Tag: traveling

Shopping, Photography, and Unicorns

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"Photography Class" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO1000
 “Photography Class” New York City, 2018

こんばんは。Today was yet another long but fun day. Actually, we didn’t have anything on the schedule that required us to be at a certain place at a certain time, so it was a nice, stress-free day.

We started late with a breakfast burrito and coffee at Dog Haus…

"Macbook" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/210 sec, ISO400
 “Macbook” New York City, 2018
"Breakfast Burrito" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/150 sec, ISO400
 “Breakfast Burrito” New York City, 2018

… then took the subway…

"Subway Entrance" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/120 sec, ISO400
 “Subway Entrance” New York City, 2018

… and started our shopping at the MoMA Design Store. I bought a couple gifts, but I also found a rain-jacket on sale. It’s been rainy and I’ve seen so many people with their waterproof jackets so I thought it would be a good idea to get one too.

Our next stop was Uniqlo where they had some better rain-jackets and I was about to buy one but then I checked the weather forecast, and the rainy week doesn’t look as bad as it did earlier. So, not only didn’t I buy the Uniqlo jacket, but I returned the MoMA jacket as well. Since I live in Texas, I probably won’t need a rain jacket anyways.

"Warhol Skateboards" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec, ISO500
 “Warhol Skateboards” New York City, 2018

Next up was the International Center of Photography Museum, which had a Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit and an Elliot Erwitt exhibit. I thought both were great! They are two pillars of photography so to see collections of both of their works in one afternoon was fantastic.

In fact, I was so inspired by what I saw that I had to shoot a few more black and white photos today. 😀

"Coney Island Bound" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec, ISO6400
 “Coney Island Bound” New York City, 2018
"Grand Street Station" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec, ISO640
 “Grand Street Station” New York City, 2018

Next, we went across the street to the New Museum to check out their contemporary art exhibits. Both Bay and I weren’t too impressed with the art on display, however. The installations were too experimental and not relatable, at least for us. I prefer traditional paintings over installations and mixed media works. Most of the art we saw today showed no indication of craft or skill, which really turns me off.

After that, we decided to check out the New York City Public Library. It was pretty cool to see, but it’s not really a place to browse the stacks. The librarian I talked to said that most of the books are not in the stacks but in the vaults, so patrons will request books and they will be brought to them for their research.

Still, there was a free exhibit highlighting the culture of the 60s in America which was an interesting mix of art and history.

"Library" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/280 sec, ISO200
 “Library” New York City, 2018
"Time to Study" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/60 sec, ISO1600
 “Time to Study” New York City, 2018

After a quick ramen/udon dinner, we stopped by the Apple Store in Grand Central Station where Bay got to play with the Macbook Pro he wants to get. While he was doing that, I occupied myself with taking some long exposure photos of the crowds on the main floor. It was a lot of fun!

"Rush Hour" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/11, 2 sec, ISO3200
 “Rush Hour” New York City, 2018

And to end our day, we walked a couple blocks from our Airbnb to Taiyaki NYC to get some ice cream and taiyaki. The most popular menu item is the Unicorn, so of course I had to try that. It was yummy! A great way to end another fun day in New York City. 🦄🍦

"Unicorn Taiyaki" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/100 sec, ISO1250
 “Unicorn Taiyaki” New York City, 2018

I hope you had a nice Wednesday!

おやすみ



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University Road Trip, Part 2

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"Campus Tour" Yale, New Haven, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/420 sec, ISO400
 “Campus Tour” Yale, New Haven, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today was another long day, starting in Ithaca and ending in Lower Manhattan, with the main stop in New Haven, Connecticut to visit Yale University. (Our first time in the state of Connecticut!) The 5-hour drive from Ithaca started off rainy but turned sunny and it was pretty nice, with plenty of interesting scenery, wide rivers, tree-covered mountains, and cute towns. But, it was super-long and pretty tiring.

We timed the drive well and reached New Haven and the Yale campus just in time for the campus tour at 2 pm. We were impressed with the University and the town, a lot more than Cornell/Ithaca. The campus seemed more tight-knit and cohesive, and the architecture was really cool. Reminded us of Hogwarts!

After the tour, we grabbed some food (I only had coffee, and Bay had only eaten some yogurt earlier). The tour guide recommended pizza, something New Haven is apparently known for, but the place he told us to go to wasn’t yet open for the dinner crowd. So we went to Yorkside Pizza, which turned out to be pretty good! Bay’s pizza was yummy, my sausage hoagie was huge (and just a half-order!), and the basket of fries was enough for four people. We were stuffed!

"Late Lunch" New Haven, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/17 sec, ISO3200
 “Late Lunch” New Haven, 2018

After the late lunch, it was time to hit the road again for a 1.5-hour drive back to Queens to drop off the car. Everything went without a hitch and we were left to find our way to lower Manhattan and our next Airbnb. It was a little bit of a trek to the station from the car rental facility, but luckily it was a single express train and we got to sit down all the way there. Whew!!!

After settling in at our apartment, we went to Muji for a bit of shopping where I bought some notebooks, sticky notes, and snacks. As you can see from the photo below, I used the SoHo stamp at the store to customize my notebook. I think it’s cool!

"SoHo Stamped" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.5, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 “SoHo Stamped” New York City, 2018

After that long day, it’s time for rest. おやすみなさい！



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University Road Trip, Part 1

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"Campus Tour" Cornell University, Ithaca, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/75 sec, ISO3200
 “Campus Tour” Cornell University, Ithaca, 2018

こんばんは。

Today was the first day of our road trip to check out a couple of Ivy League schools: Cornell University and Yale University.

If you don’t know, Cornell is located in the town of Ithaca which is five hours from New York City by car. Since we had a 3:30 pm tour reserved, that meant we needed to hit the road by about 10 am, which sounds like a relaxing morning, but car rentals from near our Airbnb are expensive so we rented one from La Guardia airport (at the recommendation of our Airbnb host). What that translated into was a 7:30 am checkout from the Airbnb, a Lyft to the airport, then the shuttle bus to the actual rental car depot. Luckily that all went relatively smoothly and we were on the road (after first getting into the wrong car doh!) by 9:30 am. 🚗

The drive was interesting, first leaving Queens and getting a taste of the New York City traffic and soon we crossed the Hudson and were in New Jersey! Woohoo, the second new state of the trip for Bay, and first for me. And in an hour or two, we passed into Pennsylvania, where we made a coffee and breakfast stop in the lovely town of Stroudsburg. A mix of highway and country road driving finally led us to Ithaca and the Cornell campus where we were greeted with more grey skies and rain.

The tour was filled with a lot of general information about campus life, the various schools, and history and trivia, but we weren’t impressed with the campus itself. All the buildings seemed to be placed haphazardly and the architectural style was all over the place. It was really disjointed. Cornell might have the #1 Architecture program in the country (Bay’s desired major is Architecture), but the campus itself was meh.

"Old Building" Cornell University, Ithaca, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/125 sec, ISO400
 “Old Building” Cornell University, Ithaca, 2018
"Natural Setting" Cornell University, Ithaca, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/140 sec, ISO400
 “Natural Setting” Cornell University, Ithaca, 2018

After the tour, we ventured into the town for a bite to eat and found a taco place named Gorgers. They were actually closing early but we managed to get in and ended up seriously gorging on Sriracha nachos (mine) and a burrito bowl (Bay’s). It was pretty good!

"Burrito Bowl" Ithaca, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/50 sec, ISO3200
 “Burrito Bowl” Ithaca, 2018

We ended the day at the Rodeway Inn, just outside of town. It was actually very impressive for a budget hotel… the room was huge, bed was king, and there was baseball on the tv! Also, a hot breakfast of eggs, sausage, etc is included.

I hope you also had a nice Monday!

またね～



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NYC Cruise and a Broadway Show

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"Lower Manhattan" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/2400 sec, ISO400
 “Lower Manhattan” New York City, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today was a relatively light activity day, but we still had some great highlights to share. But first, we visited Harlem Shake again, this time for breakfast. I couldn’t resist getting a cheeseburger (breakfast of champions) but Bay ordered a yummy breakfast combo. After that, it was a subway ride downtown to catch a boat cruise.

"Breakfast" Harlem, New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/1250 sec, ISO200
 “Breakfast” Harlem, New York City, 2018

We were originally planning on taking the 1-hour “Lady Liberty” boat tour, but opted to go for the 2+ hour “Sights of New York City” tour from Circle Line Cruises which goes around Manhattan island. The weather was iffy, with storm clouds and rain in the forecast, but we got lucky and there was only one downpour, which we spotted 2 minutes ahead of us so we dipped to the inner part of the observation deck. 🚢

"Best of NYC Boat Tour" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/850 sec, ISO400
 “Best of NYC Boat Tour” New York City, 2018

The tour was filled with a ton of interesting information, including the airline water-landing on the Hudson, explanations of the different docks and buildings all along the shores of Manhattan, New Jersey, Long Island, etc. The views were amazing from the water… it looked like the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan shot straight out of the water. Very cool. It was also pretty awesome to see the Statue of Liberty. 🗽 I felt a bit of patriotism stirring deep inside me… especially thinking of my own family’s immigration history and the current political climate, which is uncertain and upsetting.

"Statue of Liberty" New York Harbor, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/1600 sec, ISO200
 “Statue of Liberty” New York Harbor, 2018

After the tour (from which I received a little sunburn), we walked to Times Square and had a look around and did a little window shopping and people-watching.

"Signage" Times Square, New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/90 sec, ISO400
 “Signage” Times Square, New York City, 2018

We ate dinner at Cielo at the Mayfair which was literally right next to our other “event” of the day: The Book of Mormon musical at the Eugene O’Neill Theater. This was the first time for both Bay and I too see a musical, and to see it on Broadway was amazing. The Book of Mormon was hilarious and fun 🤣… and the ticket prices weren’t too expensive since it is an older show. Highly recommended! 👍

"Broadway Show" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/13 sec, ISO800
 “Broadway Show” New York City, 2018

After the show, we made our way to the subway station and back to our Airbnb in Harlem. Tomorrow will be another long day (driving up to Ithaca!) so it’s time for some rest. 😴

おやすみ！



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Fried Chicken, Museums, and Pizza

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"The Guggenheim" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/2 sec, ISO200
 “The Guggenheim” New York City, 2018

こんばんは。How’s it going?

Today began with a visit to the famous “Sylvia’s” for some fried chicken. Since it was breakfast time, I got it with a couple eggs, while Bay ordered his chicken with collard greens and mashed potatoes. I’m not a huge fan of the greens but Bay almost finished his whole serving. Impressive! The fried chicken was pretty good, but I definitely prefer Japanese karaage.

"Fried Chicken and Eggs" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/90 sec, ISO3200
 “Fried Chicken and Eggs” New York City, 2018

After that, we took the subway to another heavyweight of the New York City museum scene: The American Museum of Natural History. This is such a huge museum (like The Met), with so many things to see that it can be overwhelming. We started with the space movie and learned about dark matter and the expanding universe then moved on to the animal exhibits. Some of those were amazing, especially the big cats. We’re so used to our little housecats that seeing a full-size tiger is stunning!

Next, it was on to the human civilizations, from early man all the way to the present day. And in a complete about-face, we went to prehistoric times and viewed the dinosaur exhibits. Talk about huge creatures! The giant sloth bones were particularly impressive and monster-like.

But just when we thought we had seen some large creatures, we saw the largest of all, the Blue Whale dominating the Ocean Life room.

"Ocean Life" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/20 sec, ISO3200
 “Ocean Life” New York City, 2018

This iconic museum is a must-see, but the facilities are definitely showing their age. The lighting in the older sections of the museum is really dim and some of the light bulbs were burnt out in a few of the exhibits. Not good! Still, we’re happy to have visited.

"Central Park" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/9, 1/900 sec, ISO400
 “Central Park” New York City, 2018

I think we were ready to see some art at that point, so we trekked it across Central Park to the Guggenheim to see the Giacometti exhibit. It was great to see his sculptures, but honestly, there were so many that looked very similar that it was difficult to understand the significance of one work vs another.

When we left the Guggenheim, we were getting hungry so we found a little place called Marinara Pizza and ordered up a few slices. I went with two plain cheese slices, while Bay got a Buffalo chicken slice and a Margherita slice. He wasn’t too fond of his, but I thought mine were great… a real taste of New York City!

"Two Plain Slices" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec, ISO1600
 “Two Plain Slices” New York City, 2018

We were close to the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum so we decided to check it out before it closed. We were impressed with how cool it was! Lots of really neat retro industrial and product designs were on display, plus some cutting-edge accessibility and mobility designs were shown. Upstairs the exhibits were more interactive, involving all senses (except taste). Bay and I had a lot of fun in the museum, and we recommend it. A bonus was that when we visited, admission was by donation.

A cool thing at this museum is that they give you an electronic “pen” that you use to scan different exhibits that interest you. This saves the information to your own personalized webpage, so you can view the designs later on a computer by typing in the code that is on your admission ticket. Here are my saved exhibits: qxjys. Really convenient!

"Cool Designs" New York City, 2018
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/80 sec, ISO400
 “Cool Designs” New York City, 2018

We stayed until the museum closed and when we went outside, the rain had started, so we made our way to the subway and back home. Another fun day!　I am exhausted, but satisfied. And I am keeping up with my 17-year-old son just fine so far. I actually started running again in preparation for this trip and I think it’s paying off. 😀

おやすみ！



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