Hanging out with Lady Liberty

Sooo one thing I have never done as a tourist in NYC is visit the Statue of Liberty. And I have done many touristy things. When they opened up the crown to the public again, I had to do it. You have to get tickets months ahead of time because they only allow a certain number of people into the crown every day so it’s the first thing I checked when Miss Michelle booked her tickets here.

When we first walked up to go through security (for the second time) to go through the crown, we showed the guy our tickets and he goes, “You have crown tickets!” It felt like we had golden tickets to the Willy Wonka chocolate factory. Except not. We did have tickets that allowed us to climb a bajillion narrow stars though. That was crazy! They were twisted so hard I was literally leaning against the stairs while walking up then. A little freaky deaky. But as you can see from the above photo, we made it. And the crown is tiny! There’s room for maybe six people to stand up there at a time. And you can hear the wind blowing all around and look outside and see the bottom of the torch to your right and it’s just crazy crazy! Also, the stairs on the way down – scarier! I kept thinking I was going to slip!

The best thing though, was going in the winter. A great idea. Especially because this particular day was a clear day but even more especially because it felt like there was barely anyone there on the island! We had so much room to take pictures and walk around on all the different levels outside and there was like NOBODY there. So that was awesome. We were very glad we did this. Maybe one day I’ll go to Ellis Island too, but we had a lunch date we couldn’t miss so we may be saving that for next time.

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Goodbye Prague: Kavarna Slavia

Goodbye, Prague! So… four our last dinner we wanted something delicious and goood so a fellow traveler in our hostel suggested Kavarna Slavia. So thank you, strange traveling man! We called him “O.G.” for “Old Guy.” He didn’t know that though.

So Kavarna Slavia was the isssh. It was cute and there was an old man playing piano in a suit and the food was AMAZING! Say hello to my mushroom goulash!

Does that look gross? I don’t care! It was amazing! But Nora’s dish was actually the best. EVA!

She had farm-stewed chicken with paprika sauce, gnocchi, sour cream and lemon. Oh MA Goodness. We all tried it and we all agreed it was the best. So if you go, get this. Man I wish I was there right now.

Here is Nora about to go to town:

Get it, girl.

And here is when I talk about desserts again. They had a whole ice cream menu with crazy sundaes but D said it was stupid for me to get a sundae so we went for the more traditional Czech desserts instead: pancakes.

D’s was just okay. Mine had ice cream on it. I would have rather had ice cream by itself. But oh wellie! I love Kavarna Slavia. I love Prague, too.

We took a stroll over the Charles Bridge one last time.

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Prague is Pretty (part 2)

I am sorry for being so ridiculous to STILL be posting pictures from my latest trip to Europe. Already feels like ages ago but after this post, there is one goody left (a delicious one, at that) and then it is back to the normal City Mitten. But what can I say? Traveling is too fun. But seriously this already feels like it was ages ago. Guess I should look at some more flights (oh wait, I spent all my money…)

Btw, I was the Map Girl in Prague. Basically I think I’ve got a pretty good sense of direction these days. Also you should know that being the Map Girl translates into D calling you “bossy” because you’re always, duh, telling everybody where to go. It’s true, I like to make decisions and some people (not mentioning names, of course) never made suggestions and never “knew what there was to do” so I laid out the options and we picked. So that’s what’s up. And I’m not going to lie, every time he called me bossy (because he knew it was making me mad) a certain Lindsay Lohan jam came to mind and I went with it. I like Lindsay Lohan.

Moving on…

And this is the “Dancing House” by Frank Gehry. My little sister’s favorite building… which is also a segway to the fact that it was my big sister’s birthday yesterday. Happy Birthday, Emily!

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Prague: Tourists

And now we turn a new page in the book of City Mitten: Travels! Welcome to Prague! We took the train from Munich and it was about 6-7 hours. It was a gorgeous ride with farmlands and small towns passing by.

One thing you should know is right before we got on the train at the station in Munich, we bought a teeny tiny sandwich that was just bread, butter and turkey or something for Nora and I to share. Well we should have bought twelve of them because it was the best sandwich we have ever had. We kept talking about it and D kept making fun of us. Oh that random sandwich, I hope to have you again one day.

This is our room from Sir Toby’s in Prague. Um… my sister recommended this hostel and I am so glad she did because it was perfect! Not the most central location, but easily accessible by tram and it was SO CUTE! I loved our room and the strangers we shared it with (not really – one was a HUGE snorer and we’d throw things at him occasionally).

This is a picture of Nora and I from a walking tour we did the day after we arrived. It kind of embodies the spirit of our three days there – as you can see we were laughing it up.

This is just so you can see how pretty everything was. Here we were walking on the castle grounds.

And there we are on our tour again. That concludes today’s “Touristy pictures in Prague.” Next up will be some very good Czech eats. Man, I’m hungry.

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Wine Tasting: Charlottesville

The very first picture I posted from the trip to Charlottesville is from when we were driving through Wine Country. Virginia is basically a Wine State. Earlier, when we were on the highway, Lucy made the comment that most highways display signs for the nearest McDonald’s but highways in Virginia display signs for the nearest winery. It’s awesome.

Frist stop: Blenheim Vineyards:

Since she lived in Charlottesville, Lucy’s been to a lot of vineyards, and she was surprised to drive up to this one and see a giant barn. I had never been to a vineyard so I didn’t know any better. But if you look behind the barn at the building that is sort of underground, that is where the wine tasting happens.

This is what wine tasting looks like. Inside these banisters were glass windows and you could see the barrels of wine below. Neat-o. And then the wine tasting began:

Wine tasting at Blenheim was $5 a person for 8 different kinds to try. My favorites ended up being a 2009 Viognier ($19/bottle) and a 2008 Cabernet Franc ($18/bottle). Please ignore my fingerprint on this glass:

As you can see, outside of the winery was dun dun dun… a giant vineyard! A really nice backdrop. And now for a fun fact: The Blenheim Vineyards are owned by the Dave Matthews family. Intervesting. And he designed this label, which apparently he designs a new one every year:

I’m pretty sure I liked that one too. I just like all reds in general, typically, and have yet to develop a more discerning palate. In the mean time, on to the next!

Kluge Winery & Vineyard. The best part was the outdoor garden:

So pretty. So Kluge is a bit more fancy, and the wine tasting was a bit more expensive. They had two different sets you could get, one more expensive than the other. We got one of each to split among us. I think one was $10 and the other was $14? We also got some chicken salad and some cheese. Manchego cheese is my new favorite, which gets me thinking – how do they make cheese? How are there so many different kinds?! I’m clueless. And going to another wine and cheese party on Sunday after church. Moving on.

This is how the wines came. So that was different. You’re supposed to go from right to left and follow along on the list. Apparently they do have traditional wine tasting as well, and I think I like that experience better, when someone pours it in your glass and explains it to you each time. But I did like the setting and being outside.

Here, I could not tell you what my favorite was because honestly, after awhile they all started to blend together to me. I know Susan had a favorite white and that I like wine tasting. The end. Long post today, folks!

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Myrtle Beach, y’all

Hi! This is where I’ve been the last few days. Myrtle Beach, SC. Spent the weekend with nine of the coolest people and it was the perfect break. I don’t seem to have too many pictures, since we spent hours on the beach and I didn’t want to drop my camera in the sand (like somebody…) This picture of the beach was taken from the balcony of the condo. I replaced traffic noise with beach waves.

Proud Papa in his new SC digs, picking out some tunes.

This picture is why it’s fun to let other people use your camera. Thank you, Jeff, for capturing this lovely moment.

Gawking at the crazy fish at Broadway at the Beach. Broadway at the Beach is this strip of touristy shops and restaurants, not to mention the strangest area of bars like Senor Frogs and Fat Tuesday. Half Spring Break Central and half Bachelorette parties. I saw at least five. Also 100% very interesting folks. These people are the SOUTH. The hair, the clothes, the accent, the tribal tattoos (yes). We had a lot of fun putting on fake Southern accents ourselves. It was a different world. Anyway, the fish that live at Broadway at the Beach are disgusting. If you’ve ever been to Cedar Point (America’s Roller Coast), it’s like the fish by the Iron Dragon. If you haven’t been, just know it’s not pretty. But we carry on:

Because we found dinosaurs!

Myrtle Beach 2010! Ha. I’m lucky that I know people who will travel and we can take trips in groups. It’s so much fun. Also, exhausting. I am one sleepy, sleepy bear today. One more Myrtle Beach post for tomorrow, as we went to a seafood buffet. It may or may not be what you imagine. ;)

Happy Monday!

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