Nemo Flaking Its Way into New York

Another storm has entered New York. This time in form of a blizzard. Heck, we haven’t had a blizzard in over 2 years! I had almost forgotten what real snow looks like until I left my apartment this night.
Crunchy white mass sticking to my shoes, flakes melting as soon as they touched my cheek. Snow in the Big Apple – it’s been so long.

And while in the season of 2010/2011, we had two real snow days (snow days meaning days off work due to snow storms), today we had to work until the bitter end. Despite the weather forecast texting our all cell phones yesterday afternoon (Bloomberg must have paid an exorbitant amount to make sure every person in the metro area was well informed of the current conditions!), not every company allowed their employees to leave early, least to say, stay home on Friday (today).

It surely was not as bad at 5 PM but it got worse and worse until the constant flow of snow came drifting out of the sky. And still is. Most likely until tomorrow.

These pictures were taken while walking around Park Slope just a few hours ago. Enjoy!

My Trip to Miami in the Middle of January (II)

For our first night out we ended up in the Barton G. A top-notch restaurant, as we found out when we got there and were luckily dressed right. It also is quite a pricy experience, just to forewarn you. The Barton G offers all the amenities of a 4-star-place: The impeccable service, the white table clothes, the arrogant clientele.

Once we were seated, we noticed that appetizers might not be what we wanted. A couple next to us started off with “small fries” and ended up having a four-story-tower of fries which could have been their entire meal of the evening. This experience should have probably forewarned us for what was to come. I ordered the royal salmon and, alas, it did come served on a plate, but also served on a cushion beneath and a throne next to it. We figured that the restaurant’s purpose was to mock it’s paying and rich customers with these gimmicks. Quite an original idea, but sometimes rather difficult to eat (of fear of dumping the cushion upside down). Three Russian girls next to us were spoiled with steaming cocktails (as their web site states liquid nitrogen was stuck in the drink before served), so that it looked like a magical brew.

Royal Salmon served on a cushion

But the highlight of this entire comical situation came with the dessert: The Chocolate Fondue! And while it did state on the menu to “Please Ask,” the boyfriend assumed that this meant whether or not they were able to serve it on that particular day. The smirking waiter readily folded up our menus, most likely happy to cash in on all the tips he would earn. Sometime later a huge fountain of chocolate was making its way towards our table – with 4 waiters carrying it, another lighting the sparklers on top of it (Yes, they were served with actual sparklers!). So here we sat, trying to devour a dessert easily meant for 6 people. I was contemplating whether or not we should sue the restaurants for not warning us how huge it was (which, had this happened in New York, would have been the logical consequence). We ended up paying 90 dollars for the entire fun of a simple dessert and I vow to warn every one of my friends to always ask for the price and size of a meal with this restaurant. And that was our (slightly tainted) experience at the Barton G, an otherwise lovely spot to bring friends and dates.

Huge chocolate fondue fountain

Day 2 and Day 3 were mostly spent at the beach, since it was slowly warming up. I even managed to get a sunburn on our last day, as the sun viciously perpetrated the 55+ sunblock on my skin, even though I kept re-applying it meticulously. Yes, this means the sun is very strong down south, even if you go in mid-January!

Then the stroll through town, past the Outlet, which attracts a lot of tourists and locals. I didn’t find anything worthy buying in those quite expansive stores but it was still fun to pop in and check out Miami fashion. Lots of skin, lots of flashy colors – a summer city no matter what season.

During night, we ended up bar-hopping: First in hotels and then throughout smaller joints. Starting at the Raleighs, we went on to the Delano. They had a gorgeous outdoor space, with hotel beds propped up, so that you could sit and lie down while getting drinks from the outdoor bar. The pool even offered two chairs and a table in the middle of the water. While the crowd did not necessarily attract us, we still had a good time.We also noticed that drinks are rather expensive in this town. We payed $17 for cocktails at any hotel and just a little more than $10 when we went anywhere else. With prices as high as in New York you would expect the night life to be equally appealing. Perhaps we were just at the wrong spots. The FDR at the Delano certainly did not do it for us. It was an underground club-type setting with a mediocre DJ and bouncy Eurotrash tuning in to the songs. Oh, the people walking around in South Beach? A ton of Europeans. But not so much of the appealing sort, sadly spoken. We kept looking around, expecting to see drop-dead gorgeous people but were severely disappointed. Just average people trying to feel good about being in Miami. Then of course a lot of Americans from the South and Florida itself.

The second night we spent wisely at the Havana, a Cuban-style restaurant in the middle of the tourist center. Such a kitschy hotspot that it was almost adorable to walk through. The drinks were good at the Havana, the food was ah-okay. My fish was not convincing, but his chicken entrée was supposedly great.

We went on to people-watching at the Douce, a place with a round bar and lots of locals who like to watch sports and observe the oblivious tourists occasionally popping in. Drinks are cheap, which is another reason to come back.

Coconut on the beach

Me with my coconut happily soaking in the sun

And finally – our last night on the beach. Discovering a stolen wallet with three different credit cards inside. We tried to drop it off at any cop who was watching the streets but they kept pointing us towards the big police station in the middle of town. We finally gave up and walked in there. Waited for thirty minutes until a lazy officer took down the details. Our luck that another family walked in, also requesting to return a stolen wallet, so that we were finally freed of Miami bureaucracy.

Our flight back was at 6 AM and it took us another 1 ½ hours with a shared-ride shuttle to get to Fort Lauderdale. In case you were thinking about doing this: Perhaps renting a car or simply reserving a taxi would be the better solution. Although it’s slightly more expensive, it won’t take you 2-times as long to get from A to B, plus you won’t have to deal with sour passengers sitting next to you.

[Oh, and our chocolate fondue? This is what was left of it on our very last day on the beach...!]

[For more pictures of Miami, go to Miami Calling (Part II)!]

Chi- Cha- Chicago (Part 2)

We bypassed ice-skaters who performed pirouettes on the McCormick Tribune Plaza & Ice Rink. Another factor of interest in Millennium Park are two large screens which were built up at the time we were there. In these, two women were each virtually interacting with each other from one side to another.
During the summer, I heard, many concerts and other cultural events are going on throughout the entire park.

From here, our tour took us to the Navy Pier, which is an amusement center right on Lake Michigan. It has stores and souvenir shops inside and several rides and a Ferris Wheel outside. The aunt and cousin were brave enough to resist the drizzling rain outside while we walked from one end to another. The others stayed inside, all warm and cozy at an exotic green house. All around the upstairs and downstairs area several sculptures bearing flowers could be found. A possible predecessor of the annual Chicago Flower and Garden Show in March?

The Navy Pier is almost 100 years old (I am sure their anniversary is coming up within the next five years) and it is an absolute must-go in the summer. There is not too much to do in the winter, unfortunately, but kids will always be entertained, due to the Children’s Museum inside.

From then on, we had enough of trotting around in the meanwhile pouring rain. We took a cab to Cousin # 3, who lives in an apartment situated in a tall building in the midst of downtown Chicago. He has a great food store just outside of the building and has possible the best walk ever just to get his grocery shopping done. After catching up with everyone and eating out at a typical American restaurant, we started making our way home to where the cousins and aunt lives. This is indeed in the Suburbs, about 40 mins from the city.

At night, I went to my first Blues bar ever. Buddy Guy’s Legends in the South Loop offered a night with Zac Harmon and his band from Tennessee. We spent a good 4 and a half hours of listening to the some great blues while watching the girls and boys getting crazy in front of the band. Then jetlag/tiredness kicked in and there was no way I could have possibly staid up for much longer.

What I noticed more during night then at day was indeed what Chicago is known for: Its wind! Icy, freezing gusts blowing our hoodies from our head and making my face feel numb after only a few minutes outside. If this is how it had been at the end of the winter, then I dare not think about what the previous arctic months had felt like. Or rather: What they usually felt like, as this city had also experienced a relatively mild winter in 2011-12.

The second day was spent in the S’burbs. Catching up with Aunt # 2. Snatching some fine Pizza at an Italian restaurant. Even though the city still stands for good pizza, most of the locations have moved out to the ‘Burbs, offering fine culinary experiences in more down-to-earth spots than ever.

Visiting a huge shopping mall I hadn’t seen in ages. Finding an even finer store called Carson’s, which offered better deals and sassier clothing than Macy’s ever could. What a surprise this was indeed for me, and I am all in for stealing this store and setting it up in Midtown Manhattan.

Then a night out at a delicious Tex-Mex restaurant. Getting to know the cousins’ friends better, since they invited a bunch over to celebrate both of their (close) birthdays at the bar next door.

What was left was one fine Sunday. A sleep-deprived but nevertheless fun-filled day. The relatives wanted to show the girlfriend and me one last thing. So we went to Lincoln Park: A park filled with a zoo, a conservatory, and lots of space to walk. First we did indeed check out the Lincoln Park Conservatory. Albeit small in size, it had every color imaginable. A humidity and heat only known in tropical areas inundated us as soon as we stepped in. We were surrounded by exotic plants and flowers and I couldn’t help it but take the following picture(s).

Surrounded by a true jungle feeling and green heaps of lianas, we made our way out to the next attraction: The Lincoln Park Zoo. Despite the wintry temperatures outside, we still found a good amount of animals. The giraffe and monkeys inside being among the cutest. When bypassing the feeding of the seals and going straight to the big cats, we saw a lonely lioness excitedly jumping around in her isolated area. Then, all of a sudden, a crazy dash all across the stone. Her keeper was arriving and the lion knew she was being feed. The Girlfriend shot a great picture of the yellow fellow crashing towards us and jumping at us, only being stopped by the glass protection.
Overall, we spent some great two hours in both the zoo and the flower power house. The best part about it is that they are for free and always worth checking out – either for a family trip or when you feel like dipping into a different world.

From there on we were just exploring the neighborhood a bit. Walking around the blocks, where I found a quaint store offering bathtub foam in the form of a lollipop. Then we took in a late lunch at the Austrian Café, where they indeed did not speak much Austrian. The girlfriend claims she suspected one employee to have a German accent but that was of course when we were long-gone and standing outside. A fail to discover from my side, I agree.

Lincoln Park is in the up and coming, as far as I can tell. High loft buildings are built around churches, and older houses are bought up from the bourgeoisie of the city. Maybe comparable to the people you find in the Upper West side. An older crowd, with a lot of money who have been living the neighborhood for a very long time. Because Chicago is so very young indeed, I believe the people of the neighborhood are not as rigidly defined as in other cities. As far as I can tell, the hoods have changed quite a big deal from the 60ies to the 80ies, and from then to now.
Next, it was time to say goodbye. I got to meet more friends from Cousin # 2, as we made a brief stint at a local bar in the ‘Burbs. Then it was time to drive back to O’hare airport, from which I had a sleepy flight back home and an awfully sleep-deprived time in New York the other day.

There is still so much to see in the City of High Winds. The Buckingham Fountain, for example. We had only briefly driven past it. The Water Tower. Other quaint neighborhoods the Cousin and the Girlfriend had the chance to experience the week before. I am glad I finally made it out there but I also realize that Chicago is always worth another trip. If not now then most likely in the summer. After all, those high-praised festivals and high-class music shows might always be worth checking out, don’t you think?

Coney Island on a Sunny February Afternoon

Time for the biannual Coney Island post!
I needn’t tell you that this speck of Brooklyn is one of my favorite spots once summer hits New York. I live right of the F train, which makes it really convenient for me to travel to the quirkiest beach found so far. It takes me a short 20 min ride when I care to go in the summer, and I usually always do, every other week or so. As mentioned in May and October, Coney Island is a beach at the southernmost point of Brooklyn and, aside from water that gets murky and unsafe always around the middle of June, it offers a fantastic array of spooky rides and the oldest wooden roller coaster in the American history. Yes, I’ve actually taken the dreaded Cyclone and I thought it was an awesome fun ride. Maybe not worth the 8 bucks they charged us for it, but hey, somehow they do want to get those renovation costs together, I assume. Still, I can highly recommend you taking this ride, even though it might creep you out when you hear the squeaks of the brakes and the squeals of the people going before you. It only lasts one and a half minutes, which is not really long. But those one and half minutes, they can blow you away.

On Sunday I was fortunate enough to have the great idea of actually using my time in a meaningful way, since it was the big three-day-weekend with President’s Day going on. A three-day weekend in the winter is usually an sign for most New Yorkers to simply pack their bags and hop on the next plane south. Especially during this time of year, as spring break is coming up. However, 2012 has still remained surprisingly mild, so I am not in the least disappointed that I have decided to stay true to the Big Apple all winter long. Which has also caused me to go back to what I do best: Sight-seeing and being a busy little tourist in the city of 8 million.
So on Sunday, to get back to the gist of my sentence, I spontaneously hopped on the orange line, which transported me back in time, to the feeling of summer, sun, and fun, in less than half an hour. I didn’t bring my bath towel, I wasn’t wearing my swim suit, but I carried my camera with me and was in a good mood to stroll the beach on a cool February day. As I came to find, I wasn’t the only one with this bright idea: A good amount of tourists, locals, and other folks were roaming the boardwalk and areas around the water. Well, why not, it was a gorgeous day and when the sun came out you almost forgot that summer is still a good three and a half months away…

Coney Island’s attractions were closed. I think they shut down one day after Halloween and open up in April again (their site says Easter, which is dependent upon year). The Luna Park has renovated and come up with an array of new rides, which were newly opened in May of 2010. Unfortunately, I have no idea what Coney Island was like before, as that was the first time I visited the Luna Park. I do know that they added even more rides for the smaller audience in 2011, so kids should be having a ton of fun with their little surf rides and water canoes now. Aside from the rides, what makes Coney Island colorful are all the little stands and food carts you find clustered around and close to the boardwalk.

On Sunday, however, everything was still brutally shut down. Back in October, at least the bars and food joints had been open. Now the only spot you could grab a bite of food from was Nathan’s (as extensively discussed in previous posts, this joint does not offer too much according to my taste – I don’t eat hot dogs!) and the fast food joints right next to the train station. I guess the restaurants were open as usual, but that is not why people come to Coney Island, to be honest. Aside from the missing culinary experience, everyone was quite happy. Some tourists even dipped their naked feet into the probably freezing cold Atlantic water, but I guess they don’t have an ocean where they come from.

Which is exactly why I love this spot: The salty sea breeze, the oceanic air, the mellow waves washing ashore – all beautifully illuminated by the sun high up in the sky. For this time of the year, it was quite blinding, and sunglasses were a must on that particular day. Some hardcore fishermen even had their fishing rods out. I am not sure if they caught anything. I would never want to eat anything coming from that place of the Ocean and I hope they don’t sell their fish it in Chinatown or Brighton Beach. I once witnessed a child catching a sea skate, which is pretty high on the list of being extinct. Just for fun, he caught it. Just for fun, he sliced the inside open. Just for fun, he threw him back into the water. Some people’s mentality towards animals just don’t make sense to me and are saddening me at times.

In the summer, Coney Island is home to many people, also homeless people and the socially disadvantaged. I believe the projects are not too far from there. So when you walk by a random group of guys in a torn undershirt who are loudly blasting their CD player on the pier or close to the water, you know what’s up. It’s funny to see the interaction between tourists, Russians, and other people when they encounter these random groups of men who have plenty of time to kill. It’s a mix between amusement and bewilderment. That is probably why Coney Island is regarded as ghetto by most New Yorkers after some point in the summer. My friend and I were always entertained by the random Salsa and Samba parties hosted by Puerto Rican crowds. A band would be playing and many grunge-looking people of middle age would start showing off their hot moves in front of the rest of the crowd. My friend, a German guy, would always be fascinated by the high amount of naked skin the 50-year-old women would show off, even though their body was lacking the prerequisite for bikini and mini skirt time. I, however, was fascinated and repulsed by how beaten down the men and women looked for their age. This was probably due to their hard-working life – or their extensive drug use.

Sunday was a great day at the beach. It wasn’t for swimming or tanning or dancing but simply for catching a nice fresh breeze of salty sea air and feeling rejuvenated after spending some time among so many peaceful people.

Oh, and the mystery to why this place contains the word “island”? Well, apparently it used to be disconnected to the mainland until they rejoined it by means of land fill. Dear Coney, you truly were an Island!

[For more pictures, go to A Picture Every Day: coney.island.in.february.(part I). and coney.island.in.february.(part II).]

This Must Be the Time….

This must be the time no one likes to blog…. I thought the winter would make it easier to justify sitting indoors and getting some writing done. But instead I find myself occupied with other things and pretending it is not winter anymore! Luckily, I’ve noticed from a few others (right Amanda, Ginger, Elena?!) that I am not the only one to procrastinate in the blogosphere… Free time is simply valuable for me right now. Working out at the gym – reconnecting with Ballet and Zumba, two dances I have ignored for almost an entire year, and doing weights – that’s what my fitness agenda is all about right now. Brunches on the weekend and getting together with a couple of friends long forgotten – such is pretty much my social life at the time.
Work is still challenging and lengthy, which means I love to make the very best out of the few couple of hours a day I get away from it. And the weekends, well they have almost become sacred.

February is supposedly the very last month of this half-a**ed winter in the City. We are actually getting a few more colder days now and then with an occasional flake of snow, but it is not sticking to the ground. Now, mid-February, I am not too worried about freezing and cold wind roaring into my face. I wonder what the spring and summer might be about…

Last week was one good Super bowl game! The NY giants won and even earned their own parade in the heart of New York. The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week has started last Thursday. While I attended one show last year, I doubt I’ll get the chance to poke my head in this year. Which I somewhat do not regret. Then, the Grammy Awards today, running in the background as I am typing. Some well-earned awards, some not-so-justified honors (Chris Brown? For realz?).
The death of the biggest inspiration in the Soul and R’n’B industry: Whitney Houston. Present in every generation simply because of her unique vocals and her talent, to be remembered in the (music) lives of many…

Good times and sad times intertwine. I’ll keep you posted on those. Oops, it’s been so long!