Upstate

Too soon, my time in the big city was over--but luckily, there is just more and more and more to look forward to. From NYC, I took a bus upstate to Ithaca to visit my aunt and uncle who live on Lake Cayuga. During a week of totally glorious weather, we saw a play, ate at Moosewood, took hikes in the area...

...visited the Corning Museum of Glass...

...got lunch at the hoppin' Ithaca farmer's market...

...enjoyed the sense that fall is here, leaf-wise and produce-wise and in the crisp, sunny days--and much, much more.

I may not be posting for the next month or so, but rest assured it's because I'm gearing up for a very big adventure. I am headed to Antarctica to work at the South Pole for four months starting in late October. So I will be back in about a month with missives from as south as you can get in the southern hemisphere. Till then!

New York City week three

The city fun continued with SR flying in from Denver for the last week of the adventure, during which we stayed downtown near the World Trade Center. We saw a taping of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, which was so much fun and completely fascinating. The guest that day, Zephyr Teachall, was very inspiring. But I have to admit we felt incredulous and a little let-down when it turned out the guest the NEXT DAY was Bill Clinton. Sheesh! 

We also went to a story slam for The Moth at a nonprofit bookstore in SoHo...

...and while SR took in a Yankee's game, I ventured back down to Brooklyn to see Iron & Wine, one of my favorites, in concert--along with Stephen Merritt and Devandra Banhart. What a show.

The rest of the time we kind of wandered...spent an afternoon walking the length of Central Park...oh, and we tried "floating" at a day spa near Union Square! If you've never tried it, look it up; it was a great experience that I would love to repeat.

What I also love? This city.

New York week two

I am just not taking enough pictures! My second week in NYC was spent primarily in Brooklyn eating ice cream at Ample Hills, exploring Prospect Heights, catching up with my Denver friend (and loyal blog reader), L (hi, L!), and visiting the Botanical Gardens.

I also ventured into Manhattan to see more Broadway shows (Wicked! You Can't Take it With You!) and visited The Met:

And went to Queens to see the Noguchi Museum and get some spanikopida in the Greek wonderland of Astoria.

And there was more! A trip to Connecticut to see Peace Corps friends, for example, of which I failed to take even a single picture. What was I thinking?

New York

I am clearly not really back in the swing of the blogging thing, because I am not being very diligent about taking many pictures. The city is magical as always (though way too hot this week) and I've had such fun getting bubble tea from a Korean place down the street from the apartment in Chelsea where I'm staying with friends, revisiting the Highline and Chelsea market, seeing Cabaret on Broadway, checking out Fort Tryon park and The Cloisters, and taking the Staten Island ferry for a good view of this lovely lady:

Also, it was my first time stepping foot on Staten Island, and the view back to Manhattan was really nice.

I also visited Washington Heights for the first time and had a fantastic Dominican lunch of mofongo (thanks for the rec, L & D!).

One of the most eye-popping activities of the week was visiting the fabric store Mood in the garment district. What you see here is maybe 1/100th of what this store has in stock. I can't imagine there's anything else like it anywhere. And though I am not allowed to amass any more stuff to try to fit into my suitcase on this trip, happily my friend B was in the market for some material to have a few work shirts and dresses made during an upcoming trip to Cambodia, so I even got to do some vicarious actual shopping.

With a first-time trip to Staten Island under my belt, I decided to also make a first trip to the other borough I'd never been to: The Bronx:

My main destination there was the "real" Little Italy of NYC: Arthur Ave. I was a little shocked to get there and discover there was a huge Italian festival in full swing, complete with entire wheels of parmiggiano for sale on the street.

The festival going on also meant that there was more gelato and Italian ice for sale street side than you could throw a stick at. I highly recommend the cappuccino chip ice.

Almost heaven...

...West Virginia!

How many times have I driven through this state and thought, "Gosh, this is really pretty; I should really stay and visit at some point." Definitely more than once. So, huge thanks to my Peace Corps Madagascar friend K, who was game for a weekend road trip and had the brilliant idea of visiting the ridiculously cute Shepherdstown, WV.

We roamed the shops and restaurants of the little main street area and went to equally adorable, nearby towns for essentials such as: an obscene amount of ice cream for $1.87.

The Shepherdstown Saturday farmer's market was unbelievably refreshing in that it was actually a market of farmers selling food (rather than retailers selling clothes and jewelry). Raw cheese! Fresh bread! Local fruit and veggies! We picked up everything needed (and more) for a picnic lunch...

...and then rented bikes, pedaled over to the Potomac...

...and found our way down to the a.m.a.z.i.n.g. bike/walk path along the old C & O Canal system and cycled the 12 miles downstream...

...to Harper's Ferry. Where we enjoyed our picnic overlooking the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers. So beautiful.

Oh, and did I mention there was flower-picking at a nearby farm? What a weekend, West Virginia.