It’s been awhile since I’ve made plans to go out and explore the city. Mostly, it had been dreary, cold, and a stressful start to the year. Mother nature worked out on my side as fog and rain dissipated to warmth and sun. I walked through Soho to find a beautiful public artwork on the ground. At first, my friend thought it was a circuit board but turns out, it was a subway map.
Continue reading “Tour of Sweet Eateries in the Village”
A Slice of Pizza and Life
This weekend has been one of those weekend I wish I could take away all the bad things and keep only the good things. There are times where you wonder, what is a life? What happens after life? Will I see you again? Will I see her again? Will they remember me? Am I really just a grain in time? These are questions no one has really brought back from the grave (though some claim to but one is always/must be skeptical).
Despite the heartbreaking news of a dear friend, life does move on. In your mind and heart, you carry a memory of them. And you know they are surrounded by loved ones until the end, so there’s a sense of ease and acceptance.
Sadly, the news coincided with my pizza making class that I had booked a month ago (Groupon). I went with a heavy heart, unhappy, tired, and emotionally drained out. But the thing was, it turned out to be a good distraction. I enjoyed it more than I expected.
Slice is a local pizzeria that uses local and organic ingredients and boasts locally crafted ales and beers. Their Pizza 101 class is located in their Greenwich Village location. It’s a small little place that probably only seats 20 people and 4 bar seats. Cute and cozy, there was a constant stream of people coming and going despite it being the Superbowl night.
Class started promptly at 3. My friend and I ordered a ginger lemonade, which was a good start. Not fizzy at all and entirely homemade.
So what was the pizza we made? It was a honey whole wheat 10 inch personal.
Ingredients:
- 2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 cup white bleached flour
- Garlic salt
- Kosher salt
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Yeast
- 1 cup warm water (more, if too dry)
The flour was already prepped so we just made an indent to pour the dry ingredients (salt). Toss it around and then add the fresh yeast. You really have to work the yeast to break it up so it doesn’t clump and cause weird rising in the dough.
Here, the teacher poured in 1 cup of warm water. We really worked the dough. At one point, I ended up standing up to knead. Why exercise when one can do some arm workouts just working pizza dough?
After kneading it until the wrinkles are gone, we rolled in into one big ball, divided it into two and cleaned the wrinkled with some water. Pour some olive oil to keep the dough soft. One was put away so we could take home. The other was put on top of a stove (do not put on hot service) so that the dough rises in half an hour. Otherwise, room temperature rise takes about 2 hours.
In the meantime, we were served with complimentary merlot wine Widow’s Walk and Asian Cabbage salad with peanut sauce. I’m allergic to most nuts so they kindly gave me hummus and pita. I was starving at this point, having been unable to eat from depression (I’m one of those people who don’t eat when I am sad), so I ordered their Flight of Pizza, which is 4 small slices of their different pizzas.
As I was finishing up, the dough came out. We were told, kitty paw the dough from center out. After which we put on a rack. We added the marinara sauce (recipe is a secret) and tossed some part skim mozzarella cheese (this is the first time I will say, more cheese would have been great) (also, I didn’t know that cheese before sauce is called a Chicago style). Then a tray of toppings were passed around: barbecue chicken, chicken sausage crumble, kalamata olives, red peppers, button mushrooms, and eggplants.
When that was put away, we were served with another glass of wine! Pumphouse red wine. Considering I’m a lightweight, at this point, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to drink anymore.
The pizza cooked for 8 minutes and voila! Honey whole wheat pizza with red peppers, olives, and eggplants!
PS, they served a third glass of wine for free.
PPS, My friend made a mini pizza. The teacher named it Darrell. He was quickly munched up.
Lowell Through the Eyes of a Traveler
Bridge over the Pawtucket Canal
Sometimes, I feel like I exaggerate my high school years and victimize myself, blaming everyone else for my misery, angst, and loneliness (remember that 30 Rock episode where Liz Lemon goes back to her high school reunion…except, I’m sure I wasn’t that much of an asshole). Going back to Lowell has always felt like I was reliving those memories—those awkward high school years. I do my best to avoid relatives, classmates, etc. But I do leave room to visit a few good friends who have remained an aspect of my root and future.
Continue reading “Lowell Through the Eyes of a Traveler”
Walkway over the Hudson + Minnewaska State Park + New Paltz
At 212 feet tall and 1.28 miles long, [Walkway over the Hudson] is the longest, elevated pedestrian bridge in the world. Is it?
When you live in the borough of Manhattan without a car, you don’t really travel farther than what public transportation allows. I am lucky that I live not too far from JFK or LGA and I work a manageable distance to EWR (you know you’ve been checking those travel sites far too often if you can remember airport codes). But that also means my travel are limited to how much dough I roll in and save. So it isn’t much of a surprise that I rarely go out of the city. Train and cab fare aren’t conducive to savings for a “continental tour” (kudos for you if you know what that means without looking it up).
It was with some grace I have friends with cars willing to drive city folks like me around. I’ve been out apple and pumpkin picking thus far (it is expensive without a car and because it’s such a kitschy thing to do, the farms and cabs really do scalp you) and I didn’t think I could afford another random outer city trip.
So on a crisp, sunny Sunday morning, just as daylight savings took effect, I set off with a few friends to upstate New York. Let me repeat, upstate! That is a wilderness unto itself! Where are all the tall buildings? There are people who feel claustophobic from tight space and those from open space. I fall somewhere in between, mostly fear of socializing.
Drive up to Croton-Harmon on the Metro-North Hudson Line
Armed with a Dunkin’ Donut breakfast sandwich and Starbucks soy chai tea latte (breakfast of a corporate sellout, I know), we scrambled to Grand Central in the midst of NYC marathon and police search traffic. The train ride was smooth with the occasional annoying children behind us probably making bunny ears or funny faces (gawd, I hate kids). I have gone through the whole maternal instinct back to never wanting brats who will suck the life and bank out of me. With relief, our ride ended in less than 50 minutes at Croton-Harmon (Croton pronounced with a long O). Croton-Harmon is a small town fifty minutes express outside of New York City for upper middle class families. There are actually homes with yards, fences, and trees. Despite a snowstorm the recent week, the trees held on to some tenacious golden and crimson leaves while snow banks lined the curb. We stopped for a quick breakfast at a cute diner before heading out to Highland, on the west side of the Hudson river, to begin our minor trek.
Starting our little walk over the Walkway-over-the-Hudson
I had always wanted to walk the Walkway over the Hudson bridge when I had first seen a getaway package on the mta.info site. One mile and half is actually quite a quick walk. Dogs of all kind walked along their masters, bikers go up and down, there are 2 points in which tourists can stop and view across the river on both sides, police drive up and down just to make sure everyone behaved. There was even a cat on a leash that day! It was a beautiful walk, the air felt like fresh woods and cold water, and there was just enough people to keep it busy but not crazy packed like the Brooklyn Bridge.
Leaves over Lake Minnewaska
Overview of Lake Minnewaska
At this point, the sun was slowly descending and we made out way to Minnewaska State Park. Have you seen those movies with lake cabins and hikes up cliffs overlooking some crystal water dark and deep? This was the location. The lake was deep inside what could have once been a quarry, the white stones seemed to be cut in layers. If only one could just dive right off a cliff. I can see why people enjoy living out here.
Only a nerd could see what that said at first glance
I was glad we went back into the town of New Paltz. If Williamsburg could be a city, New Paltz would be it. There were coffee shops for musicians, coffee shops for tech nerds even! We ended up eating at Mexicali Blue where it was town for fish tacos! On blue corn tortilla! AMAZING! There was even a special for ghost chili brownies. If anyone knows, ghost chilis are the spiciest chilis in the world! Good luck downing that!
It was a long day, a long trek. Lots of things to see, lots of traveling in between. As always, leaving New York City is a breath of fresh air (literally, as well), but I was itching to get back into the city, the grimy, smelly, and busy life.
London
The image of London, the landscape of its countryside, and the mood of its people has been painted from various British novels, BBC classic shows, and daydreams of what could be the land of Lizzie Bennet and Mr. Darcy. Cold, gray, yet spurts of sunlight would stream through the heavy clouds. Moments like those are to be cherished because they don’t last long. People would know better how to cherish those moments, take things for granted less.
Continue reading “London”
Day 3: Mini Vaca in VT
Things never to forget while traveling: my asthma medicine.
Continue reading “Day 3: Mini Vaca in VT”
Day 2: Mini Vaca in VT
Some people find it easy to sleep anywhere, anyhow, and anytime. Unfortunately, I am not one of them. One of the groomsmen asked me, “how do you sleep over a gentleman’s house?” Let me remind you, I come from a land where “gentleman” is extinct. I did what my instinct told me; I laughed aloud. Not at him, but at the use of the word gentleman since I cannot remember a time (aside from works of fiction) ever hearing it used in public. Fortunately, I was able to preoccupy myself with cooking, watching the World Cup, and getting ready for the party.
Continue reading “Day 2: Mini Vaca in VT”
Day 1: Vermont
=
I’ve never been to Vermont. I’ve lived in Massachusetts for 16 years (plus, I always go back up for holidays) but I’ve never visited Vermont, besides the two times my parents drove through it to get to Montreal. And my memory brings back the smell of cows. hmm…
And I never really flew short flights, mostly out of the states (except to Vegas and Minnesota, for Judi’s sake). Nicole (my traveling partner and also one of my many college roommates—that is a story unto itself) never liked the idea of flying but as the bridesmaid to Vy (the recipient of our duly noted affection), we both decided to fly together to attend the engagement party.
Continue reading “Day 1: Vermont”
Day 7: Hasta Luego
It was the end of the trip. Costa Rica is indeed an adventure vacation. It is a place of tranquility, beauty, natural wonders, and geniality. It felt like the longest vacation I ever had. We did so much, ate well, slept well, and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I admit, I did not miss anyone or anything for that matter.
We had to catch a bus at 6AM so sadly, we bid our host, Jesse, farewell the night before. We spent several hours getting to know her and she to us. Her love story is the type of love story that took lots of time but when it was the right person, it was a short whirlwind courtship. She told us, when you are young, you love with your heart and your guts but when you grow older, you love with your mind. I would like to remember that as it has been what I’m endeavoring to try. You could have one night of great love that floods you but quickly drains out of your life, leaving your world damaged and ruined. Then there is that person who loves you like a stream of water constantly trickling, slowing boring into your heart of stone until it has become a part of you, neverending, everlasting. I pray with all my heart, I would be fortunate enough to meet that person.
I smile now when I think of Costa Rica. It gave my new year a great start. I hope the year continues to grow from here, opening my eyes to beginnings and chances. No matter how lost I am in my current world, I hope I won’t lose sight of what is most important to me: finding magic and love even when there’s none.
Day 6: Recouping
Having loved the free hot springs the day before, Anna and I decided to wake up at 6AM and head there again. Once more, we trekked down the lonely road, running into many local workers for the Tabacon resort. Work starts very early there. I noticed a lot of shops open at 7 or 8AM until 8PM. They work such long hours but they are always so nice and happy.
Continue reading “Day 6: Recouping”