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5 - 8 January : New York State of Mind

My Early Birthday in NYC

Trippin.'
This is our 2nd time in NYC and we were thrilled to be there during the holidays to celebrate my early birthday. We've got a jammed pack weekend filled with all things NYC and most importantly.. all things food! Banana nut donuts at Balthazar, Margherita pizza at Lombardi's and desserts at Chickalicious.

Taste a little bit of everything
We booked a great food tour with Foods of NY Tours, our very first ever, and it was the best and most unique tour we've done thus far-- and fulfilling. The tour took us in and around Greenwich Village sampling tasty morsels at 8 or so different restaurants, bakeries, etc. They also managed to squeeze in some culture and history from the area and we even go to see the "Friends" apartment building.
Foods of New York Tours, tel: 212 209 3370

The weekend was filled with touristy fun-- ice skating in Central Park, shopping in Soho, watching Wicked, visiting the Central Park Zoo, eating Juniors Cheesecake at Grand Central Terminal and much much more. One memorable moment was Gerard spending a great deal of time looking for one particular Halal cart among the millions scattered throughout New York City. When it comes to food, he will stop at nothing, especially if it is highly recommended on Yelp. What can I say.. another fantastic birthday for the books.

Sleeping: Intercontinental. Right on 48th-- every shopaholic's dream within walking distance.
Eating: Seek out the Halal cart at 53rd & 6th.
Activity: Could not have ask for a better city for a walking food tour. Try it.

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23 - 25 June : London Surprise

Final Days in Europe

Trippin'.
Back in London-- third- most expensive city after Tokyo and Osaka-- boy do we know how to pick them or what. After our debacle of a rat hole stay 3 weeks prior, we were determined and prepared to pay for a more decent and memorable stay in London. In London, where hotel rooms under $250 a night are scarce to none, imagine our surprised when we came across The Tower on Expedia for $150 a night. At $150 a night, we weren't expecting much; just better than the first time around. Color us confused when we came upon a 4 star hotel overlooking the London Bridge. We certainly didn't pay enough for this hotel, we thought, the entire time we were in line to check in. While others were in business suits and formal attire, we embarrassingly donned our crummy clothes and backpacker's backpacks. As out of place as we felt, we were assured we were in the right place. Jackpot! And while we respectfully declined the $50 room upgrade, we got one anyway! Whether it was out of courtesy or technical error, we weren't complaining about the upgrade-- St. Katherine's Suite!

Check out the ice cream truck we came across while roaming London. "Mind That Child!" Love the on- the- curbside parking.

Tip-- Make sure to "Look Right" when crossing the streets.

Once checked- in, we had dinner reservations at Cafe Spice Namaste-- a contemporary Indian restaurant near the hotel. Indian food in London is about 10 notches hotter than back in the States, but sOoo good! We had to ask for a side of yogurt just to cool down our palettes.

The next day, Buckingham Palace was first on the agenda, particularly because at around 11am, it's a huge spectacle to see the Changing of the Guards. After all the touristy mayhem and the hopes of getting a glimpse of the Royal family, with no luck, we proceeded to Harrods. Not your typical department store indeed. A must to be seen and experience. After Harrods, we strolled over to Hyde Park for an afternoon walk. There was a live concert going on but we didn't have access to the concert premises so we just walked along the walls and listened. It's our last day in London so we made sure we got our souvenir shopping in before we left.

The last 3 weeks has been an experience neither of us will ever forget. A few mishaps along the way but, nonetheless, Europe has treated us well and we'll definitely be back very soon. (slated for Oct 2009)

Sleeping: The Tower. Could not have ask for a better view-- The London Bridge.
Eating: The Georgian Restaurant (at Harrods), 87- 135 Brompton Rd. 4th floor, 020-7225-6800, an endless buffet of tasty morsels of delectable goodness!
Attraction & Destination Checklist:
Buckingham Palace
Harrods
Hyde Park
Tower of London
London Bridge

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21 - 23 June : Fete de la Musique

Free Music is Great Music

Trippin'.
Every trip to Paris, by car, plane or train, the ritual is the same: purchase a metro pass and head straight for the hotel to stash our luggage before heading back out into the streets of Paris in search of a grec stand, where I order, without flinch, un grec avec frites (a gyros stuffed with fries). Simple enough; nothing utterly worldly or new. I'm not even sure it's entirely French, let alone Parisian. And yet, the feeling is instant total gratification the moment it's all wrapped up and nestled between the palm of my hands.

So this trip was no different. We checked in, dressed and headed out towards the Pompidou area for some lunch and shopping at a 3- story H&M in Les Halles. We both bought new sweaters and wore them out into the cold city.

For the rest of the day, we wandered the streets of Paris hitting up tourist landmarks such as Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower. We also took a boat tour down the Seine which highlighted all major landmarks as well. It was a bit slow but a different way to see the sites. While in the Latin Quarter, we shared a crepe snack before continuing. On our way back to the hotel, we stumbled upon a small patisserie shop selling miniature bite size pastries. We couldn't choose just one, so we bought a little bit of everything-- heaven!

Oddly enough, as the day went on, we kept running into live music bands playing all over the city. It's Fete de la Musique-- a lively street music festival held every year on June 21st! And guess what day it was? Lucky us. It lasted into the late hours of the night. While hanging out in St. Germain Des Pres, we stumbled right into a live jam fest that felt like an outdoor club-- loud music and dancing drunken Parisians-- so fun!

Next morning we hit up the Louvre. Lucky for us. No lines! And while the Mona Lisa will remain supreme, there is a new hype in town-- the inverted pyramid made famous by Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. After the Louvre, we hit up the Arc de Triomphe as well the Luxembourg Gardens. Since it's towards the end of our trip, we decided to splurge on dinner at Buddha Bar. My martini alone was 30+ euros. That's euros!

Sleeping: Hotel Plessis. Not the best two star in Paris; there are hundreds to choose from in any Arrondissements.
Eating: Another Parisian classic-- une crepe au sucre (a crepe with sugar). Sometimes, less is more.
Attraction & Destination Checklist:
Arc de Triomphe
Eiffel Tower
The Louvre
Notre Dame Cathedral
Luxembourg Gardens

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