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Cuba North America

Viñales: A Valley Lost In Time

So it turns out that roosters don’t just crow in the morning, as I have been led to believe in cartoons. They crow constantly, all night long, at intervals of about 3 minutes. Isn’t that fun? I learned that at our homestay in Viñales, at about 2 a.m. Needless to say I have a new least favorite animal.

Real talk, though, Viñales might be the most stunning place I’ve ever seen. It’s cracked the top ten for sure. Apparently Steven Spielberg wanted to film Jurassic Park here and the State Department was not on board. This was our next stop after Havana, and it is a tourist hotspot for one reason: cigars. Yep, Viñales is the region of Cuba that produces that world-renowned tobacco.

Before we got there, though, we had a few other detours! The first was an absolutely amazing place called Fusterlandia. An artist, José Fuster, wanted to reclaim his neighborhood and created these mosaics. The whole place feels like a trippy dream world, and it was so cool to wander through and see all the different murals and characters he created out of tile.

From there, we went to Las Terrazas, which is an effort to re-forest one area of Cuba and to stimulate the local rural economy. One of the aspects of my trip that I absolutely loved was the fact that we met so many organizations who were working all over Cuba to improve life for the citizens. I was impressed, time and time again, with the creative solutions to problems that people had. While in Viñales, we saw Soviet-era laundry machines that were somehow still running, cobbled together with parts that the family had been able to scavenge.

Side note, the whole time we were in Las Terrazas, our guide kept pointing out cool birds, which was around the time I realized I am terrible at birdwatching! How am I supposed to spot them in the trees?

Anyhow. We got to try some local coffee and meet some artisans. I bought my mom a wooden hummingbird sculpture. At first, I was hesitant because it looked very delicate, with the beak and the wings, and I didn’t think I could bring it back to the US safely. I asked the guy selling them what he wrapped it in, and I kid you not, he held up a piece of paper. At my expression, which surely read ?????, he took the hummingbird and broke it down to its components, showing me how I could fit the pieces back together once I got it home. Way cool.

On to Viñales! Look at that valley. This is a more agricultural section of the country, and we had a lot of wonderful farm-to-table food, including a live cooking demonstration. I was low key worried about food on this trip, because some places are really weird about me being vegetarian (looking at you, Eastern Europe and Central Asia), but in Cuba, there is always a vegetarian option. Even if there are only 3-4 dishes in the restaurant, one will be vegetarian. A few highlights: plantain chips, taro root, and so much pesto! Plus all the rice dishes were stellar. I had never had taro before and it was delicious.

One other brief anecdote from Viñales: getting out money! So, money in Cuba as an American is a challenge, because American bank cards cannot work there. I mean, your first barrier is that a lot of places will not have credit card machines, but even in places that do, an American card is no better than a used napkin on the side of the road. You have to bring in cash and exchange it. I brought euros, because I figured I’d have a better time with those than with USD.

The other quirky thing is that there are actually two different currencies in Cuba. One is Cuban pesos, CUPs, which are the local currency. The other is Cuban convertible pesos, or CUCs, which are for foreigners and are tied to the US dollar. Fun fact, Cuba is actually in the process of phasing out CUCs. No idea how that will work, but I can only report on how it was when I was there. Basically, you want to take care that you don’t end up with CUPs as a foreigner because they are useless to you, you can’t convert them back and they’re only really accepted at local grocery stores/markets, which you won’t be going to anyway.

All that to say…. when I was at the airport, I wasn’t able to convert as much as I wanted, and so I was dangerously low by the time we got to Viñales. And I mean, I wanted to buy cigars so I needed cash. So I went to the bank super early, way before it opened, so I could stand in line with the locals. I got a pretty good spot too. And there was a Cuban grandma there who was enforcing who had what spot – you didn’t need to really stand in a line, because people were keeping track of who was where. Locals are willing to cut in line in front of foreigners if my time at the airport exchanging money back to USD was any indication, but this time it went smoothly and the whole banking experience went well. I do definitely prefer the ability to just go to an ATM and pull out what I need.

The tobacco farm was a fascinating experience! They walked us through the entire process, from growing the tobacco and drying it out to the art of rolling a cigar. I was able to bring some back to the US, since there’s a certain amount allowed through customs, and so my dad has them carefully packed away for special occasions.

Here I am, loving the option to pay an extra dollar and have my drink in a coconut. Afterwards, the waiter took the coconut and hacked it up with a machete so that our table could eat it.

Viñales was a highlight of the trip for me. I’ll never forget eating dinner in that restaurant at the lookout point, watching the sun set over the valley while I drank daiquiris. The people we met were friendly and excited to show us their traditions, and the landscape was unparalleled. If it’s good enough for Steven Spielberg to want to put velociraptors there, it’s good enough for me.

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Cuba North America

Havana: Wifi is Scare, Rum is Plentiful

So my last trip pre-COVID was to Cuba. I had a whole plan for all my vacation days, and I had a week left over, and I had a few people recommend Cuba to me as a destination and I figured why not?

As an American, it’s hard to travel to. It’s probably even harder now. Frankly, that’s something that has always baffled me. I found the Cuban people to be warm and friendly. Of all the strange Cold War holdovers, it’s one of the strangest – we’ve decided that a small island in the Caribbean is our enemy, apparently. Fun fact, I was legally not allowed to work while I was in Cuba, because our company can’t be associated with them in any way. I had to delete all my work-related apps, like email, Slack, Gchat, Zoom, etc., and I couldn’t even check my notifications while I was there.

Anyway, to legally go as an American, you have to meet one of the official categories and follow certain guidelines. I went with Intrepid, which is a tour company that has a special itinerary for Americans under the “support for the Cuban people” category. We stayed local, we did cultural immersion programs, we met with nonprofits. Honestly, it was the ideal way to do it. It was a little more structured than the trips I usually choose, but it did feel like we got to connect to locals way more than most of the places I’ve been.

One of the things I loved about Cuba was staying in the casa particulares. Basically, the United States doesn’t want to support the government, so they insist that you stay with locals in Airbnb-style accommodations. There was a wide variety of places we stayed, which was interesting. We ate at only local restaurants, too. Nothing owned by the state.

Havana is beautiful. It’s one of those places that I would have loved to experience in its prime, because you can tell the buildings need more work on restoration. The government and locals are doing their best, and a lot of areas have been renovated, but there are a number of gorgeous buildings in disrepair. Obviously, it’s famous for the old cars, and we saw a lot of those. I got to ride in a few too (which I think my dad was jealous of!).

Most of my first day there was spent wandering. I forgot that I didn’t actually know where my accommodations were, promptly got lost, and then figured I’d be able to find it again, so I enjoyed my day of exploration. I saw a parade go through, walked along the water, and found some sort of fort to check out. The next couple days were with my tour group. We visited local artists, took a tour in historic cars, walked around some of the neighborhoods, and soaked in the atmosphere. I am a little sad I didn’t get to see a ballet. I don’t think they were performing while I was there, but I’ve heard wonderful things about Cuban ballet! We did get to see a dance performance by students and we took a salsa class, but it’s not quite the same.

The other note I have is this: as cool as Havana is, I appreciated the rest of Cuba even more. It is naturally and culturally beautiful, and I feel like I got a really cool look at a country that seems almost frozen in time. Beyond the rum, cigars, and classic cars, it’s a special place, and I’m glad I got to go before the world shut down.

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North America United States

Virtual Sundance

One of Utah’s big claims to fame is Sundance. Both the original ski resort founded by Robert Redford, where I once broke my arm, and the film festival that happens annually at Park City! Pictured above, from a nice pre-COVID day trip with my parents. Because of COVID, the 2021 festival is being held mostly online, which has ended up being a positive. I didn’t usually get a pass and it was hard to find movies at good times and convenient locations, and life got in the way. But this year, I got an all access pass and really committed.

Movies Watched: 18.5

Short Films Watched: 23

Yes, I actually took a PTO day to sit around and watch movies. Yes, it was worth it. I’ve had a great time. Here are a few outstanding movies I watched, in no particular order.

CODA: This stands for Child of Deaf Adults. The basic gist is that Ruby is the only hearing member of a deaf family. After her choir teacher hears her sing, he encourages her to pursue music school, and she has to choose between that and her obligation to help her family and their fishing business. Reader, I bawled at this one. It was so good and so heartwarming, and I spent at least half the film wondering why we don’t teach all our children sign language starting in elementary school.

The Pink Cloud: Umm, can Iuli Gerbase predict the future? The film tells the story of a Brazilian town trapped under a pink cloud, which kills people within ten seconds of going outside. It arrives quickly, forcing some into awkward situations, like being stuck with a one-night stand or at a friend’s sleepover. What follows is a movie that is uncanny in its familiarity. Despite being filmed from 2017-2019, it feels beat for beat like the beginning of 2020, as people adjust to being trapped at home and then learn to live in their new reality. Also, aesthetically, the soft pink lighting coming in through every window is quietly gorgeous.

Strawberry Mansion: According to Sundance, it “transcends genre,” which is accurate. The director introduction said they wanted it to feel like being a video store, and each cover transporting you to a different world. And boy, does it ever deliver that. It felt like a strange fever dream. The oversaturated world. The concept of a dream tax that sometimes involves auditors, which, frankly, I want to know more about. A turtle eating a strawberry. This movie has it all, alongside an exploration of what it looks like when capitalism invades your dreams.

Passing: A black and white film set in the 1920s about two black women who can pass as white. Gorgeous cinematography, timely themes, and Tessa Thompson is always a delight.

One For The Road: This is a Thai film that follows a man dying of cancer and his somewhat-estranged friend who helps him meet up with his exes for closure. The three main actors are all stellar, and it explores some interesting emotional territory as Aood’s exes come to terms with the way their respective relationships ended and his impending death. Also, I’m always here to live vicariously through a road trip when I can’t go anywhere myself.

John and the Hole: A boy keeps his family in a bunker. This one is so compellingly odd. The closest thing I’ve ever watched was probably My Friend Dahmer. It’s hard to walk the line between a coming of age story and an examination of a sociopath, but I think this might have done it.

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair: I haven’t seen many movies that successfully take on how much of our lives we live on the internet. Thus far it’s really only been Searching and Eighth Grade that I thought nailed it in that respect, in very different ways. I’d like to submit this one as well. It presents a girl who joins a Youtube challenge, the World’s Fair challenge, and we go down the rabbit hole with her as her videos get increasingly stranger and more concerning. It does a great job on the blurred line between fantasy and reality, and how we present ourselves on the internet.

It’s going to be a good year ahead for indie film!

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North America United States

Weekend Getaway to San Francisco

Starting in 2019, my company decided that Veteran’s Day was an official holiday, and in an even more exciting turn of events, it was a Monday! I booked a flight and a hotel on the edge of Chinatown and made a weekend of it. It was also a bid to get to the next level in frequent flier miles, which I achieved only to have it be absolutely useless within six months. Alas.

I had been to San Francisco before with my parents, a long time ago, and we’d done a lot of the famous stuff. Walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, took a tour of Alcatraz, driven on Lombard Street. So there was no pressure to see anything specific.

I started at Golden Gate Park. After a lovely wander through the paths, I visited the de Young Museum and the Japanese Tea Garden. The museum was great, I went to the extra exhibition about Black history and explored the rest of their gallery. Interestingly, they actually had some Turkmen storage bags on display! I tried to test my knowledge of the regions where they were created. The Japanese Tea Garden was stunning as well, I loved exploring all the different pathways.

After lunch at a food truck, I headed back to the Ferry Building and spent some time walking along the piers. There’s nothing quite like the sound of the ocean beating against the shore.

The next day, I got up bright and early for a hike that I’d read about, Lands End Trail. It was a bit of a trek from my hotel on the bus, but it was totally worth it. It was the highlight of my trip!

I’m kind of obsessed with this maze made out of stones. There was even a good view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the eastern portion of the trail.

I had one other goal in mind for my last full day, which was the Palace of Fine Arts! It showed up in my research as another cool landmark and it didn’t disappoint. It felt almost out of place in such a modern city.

Anyway. That’s all I’ve got. I don’t claim to be any sort of expert on San Francisco or anything, but it makes a great weekend trip for anyone who lives close enough. When travel is safe again, I’m looking forward to visiting again and exploring more of the city!

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North America United States

Yellowstone: America’s First National Park

Despite having a childhood full of road trips to U.S. National Parks, I had never been to Yellowstone before.  Crazy, isn’t it?

On the way up, we stopped at Grand Teton and stayed in a cabin with stunning views of the mountains.  We mostly ate cheese and crackers, drank wine, and played Trivial Pursuit, which was a challenge because the game was from my mom’s first marriage and there were straight-up references to the Soviet Union.  I struggled hard on the pop culture category, since most of it was outdated for me.

The next day we headed up to Yellowstone.  I absolutely get the popularity, it was absolutely stunning.  We were there the weekend before Memorial Day, so a few things were closed and it was still pretty cold.  We considered this both a plus and a minus – the hot springs were often clouded with steam, which was disappointing when it came to the Grand Prismatic spring (see the picture below), but it also meant we could see more of the small geothermal features that we might have missed on the side of the road.

Grand Prismatic may have been a little disappointing, but the coolest part was seeing bison tracks all over the rocks near it.  In fact, based on the amount of bison scat we saw all over the park, it seems as though they manage to get right next to the geothermal features.  We would marvel at how they would have crossed through the walkways and directly adjacent to bubbling geysers.

Obviously Old Faithful and the other geysers were a particular highlight.  I even started to get used to the strong sulphur smell by our third or fourth stop.

The canyon and the Mammoth Hot Springs were also incredible, with these gorgeous colored rocks.  When we were up at Mammoth Hot Springs, we even saw a small herd of elk right next to cars and a few bison who ran through part of the town.

Speaking of animal encounters, there were a lot of amazing sightings.  We saw so many bison, including adorable babies.  At one point, we ended up in major traffic, and it turned out that five or so bison were walking along the road, which meant a whole line of cars had to slow down and drive behind them.  There were also two black bears, and most amazingly, a grizzly bear swimming across a river that got out and shook itself on the other side.  We also saw what I suspect was a wolf, although my parents and I are not quite sure.

On the way back, we cut through Idaho and saw the Valley of the Moon, which had incredible rock formations, along with the ruins of an old Japanese internment camp.  We also stopped by the wolf and bear sanctuary, where I took the picture with the statue and we got to see two fully grown grizzly bear brothers roughhouse and play.  All in all, a fantastic trip to one of the most beautiful regions of the United States!

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North America United States

Orlando: Magic and Manatees

My mom and I have been dreaming about going to Harry Potter World since the concept was announced, and for her birthday this year, we finally went as a family!  After a horribly early morning and two flights for me, we all arrived in Orlando and headed to our hotel.  We stayed on Universal property, at the Portofino hotel, and had an excellent dinner at one of the five Italian restaurants on site.  The hotel was seriously gorgeous.  It looked like an actual Italian city, pretty similar to Vernazza in Cinque Terre.

I don’t have many pictures of Harry Potter World, because a few hours after we arrived, it poured.  Torrential downpour, sheets of rain.  We literally dried out our shoes with the hair dryer that night.  Despite the weather, we had a lovely time.  All the Harry Potter rides are awesome.  I got to do magic with my interactive wand, ride the Hogwarts Express, and drink two different types of butterbeer, so it was a day well spent.  It fulfilled all of my Harry Potter dreams, and I almost think the coolest part of all was seeing people walk around casually holding wands.  Almost as if I was genuinely a part of the magical community.

I also tried out most of the rides that Universal has to offer and went to the Chocolate Emporium, which I wanted to try because I had seen their crazy milkshakes on a blog before.  It was an awesome day.After our day at Universal, we took a Lyft over to Animal Kingdom Lodge and settled in for a busy few days at Disney!  I was impressed with their Magic Bands and disappointed by their transportation.  Once again, I’d like to give a plug to the Disney Tourist Blog, who I read back when I went to DisneySea and I relied on heavily to plan this trip.  I may not be able to imagine going to Disney World for all my vacations, but I appreciate the detailed research from those who do.

Animal Kingdom – We headed there early the next morning to visit Pandora for the new and incredibly popular rides.  The advice to go an hour before opening worked like a charm, and we found ourselves around Disney regulars who were impressed.  Flight of Passage was awesome, and I would like to also give a shoutout to Kilimanjaro Safaris and the Festival of the Lion King.  Definite highlights.  We had dinner at the Yak and Yeti, which was delicious (although my parents weren’t impressed with the exterior when I first pointed it out!).  After dinner we headed to our Night Safari, an add on where you get a drive through the savannas around Animal Kingdom Lodge.  Our favorite moment was getting close to the giraffes, both to one drinking water close to us and to the baby who started running out of excitement.  Animal Kingdom Lodge also had a gorgeous tree in the lobby, as seen above.

Hollywood Studios – We had a morning and then a night here.  The morning was when we used all our fastpasses and did some Christmas shopping.  I think my favorite ride here was Toy Story Mania.  We came back for dinner at the Brown Derby, where the tables may have felt too close together but the food was delicious.  Mom and I stayed for Fantasmic, which was a great show with projections, live actors, and a moment when they literally lit the water on fire!

Epcot – We spent about a day and a half here.  As expected, I absolutely adored World Showcase.  We went to all of the movies and walked through all the pavilions, checking out each of the Christmas food stalls.  This was also where the most egregious moment of Disney raising costs showed itself, when I ordered ice wine in Canada and received a glass akin to a shot glass for $11.  We had dinner at Via Napoli, which was excellent pizza.  Soarin’ was a fantastic ride and I would have loved to go on it a few more times.  Dad and I stayed to watch Illuminations, which was amazing.  He’s said that it’s the best fireworks show he’s ever seen, and I must say I agree.  We also moved to Boardwalk for the second half of our time in Disney, which was so cool!  I loved the whole complex, and we had some great ice cream from the place next to our hotel.

Magic Kingdom – This park thrives on nostalgia, and I went on many rides that I remember from my childhood when we used to go to Disneyland.  Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Autopia, Pirates, the Carousel.  I’d also like to give a shoutout to Jungle Cruise, where our captain was hilarious.  We ate at Skipper Canteen and had another great meal.

From there, we headed out of the Disney bubble and back to the real world.  Our hotel was out on Cocoa Beach, so we got to spend a few nights near the seashore.  We tried to go to the Kennedy Space Center the next day but found that it was an absurd $57 per person (plus $10 for parking).  Instead, we went to the Cape Canaveral National Seashore and saw dolphins splashing through the water.

The next day was another thing I was very excited about, swimming with manatees!  There was a bit of a snafu where it was farther away than I thought, but we figured it out in enough time.  And so we headed out on a boat into the areas where manatees come in for the winter in search of warmer water.  I had never snorkeled before.  It was a little intimidating at first, especially when we got in the water and it was raining and choppy and we didn’t see anything in the first area besides scary-looking fish.  I thought at that point that I might have made a huge mistake in insisting we do this.  But in the second and third places we stopped, the water was calmer and we were able to see the manatees, and it was absolutely incredible.  They swam underneath us and right next to us, to the point where we were trying to back up so that we didn’t accidentally hit them while we swam.  It’s amazing to be that close to such beautiful creatures, and it’s something I will always remember.  It was a great way to close out our trip.

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North America United States

San Antonio: Everything’s Bigger in Texas, Except the Alamo

This year’s family trip was to San Antonio!  We timed it to happen over my birthday.  I haven’t celebrated two birthdays in the same place for the last five years, which I’m thinking I might try to keep up.  Makes it a little more exciting.

My parents and I drove down through Amarillo.  Full disclosure, I had only ever been to Texas for a few hours as we drove through El Paso, and my perception of that area was… less than favorable.  So I was excited to actually get the chance to see some of Texas.
Amarillo was small and cute.  We stayed at the edge of town, near The Big Texan Steak Ranch.  For miles, we saw billboard after billboard advertising their 72 oz steak challenge, and even though we laughed at it, it turned out to be the most convenient decent restaurant.
Words cannot fully describe this restaurant.  First of all, they had more hunting trophies than the average taxidermy shop, including a large stuffed bear next to the entryway.  In the lobby, there were arcade-style games, including one of those carnival shooting games where the targets were incredibly realistic skeletons posed in a fake saloon.  As we were led to our table, we saw rows and rows of family-style seating, where fiddlers were asking people for song requests and serenading them.
Midway through our food, there was announcement that two guys had signed up for the 72 oz steak challenge.  The dining room contained a raised platform in the center, with a table that seats six and corresponding digital clocks up on the wall.  The two men sat at the table as the announcer encouraged everyone to come see how much food they had signed up to eat.  The steak covered the plates completely, and they had to finish that along with four sides.  The amount of food still makes my stomach churn when I think about it.  When we left, it was about halfway through the time limit and one of them had nearly finished his plate of meat.
The next morning, we headed to Alibates Flint Quarries.  They had an assortment of arrowheads and information about the Native Americans who had lived in Texas.  It was relatively deserted, as it usually is on a weekday morning at national parks in the middle of nowhere.  After a quick stop there, we headed toward Austin for our next hotel.  We ended up at a very hipster restaurant for dinner, the kind where our waiter went on a lengthy explanation of their farm to table situation.  My favorite anecdote was about the local farm named Animal Farm, intentionally named for the Orwellian novel.  Seems like an odd choice of namesake, personally.
While we sadly did not have time to go into the city and check out downtown Austin, we did go to one of the vineyards in their wine country.  After stopping at Lyndon Johnson’s house and the surrounding national park, we drove out to a winery that had a high ranking on Google reviews.  As it was around 10am on a Tuesday, we were the only people there.  It was awesome.  The guy who worked there explained all about the various types of wine.  One of the coolest parts was that we got to try two variations of a moscato, one that was aged in an oak barrel and the other that was  aged in a stainless steel vineyard, and it was clear that they had developed very distinct tastes with that difference.
After that pleasant morning, we headed down to San Antonio to pick up Grandma and find our hotel.  We stayed on the Riverwalk, which was lovely.  The weather was hot in that lazy summer afternoon way, and we would stroll around and examine the different restaurants along the way.  We ate a lot of food on the Riverwalk as well.  Mexican, BBQ, Italian, an Irish pub… they’ve got a surprisingly wide selection.

 

Beyond the Riverwalk, San Antonio’s primary claim to fame is the Alamo.  I’ll admit, I expected it to be a lot larger… maybe it’s just because all the pictures I saw were taken from the ground, with no other buildings in the frame.
We also went to the missions, which are four ruins of churches maintained by the National Park Service.  They had plenty of information on the Spanish quest to convert everyone to Catholicism, an interesting yet sad period of Texan history.  I must say, Catholics definitely know how to build some magnificent churches, as they were beautiful even in ruin.
It was great to finally see Texas, although my biggest regret would be that we didn’t get to the center of Austin.  It was a fun state to road trip through, since there are lots of small towns on the way down.  All in all, a wonderful way to celebrate my birthday!
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North America United States

Washington DC: Museums and Mimosas

Shortly after Nationals, I left again to go visit my friend Emmy in DC!  She goes to American University, so I could stay with her while I was there.  I arrived in the evening, and after getting to her apartment, we went to bed early so that we were ready for a full day of sightseeing.

I’ve been to DC three times, although all of those times were for mock trial and that meant my sightseeing was pretty limited, since I spent most of the time there in various courtrooms or classrooms in skirt suit as I testified about nitrogen narcosis in scuba divers.  Although the second time I was there, we did end up stuck for an extra night because of inclement weather and took a limo to the White House (or tried to, at least) and a cupcake shop.  Those were some great times, and I was really excited to get a chance to see more of the city.

Thursday started out going to breakfast, and then we headed to the area around the White House.  After taking the classic tourist picture, we headed to a modern art museum, which had a couple amazing rainbow pieces, giant nests, and an alarmingly bright room with bugs on the walls.  Then we headed over to the monuments, and wandered through all the classics.  The Lincoln Monument, the memorials for Vietnam and Korea, the Washington Monument, and others that I don’t know the names of.  Then Emmy had to go to class.  I spent my afternoon at the Spy Museum, which was awesome.  I paid extra for the spy experience, which was basically an escape room, but even more involved.  We got to search an office and run around and hide, and it was fun.  None of us “died” so that’s always good.  I also wandered through a few parts of the Smithsonian museums and met up with one of my friends from Northwestern for dinner afterword.

The next morning, we went to the Capitol for a tour.  I had booked one online, and we got to see the inside, check out where the House of Representatives votes, and see the Library of Congress.  There was some beautiful architecture inside, although the dome was under construction.  We walked through the botanical garden, and then spent the afternoon at the zoo.  Some highlights were the sloth bear, the pandas, the seal that kept coming back to the glass, and hearing a lion roar for the first time, which was frankly alarming.

On Saturday, we started our day at the Holocaust Museum, which I had wanted to see for a long time.  After going to Auschwitz (x) back during study abroad, I’ve found myself fascinated by the topic.  There was a section on the Cambodian genocide in the basement, which was interesting.  The main exhibit on the Holocaust was packed with people, but it was definitely worthwhile.  They had videos, and all kinds of old news stories and propaganda.  There was an original railway car that was once used for transport into the death camps, and a cast of one of the walls from the synagogue that I saw in the Jewish quarter of Krakow.  There were even some of the shoes from victims.  In the bookshop, there was a Holocaust survivor selling her memoir, so we got a photo with her and bought her book.

After that rather depressing visit, we went to brunch.  The place Emmy wanted to go was closed or something so we ended up finding a tapas place with some strong bottomless sangria.  After a lot of drinks, we went to a modern art museum, which is even better inebriated.  Then we headed to Arlington to meet Emmy’s boyfriend for dinner.

The next morning, we went to another brunch and got cupcakes afterward, and walked around a little more.  It was so lovely to see Emmy again, and I loved DC.  The humidity would probably be a challenge for me, but otherwise I’d definitely love to live there.

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North America United States

Christmas Decorations in NYC

We went to a tournament at Yale for mock trial.  Since it’s outrageously expensive to fly in and out of New Haven, we flew to LaGuardia and took a train up, but a few of us took an early flight and spent a full day in New York.  I met up with my friend Laurel, who’s living in Brooklyn and working in publishing right now.

We walked around and saw all the touristy sites, like Times Square and the Empire State building.  We went to a cute little café, and I saw where Laurel worked.  A lot of it was just time we spent walking the streets of New York and catching up, since it was a while since I had seen her.  We went in the M&M store, and she pointed out all the theaters where musicals were currently performing, and I saw all of the places that I’ve always heard about in the city.

We also went to Rockefeller Square, which was cool because of the show 30 Rock (which, if you still have not managed to see it, you definitely should because it’s awesome).  Of course, it was also cool because everything was decked out for Christmas, and I got to see the giant tree that they put up, and the skating rink.  We went back at night, and even though the square was super crowded, it was worth it to see it all lit up.

Other places that I saw: Wall Street, the giant bull statue, the Statue of Liberty, the Waldorf Astoria hotel, and probably lots of other cool things I’m forgetting because I don’t know Manhattan that well.

We also walked part of the way across the Brooklyn Bridge, which had some amazing views of the skyline.  I always love seeing a city over water, because I feel like that’s the most beautiful version of a city.  Maybe that’s just something I got from Chicago and Lake Michigan.  Regardless, the views from the bridge were pretty stunning.

The night ended when I had to go meet up with my team to go to New Haven, so we headed to Grand Central Station.  To be honest, I’ve watched enough rom coms that I full expected some kind of flash mob / dramatic proposal / scene out of a movie to occur, but we just boarded a train as we normally would.  It was nice to see a little of Laurel’s life, and I’m hoping I can go back and visit again!  While I’ve never had a particular desire to live in New York, their arts scene is unparalleled and I still need to go see shows there at some point.