Just Another Weekend

Just another weekend wandering the streets, going to flea markets and really, just loving the city.

I caught the NYC Ballet's production of Swan Lake. It was breathtaking, one would never know that men in tights could be so alluring. But noone watches Swan Lake for the men, come on -l-. The ballerinas were so light with such flowing movements, they took my breath away. If i was 10 again, i would want to be a ballerina.

Lincoln Center - where the performance is held









For the slice of life, spotted at a flea market. Cakes for dogs !






Apple farmers with their apples. I have never seen so many varieties of apples before. i bought one of each type to try.




Mushrooms as well ...

Even though i am close to 30, i really do believe in looking for new things or experiencing new events. Be it a new book, a different performance, trying to understand a piece of art. Because, sometimes, i think that the beginning of the end is when you become fully satisfied with life.

A Date with Lady Liberty

On Sept 10, i decided to go visit Lady Liberty. It felt apt that i scheduled my visit so near towards the 10th Anniversary of 9-11, and not on the day itself, just because i didn't want to go through a 2 hour security check.

Battery Park is where everything starts with a ferry to Lady Liberty,


Already, one can see memorials & events to remember 9-11 such as Ribbons of Hope - for the 9-11 anniversary and flags with names of the people who were lost during that horrible event.



Queuing up at my designated timing, it was a nice ride with a scenic view of the city.

First stop was : Statue of Liberty


American Chopper, a popular TV show, had used parts from the Lady of Liberty & made a chopper. This was on display, apparently, all parts are functioning & they use it occasionally for events.


Walking around the island was a bit lonely since I was surrounded by people with family and friends. I quickly made my way inside the Lady. Thanks to booking my tickets in advance, i managed to go inside the podium, unlike the many disappointed people around me. Ha!


Closeup.. she looks like a man ! It has been said that the Lady is modeled after her creator's mother. >.<

'What big feet you have, Grandma"




After touring the museum about the creation of the Lady, i started on the stairs up the pedestal.


On this narrow platform, there was amazing views of the city..

and 'Oops, now i am close enough to look up her skirt!"

One can also look up and see that the Lady is actually made up of sheet iron, hammered into shape & held up by 6 main pillars.



Second Stop: Ellis Island




Ellis Island was the pit stop where the first immigrants arrived to get their health and status assessed before allowing them into America. In present day, the building has been transformed into a mini-museum to remind people of this story. The building itself has been preserved, in fact, the original floors, toilets and bulk of the building remains the same as it was originally used.

The whole trip to the Lady actually took much longer than i expected. I pictured a short 2 hour photo taking trip instead of learning about the history of how the Lady got constructed & the stories about the early immigrants.

By then, i was hungry.

Shake Shack. I have been in New York for about 3 months now and i have not stepped foot in the most popular burger joint in the city. I wanted it TODAY. So making my way from Battery Park to the Financial District, I walked purposefully to my target.

I forgot, in that moment that it was the eve of 9-11. The streets were barricaded. Policeman were guarding blocks around the area. I saw teenagers dragging suitcases, ready to go to the site for a midnight vigil. From a distance, i could see the American flag hung high up on the Financial Center in preparation for the unveiling of the 9-11 memorial the next day. I saw a car that was toiled away for illegal parking among other worries.

For once, New York's most popular burger joint, did not have a queue. I walked in and ordered straight away.

Their famous Shake Burger, cheese fries and their legendary concrete of the day, red velvet. The burger was good. The cheese fries were really filling & yes, topped with REAL melted cheese. This is for you, fellow Singaporeans, the stuff that they serve at GV ain't it. The concrete didn't really melt while it was sitting down there waiting for me to finish my fries and burger. If i were to describe it, everything felt like a Macdonalds meal, but taken to the next level. The next high quality, delicious for grown ups level.

Washington Weekend

I took a bus .. and away i went for a non stop weekend at Washington DC. With just barely 2 days there, i wanted to see all that i could in one of the grandest capitals of the world.




Capitol Hill where the statue of Freedom sits distinctively on top of the rotunda


Just next door, was the Library of Congress and I was pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous interiors of the building.




Museum of Air & Space. I was never a space geek, but being among the relics of space such as space stations, planes that pioneers like Amelia Earhart flew, and the first Wright flyers. I just stood in awe and made me wanted to learn more about them.


National Archives - i was prohibited from taking photos within. But on display was the Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Faded and barely legible under the dim light yet still on display. There was something very powerful & touching about this gesture. In the honor of the 10th anniversary of 911, they displayed side by side, the original scripts for George Bush's address to the Nation during 911 and Obama's speech announcing Osama Bin Laden's death. Poetic.


Explored the Smithsonian Castle gardens..


Admired the beautiful peacock room in the Freer Gallery



Visited the Holocaust Museum - again no photos allowed. It left a very deep impression for me, for these poor people who died during the Holocaust. I felt angry even, that during the onset when Hitler started his propaganda campaign against the Jews, none of the nations stood up to offer them a place of exile from Nazi Germany. May this sort of injustice never happen again.



Ben's Chilli - a DC re-known eatery for having the Obama family & Bill Crosby as its regulars. Half Smoke hotdog + a bowl of chilli. It was yummy, but the atmosphere & spirit of the restaurant just made it quite an experience on its own.



Vietnam memorial ..


White House - had a pretty bad experience of seeing a guard yelling at some Chinese tourists asking him for help to take photos for them. I was tempted to film it down and youtube it. It would definitely cause a national scandal in China. Times when the economy is bad, tourist dollars are important, no?


Martin Luther King memorial which was newly openly recently.


Roosevelt Memorial - it was made up of a series of waterfalls, smoothing brownstones and statues.



There was a Ericsson memorial sponsored by the people of Sweden.


Korea War Memorial.



Lincoln Memorial !!!!!!!!



WWII Memorial


Washington Memorial





Museum of American History - there were pop culture items like Dorothy's red shoes, the first Kermit. There were historic items like Lincoln's top hat, the furniture in which the confederate surrendered. But most importantly was the first American flag ~ It is now too weak and fragile to be ever hung again (or photographed ..damn it!).

Pieces of the flag were given away initially by the family that kept it, now it is proudly preserved within this museum. You can see big pieces missing, but oddly touching all the same; seeing this flag sewn together by housewives and flown in war, cut up in pieces and now admired behind a glass wall.



Hope Diamond ! at the National History Museum



I stopped for my first experience at a American Indian eatery. I had a Grilled Buffalo Strip loin with Saskatoon Berry Butter. It was accompanied by Annatto Spiced Yucca, Chayote Salad, Cashews, Queso Blanco, Yerbeé Mate Vinaigrett. I might be greedy but this was my first time eating buffalo, it was slightly tough and leaner than beef. The yucca tasted similar to a sweet pumpkin or yam. Good stuff !!!

I headed back the next day for Fresno Chili, Coffee Rubbed Pork Loin, Coconut, Vanilla Bean Sauce accompanied by Hominy, Parched Corn Salad, Grilled Wild Leeks, Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette and Stewed Yellow Wax Beans, House Cured Bacon. And of course, i topped it off with a cup of Mexican Spiced Chocolate. Ahhhhhh.... Tell me, with that type of description, wouldn't it make your mouth water as well?

The wax beans tasted like long beans except it was much more tender with less stringy. For the hominy, it tasted like beans, but the lovely part was having some corn kernels in the salad. It gave the salad a special crunch. The pork loin was a bit dry, it reminded me slightly of tandoori.



The American Indian museum was architecturally beautiful with curves and clean lines, earth and water. But the display was rather fragmented across 8 tribes without any seeming similarities. There was a floor about the past, a floor about how they live now and try to maintain their heritage when so much was lost in the past.

:) It was a good trip and i managed to cover most of what i wanted to see. Here's looking forward to more weekend trips all around !