As you can imagine, I hauled ass through Chinatown, practially knocking over pedestrians with my 30-pound pack. Plus, it was sunny & about 80 degrees. When I got there, I was on time, but I was not a pretty sight.

Then, after a 4-hour bus ride to Boston's South Station & a 40-minute train ride to the right train station, I accidentally took the wrong bus to my sister's house (where my car was)! Consequently, I had to hike another mile uphill, (still) carrying the pack. When I got into my very own car at the end, I was so childishly happy!

I'm so over public transportation right this moment. In the last week (7/31 to 8/7), I've been on a Northumberland Ferries Ltd. ferry, an Air Canada plane, a Logan Airport shuttle bus, a Silver Line bus, the Fung Wah bus, 3 NYC taxis, the NYC subway 1 train, a local MBTA bus, and the Red Line train multiple times!!! I'm glad I'm helping the planet & saving gas, but I'm tired of waiting for trains/buses, hailing cabs, getting sweaty running to make buses, and being raved at by crazy people. God bless my little Jeep!

New York, New York

No way! It's a rare weekend post from me. Are you so excited you can hardly stand it? I know, I know - I'm the only one who's excited.

Anyways, I've (mostly) recovered from my Saturday night & I wanted to share a few thoughts. I've been in New York visiting my best friend R. for not quite 48 hours & it's been quite a ride. Here are some of the things I've done here which I can quite honestly say have never happened in Boston. (I really hope my parents don't read this . . . )

1. Got a mani/pedi at a nail shop in Spanish Harlem. Very cute, very cheap. My first pedicure ever, actually. (I know - I'm pretty much an incurable tomboy)
2. Gave $2 to a crackhead. I'm an idiot & he had a good story. Something about being diabetic & needing food, I don't know. I know better now.
3. Had a two-hour brunch at an outdoor French cafe, including a carafe of white wine, pain du chocolat, French toast w/ fresh fruit, sourdough bread & butter, and an iced cappuccino.
4. Stayed after hours at a biker bar in Chelsea. I think it was the one on which Coyote Ugly was based. Either that, or the female bartenders just really liked to two-step on the bar.
   
5. Rode a Heritage Softtail bike around the block with a 36-year old biker from Queens.

I need to go home to Boston to recover!