Confessions of a secret fat kid

In New York City there is no lunch line as long as outside any salad bar. The salad options here are amazing and during the working week I am a frequent patron of Devon and Blakely. The create your own salads there are my favorite.... I always have the same combination of ingredients and Noodles and I compete to get the most veges our bowl.

Being half Malaysian, it is in my blood to be obsessed with food. I am always eating or thinking about my next meal.... worst case I am begrudgingly dieting after eating too much. I have recently found a new hobby trawling Open Table for new restaurants to try. On Thursday evening I had ate at Basta Pasta and one of the ladies I dined with mused that most of her vacations are spent either eating or killing time between meals. That is how to live!

I made reservation for five on Friday at a Paella bar hoping I could find five friends to join me. I did, and we had the time of our lives. It was wonderful and the food was great too.

Of course most nights don't involve eating out. On Tuesday at work my colleague ordered two pita bread sandwiches to the office for dinner and I was so jealous. I began to drool and we started talking about food. He (finally) exclaimed:

"You're always eating salads for lunch, but it's a facade, isn't it? You are a secret fat kid."

Wow! So true. Since then "secret fat kid" has become somewhat of a nickname. Now that the secret was out I considering joining him for few sandwiches... but I had to run... my mum's friend and my long term Facebook friend J was visiting New York and we had plans for dinner. Exciting!

I met J at her hotel for the first time in real life. She was gorgeous and glowed from the inside. I instantly warmed to her. We enjoyed a walk through Chinatown and Nolita to the restaurant, Barmarche, on Elizabeth and Spring Street.

It is such a funky space - unique and warm. An eclectic mix of ornaments hang on the walls. The cocktails are to die for and the food is even better. I had a reservation, but aside from the crowd of people at the bar, it was quite empty. J's company was fabulous, it was a pleasure to get to know her. She is an interesting and warm women. We had a lot of fun and laughed about travel, New York, coffee, shopping, cameras and food.

It was too dark for photos, however, J passed by the restaurant the next day and took a snapshot. Quite a contrast from how it looks at night.

J knows her food! My Mum has told me she is a remarkable cook and she was far more aware of the New York restaurant scene than myself. We both ordered risotto and it was delectable. J too one mouthful an had to stop the conversation, "sorry, I have to have a moment of silence for this." Fair call.

After such a great meal, neither of us could say no to dessert. The chocolate cake looked the best by far (I told you I was a fat kid) however they were out.... out of cake! We both settled for the Churros. The waiter was somewhat concerned when we both ordered a serving and he suggested we just get one plate to share.

It came and he was right, it was huge! They were scrumptious. Crisp on the outside and unbelievable soft in the middle. A dream to eat. J declared that they were the best Churros ever - even better then in Spain. As we gorged ourselves our waiter came over:

Waiter: "Aren't you glad you just got one serving?"
J and I: <Looking at our huge plate> "Yes!"

We spoke afterwards and agreed that despite the size of the order we were not glad we had only ordered one. We could easily have eaten a serving each. They were just so delicious! We both decided we just couldn't help it. J has a passion for good food - that is my kind of girl. I guess we can both be secret fat kids... in fact, I think it would be a popular club! Now, I guess I better hit the treadmill...


(Thanks J for the pictures!!)

Further complaints about the weather (Saturday night in the snow)

On Saturday it snowed! It looked magical through the window... and it was wonderful drudging down Stone Street in rain boots on my way to brunch. It was the most snow I have ever seen and it was wonderful... That is until I tried to go out on Saturday night.

I can confirm that rain boots are not acceptable evening wear in Manhattan. Regular boots are an OK alternative... but they don't provide the necessary grip. I was slipping and sliding all over the place. It's borderline terrifying!

Our group of girls met outside the restaurant I had chosen. It was a very unique, funky place in SoHo - Barmarche. We went inside and asked if we could put down our names... they looked at as us if we were crazy. "Come back after ten and then we can talk..." A little concerning, but that was OK - L rationalized it with a sense of humor - "Dinner before 10pm? That's so middle America."

We headed off to the closest bar - it was too cold to stay outside for long, and biding our time bonding over wine and cocktails. We wondered back to the restaurant later in the evening and were seated quickly. In fact the place was quite empty by this point. We ate and drank and gossiped for a really long time. At mid night we reached a point - did we stay at our table or go somewhere else? Go somewhere else.

Big mistake.

The bar we had chosen - which incidentally I have never seen too busy - has a line reaching a block down the street. We joined it, but were disheartened. It was so cold! My feet were freezing. I've been to Sweet and Vicious before - it's nice, but not worth hypothermia.

So off we trudged through the snow down Spring Street. We finally found a dive bar that looked OK. People were crammed inside worse than sardines. We squished in, happy to be out of the cold. It was miserable! It was not long before we quit and headed home. Guess the snow isn't quite as fun when you face it outdoors. I'm going to have to get thicker socks.

City by the bay

I've been high

I've been low

I've been yes and I've been oh hell no

I've been rock 'n roll and disco

Won't you save me San Fransisco

I love New York - so it's no surprise that in September when I reached the end of my first stint in the city I realized that I hadn't seen much else of the country. Before I went back to Sydney I had to break out of my New York bubble. But where would I go? Easy. San Fransisco! 

To my delight Noodles decided to join me on my San Fran adventure and with that we were off!

We left early on a Friday morning. The flight over was fine, but by the time we arrived we were exhausted. Adrenaline kicked in and we were ready to roll. We dropped our bags off at the hotel and hit the streets. That when we saw it. Our first San Fran hill. It was hardly a hill and more of a 90 degree angle. We were going to need a rope and picks to tackle this. We did manage and were reward at the top by... another hill. Luckily the second had stairs cut into it. Phew! 

When we reach the local high (because in San Fransisco you can always see a higher peak in the distance) we discovered a magnificent view.

It is such a beautiful city. The streets are winding and house are so cute. They look like something out of a fairy tale. Bright colors, arches and hidden entries. Windows and walls covered in flowers and climbing plants.  I took so many photos because none of them could do the magnificent details of the city justice.

The father of all San Fran hills is Lombard Street. The famous stretch of the street has eight sharp turns to compensate for the steepness. The sharp turns in the street create an impressive and gorgeous site. At the bottom the the hill tourists crowd to take pictures. Cars line up for miles to make the drive down. As a result the traffic moves very slowly. One girl in a car descending the hill was hanging out of the sun roof screaming "Woooohooo" as the car crawled down... 

Having heard the view from the top of Lombard is amazing, Noodles and I were not satisfied with taking pictures from the bottom. We made the short, albeit steep, trek up. As we climbed two men walking back down warned us "It's not worth it! Go back now!"


They were wrong. It was worth it. Amazing. We had a view of the entire bay area. I took another million pictures.


The sun was out and the city was stunning. To bad it was freezing cold. We had been expecting something out Katy Perry's California Girls. Sunshine, warmth, seaside. What we got was an Aussie winter. "California lied to us." Clearly, we weren't the only people taken aback by the weather. Tourists flocked into souvenir stores coming out adorned in San Francisco branded jerseys, gloves, scarves and hats... and still looking cold. 

When cruising around on top a tour bus Noodles and I were forced to rug up with three blankets and scarves wrapped around our heads. I was surprised when the guide started his spiel with "It's such a nice day. This is about as warm as it gets!" We were going to need to stock up on scarves.

We learned later that San Francisco doesn't really have seasons. Because of the location of the bay in relation to the mountain range they experience micro climates. This means it might be sunny and warm in one place, but five blocks over there is a thunderstorm. 

Next stop was the Painted ladies at Alamo Square Park. 

A number of movies, television shows and commercials have been filmed in or around Alamo Square. The opening sequence of the American sitcom Full House (1987-1995) features a romp in Alamo Square Park with the famous row of Victorians in the background.[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alamo_Square

The park is lovely - something of a suburban dream. People walking their dogs and playing tennis. Birds singing... children laughing. The whole bit!

The "painted ladies" are a row of Victorian houses which can be seen from the park. They attract many tourists and are beautifully perfect. We learnt in our guide book that a lot of the Victorian houses in the area were destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake making these remaining houses all the more special. 

We spent a long time in the park discussing the houses and watching the people who live there come and go. The sun was wonderfully warm which felt amazing given how cold the day had been. We laid down on the grass for just a moment.... and fell asleep! A little crazy of us?

I took this as a cultural experience as San Fransisco has her fair share of interesting people. There is a huge population of homeless people and I found it very confronting. To a greater extent than in New York, in San Fran, homeless people approach people. They heckle and try to get attention. It's quite scary and on more than one occasion I found myself turning around or avoiding even busy streets because I felt uncomfortable. 

Of course, part of the appeal of the city is the crazy people... that is, pretty much everyone there. There is a quirky style to San Francisco folk and they have a loud, fun sense of humor.

One morning we saw this fat pigeon having a feast on the side of the road. He was eating about five broken up bagels. We watched and laughed for a while. The best bit was when a hippy looking guy stopped in his tracks and shouted very loudly - "Oh my god that fat pigeon is pigging out!"

I was very eager was to walk across the Golden Gate bridge. I'm not really sure why I had this dream. Probably too many sitcoms. Nevertheless, it's always been something I have wanted to experience. It's a beautiful bridge and just as stunning in real life. It's quite mysterious and often cannot be seen from a distance (or even up close) because of the intensity of the San Francisco fog. 


The bridge is actually quite far from the city center. We were staying at Union Square, and despite the long distance to Golden Gate park, we decided that walking was the way to go. The plan was to walk to and over the bridge, then across to Sausalito. Turns out it was a long walk. Over ten miles. Perhaps we were a little over ambitious. It was worth it though. Whilst the walk was long and cold, it was nice. It was a really interesting experience to walk the along the Golden Gate bridge suspended in the fog.

The most concerning part of the walk was the section between the bridge and Sausalito. It was along the highway and in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps not such a great idea...

Of course, no trip to San Fransisco Alcatraz would be complete without a visit to Alcatraz. Tickets must be purchased in advanced, so I had snagged us a couple a few weeks before. 

Alcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, 1.5 miles (2.4 km) offshore from San Francisco, California, United States.[1] Often referred to as "The Rock" or simply "Traz", the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal Bureau of Prisons federal prison until 1963. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcatraz_Island

I was really excited about this. Alcatraz was one of the reasons I wanted to go to San Fran. The boat ride over was freezing cold, but really nice. We had a view of Alcatraz as well as of the San Fransisco skyline. I spent the trip ducking between the inside and outside parts of the boat. I would try and stay outside taking pictures until it was too cold to stand it anymore.

On arriving they give an introductory speech. There were free tours focused on different aspects of life in the prison. In addition there is an audio tour which was great. It was enjoyable and gave me a good understanding of the history and life of Alcatraz. It was not as eerie as I expected, but hearing the stories about the events that occurred in the prison certainly gave me shivers.

The food in San Fransisco is amazing! I did not have one bad meal. Everything was fantastic. The city has a reputation for great Asian food. There is a very impressive Chinatown and equally impressive Chinese restaurants. The queues for brunch more than rivaled those in New York and the options were cheap and delicious. As one would expect from the city by the bay the seafood was also really good - in fact it was the best ever and we found a really great range. The miserable weather made the clam chowder a perfect choice.

We made sure we saw everything the city has to offer... the seals that live at Pier 39...

Fisherman's Wharf...

...and a tram ride through the city.

The line for the tram was incredibly long. We waited for over an hour learning later that there are a number of tram stops, most of which do not have hour long queues.... Damn. At least it was a sunny!

On our last day in the city we walked through the financial district. We passed the San Fran office of our company and admired the parks and artworks creatively placed between the buildings. Given it was the long weekend it was very quiet and we had the area to ourselves. .

Noodles left the city the day before me and I spent some time exploring Union Square area, shopping and eating some more. I was more than ready to leave by the end and felt I had done a good job exploring and seeing the city.

At the airport I was pulled up at customs. The agent shouted out: "Stop that water smuggler!" Whoops... I guess I left that bottle of water in my suitcase - glad they recognized I was not a threat to national security. So, I made it back to New York after a great trip with no arrests. The city was completely different to what I expected, but all in all, I had a great time!

Christmas at Rockefella

One of the reasons New York City does Christmas so well is because it is unoriginal. That sounds like an attack, or something unpleasant, but what I mean to say is - New York takes all the best traditions of Christmas from all around the world - then does them as only New York can do. Bigger, grander and with a wonderful intensity.

I was very eager to see the Rockefeller Christmas tree. There is a Christmas movie, "The Christmas Tree" in which a nun learns how much the Rockefeller tree brings to people, and the joy it imparts on the city. I was actually disappointed the first time I saw the tree.

Sure, it's big. It's really big. But Manhattan is kind of a large city. The tree seemed swallowed by the grandness of her surroundings. It wasn't a complete let down. The tree was nice enough and Rockefella was a great place to be. There were loads of decorations, silver bells ringing and long lines of people waiting to ice skate.

Of course, the obvious problem was that I was visiting the tree during the day. It should have been clear to me that the tree was in her full glory after dark. I went back the weekend before Christmas at around 8pm. I have never been anywhere that crowded! It was insane.

The tree looked magnificent. The most beautiful Christmas tree I have ever seen. She was so bright and beautiful. Breathtaking.

It was amusing to watch the crowd take pictures. Because it was so busy, the people were kept moving by crowd control. The effect was a huge moving crowd, taking pictures as the slowly past the tree.

There were cartoon characters out taking pictures with kids. Sponge Bob, Mickey, Minnie and the rest. Stalls were set up in the less crowded corners selling people pictures of themselves with the tree.

It was great! But far too crowded to stay long. I did have to venture back to Rockefella one more time before Christmas was over. I could not spend a Christmas in New York City and not see the famously fabulous Rockefella Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall.

The Rockettes are a precision dance company performing out of the Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan, New York City. During the Christmas season, the Rockettes have performed five shows a day, seven days a week, for 77 years. Perhaps their best-known routine is an eye-high leg kick in perfect unison in a chorus line, which they include at the end of every performance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rockettes

The show was great! Extremley tacky and very much aimed at children under the age of twelve. But nevertheless a lot of fun and very amusing. I thought it was strange, but fantastic, that the let us take pictures inside during the show.

It is a short show with no intermission. However the tickets are reasonably priced. We had particularly good seats in the second row, however the angle we were at made it a bit hard to fully enjoy the 3D segments... But that was OK, I was blown away enough by the fact that they stopped the show for 3D adventures. I think they must have developed the script over the past fifty years. 

So that was the end of my Rockefella Christmas. Wonderful really! 

Ice skating in Central Park

Perhaps the most magical experience of my New York Christmas was ice skating to Christmas Carols at dusk in Central Park with leaves frozen in the ice beneath my feet.

Bolt had two wishes for her visit to NYC. She wanted to see a Broadway show and she wanted to go ice skating in Central Park. At first I was skeptical about the second wish - I mean, ice skating? Sounded like a lot of effort. But she was persistent and I am so grateful that she was. We had the time of our lives. There is something wonderful about skating in the outdoors, dreaming with your friend about what you are going to do and where you are going to go. I felt very free.

Given it was Thanksgiving weekend, the rink was not too crowded. We did learn quickly that the key to not falling (and neither of us fell) is to avoid children covered in ice. Kids covered in ice fall a lot - and that means they run into people! We were not stable enough to handle those little menaces...

Bolt and I skated for a long time until Bolt's travel buddy developed some concern that they would miss their flight back to Houston... we resisted for a while "Can we skate for just one more song?"

Eventually, we had to give up... and Bolt was off home. A wonderful way to end her trip. I wish she could be here every weekend!

Winter

It is cold.

Today I saw a bottle of soda water that had frozen solid.

No matter how many scarves and coats I pile on before leaving for work my cheeks and nose are still numb within minutes. Luckily for me I hear this is a mild winter... For now I'm more than happy to remain ignorant as to how cold the city gets at its worst.

Come back summer!