Alison on a secluded beach, Jason finds a guitar while we book speedboat tickets, Jonny and a friend he met on the beach
Where We've Been
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Our Pictures from Gili Trawangan (2)
Alison on a secluded beach, Jason finds a guitar while we book speedboat tickets, Jonny and a friend he met on the beach
Ubud! And Our Pictures from Gili Trawangan (1)
Well, we've arrived safely in Ubud after a thankfully uneventful and smooth speedboat ride from Gili Trawangan. What a waste of Dramamine.
First impressions: Ubud is the Bali paradise I'd been hoping for. The first hint came upon arrival...we were dropped off in front of the Ubud Terrace Bungalows guesthouse, and decided to take a look at their rooms. It didn't have much curb appeal, but soon a long walk back to the living quarters revealed jungle gardens, a tiled pool, a bridge over a creek, and a guesthouse that looked like some old temple. $15 a night with hot water shower--we'll take it!
There's plenty to see and do here, it's the cultural center of Bali. There are dance performances, walking tours, a monkey sanctuary, rafting, biking, cheap massage, and plenty of shopping for handicrafts and artworks. No partying, though. This town shuts down around 10pm.
We've wandered around, just soaking it in...yesterday we went for a walk through the rice paddies that border the city. It was paradise. I really can't think of too many places I've been that could rival the beauty...we also met a really nice rice farmer who engaged us in conversation, then sold us some tickets to his dance performance tonight. He promises he'll let us take a picture with him in costume.
Today we're going on an animal safari and to the monkey sanctuary, then to see that dance performance. Should be fun. Of course, there are other details from the last couple of days, but I'll save those for a later post or let Alison fill in some details. She promises me she'll be making a contribution here soon...
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Happy Birthday! (3)
Happy birthday to Grandpa Stoltenberg (Irvie to the rest of you)! He turns 85 today. Have a great day, Grandpa, we love you!
Now Leaving Gili Trawangan...
Well, we decided to hang around Gili Trawangan for an extra day, but we're on our way out in an hour or two. On that same crazy speedboat that brought us in...here's hoping the waters are calmer. But I'll be taking my Dramamine anyway, you can guarantee that.
We didn't do much the last couple of days...just explored the island, snorkeled, napped, laid around on the beach, ate seafood, etc. Island living. Can't complain.
Next up is Ubud, Bali, the 'culture center' of that island. Yep, back to Bali. It's kind of a strange itinerary but Jonny & Kat wanted to end their trip near the airport.
Some final thoughts on Gili Trawangan:
We'll miss--
The fresh fresh seafood
The good diving
The isolated beaches
The breezy nights
The laid-back lifestyle
Won't miss--
Cold-water saline showers
Power outages
Daytime heat
Roosters & chickens making war outside your guesthouse at 4am
Mask squeeze
Shop proprietors yelling 'hey duuude' every time we pass by
Next update from Ubud, where hopefully my pictures will upload!
We didn't do much the last couple of days...just explored the island, snorkeled, napped, laid around on the beach, ate seafood, etc. Island living. Can't complain.
Next up is Ubud, Bali, the 'culture center' of that island. Yep, back to Bali. It's kind of a strange itinerary but Jonny & Kat wanted to end their trip near the airport.
Some final thoughts on Gili Trawangan:
We'll miss--
The fresh fresh seafood
The good diving
The isolated beaches
The breezy nights
The laid-back lifestyle
Won't miss--
Cold-water saline showers
Power outages
Daytime heat
Roosters & chickens making war outside your guesthouse at 4am
Mask squeeze
Shop proprietors yelling 'hey duuude' every time we pass by
Next update from Ubud, where hopefully my pictures will upload!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Gili Trawangan! (2)
So as I said, we've now landed on Gili Trawangan, a small island off the northwest coast of Lombok. We came here for the diving (all four of us are certified) and the laid-back beach life. The journey here almost didn't make it worth it--two-and-a-half hours on the choppiest seas I've ever been on. I was extraordinarily thankful I had taken a Dramamine beforehand just in case...even so, I had to concentrate on the horizon line for basically the entire ride. Some of our fellow travelers weren't so lucky...and everyone was really greatful when we arrived.
Gili Trawangan is very small--you could probably walk all the way around it in an hour. It's also run entirely by tribal elders, who make and enforce the laws (no police). One of the laws is there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island, so if you need transport and don't feel like walking, you can grab a horse & buggy cab. Because of the lack of police, a party culture has emerged here, with places that sell psychedelic mushroom shakes to hippy-types who come to visit. It makes the scene pretty crazy at night. Luckily our guest house is away from the main party street.
However, mainly it's a diving destination, and the four of us have been doing just that the last couple of days. Truthfully I thought the diving would be more colorful, but it's still been really good. We've seen sea turtles (which are the coolest!), sharks, cuttlefish (which look like pointy rocks until they get scared, then suddenly transform into a squid-looking thing), tons of aquarium fish (angel fish, clown fish, etc.), and an undersea wreck. The wreck was really neat--the coral formations on it were beautiful and there were great schools of fish all around.
Unfortunately I forgot one of my basics during our wreck dive, and didn't equalize the pressure in my mask right away. I ended up with a condition called "mask squeeze," which basically gave me black and red spots all around my eyes and leaked blood into the white part of my eyes. Yuck. It's harmless but will take a couple of weeks to heal completely. Until then I look like I lost a fight, and I can't dive for a while. Bummer.
One other thing of note about the island is they have great seafood restaurants lining the beach. I had the best piece of fish I've ever had in my life last night...
Tomorrow we're heading back to Bali to a town called Ubud. The travelers we've met have been raving about it so we're looking forward to it. At least there's no diving there for me to miss...
Gili Trawangan is very small--you could probably walk all the way around it in an hour. It's also run entirely by tribal elders, who make and enforce the laws (no police). One of the laws is there are no motorized vehicles allowed on the island, so if you need transport and don't feel like walking, you can grab a horse & buggy cab. Because of the lack of police, a party culture has emerged here, with places that sell psychedelic mushroom shakes to hippy-types who come to visit. It makes the scene pretty crazy at night. Luckily our guest house is away from the main party street.
However, mainly it's a diving destination, and the four of us have been doing just that the last couple of days. Truthfully I thought the diving would be more colorful, but it's still been really good. We've seen sea turtles (which are the coolest!), sharks, cuttlefish (which look like pointy rocks until they get scared, then suddenly transform into a squid-looking thing), tons of aquarium fish (angel fish, clown fish, etc.), and an undersea wreck. The wreck was really neat--the coral formations on it were beautiful and there were great schools of fish all around.
Unfortunately I forgot one of my basics during our wreck dive, and didn't equalize the pressure in my mask right away. I ended up with a condition called "mask squeeze," which basically gave me black and red spots all around my eyes and leaked blood into the white part of my eyes. Yuck. It's harmless but will take a couple of weeks to heal completely. Until then I look like I lost a fight, and I can't dive for a while. Bummer.
One other thing of note about the island is they have great seafood restaurants lining the beach. I had the best piece of fish I've ever had in my life last night...
Tomorrow we're heading back to Bali to a town called Ubud. The travelers we've met have been raving about it so we're looking forward to it. At least there's no diving there for me to miss...
Monday, June 23, 2008
Gili Trawangan!
We've changed destinations and are now on the sleepy (well, sometimes sleepy) island of Gili Trawangan (check the map). I'll be updating soon with more information on our nauseating journey here and the fun we've been having.
More posts to come in the next day or two!
More posts to come in the next day or two!
Pictures from Bali
Our hotel pool, the beach at sunset, a street vendor makes us delicious nasi goreng (70 cents!), a beach during the day.
Bali! (2)
The next day we got up pretty early, had a lovely breakfast that came with the room, I took a dip in the pool, and then we set off in search of somewhere to change our money into Indonesian rupiah. If you're ever trying to figure out how much something costs in Indonesia, there's a simple formula...simply take the cost in Rupiah and divide by 9,200. Piece of cake. Ugh.
Well, in Seminyak there are money changers on every corner, all offering a variety of rates. What we quickly discovered was that the money changers with the best rates are quite literally back-alley joints (no, seriously, they are located in back alleys), with the shadiest characters you've ever seen working a variety of money-changing scams. It's like playing a shell game. After doing battle with a couple (and catching them as they tried to slip a few of my bills behind the counter) I finally settled on a more legit government place with worse rates. At least I felt good knowing I wasn't getting ripped off.
That's the thing about that area of Bali, though. The beaches are great, but it's a very touristy town and it attracts the shady types who take advantage of the tourists and their money. It's also very congested with lots of traffic. I had been picturing rice fields and volcanoes and tranquil villages, but this was more like the Cabo San Lucas of Indonesia. I was a bit disappointed at first.
After the money changing debacle, we did head down to the beautiful beaches, and spent the day lounging, getting $5 beach massages, and playing in the ocean. Bali has the most perfect waves I've ever seen, and I had a lot of fun body surfing. Didn't try out a real board yet, though, the waves weren't breaking to make it doable for a beginner like me. Plus some of the breaks were 8-footers...very intimidating.
All in all it was a nice day, but we were ready to leave the hustle and bustle of that area of Indo and head to somewhere more tranquil, so we booked ourselves a boat trip for the next day to the Gili Islands, off the neighboring island of Lombok.
Well, in Seminyak there are money changers on every corner, all offering a variety of rates. What we quickly discovered was that the money changers with the best rates are quite literally back-alley joints (no, seriously, they are located in back alleys), with the shadiest characters you've ever seen working a variety of money-changing scams. It's like playing a shell game. After doing battle with a couple (and catching them as they tried to slip a few of my bills behind the counter) I finally settled on a more legit government place with worse rates. At least I felt good knowing I wasn't getting ripped off.
That's the thing about that area of Bali, though. The beaches are great, but it's a very touristy town and it attracts the shady types who take advantage of the tourists and their money. It's also very congested with lots of traffic. I had been picturing rice fields and volcanoes and tranquil villages, but this was more like the Cabo San Lucas of Indonesia. I was a bit disappointed at first.
After the money changing debacle, we did head down to the beautiful beaches, and spent the day lounging, getting $5 beach massages, and playing in the ocean. Bali has the most perfect waves I've ever seen, and I had a lot of fun body surfing. Didn't try out a real board yet, though, the waves weren't breaking to make it doable for a beginner like me. Plus some of the breaks were 8-footers...very intimidating.
All in all it was a nice day, but we were ready to leave the hustle and bustle of that area of Indo and head to somewhere more tranquil, so we booked ourselves a boat trip for the next day to the Gili Islands, off the neighboring island of Lombok.
Bali! (A real post this time)
After our evening in KL, it was time to return to the hotel and get a good night's rest before a morning flight to Bali, our intended destination. And boy, were we tired...28 hours of transit will do that to you and we slept like rocks.
The next morning we caught our flight to Denpasar, Bali, and then caught a cab to the town of Seminyak, just near the main tourist center of Kuta. There we met up with Jonny and Kat at their hotel (we checked in there as well, just to make things easy). The hotel had lovely grounds and a great pool, although the rooms reminded us of what traveling in Asia can be like (not to complain too much, they were definitely passable, just a little run-down, as is the norm in Asia).
That night we wandered our neighborhood, then went to a beach town a little further south where they specialize in fresh-caught seafood grilled with chili paste and served with a variety of Indonesian condiments. We sat on the beach and watched the sunset and ate lobster, crab, prawns and clams. It was quite lovely. Then it was back to Seminyak to find the local happy hour and a couple of drinks before calling it an early night (still jet-lagged something fierce).
The next morning we caught our flight to Denpasar, Bali, and then caught a cab to the town of Seminyak, just near the main tourist center of Kuta. There we met up with Jonny and Kat at their hotel (we checked in there as well, just to make things easy). The hotel had lovely grounds and a great pool, although the rooms reminded us of what traveling in Asia can be like (not to complain too much, they were definitely passable, just a little run-down, as is the norm in Asia).
That night we wandered our neighborhood, then went to a beach town a little further south where they specialize in fresh-caught seafood grilled with chili paste and served with a variety of Indonesian condiments. We sat on the beach and watched the sunset and ate lobster, crab, prawns and clams. It was quite lovely. Then it was back to Seminyak to find the local happy hour and a couple of drinks before calling it an early night (still jet-lagged something fierce).
Kuala Lumpur!
Okay, so I finally have some real time to do a post or two, and some respectable internet speed, so I'm going to rewind it a bit...
On the 19th (Alison's birthday), we left the Incheon International Airport (#1 rated airport in the world and it shows) and arrived in Kuala Lumpur. Although we were only staying in 'KL' for a day, and in a transit hotel at the airport at that, we still decided to take the train into town to get some dinner.
It was great! KL is known world-wide for their street food, and there was much to choose from. A real pleasure for a couple of foodies like Alison and me. It was a bit harrowing at first trying to get to the food stall area we wanted--there were no sidewalks and very busy streets, but we made it and had a nice dinner of food stall chicken rice and satay. I could explain more about those dishes, but suffice to say they are favorites in the area and they were delicious. We then had a couple of Tiger beers and watched the street life before heading back to the hotel. We'll be re-visiting KL later in the trip, and we're looking forward to exploring it more. It feels great to be back in Asia!
On the 19th (Alison's birthday), we left the Incheon International Airport (#1 rated airport in the world and it shows) and arrived in Kuala Lumpur. Although we were only staying in 'KL' for a day, and in a transit hotel at the airport at that, we still decided to take the train into town to get some dinner.
It was great! KL is known world-wide for their street food, and there was much to choose from. A real pleasure for a couple of foodies like Alison and me. It was a bit harrowing at first trying to get to the food stall area we wanted--there were no sidewalks and very busy streets, but we made it and had a nice dinner of food stall chicken rice and satay. I could explain more about those dishes, but suffice to say they are favorites in the area and they were delicious. We then had a couple of Tiger beers and watched the street life before heading back to the hotel. We'll be re-visiting KL later in the trip, and we're looking forward to exploring it more. It feels great to be back in Asia!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Bali!, Also Happy Birthday (2)
We've made it to Indonesia! It was a looooong journey, but we're here in Kuta, Bali safely and having a great time with Jonny & Kat.
So far we've found a nice hotel, gone to the beach for super-fresh seafood (lobster, crab, prawns, etc.) and had a small night on the town. Today we've dealt with some crooked money changers, but least I caught their scam.
Unfortunately the internet service here is extremely slow and I don't have much time, so I can't post pictures for the time being, or update the map, or give more details. Hopefully we'll find a better internet provider soon, but I wanted to let everyone know we were safe.
Also, we're heading to the Gili islands tomorrow, and I suspect the internet there may be terrible. I will find something though, and promise to spend some real time getting a good post up.
Happy birthday to Liam Barron!!!! Your 'uncle' Jason loves you!
So far we've found a nice hotel, gone to the beach for super-fresh seafood (lobster, crab, prawns, etc.) and had a small night on the town. Today we've dealt with some crooked money changers, but least I caught their scam.
Unfortunately the internet service here is extremely slow and I don't have much time, so I can't post pictures for the time being, or update the map, or give more details. Hopefully we'll find a better internet provider soon, but I wanted to let everyone know we were safe.
Also, we're heading to the Gili islands tomorrow, and I suspect the internet there may be terrible. I will find something though, and promise to spend some real time getting a good post up.
Happy birthday to Liam Barron!!!! Your 'uncle' Jason loves you!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Happy Birthday!
To Alison! No better place to spend it than in an unfamiliar Korean airport!
I love you Alison!
I love you Alison!
In Transit...
A crowded airport terminal...exposed wiring hanging from the unfinished ceilings...the people mover has long stopped working, since replaced by crude wood flooring...the worn chairs are all taken by Asians packed into every available square inch as a screaming baby cries...this third-world scene brought to you by: Los Angeles International Airport's Tom Bradley terminal! The shame of the city! And here I thought Hartford was a dump.
Our trip has started, and although it hasn't gone 100% smoothly, we did make the first leg of our flight (by the skin of our teeth--when they say show up two hours early for international departures they mean it) and have arrived safely in Incheon, South Korea. Not before dealing with the aforementioned Tom Bradley terminal and barely getting the two last seats on the plane, 29 rows apart. But a big thumbs-up to Korean Airlines for a super-comfortable coach class with personal TV screens and your choice of dozens of movies, including recent releases. I actually managed to sleep a bit. Also kudos to Incheon International Airport, only a month old and making LAX look like the runway strip in the jungle of a banana republic.
We leave soon for Kuala Lumpur. Here's hoping we and our bags arrive safely...
Our trip has started, and although it hasn't gone 100% smoothly, we did make the first leg of our flight (by the skin of our teeth--when they say show up two hours early for international departures they mean it) and have arrived safely in Incheon, South Korea. Not before dealing with the aforementioned Tom Bradley terminal and barely getting the two last seats on the plane, 29 rows apart. But a big thumbs-up to Korean Airlines for a super-comfortable coach class with personal TV screens and your choice of dozens of movies, including recent releases. I actually managed to sleep a bit. Also kudos to Incheon International Airport, only a month old and making LAX look like the runway strip in the jungle of a banana republic.
We leave soon for Kuala Lumpur. Here's hoping we and our bags arrive safely...
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Small Blog Change
I updated the preferences so anyone can comment now. Leave your name or comment anonymously. You choose!
Also I made some small tweaks to older entries.
We leave in 15 hours and Jonny & Kat are probably already there...
Also I made some small tweaks to older entries.
We leave in 15 hours and Jonny & Kat are probably already there...
Monday, June 16, 2008
Are We Really Doing This?
Well, we're back in L.A. for a day or so...leaving for Indonesia tomorrow night (Tuesday, June 17th). 12 & 1/2 hours to Seoul, a 6 hour layover, 6 & 1/2 hours to Kuala Lumpur, then an overnighter in KL and another flight the next morning to Bali. So we probably won't be posting again for a few days, but the next time it will be from Asia!
We're really nervous but excited, too. Wish us luck and a fun trip, and thanks for continuing to check in!
We're really nervous but excited, too. Wish us luck and a fun trip, and thanks for continuing to check in!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Hartford, errr...uh, Middletown, CT
Friday morning we got up early, had some breakfast at a nearby diner, and Alison went shopping for a bit while I added new posts to a blog I update occasionally. Then it was sadly time to leave New York, so we found Midtown's Budget Rent-A-Car and picked up a Dodge Something-or-other we had reserved, and headed out to Connecticut. Alison's cousin Tom was getting married, and really it was the whole excuse for our US portion of this trip.
Using mapquest directions we slogged our way through terrible NY and CT traffic to meet Alison's dad Bernie at the Hartford airport. No big deal. But from the airport we had mapquest directions to A's cousin's house for a welcome dinner, and it was a huge mess. I think I made five U-Turns and eventually had to program addresses on the googlemaps in my iphone just to make it to the party. Screw you, mapquest.
The party was good fun and we were happy to see family Alison hadn't seen in years, which was of course a first meeting for me. They lived in the Connecticut countryside (in the woods, really) and it was a very beautiful house down a twisty lane that I'm sure is a total bear to deal with when it snows (can you tell the charm of New England is ruined by my memories of winters past?). Before long though we had to head out to find our hotel, because we weren't certain it wouldn't take all night. We found it just fine. A charming place.
Turns out the we were staying in Middletown, not Hartford (the wedding was in Portland). What we saw of Hartford while we were lost was kind of a dump. No offense though, Hartford. You dump town.
The wedding was beautiful, everyone was emotional, etc. etc. If you want the details of the wedding of someone you don't know, ask Alison, but I'll spare you here. We had a good time, and I think I held my own with that very Irish family. I hope I made a decent impression anyway. It's a bit stressful, but I did have fun and her family are lovely people, despite what they'd have you believe.
Today we saw everyone off and then wandered around the back roads of Connecticut to soak in the New England Country Charm (tm). Tomorrow it's back to L.A., then on to grander overseas adventures!
Using mapquest directions we slogged our way through terrible NY and CT traffic to meet Alison's dad Bernie at the Hartford airport. No big deal. But from the airport we had mapquest directions to A's cousin's house for a welcome dinner, and it was a huge mess. I think I made five U-Turns and eventually had to program addresses on the googlemaps in my iphone just to make it to the party. Screw you, mapquest.
The party was good fun and we were happy to see family Alison hadn't seen in years, which was of course a first meeting for me. They lived in the Connecticut countryside (in the woods, really) and it was a very beautiful house down a twisty lane that I'm sure is a total bear to deal with when it snows (can you tell the charm of New England is ruined by my memories of winters past?). Before long though we had to head out to find our hotel, because we weren't certain it wouldn't take all night. We found it just fine. A charming place.
Turns out the we were staying in Middletown, not Hartford (the wedding was in Portland). What we saw of Hartford while we were lost was kind of a dump. No offense though, Hartford. You dump town.
The wedding was beautiful, everyone was emotional, etc. etc. If you want the details of the wedding of someone you don't know, ask Alison, but I'll spare you here. We had a good time, and I think I held my own with that very Irish family. I hope I made a decent impression anyway. It's a bit stressful, but I did have fun and her family are lovely people, despite what they'd have you believe.
Today we saw everyone off and then wandered around the back roads of Connecticut to soak in the New England Country Charm (tm). Tomorrow it's back to L.A., then on to grander overseas adventures!
New York! (3)
So, before I get ahead of myself, I did want to mention I remembered that on Wednesday we went to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, which was in our neighborhood and which, if you follow the link, should give you an idea of why I forgot we went there. Seriously though, I did find it interesting to see how New Yorkers lived at the turn of the century. But apparently not that interesting.
On Thursday we had some VIP tickets to see Conan O'Brien, set up for us by our wonderful friend Phoebe (check out her blog at www.summerofhatingthegills.com -- oh wait, she never got that up and running. Get on that, Phoebe).
Before the show we took the train to Midtown to see fabulous Central Park. Wow, it's big. Why can't L.A. do anything that cool? It really made me fall in love with New York, if I hadn't already. I got the itch to live there, but I've heard that the love for NYC is a love that can turn sour when you see the depressive counterpoint to New York's mania, aka 'winter'. So I guess we'll stay in LA for the time being.
The Park (capital letters intended) was great, we basically just walked around and relaxed, then headed over to '30 Rock' to see Conan. We're no stranger to seeing television taped, but it was a lot of fun. Even if the guests that day did suck (Randy Jackson and Piper Peribo? Isn't this summer movie season?) it was still really funny, and we even got to see a new installment of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, which is absolutely my favorite Conan character.
After Conan we checked out Grand Central Station and St. Patrick's Cathedral before going out for really tasty Indian food at a web-recommended restaurant. Afterwards we met Alison's friend Marianne (who just happened to be working temporarily in NYC--great coincidence) for a couple of drinks before calling it a night.
So long, New York! It's been fun!
On Thursday we had some VIP tickets to see Conan O'Brien, set up for us by our wonderful friend Phoebe (check out her blog at www.summerofhatingthegills.com -- oh wait, she never got that up and running. Get on that, Phoebe).
Before the show we took the train to Midtown to see fabulous Central Park. Wow, it's big. Why can't L.A. do anything that cool? It really made me fall in love with New York, if I hadn't already. I got the itch to live there, but I've heard that the love for NYC is a love that can turn sour when you see the depressive counterpoint to New York's mania, aka 'winter'. So I guess we'll stay in LA for the time being.
The Park (capital letters intended) was great, we basically just walked around and relaxed, then headed over to '30 Rock' to see Conan. We're no stranger to seeing television taped, but it was a lot of fun. Even if the guests that day did suck (Randy Jackson and Piper Peribo? Isn't this summer movie season?) it was still really funny, and we even got to see a new installment of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, which is absolutely my favorite Conan character.
After Conan we checked out Grand Central Station and St. Patrick's Cathedral before going out for really tasty Indian food at a web-recommended restaurant. Afterwards we met Alison's friend Marianne (who just happened to be working temporarily in NYC--great coincidence) for a couple of drinks before calling it a night.
So long, New York! It's been fun!
Friday, June 13, 2008
To Be Continued...
Well, there's more from New York, but I'm out of time. Gotta go check out of the hotel. Next up is Hartford, CT for Alison's cousin's wedding. I'll try and find a place I can post from there--I have more pictures of New York and stories from Thursday.
New York! (2)
On to Wednesday.
I'm having trouble remembering what day we did what, but I think Wednesday we wandered around in our neighborhood some more; then took the free Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty and the view of Manhattan from the sea, then got all dressed up to go to 'Avenue Q', the puppet musical. It's hilarious, and I highly recommend it. Although these characters looked familiar--weren't these the guys that talked us into this trip in the first place? After the musical we tried to find a restaurant open in our neighborhood at 11pm, which shouldn't have been hard, but took a bit of walking. Jason grumpy! But eventually we did find a nice place and had a great evening, with a couple of stops at local watering holes on the walk back to the hotel.
New York!
Well, I'm running out of time, so I'm going to try and make this quick.
Tuesday we arrived around 2pm after an uneventful flight, and cabbed it into SoHo, where we're staying at the SoLito Hotel (or something like that). Beats me what it's called. Anyway, the room is small but the bed is really comfortable and all the fixtures are nice etc. etc. It does the trick. After settling in, we headed out on the town.
Tuesday it was, in my estimation, 1,042 degrees with 98% humidity, so walking about the neighborhood was a little taxing. Still, it's my first time in New York, so I was enthralled by the neighborhoods and the pace of life. A couple things that stuck out: I never realized how small Manhattan is, really, compared to LA (you can walk from neighborhood to neighborhood in no time, or take a quick train ride), and the police presence here is notable. The terrorism threat is definitely still on the minds of New Yorkers.
We saw Wall Street, the World Trade Center site, and Greenwich Village. We went to Washington Square park, which would have been lovely, but 80% of it was closed for construction. No big deal, we found a shady spot and relaxed (frequent breaks from the heat were needed). Then we found a dive bar for a cold beer and headed out to a restaurant recommended by Alison's brother Danny called Kampuchea. It had delicious Cambodian food (although the blue crab was too much work) and we were happy to see his old neighborhood. While we were there, the weather suddenly changed--cool gusts of wind picked up, it started thundering & lightninging (?) and then massive sheets of rain the likes of which I haven't seen in eight years hit the city. We thought it would be impossible to catch a cab back to the hotel, but eventually the weather let up. A great first day in the city.
Last Day In Chicago
Sorry it's been a while since the last post, but we're in New York and didn't have time until now to find proper 'net access.
Our last day in Chicago was a blast. We slept in, then went with Brett & Jamie to the Art Institute, followed by a walk near the lake and drinks at a bar on the 96th floor of the Hancock Center. After that, it was off to a fantastic sushi dinner prepared by 'Sushi Mike', Chicago's Van Gogh of sushi artistes. Then back to Brett & Jamie's for some wine and good-byes, as we had to leave before 7 to catch our plane to New York Tuesday morning. That subway ride may have been a little rough on one of us, but I'm not saying which one.
Brett & Jamie were great hosts--can't say enough about the fun times we had and their hospitality. I recommend crashing in their spare bedroom if you get the chance. I'm sure they won't mind; tell 'em Jason & Alison sent you and get a free copy of the latest Soulczar CD (Brett's music, look it up on myspace).
Monday, June 9, 2008
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Chicago!
Well, we're officially on our way! Yesterday we began our journey with an uneventful 10am flight to Chicago and a quick subway ("L"?) ride to our friends Brett & Jamie's place. After a nice dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant we met up with my old college buddy Joe for an evening of drinks and conversation. Good times. Then, if memory serves, the Catholic home where Alison and I were raised was in trouble, so we had to scramble to put together a gig in order to pay the property taxes on it before it foreclosed. It was quite the adventure for our first night in town, but we eventually made the gig and brought down the house.
Today we're skipping school and 'borrowing' Brett's dad's classic Ferrari, then hitting the city in style.
Wish us luck!
Today we're skipping school and 'borrowing' Brett's dad's classic Ferrari, then hitting the city in style.
Wish us luck!
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