I.Blog

It’s that time again!

Where in the World Wednesday (concept from Classy in Philadelphia!)

The idea of WITWW is to post a picture of you in someplace in the world…it doesn’t have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. Just a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling.

This week you’ll find me in Venice, Italy! Ahh.. such a beautiful place.

This was one of the many stops I made on my 6 month European journey late 2008-early 2009.

Venizia, early in the morning

This picture was taken sometime around the end of October 2008, although I don’t remember exactly which date. I can’t even believe I’m posting this picture, in all it’s raw glory (I didn’t edit it, or my face), since it was taken early in the morning, sans make-up or fixed hair. I had just arrived an hour or so earlier, via a long overnight train from Vienna. As soon as I stepped foot in Venice, though, I forgot how tired I was and even that I hadn’t had a shower in about 24 hrs, because I was too caught up in the magic of the city. The bags were immediately dropped off at the hotel, and before I showered, pampered, or even ate, I went exploring! So, there you have it. Venice was a beautiful, old, and charming city. The only thing I found to be a bit disturbing was that it seemed as if the city wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for the industry of tourism. Almost everything I experienced was about “visiting” Venice, and I wasn’t able to distinguish the actual “functioning” city from the “tourist” city. I think they are one in the same… which made it seem a bit like a carnival ride at times. I’m the kind of traveler who likes to experience a city like the locals… and in Venice, it seemed that the locals only existed in order to fulfill the needs of the many tourists, a bit of a vicious circle if you ask me. Nonetheless, it was a great experience, and I would surely return in a heartbeat!

And, I should also mention (because it’s something I’ll never ever forget about my trip to Venice), minutes after this photo was taken, I sat down in a tourist trap of a coffee shop, smack dab in the middle of San Marco’s square, and ordered a latte, which cost me 9€. And OMG it wasn’t even the best latte I’ve ever had. I almost had a heart attack when the server handed me the bill for 2 lattes and the total was a whopping 20€! So, if you take one thing from this post, let it be this, don’t sit down at a cafe in San Marco’s square when in Venice (unless you want to spend a ridiculous amount of money on coffee)… if it were gelato, that’d be a whole other story, I’d give almost anything for some good Italian gelato! (that’s antoher post: Rome)

I’m in the process of re-vamping my blog, with one problem – I have no idea how to do it!

I’ll be enlisting the help of a few friends, and hope to have it in ship shape soon, but I’ll be out of town Jan. 4th-8th, so you’ll just have to bear with me this week!

Thank you,

Amy

The East River

I just took this photo about an hour ago.

and I realized that it will be that last photo of 2009.

(a year of a lot of photos, due to my “365” project)

At the start of the year, thousands of miles away in Istanbul, I had no idea where I would end up in 2009.

And I’m not too upset with where I landed.

I walked out to the river tonight from my apartment on 55th and 1st, to wish upon the big blue moon (that I coulnd’t actually “see” because it’s too damn foggy tonight), and in that moment, looking out over the calm water, with the slow rain falling on my face, I was content.hopeful.and excited.

Happy New Year, everyone. Here’s to 2010

(ps, if anyone was able to see and/or photograph the blue moon tonight, I’d love to know!)

The idea of WITWW is to post a picture of you in someplace in the world…it doesn’t have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. Just a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling.

Thanks, Classy in Philadelphia, for coming up with this weekly blog theme!

This week I decided to travel back to the summer of 2008 and head north to Quebec, Montreal to be more specific.

It was a quick, 3 day weekend getaway, and tons of fun!

Montreal is such an interesting with great architecture, culture, and food. And the fact that it’s a French-speaking city made me feel a world away from NYC, even though it was just a few quick hours!

Thanks for checking out where I was this week! Can’t wait to see where everyone else has been!

*is it sad that I had to refer back to previous posts on my photo blog to refresh my memory of 2009? hope not!

Annnyway, let’s get on with the real reason for this post.

2009: A MONTH BY MONTH YEAR IN REVIEW.

January:

New year, full of possibilities, at the start of the new year, I was in Instanbul, on my hotel’s roof deck terrace enjoying a view of Hagiya Sofia and the Blue Mosque backdropped by fireworks. It was lovely, and I knew that 2009 was going to be an exciting year! (let’s see if it lived up to my expectations!) Mid-January I moved to London, for what was originally planned to be a 4 1/2 month stay (in May I had plans to move to Thailand for at least 3 months to get certified to teach English, and eventually find a job).

February:

Time in London was AWESOME! Since I was there, basically on vacation, I had the freedom to enjoy and discover the city at my leisure! I spent rainy afternoons hiding in museums, and sunny days enjoying Hampstead Heath. It was a wonderful, stress-free, relaxing month, to say the least!

March:

My birthday month! Also, my mom came to see me in London (thinking that in May I would be heading to Thailand instead of home to the states). We spent a weekend in Paris, 4 days in London, and the following weekend in Dublin, where my sister and grandma were finishing up their tour of Ireland. It was magical! Spending time with family, and on the other side of the pond no less! I also turned 22 this month, and decided I missed NYC more than I could bear. The decision was made to hold off on Thailand for the time being, and return to NYC

April:

My last few weeks in London. A friend from Bulgaria came to sleep on my floor for a week, and it was fun touring the city one last time before heading back to life in NYC. Mid-April found me on a plane, back home. I still remember the feeling when the NYC night-time skyline came into view from my cab into the city. WOW! This was the moment I was waiting on. I found a new apartment, and returned to the office I worked at before leaving for Europe 6 months prior. I had a new excitement for living in NYC, but reality hadn’t hit me yet!

May:

I decided that I didn’t want to be back at my old company, I had changed, and it was time my work changed too! I interviewed with a company whose office is only 3 blocks from my new apartment, and started there the next day (can’t say it was the most thought-out decision I’ve ever made, but I guess it hasn’t been a bad road). I also celebrated my 3 year wedding anniversary, and welcomed a long-time friend from Oklahoma to NYC who would be in New York for the summer doing an internship. I also hung out with fellow-blogger and now best friend, Katie, for the first time! May was a good month!

June:

I saw a lot of art this month (with my OK friend, who is a fine arts major). We went to tons of galleries, and museums, and she taught me to see art with a different eye. June was also a month of NYC firsts for me (it’s about time after 2 1/2 years!): first time to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, first time to attend the Mermaid Parade in Coney Island, first time to see the Gay Pride Parade, and it was also my first time to visit the newly opened High Line park!

July:

It rained. A.LOT. (that’s really an understatement!) And, I ate a lot of cupcakes in July. I was on a quest: find the best cupcake in NYC (so far, cupcake stop has the best red velvet (and service!), and sugar sweet sunshine has the best (and cheapest) everything else – except service- (my personal favorite is the pistachio). I probably gained 10lbs just from cupcakes alone! Also, I watched (for the first time) the famous Macy’s fireworks display. Alone. It was still nice though! And one last thing, I saw Starry Night for the first time: incredible!

August:

I had planned to go back to Oklahoma for a much overdue visit (I hadn’t been back since Sept. of 08), but to my dismay, I was called for jury duty! Since I had already postponed it once (I was called while in Europe), I decided to go ahead and bite the bullet, and just get it over with. I ended up having to serve on the grand jury for an entire 4 weeks! Needless to say that took up a good amount of my time – the last 2 weeks in August to be exact! Also, the same friend from Bulgaria who visited me in London, came to NYC to stay for an undetermined amount of time! And, I was alone in my apt for the first time (usually I’m to one to go away), as my husband went to London for 10 days.

September:

If you remember from last month, I had 2 weeks of jury duty to finish up at the beginning of September- ugh! I did do manage to go to the US Open semi-finals (which was a blast!), and take a day trip to Brighton Beach (never done that before, and it wasn’t too bad, actually!)

October:

The weather started getting COLD! I went on my first boat ride in Central park, and I can’t wait until spring to do it again! And then there was Halloween – which was incredibly uneventful – since it rained the whole evening, and was WAY too crowded out, I ended up back at home by 11:30!

November:

FINALLY, I went back to Oklahoma for TWO WHOLE WEEKS to visit my family! It was so nice to have enough time to relax and not be rushed. I immensely enjoyed spending time with friends, family, and people I had not seen in WAY too long! I came back to NYC the week before Thanksgiving, and hosted my very first Thanksgiving party – I cooked and everything! It turned out to be a great success, and I was happy to share my some “American” traditions with new friends (I was the only American at the Thanksgiving celebration- ironic, I know!)

So, that brings us to December, and seeing how there are only 2 days left in the month, I can pretty much sum it up for you now. That friend I mentioned back in August, the one who came to stay with me, decided to leave at the beginning of this month. Sad, yes, but I’m happy he’s doing well back home and had the chance to enjoy 3 wonderful months in NYC! I managed to take an impromptu day trip to Boston to visit my step brother, sister in law, and step sister who were in town visiting their dad (did you follow all that!?), I also spent the holidays in Philadelphia with a friend. I did nothing but relax, eat, and watch movies for 2 days straight – it was just how Christmas is supposed to be! I also planned a ski-trip for early January, and already made Valentine’s day plans by booking tickets to see Broadway’s newest limited engagement – A View From the Bridge starring Liev Schreiber and ScarJo, I cannot wait!

2009 was defintely more low-key than I expected, but overall it has been a fantastic year. I got to spend quality time with old friends, make lots of new ones, and get to know myself a little bit better.

I don’t usually make resolutions – so I’m just excited to welcome 2010 and all the possibilities a new year offers!

How was your 2009? Do you have any resolutions for 2010?

Where in the World Wednesday

The idea of WITWW is to post a picture of you in someplace in the world…it doesn’t have to be somewhere foreign or tropical. Just a picture of you somewhere that you consider traveling.

Standing on Harvard's Campus

I guess I’ll start with the most recent “traveling” experience.

I took a day trip to Boston yesterday to visit my brother and sister, who are there visiting some of their family for the holidays. It was cold, so I didn’t do as much sight-seeing as I would’ve liked, but it was a fun time nonetheless!

*thanks Classy in Philadelphia for starting this great blogging topic!

Golder's Hill in Hampstead, London

So, I snuck off today for some (much needed) alone time, and watched the film The Young Victoria. It was kind of incredible, and 5 hours later, I still cannot get it out of my head.

The characters were beautiful

The costumes stunning

and The love story was one for the ages.

Seriously, does love like that really exist? If so, sign me up.

Victoria and Albert were made for each other.

I remember when I was in London, on one of the many walking tours I enjoyed, one of the tour guides pointed out the wrought-iron fencing that borders many of London’s streets. Most all of them are painted black, and he said this goes back to Queen Victoria’s reign. After Prince Albert died, she entered into deep mourning (and stayed that way for the rest of her life) and ordered that all of the fences (many of them were various colors back then) be painted black. Our tour guide explained that many of them had just never been re-painted another color, that is why most of them remain black. Wow. (I cannot verify if this story is true, I’ve searched around online, but for the sake of this story, I’ll just take his word for it!) The movie also noted that even after his death, Victoria had Albert’s clothes laid out for him each day, it was as if she kept his presence alive, even after he was gone (some might say it’s weird or crazy, it just makes me hurt for her).

It is touching, and me being the romantic that I am, cried. Their love was just so deep, and they truly were partners in this lifetime.

I’m such a sucker for a good love story, and this is definitely one of them (have you ever seen Tristan and Isolde? OMG, tear-jerker, and likely only a legend, I’d still like to think it’s based on fact)

I don’t quite know what it is about these stories that gets me so, maybe I just want so strongly to believe that true love like that really can exist. And if it does, why do only a lucky few get to experience it?

Are you a romantic like me, or more of a realist?

Since I live in NYC, use public transportation or walk to get where I need to go, I experience very few “car rides”, and honestly, I like it just fine this way!

I love walking, subbing, busing and pretty much anything else that involves NOT driving!

However, I did take a 2 week trip back home, to Oklahoma in November, which meant I was going to be riding in the car a lot, and some of those times it would be ME behind the wheel (scary thought, indeed!) Luckily, I realized that my little sister had actually turned 16 this past summer, and SHE can drive (thankfully, MUCH better than myself!). Sooo, anytime I was hanging with her, she was the DD. It was so amazing to sit in the car with my 3 sisters, singing and dancing, and spending quality time with them, I wish I could feel that everyday!

So, anyway, there was this one day when we were going to drive 1 hour to my dad’s work, so I could experience the awesomeness that is riding in a helicopter (he works for Mediflight, a company which transports emergency patients via helicopter to the hospital).  Well, my mom was going with us as well, and she’s nervous with ANYONE driving but herself, especially, my newly licensed sister! After much discussion, begging, arguing, whatever, I finally convinced my mom to let my sister drive, which allowed myself and my other 2 sisters ride in the backseat, laughing, and djing the music, it was a great time, and the one hour ride only seemed like a few minutes. (then on the way back home, we stopped and ate at Taco Bueno, possibly the best place EVER, so that was good too!)

Sunglass Sisters

*note, all THREE pairs of sunglasses are actually mine, and all 3 were purchased on my 2 week trip (why the hell did I buy so many pairs?! I’ll never know!)

This post is part of the #Best09 blog challenge

December 19 Car ride. What did you see? How did it smell? Did you eat anything as you drove there? Who were you with?

Today’s Challenge:

December 13 What’s the best change you made to the place you live?
I just moved into my current place in April, so everything I’ve done to it could be considered a nice change, since it was empty before!

but one thing I’ve done in particular, makes me smile each day when I either enter or leave the apartment.

I got the idea from some blog I was reading a few months back ( I would link to it, but I’ve long forgotten it by now),

My Photo Wall

Its my photo wall!

I only have 49 pictures so far, but I’m about to order more, and I hope to eventually cover the entire wall of my entry way! I love pictures, and sometimes it’s nice to be reminded of a special place or time by looking at a picture of it!

I have been out to events EVERY night,

I declared Sunday as my day.of.rest. (and the day to, ya know, put the home-front in order, and what not, since I guess it needed some tending to).

It has been a really fun few days. In fact, I don’t remember that last time I went out 4 nights in a row. (Oh, give me a break, I’m an old married lady, ya know ! )

I’ve had a lot of fun, and it was also nice to relax at home tonight (although I haven’t been relaxing too much, what with a husband to get reaquainted with, laundry and dishes to do,  phone calls to catch up on, and presents to wrap!)

Here’s a few pics of the past few days (sans Wednesday, I had a girls night with 2 friends, one of whom left the next day to go home (France) for the holidays for 3 weeks, and I was having too much fun to take pics!):

The cute Italians straight from Naples baking delicious pizza in the brick oven!

Thursday night a friend invited me to a private event to celebrate the opening of Numero 28 in the East Village (they already have a location in the West Village, but decided to expand their business on the east side). There was plenty of free pizza, wine, and lots of fun Italians! A great place for anyone looking for authentic Neopolitan pizza!

The place was PACKED, which was good, easy way to stay warm on a cold night!

My friend Valene and I admiring the art in a Williamsburg Gallery

Friday night I went on a Gallery crawl (almost EXACTLY like a pub crawl, but with free wine and art!) Going with the group I was with is always a good time, but this particular night was an absolute blast. We all let a little loose and had a really great time (maybe it’s the cold that’s making us all a bit crazy?!)

Anyway, the above picture cracks me up (it’s also one of the only ones I can actually post up here without having to insert a long, tedious, you-had-to-be-there type of explanations along with it)

Have you ever seen SO MANY DAMN SANTAS BEFORE!?!

and then, Saturday was Santacon. Which is supposed to be a “dress like Santa type convention”, but really just seemed like a public display of drunkenness, stoned-ness (is that even a word?), and debauchery.

I didn’t actually participate, but I did stop by for a few minutes (as long as I could stand the smell of beer and vomit) to capture the crazy moment with my camera.

Among the aforementioned activities, there was also a GIANT BOOMBOX and a conga line! ( I joined in for a minute, only to find later that some weirdo squirted CARMEX into my hair *insert sad, grossed out face!)

The Snowflake, Reindeer, and Poinsettia pose with Stilts-Santa!

We didn’t exactly get all decked out, but we did carry on with the holiday theme, and I just realized some of the best pictures from yesterday mysteriously were deleted from my card (including the best picture of the 3 of us)… so now I must go cry…

Saturday night, after Santacon, I attended a holiday party hosted by my friend’s 78 yr old roommate (She’s Hungarian, and cooks AWESOME!). It was fun, and a great excuse to dress up a little (no pics yet, sorry!), and interesting, to say the least. One guest was an 89 year old spunky man who read aloud a poem he wrote titled: Life Study, which was a dialogue between a rat and a fly…ohmy!

Anyway, to sum it up, I’ve had a fantastic time the past few days, so much so, that I’m enjoying my evening home (and probably tomorrow night too!)

What did you do this weekend?