Right to Left:
New York traffic isn't a nightmare. Nightmares are shorter.
We're told New York has four other boroughs. Cool.
Rick Perry: The voice in your head is not God.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
A little New York humor...
Right to Left:
New York traffic isn't a nightmare. Nightmares are shorter.
We're told New York has four other boroughs. Cool.
Rick Perry: The voice in your head is not God.
Monday, February 27, 2012
That little bald guy named Oscar
In anticipation for the 84th Annual Academy Awards, Barry and I went to a Best Picture Oscar Marathon. Yep, you read that right - 9 movies, back to back, 21 full hours of viewing. We did it a few years ago and loved it, but that was when it was only 5 movies. Now that it is more, staying for all of them is quite the challenge.
Our fun started Saturday morning at 11am at the AMC Times Square theater. The line up for the day included:
11:00AM: Hugo 3D
1:20PM: The Tree of Life
3:55PM: The Help
7:20PM: The Artist
9:20PM: The Descendants
11:30PM: Midnight in Paris
1:20AM: War Horse
4:00AM: Moneyball
6:20AM: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Unfortunately there were about 5 different technical difficulties during Hugo (wrong movie, no sound, lights came on, etc) so we fell about an hour behind schedule. In the end, we made it through SEVEN movies - a full 18 hours of film. When War Horse finally ended (around 4:45am) we packed up our leftover candy and headed home. We rented Moneyball the next day, so we have seen 8 of the 9 movies.
My impressions? The Artist gets an A - refreshing departure from modern day movies but I would not want to see more silent films. The Help and Descendants also get A's - loved them both equally and George Clooney was awesome in this film. Hugo & Midnight in Paris get a B, War Horse & Moneyball a B-. The Tree of Life is an F minus...I will never get those three hours of my life back again.
Our fun started Saturday morning at 11am at the AMC Times Square theater. The line up for the day included:
11:00AM: Hugo 3D
1:20PM: The Tree of Life
3:55PM: The Help
7:20PM: The Artist
9:20PM: The Descendants
11:30PM: Midnight in Paris
1:20AM: War Horse
4:00AM: Moneyball
6:20AM: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Unfortunately there were about 5 different technical difficulties during Hugo (wrong movie, no sound, lights came on, etc) so we fell about an hour behind schedule. In the end, we made it through SEVEN movies - a full 18 hours of film. When War Horse finally ended (around 4:45am) we packed up our leftover candy and headed home. We rented Moneyball the next day, so we have seen 8 of the 9 movies.
My impressions? The Artist gets an A - refreshing departure from modern day movies but I would not want to see more silent films. The Help and Descendants also get A's - loved them both equally and George Clooney was awesome in this film. Hugo & Midnight in Paris get a B, War Horse & Moneyball a B-. The Tree of Life is an F minus...I will never get those three hours of my life back again.
Laissez Bon Temps Rouler
We celebrated Mardi Gras a bit early this year. Our resident New Orleanian, Randy, was spending actual Fat Tuesday in London so we celebrated on Sunday instead. Randy made Crawfish etoufee and due to a last minute delivery issue, Barry and I made the King Cake. For being our first foray into King Cake, it turned out pretty well! I used this recipe.
The dough, after rising & before being rolled out. Chateau Diana Merlot was a key ingredient...our rolling pin.
The dough rolled out and sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar.
Ready for the oven!
Final icing touches and colored sugars ready to go
Our beautiful King Cake!
The dough, after rising & before being rolled out. Chateau Diana Merlot was a key ingredient...our rolling pin.
The dough rolled out and sprinkled with cinnamon/sugar.
Ready for the oven!
Final icing touches and colored sugars ready to go
Our beautiful King Cake!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Saturday afternoon downtown
Last week Barry and I spent a Saturday 'date day' Downtown. We only planned it the day before and mistakenly overlooked the 35 degree forecast, but nonetheless we had a nice little afternoon.
Our first adventure was an experience called Dialog in the Dark. I read about it on Trip Advisor when researching Hong Kong (we need a vacation) and soon found out it was here in the States too - but only in ATL & NYC! It is basically a 'tour' that is meant to simulate what its like to be blind in New York City. It is done by the same group that does the Bodies Exhibit, which I really enjoyed, so we headed down there to see what it was like to be blind.
Barry ready to go with his guide stick.
Our guide led us through Central Park, a supermarket, Times Square and a subway ride. The entire experience takes place in a few rooms so we were never actually outside. You were still able to experience the frustration of shopping and moving about without sight. I found the supermarket to be the most fascinating...it took us quite a while to find coffee and we found cereal boxes but you had no idea what kind they were. I can also only imagine the things I was touching (Purell please!). If anyone gets a chance to experience Dialogue in the Dark, I highly recommend it. Quite a humbling experience.
After Dialogue, we walked across town to take in the 9/11 Memorial. The lines to get in were very long, but moved quickly. It too was quite the humbling experience. We'd like to go back when it is warmer & more green. I found myself on my tip toes to try to see the bottom of the fountain but to Barry's point "it is created so that you can't see the bottom". We found the names of Ladder 3 which is the NYFD down the street from our apartment. A really great Memorial to those that lost their lives on 9/11 and its nice to see the rebuilding progress around it. New Yorkers really are resilient people...
The North Pool just as they turned the lights on
World Trade Center 1 reaching to the sky.
The Survivor Tree was the only thing to come out of Ground Zero alive...they nurtured it back to health and replanted it in the new Memorial.
Our first adventure was an experience called Dialog in the Dark. I read about it on Trip Advisor when researching Hong Kong (we need a vacation) and soon found out it was here in the States too - but only in ATL & NYC! It is basically a 'tour' that is meant to simulate what its like to be blind in New York City. It is done by the same group that does the Bodies Exhibit, which I really enjoyed, so we headed down there to see what it was like to be blind.
Barry ready to go with his guide stick.
Our guide led us through Central Park, a supermarket, Times Square and a subway ride. The entire experience takes place in a few rooms so we were never actually outside. You were still able to experience the frustration of shopping and moving about without sight. I found the supermarket to be the most fascinating...it took us quite a while to find coffee and we found cereal boxes but you had no idea what kind they were. I can also only imagine the things I was touching (Purell please!). If anyone gets a chance to experience Dialogue in the Dark, I highly recommend it. Quite a humbling experience.
After Dialogue, we walked across town to take in the 9/11 Memorial. The lines to get in were very long, but moved quickly. It too was quite the humbling experience. We'd like to go back when it is warmer & more green. I found myself on my tip toes to try to see the bottom of the fountain but to Barry's point "it is created so that you can't see the bottom". We found the names of Ladder 3 which is the NYFD down the street from our apartment. A really great Memorial to those that lost their lives on 9/11 and its nice to see the rebuilding progress around it. New Yorkers really are resilient people...
The North Pool just as they turned the lights on
World Trade Center 1 reaching to the sky.
The Survivor Tree was the only thing to come out of Ground Zero alive...they nurtured it back to health and replanted it in the new Memorial.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
NOLA
Last post from the Adventure Archives!
Early January we were lucky enough to attend the BCS Championship game in New Orleans. It was a heck of a trip, made especially fun because so many of our friends are either LSU or Bama fans. I had not been to New Orleans since the 2002 sUGAr bowl, and that trip was mainly for work, so this was quite the treat. A friend showed me the town from a local's perspective on Friday, but Sat-Mon was full on BCS insanity. A few highlights include:
-Spending a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon in Jackson Square
-Running into old friends that just happen to be throwing a party on the balcony of legendary Pat O'Brien's
-40 yard line club level seats at the game!
-All the delicious cajun food you could handle
Early January we were lucky enough to attend the BCS Championship game in New Orleans. It was a heck of a trip, made especially fun because so many of our friends are either LSU or Bama fans. I had not been to New Orleans since the 2002 sUGAr bowl, and that trip was mainly for work, so this was quite the treat. A friend showed me the town from a local's perspective on Friday, but Sat-Mon was full on BCS insanity. A few highlights include:
-Spending a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon in Jackson Square
-Running into old friends that just happen to be throwing a party on the balcony of legendary Pat O'Brien's
-40 yard line club level seats at the game!
-All the delicious cajun food you could handle
On Top of the World
Back in October an old sorority sister, Cecilia, came to New York for a brief work stint. For the next two weeks we hit up a new bar, restaurant, activity each day. We went to Tortulia for paella, Eataly for Italian, The Standard Beer Garden for German beer, a Gastropub called Spotted Pig, and a little Chateau de Terry for some home cooking.
Well we had such a good time in October that she couldn't resist coming to visit again in December - the pull of NYC at Christmastime was just too much! During our long weekend we visited Top of the Rock (which is better than the Empire State building in case anyone was wondering) and Rockefeller Center. You never know when you'll get another bird's eye view of Manhattan, so we took our nice camera and snapped a few special photos!
Well we had such a good time in October that she couldn't resist coming to visit again in December - the pull of NYC at Christmastime was just too much! During our long weekend we visited Top of the Rock (which is better than the Empire State building in case anyone was wondering) and Rockefeller Center. You never know when you'll get another bird's eye view of Manhattan, so we took our nice camera and snapped a few special photos!
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