A Reunion With New Orleans: Photo Diary

Way way way overdue but I had to share my photo diary from my reunion with the most magical city in the world. I am so happy to be able to call New Orleans a city that I've lived in.  Going to college here was like a dream. 

 I hadn't been back in SIX years (blasphemy) and it still gave me butterflies in my stomach.  New Orleans, you are like fine wine, only getting better with age.  Until next time. 

 Oh hi, Jackson Square.

WORD.  Camelia Grill.  A can't-miss place.

Jazzfest 2014

  Jazzfest 2014

I really wanted to take these back with me. Unfortunately, I live in a 300 sq feet apartment in Manhattan.  

Gentilly

  

A humid day around the French Quarter.

 Pit stop at Sucre to refuel.  We rented bikes in the French Quarter and rode them all the way Uptown via Magazine Street, with the end goal to eat our crawfish at The Boot, the bar where I wasted most of my spending money.  How I graduated with good grades is a miracle. 

My favorite shop to buy some hot, fresh crawfish: Big Fisherman! I would GLADLY work there.

Hot crawfish, cold Strawberry Abita and the faint smell of cigarette and old beer at The Boot.  I couldn't ask for anything more.  

Other spots I visited while in New Orleans:

Dick and Jenny's. Authentic Cajun food.  A staple of New Orleans and a truly great place that will never disappoint.  The food is spectacular and the vibe is great. The gumbo was insane.

Cochon.  Hip and fairly new restaurant in the Warehouse District.  The food was great but Dick & Jenny's definitely beat it.

Cure.  A swanky cocktail bar in the least swankiest street in New Orleans pre and post Katrina.  Freret Street used to be dangerous but now it has been revived with hipsters, numerous cool restaurants and a bar like this. Yes. Times, they are a-changin.

Shopping at Royal Street. My favorite store to shop New Orleans treasures is at Royal but I can't remember the name! All I know is that is filled with ceramics and has a courtyard. I never forget to go and buy the coolest NOLA gear.

Storyville.  Fresh-pressed t-shirt shop in Magazine Street

A Thai Doll

A real-life doll from the temples of Chiang Mai.  Oh, take me back to Thailand!

Quick Bite: Carb Overload

Just a quick pick-me up for hump day..

Reading Terminal, Philadelphia

A Spanish Colonial Wedding

Last weekend, the first of the nine girls I used to hang out with in college got married.  It was a wonderful reunion, full of laughter, memories and dancing.

 The wedding was elegant and classic, just like the bride.  The decor was mainly white but the room was illuminated with purple and pink lights.  It helped accentuate the breathtaking architecture of the Antiguo Casino de Puerto Rico, where the reception took place. 

A few pics are below for your viewing pleasure.  I didn't have a real camera so the iphone pics will have to suffice.  I am in the market for a small, powerful but fairly affordable camera, so if you have any suggestions please send my way.

My Bond.

The couple's table.

I loved the glass plates with gold trim.  

The intricate walls.

La Vie en Rose.  Que vivan los novios!

JFK to Montreal: Globe de Neige

A few pics from my weekend in Montreal with le boy.  We were lucky that the weather was tolerable considering the weekend before was in the negatives. 

Montreal is gorgeous but pretty hard to explore at 15 degrees.  Just not comfortable walking around;  and I think the Canadians agree with me because some neighborhoods were very quite at night.  Regardless, we had a great time.  It was so nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of NYC.  Nice to get away from the herds of people, taxi honks and work emails.  

One thing is for certain, the food is great.  For me, French cuisine is heavy and rich, which is complemented perfectly by cold weather.  We ate a Au Pied de Cochon, which was a culinary experience all in itself.  The restaurant was lively, which was a nice change from the 10 minute walk in which we literally felt like we were the only two people in the city.  

A must must must is the Boulangerie Mamie Clafoutis.  Two words: pistachio croissants. Unreal. 

A walk through McGill on a white and gray day.

Inside the Cathedral of Notre Dame 

Au Pied de Cochon 

Beer sampling. Why not? 

hmmm, what to pick? (hardest question that day, which makes me grateful)

Heaven.  Flakey heaven. 

NYC vs. LA

vs.

New York...they day we break up will be the saddest of days.

Insta-Thailand

Oh hi.  I'm not sure if it is the jetlag or the fact that I am back in corporate America, but my body feels like it is going through major withdrawals.  Thailand was...heavenly.  It was definitely one of the best trips I have done and probably will ever do.  I visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Koh Phi Phi and Ko Samui in two weeks.  If I add up all of the hours I spent traveling (be it a plane, ferry, wooden boat, tuk tuk, taxi, you name it) it totals up to about 72 hours.  But I don't care.  It was so nice to experience another culture and see how the other side of the world lives.  I'll probably post more pictures of the trip in the future but here are some of the Instagram snaps I took for my Western friends.

 Can I go back now, please?

36 Hours to Bangkok

In a few hours I will embark on my first BIG trip.   I've lived in Europe and traveled there but, other than that, I haven't seen much of the world.  Europe is somewhat familiar because I can relate to the culture and can understand the language of some of the counties.  But on this trip, I know nothing.  For the first time ever, I am going to Asia.  Thailand, to be exact.

As I anxiously await my 36 hr trip to Bangkok (by myself, Lord have mercy), I think about how I've never been to Asia before and how long it has taken me to get there.  I think about how 5 months ago, when I learned about the opportunity, I debated whether to even consider it since I didn't think my work would let me.  Two whole weeks, out.  I haven't had that much time off since 2007!  What was I thinking?  I hardly had enough vacation days to begin with.  If I would have been 23, I would have let the opportunity pass by. But if there is one thing life has taught me is that great opportunities usually come by only once and not acting when you have to leads to a very meaningless, stagnant life.  I've had a lot of the "if only I would: have asked/said yes/push myself/followed up."

In my job, I work with a small team so if one person is gone it's like cutting a limb off.   My co-worker, who is almost my age, is a mother, goes to business school, is a wife AND is pregnant. I look at her life and I just think how different my life is to hers.  My worries, my priorities.  They are worlds apart.  When I told my boss I wanted to go to Thailand, she said there was no way she couldn't say no.  She understood that this was important to me.  "This is your marriage, This is your baby. I get it". Those words stuck with me.  Traveling IS my priority.  It is a big reason for why I work and the top reason for why I save a measly 10% of my salary. The sad thing is that I feel like I am not doing enough of it ever since I joined the "corporate world".  But that is changing.  I was lucky to go with friends on this trip but being alone doesn't scare me. So solo traveling is in the horizon.  I guess my real priority is becoming a better version of myself.  I hear traveling is a great remedy for that.

"You have to keep on moving forward, no matter what. Don't look back, keep moving forward. Pain is temporary, it may last for an hour or a year but eventually it will subside and something else will take its place. Just keep moving forward. Travel is an incredible cure for the pain in life."- The Cool Hunter 

Read his full post here. Feel inspired.

JFK>> LAS VEGAS: First Time Advice

A few pics from a girl's getaway weekend in Vegas.  I think I reached my nightclub quota for life...yeah right. A few pics from the weekend...

Aoki at Hakkasan

Light beaming

Bellagio ceilings

Ladies

The Cosmo Hotel and its gorgeous lobby

Avicci at Marquee. Now THIS is a club.

If there are five key takeaways from Las Vegas, it is this:

1. Ideally go all girls. Single or not.  Girls get into clubs with no problem and get free drinks all night. And no, you are not obligated to return any favors. 

2. Every guy you will meet is from New York.  WHY?!

3.  Pool parties are great but don't go to TAO Beach. It is tiny and pure debauchery. In a bad way.

4.  Do grab a nice dinner. At least once! We did Mon Ami Gabi which was reasonably priced.

5. This is extremely subjective, but if you are going for the club scene I would say go in your 20's/early 30's the most.  The average age hands down was about 24. Was not expecting it.

...And the song that could not get out of my mind after Vegas...

Until next time.