Jessica Lee .ca

We are back!

We got back to Calgary tonight.

Until next time, here are some snapshots of NYC in the past a few days:

NYC - Day 7

Tomorrow will be a travel day - going back to Calgary.

We wanted to see another show tonight. So, I went online (www.broadwaybox.com) and searched for a good deal on any shows. We bought Spamalot at a very good price there. After I purchased the tickets online, we went downstairs to Olives for lunch. We had the set lunch menu. Then we went to Metropolitan Museum of Art. We had lunch in the museum as suggested by Christine.

It's my second favourite museum in NYC - it had Super Heroes Fashion and Fantasy, Jeff Koon's "balloon dog" on the roof (where you get to see the view of the city and central park), photography and many other cool items. We were there until they were closed.

Later, because it was so hot and it was rush hour, we took a cab (instead of subway) to Broadway. We walked around Times Square and had dinner at Juniors (right beside the theatre) before the show.

Spamalot was very funny as expected and as all the reviews I've read!

NYC - Day 6

We had lunch at Olive since we slept in, we know they have good food and I was too hungry to wait any longer.

After lunch, we went to American Museum of Natural History. It's a very nice museum but it's not as cool as in the movie - The Night at the Museum. ;-) We spent the whole afternoon there. I even got to take a photo with "gum-gum".

We went to Le Bernardin for dinner - which I booked a month ago! We splurged on this meal - chef's menu with wine pairing. It was a great dining experience and awesome food and wine! We are very pleased that we went with the wine paring option.

NYC - Day 5

We didn't really have any set agenda today. It's a very special day - CoCo would have been 15 years old today... we still miss him.

We attended "Impulse Purchase Paradise" - pet industry seminar in the morning. Then, we took subway to Little Italy (had lunch there).

Afterwards, we walked around China town, Wall Street, Battery Park, Ground Zero, and checked out Century 21 (we didn't like it - it was too messy there) and Grand Central Station (we enjoyed watching the travellers while having a drink at Metrazur).

After the drink, we decided to walk to Broadway and hoped getting into a show. We bought the last-minute Legally Blonde the Musical tickets (the show was starting as we bought the tickets) at an attractive discount price. :-D After the show, we shopped around Times Square - so busy even on Sunday night.

NYC - Day 4 Pet Fashion Show!

Today was VERY interesting!

Chris and I walked to the Pet Fashion Week's trade show in the morning. Christine slept in so she missed the trade show. We met her for lunch at Jean-Georges in the Trump International Hotel and Tower - near the Columbus Circle. We all had the "Tastes of Summer" lunch menu - which was only $28/per person - what a great deal for a gourmet lunch! After a happy meal, we browsed around the mall at Columbus Circle. I bought a pair of Kenneth Cole with Nike air in the heel - they were on sale! Christine and I bought flip flops and then we went for a good walk in Central Park. By the way, Chris spotted a half naked blonde in the park - walking around offering photo opportunities for the tourists. No, we didn't take any photos with her. ;-)

After a long walk in the Central Park, we had some snacks (something like iced tea and pastry) at Le Pain Quotidien (near the Central Park) before we went to the Pet Fashion Week's runway show - we've waited for it since May!

Some photos of the Pet Fashion runway show:

After the Pet Fashion runway show, we hopped onto Christine's car and drove to the East Village for some take-out takoyaki before bedtime.

NYC - Day 3

We did a LOT of walking today. We walked from Union Square to Greenwich Village and to SOHO. We checked out a few shops and bought a couple of new dresses. And some gifts for our friends. We had lunch in a small neighbourhood restaurant in SOHO near Anna Sui and Apple store. After lunch, we walked around SOHO and slowly headed back to the hotel because we planned to be at Empire State building by 6:30pm or so to watch sunset.

After we dropped off the stuff at the hotel, we still had some time before the Empire State building. I really wanted to check out Balenciaga NYC. So, Chris figured how to get there and then we walked there - it is in the Chelsea/Meatpacking district - that walk was longer than I expected! The store is in the warehouse area and the display set up is like an art gallery. After a lot of thinking... (Chris laughs) I bought a Anthracite 2008 Weekender! Kim (SA) was nice just like everyone else said on the Purseblog forum. :-)

After shopping, we took a cab and headed to the Empire State building. Diana met us there in the lobby and took us up - bypassed the 1-2 hour line up like a VIP! We were on the top of NYC within 10 minutes! (Thanks again Diana!!!) We spent almost two hours or so on the top - watching the sunset and enjoying the night view of the city.

We took the subway "home" and had dinner at Olive (inside the W Hotel). We picked Chef's menu which you just tell them if you are allergic to anything at all. They brought us good surprises. :-) We finished dinner late - around 11pm or something like that. It was a very good meal and we were very glad that we were just downstairs from our room.

NYC - Day 2

We slept in this morning - first time since... I don't remember when. :-) I made a reservation at MOMA The Modern's dinning room for lunch at 12:30pm. We had the "three courses and dessert" set menu. Two of us had:
* Cannelloni filled with Fresh Herbs and Artichoke
* Blue Fin Tuna Carpaccio with Red Finger Chili
* Black Sea Bass with Lima and Cranberry Beans, Parsley and New Garlic
* Monkfish Roasted with Pancetta, Tomato and Savory Herb
* Honey Lacquered Pork Belly with Onion Confit and Ginger, Pea Puree
* Lamb T-Bone dusted with Cumin Seed, Fondue of Onion, Date and Black Olive
* Strawberry Macaron, Almond Mousseline, Strawberry Sorbet
* Chocolate Tart, Chocolate "Cremeux" and Sorbet
and freshly brewed coffee to go with the dessert. We were there until about 2:30pm. The restaurant is beside MOMA (dinning room looks out to the museum's court yard).

We spent the rest of the afternoon in MOMA - it's my favourite museum in NYC because it's full of practical and usable art!

We skipped dinner since we were still full from the big lunch. We went to see Lion King at Minskoff theatre at 8pm. I booked the tickets a couple of months ago for the best seats in the house. This is, by far, my favourite musical! The music, the costume, the set, everything is just wonderful!!! Another special thing about it is that Chris and I went to see Lion King the movie as our first date in 1994. :-)

After the show, we took Diana's advice and went to the View lounge - a revolving restaurant where we could see the Times Square night view. We took a cab "home" afterwards.

NYC - Day 1

We left Calgary this morning. Christine picked us up at Newark around 5:45pm (flight delayed for an hour or so). She took us to Madangsui - a Korean restaurant in NJ. We had the BEST raw beef ever there! We've had raw beef before - Italian style, Japanese style and Korean style but all were thin sliced like sashimi. Madangsui cut it like thin short noodles and marinated it with the best sesame oil dressing. Their stewed rib was so tender and yummy too! I think it's one of the best tasting Korean food I've ever had so far!

After dinner, she took us to a park by the river in NJ, so we got to see the night view of Manhattan.

Then, she drove us by Time Square and dropped us off at W Hotel Union Square - our "home" for the next 7 days.

Cute Amelie

Amelie.jpg
Originally uploaded by malteserus

Sonia, Philippe and Amelie visited us this weekend from Vancouver. Besides the fabulous Luau BBQ party we had, I took some photos of Amelie with the new strobe lights I got last week.

Amelie is so cute!

So funny because it's so true! :-D

White pedi-work

White pedi-work
Originally uploaded by malteserus

It's a "fresh" look - nice try... But, I feel like I'm wearing white-out!

Tom Petty - "Free Falling"

During the song "Free Falling" cigarette lighters and mobile phones illuminated the concert.

Here's a link to the song on YouTube.

Tom Petty's concern was great but I really hate the pot-smoking people behind us.

Vosges Chocolate - Mo's Bacon Bar

Vosges Chocolate - Mo's Bacon Bar
Originally uploaded by malteserus

I love Vosges chocolates. I buy it every time when I'm in Las Vegas or I'd get my friend to bring it back from Vegas. :-)  This time, I got Jen P. to bring this new chocolate back from Vegas.

This bacon bar is very yummy! It'd be perfect for breakfast with pancakes!