NYC Trip Report: Part 2

Posted on by

We continued our NYC adventures by hitting some of the most recognizable points of interest in the city…

Like the Statue of Liberty!



Heading out to Liberty Island.



I got chills seeing Lady Liberty!



Cap showing you the gorgeous view of Lower Manhattan from Liberty Island.

We paid our respects at the 9/11 Memorial.



The twin reflecting pools stand in the same footprint as the towers. It’s such a sobering experience to visit the memorial. It’s so difficult to imagine the devastation and terror that took place there. I’m glad we took some time to remember.

One thing I HAD to do in NYC is walk the Brooklyn Bridge. Seeing Miranda & Steve meet on the bridge in the Sex and the City movie might have made an impression on me. 🙂



It’s so beautiful. Sadly for us, the bridge was under construction so it wasn’t quite the romantic walk I envisioned. There was aluminum-type scaffolding covering various parts of the bridge, which made it difficult to see the view.



But once we hit the halfway point, there was a fantastic view of Manhattan waiting for us.

For more views of the city, we headed to Rockefeller Center.



Rockefeller Plaza



And up to the Top of the Rock!

Continue reading →

NYC Trip Report: Part 1

Posted on by

Rob & I got back from our NYC/DC trip last week. We had SO MUCH FUN!!! I’m so excited to share our pics with all of you.



But first let me introduce you to Cap who served as our vacation mascot. 🙂 He’s seen here on our flight from LAX to JFK on Virgin America. We took him along in honor of the opening weekend of his movie, The Avengers. Hehe.

It’s been over 20 years since I visited NYC and Rob’s never been so we did almost everything touristy imaginable. And I absolutely fell in love with the city. It’s just so vibrant and alive. Rob and I both agree that we’d love to go back to explore the other neighborhoods we didn’t get a chance to see. The only question is when!

Anyway, in our first couple of days, we managed to knock off quite a few items from our NYC bucket lists.



Visited Grand Central Terminal.

It’s SO beautiful inside. Even more amazing than I imagined. But as soon as I walked in, the first thing I thought of was… “Spotted at Grand Central. Bags in hand. Serena Van Der Woodsen.” LOL.



Please tell me someone else knows what TV show I’m referring to.



Ok ok, it’s a Gossip Girl reference. I kept quoting the show and all Rob could do was roll his eyes at my nerdiness.

Walked all around Midtown and saw iconic NYC buildings like…



The Flatiron Building



The Chrysler Building



New York Public Library – and of course, the famous marble Lions guarding the Fifth Avenue building. We went inside briefly to see the catalog room on the 3rd floor but I didn’t realize the Main Reading Room was open as well. I would have loved to see it in person. Next time!

Headed Uptown to Museum Mile where we saw the Guggenheim…



Stunning! We didn’t go inside because we were saving our museum time for…



The Metropolitan Museum of Art! Here I am sitting on The Met steps just like the girls from Gossip Girl. HAHAHAHAHA. We’re not huge museum people (we have short attention spans, what can I say?) and The Met is enormous so we only hit specific galleries.



I HAD to see their collection of Edgar Degas pieces.

One of my favorite things about NYC is that amidst the “concrete jungle,” there are so many great parks to enjoy. Since we were on our feet so much, we took full advantage of the parks to sit, catch our breath, and relax.



In Madison Square Park, we saw the Shake Shack that started it all.



Look at the crazy line! We waited until the DC leg of our trip to indulge.



Taking a break in Bryant Park.

And of course, Central Park – the most famous NYC park of them all. We spent a few hours traipsing around and ended up getting lost. The paths are rambling and it’s easy to lose your way if you don’t know where you’re going. The weather was phenomenal, though, so it was great to be outside.



We started our Central Park walk at the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir and headed south. The reservoir looked just like the movies! Breathtaking.

Continue reading →

midseason TV

Posted on by

Ugh, so lazy lately. Not that I’ve been super busy. Just nothing particularly noteworthy to blog about.

BUT. I’ve been watching lots of new TV. YAY! So some thoughts…

Scandal
HAHAHA. SO typical that I would watch this show. But I swear I had no idea it was a Shonda Rhimes creation. Until I watched the pilot. The rapid-fire dialogue, cliched phrases (“gladiator in a suit”) and quirky characters are a dead giveaway. And yet. I liked it. I always seem to be drawn to legal/political dramas, though. Interestingly enough, I haven’t warmed up to any of the characters. Not even Olivia (Kerry Washington). Ok, maybe Stephen (Henry Ian Cusick). I WANT to like Harrison (Columbus Short is a cutie) but ugh, he definitely needs to be developed because right now he’s all exposition and no substance. Anyway, what’s kept me around so far are the storylines. I’m intrigued by Olivia’s relationship with the President, his recent alleged affair with an aide (also, why can’t he seem to keep it in his pants? heh), and the firm’s war with the White House. Just the perfect guilty pleasure for me.

Veep
From a political drama to a comedy… I thought the pilot of Veep was solid. Smart. Funny. A hilarious take on the power of the Vice Presidency (or in this case, the lack of power). And oh man, Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s line delivery is classic. My favorite lines –

– “Glasses make me look weak. It’s like a wheelchair for the eyes.”
– “Are you kidding? Do these not bend the fuck back?” – about her melted corn starch spoon
– “Did you just pencil fuck my speech?” HAHAHA

Only 1 episode so far but I have high hopes!

But OMG, maybe it’s just me but seeing Anna Chlumsky makes me REALLY feel my age. I will always remember her as Vada from My Girl (Thomas J!).

Girls
I’m torn. I like the premise of the show but it’s almost too… #first world problems. The girls, especially the lead character Hannah, aren’t likable at all. And actually come across as super entitled. Hannah’s reaction to getting cut off financially by her parents killed me (“I could be a drug addict! Do you realize how lucky you are?”). Argh. So frustrating. But I guess that’s the point. When you’re that young, and just out of college, your view of the world is still pretty narrow. I do like that the show “goes there” and isn’t afraid to cast the characters in an unattractive light. There’s definitely potential here (despite the cringe-worthy sex scenes) and I like the tone and voice of the show enough to continue watching.

Don’t Trust the B in Apt 23
I only tuned in to this show because after YEARS of hating Dawson (and by extension James Van Der Beek), I’m actually coming around. I think it was this Funny or Die video that finally made me separate him from Dawson. Heh. I’m only watching this show for him and it’s been worth it. I especially loved his attempt to out teach James Franco at NYU and his coffee shop act that ended with Dawson’s Creek questions (I want to know the answer to the question about him and Joshua Jackson being drunk during takes). The storylines with the girls are ok — a little over the top (Chloe setting up June with her dad) but entertaining. I do like Krysten Ritter so I’ll stick around at least for the rest of this season.

So that’s it. I’m also looking forward to HBO’s new Aaron Sorkin show, Newsroom. The trailer looks promising.

I’m behind on the rest of my shows… gotta catch up and write a big end of season wrap-up someday.

Any other shows I should be watching? 🙂

vegas quickie

Posted on by

HEHE.

Back in February, Rob & I took a quick 2 night trip to Las Vegas where we spent the entire time eating and shopping. Really. Oh, and gambling for Rob. We scored a great deal at the Wynn by going Sunday through Tuesday. Our trip was right around the time that I was SUPER busy with work and was working late nights and weekends. So even though I ended up working for a few hours while we were there, it was wonderful to get away from “real life.”

Growing up in Southern California, I’ve been to Las Vegas many times. MANY. At LEAST once a year for as long as I can remember. So aside from checking out whatever new hotel has popped up on the Strip, there’s rarely anything I ever have to do while there. Not this time! I wanted to check out a few tourist-y things.



Like the Welcome to Las Vegas sign! Woohoo. In all my trips, I’ve never seen the sign up close before.



Elvis was there. LOL. He kinda reeked of alcohol. But he was really nice.



He even took our picture. 🙂



We also went to the Neon Museum for a tour. They collect and restore iconic Las Vegas neon signs and they offer tours of their Boneyard. Loved this place! It was SO COOL. Some of my favorite signs…



They’re opening a Visitor Center later this year that will include more exhibits and access to Boneyard tours. Next time I want to check out the neon signs at the Fremont Street Gallery.



And of course, we stopped to watch the Bellagio water show one night when walking back to the hotel. It always reminds me of Ocean’s Eleven. The George Clooney version. Hee.

But a Robokel trip wouldn’t be complete without lots of NOMMY food.

Continue reading →

happy hunger games

Posted on by



Ever since I saw The Hunger Games last weekend, it’s been on my mind. Seeing the movie rekindled my love for the book. Maybe it’s time for a re-read.

It definitely wasn’t a perfect movie and it didn’t elevate the source material but I think it did a great job of bringing Katniss’s world to life. I absolutely loved both Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson as Katniss and Peeta respectively. Neither actor was exactly how I pictured when reading the book (Peeta in particular) but I rarely get hung up on looks so long as they get the character right. And I thought they did.

Some quick thoughts…

Continue reading →

WDW wrap-up

Posted on by

So 3 months later I’m finally wrapping up my Walt Disney World trip report. YAY! I’ve covered what we did in the theme parks but thought I’d share some random pics and details as well.

The holidays were the perfect time to visit. All the parks and resorts were decorated and everything was so festive. LOVED IT.



We had a total of 9 full days in the parks which, I know, is A LOT of time at WDW. But seriously, we could have used a few extra days. In hindsight, I think we would have been much happier skipping Miami and staying at WDW the full 2 weeks. There’s just SO MUCH to do! While we visited each of the 4 main theme parks and played mini golf (not to mention took a day to leave Disney property and visit Harry Potter at Hogwarts), we didn’t have the chance to rent bikes and ride around the grounds of our hotel or take the segway tour around Epcot or even visit one of the water parks. I guess there’s always next time! 🙂

Since it was Rob’s first visit to WDW, I figured we might as well go all out and book a deluxe hotel (the other hotel categories are moderates and values). We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge and I absolutely fell in love with it. It was a fantastic home base for our stay. Just look!



The entrance gate… seeing it for the first time got me SO excited.



First look!



The gorgeous lobby.



The grounds are so beautiful. I miss it SO MUCH.



Another great feature of the Wilderness Lodge is the boat transportation to the Magic Kingdom (in addition to buses to all parks and destinations). So even though we rented a car, we took advantage of the boat system a few times. So fun!

We also booked a dining plan for our stay. It sounds really strange, right? Like why would you want to have a dining plan for meals that would probably consist of burgers and fries? At least that’s what I thought at first. But I discovered that dining is an experience all its own at WDW. Each park and all the resorts have a variety of options that aren’t the typical theme park food you might expect.

I also learned that WDW periodically offers free dining promotions to the public for package reservations booked for specific dates. I normally like to do all the planning for our trips but tracking these promotions is a full time job in itself. So THE BEST decision I made was to work with a travel agent, Mouseketrips. They did all the legwork and when free dining was released, they applied it to my reservation and I used the savings to upgrade to DELUXE dining. It’s a RIDICULOUS amount of food but we were going to take FULL ADVANTAGE. Food is an important part of our vacation experience, after all. 🙂

We had 20 (!!!) table service reservations over the course of 10 days plus the 3 snacks we were allotted each day (we used these a lot for fruit, croissants and orange juice in the morning). There were definitely a few meals that were forgettable, some that were average but many were spectacular so I’d like to share some favorites. Beware lots of pics (I can’t help it – I take pics of food – it’s a thing)…

Continue reading →

march happy things

Posted on by

Daylight savings time wrecked me today. I could barely wake up! It’s crazy how one measly hour can turn my day upside down.

Work is still a nightmare but what else is new.

Let’s talk Happy Things!

1. Rob & I are heading to WonderCon this Saturday. WHEEE! It’s local this year (in Anaheim) so we figured why not. 🙂 I just want to check out the exhibition floor and maybe go see a panel or two. It’ll be interesting to see how different the experience is compared to Comic-Con. If it’s a bust, there’s always Disneyland right across the street.

2. Discovering amazing local restaurants. We live in a part of Orange County where chains and big box stores are the norm (not knocking these establishments — I LOVE Target and have a weakness for Chipotle) but every once in awhile, we stumble upon a real find. This past weekend we had brunch at Break of Dawn in Laguna Hills and I cannot wait to go back!



I had the Sausage and Rice (DAMN GOOD) and Rob had the Creme Brulee French Toast (F*ING GOOD). We want to try everything else on the menu. Hehe.

3. I’m going to be a godmother to my niece (my cousin’s daughter!). Damn, I’m getting old. OK OK. I *am* old.

4. Getting back to the swing of things and working on the house. When we moved in back in 2010, we went a little crazy painting and buying furniture that we burned out pretty quickly. We haven’t done anything major since then. This year, we have plans to paint the guest room (leaning towards gray), move Rob’s office upstairs, look for a buffet to reside near the kitchen, and possibly invest in a new sofa/sectional. Rob even managed to install the ceiling fan we got for Christmas. So pretty. YAY.



5. I have constant wanderlust. CONSTANT. So I’m excited that we have our next vacation lined up! We’ll be spending 9 nights between NYC & Washington, DC in early May. I haven’t been to either city since I was around 10 (possibly younger) and Rob’s never been to either one so they’re pretty much new destinations for us. If anyone has recs for attractions or dining, I’d love to hear them! 🙂

Hope everyone is having a great week!

the magic kingdom

Posted on by

ARGH. Work life has been UNBELIEVABLY busy. With the exception of a quick weekend trip to Las Vegas recently, in the past 2-3 weeks, I’ve spent at least 90% of all waking hours working. I wish I was joking.

Revisiting my Florida vacation takes my mind to happier places so onward with my Walt Disney World trip report…

The last of the theme parks we visited was the Magic Kingdom. We spent 2 days touring the park, 11/29 and 12/6, and 1 night attending Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party on 11/30.

If you’ve been to Disneyland, then the Magic Kingdom will be familiar to you. It’s just that nothing is in the “right” place (I kept wanting to go in specific directions because “that’s where it is at Disneyland”) and everything is bigger (just look at how HUGE Cinderella’s Castle is compared to Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland). It’s like the most bizarre feeling of “déjà vu.”



SQUEE. The main entrance.



On our first Magic Kingdom day, I made reservations for breakfast so we could get into the park earlier than the general public. I wanted to get photos of the park without the crowds! This was before they installed the enormous Christmas tree in Town Square. So empty!



For the record, here’s the Christmas tree a few days later.



Back to the empty park. And the first glimpse of Cinderella’s Castle!



Getting closer to the castle. I love it!



GORGEOUS. I absolutely loved the gardens surrounding the castle.

For the most part, all the rides and attractions are similar to those at Disneyland with just a few exceptions —

Space Mountain never had more than a 5-10 minute wait. UNHEARD OF AT DISNEYLAND.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin is normally a favorite but OMG, it was such a disappointment at WDW. The guns are attached to the ride vehicle and you can’t move them around. GAH.



There’s no Indiana Jones ride but there is the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover!



Fantasyland is one of the areas that looks completely different. I didn’t care for the exterior facades. I mean, It’s A Small World is indoors (on the right side of the picture above)! It kinda loses its grandeur.



And there’s a Liberty Square (so patriotic) instead of New Orleans Square.

Continue reading →

goodbye chuck + hello smash

Posted on by

I haven’t blogged about TV in a loooong time. With one show off the air for good and another joining my schedule, these few comments are past due (SPOILERS!)…



Chuck
*SOB* I can’t believe it’s over. What I loved most about this show is its heart (I know, so cheesy) — but seriously, despite some of the questionable mythology (all the details about the Intersect made my head spin), the through line of the show was always Chuck & Sarah.

And they’re the reason why I’m SO TORN about the series finale. SO. TORN.

Immediately after I watched the finale, I was satisfied. I liked that the show didn’t spell out the ending and left some of it up to the viewer’s imagination. But now that it’s been a few weeks, part of me is a little sad that they *didn’t* wrap everything up neatly. The storyline of Sarah losing her memories could have been incredibly compelling. If it was done a few episodes in advance of the finale. As it was, it felt rushed and unexplored. But my biggest issue is that the last image we have of Sarah isn’t the Sarah that we’ve watched and loved these past 5 seasons. Not really. She’s back to the Sarah we met when the show first started. Sure, there are indications that she’s starting to regain her memories but DAMN IT, can’t she and Chuck just have their happily every after?

All that said, I absolutely loved the last scene of Chuck & Sarah at the beach. It was a wonderful call back to the pilot, except that now their roles are reversed and Sarah’s the one who needs to trust Chuck. LOVE.

See? I’m torn.

I guess I just wanted to have a more lasting image of their happiness. I’m a sap, I know. I miss this show!



Smash
There was a lot of hype surrounding this show. Maybe a tad too much. So unfortunately, my expectations were pretty high and I finished the pilot feeling a little underwhelmed. (I haven’t watched the second episode yet so maybe my opinion will change). I just couldn’t get over how predictable everything was. I mean, casting couch (come on, is Karen really that naive?!)? Debra Messing as the straight half of her writing duo? And the experienced veteran pitted against the beautiful new ingenue for the lead role? REALLY?! But admittedly, the production value and musical numbers on this show are spectacular so I’ll be sticking around for at least a few more episodes. I’m a sucker.

Any other new shows I should be watching? 🙂

2 days at EPCOT

Posted on by

Hi Everyone! THANK YOU all so much for your thoughtful comments, cards, texts and calls. It’s been a really emotionally draining week and a half and I’m so grateful for all the support. YOU ALL ROCK SO HARD.

I’m more than ready to get back to normal, though, and I’m going to continue on with my Walt Disney World trip reports. I have about 3 or 4 more entries planned. Bear with me. 🙂

Today I’m revisiting the 2 days we spent at EPCOT on Mon, 11/28 and Sat, 12/3.



You know you’ve arrived at EPCOT when you see the park’s icon, Spaceship Earth.

The first area of the park that you come across is Future World. I have to admit that a lot of the rides & attractions in Future World are either boring or SUPER outdated. But we gave (almost) everything a chance and found a few that were particularly memorable…



Like Test Track. My favorite EPCOT ride. It’s a vehicle simulation ride that ends in a high-speed drive around the exterior track. SO AWESOME.



Living with the Land is a boat ride through the Land pavilion’s greenhouse where you can see the various crops grown on site. Look at that 9 pound lemon! I have really distinct memories of going on this ride when I was 10 with my parents so I love this ride for the nostalgia factor.

Over at the Innoventions pavilion, we went to Club Cool to sample Coca-Cola products from around the world. Free of charge!



Krest Ginger Ale from Mozambique (much stronger ginger taste than I’ve found here in the US) and Lift Apple from Mexico were the stand-outs to me. Stay away from the Beverly (Italy). Trust me. It is TERRIBLE.

Innoventions also features various interactive exhibits and rides, one of which is a video game playground where we created a game starring… ourselves.



Here we are on screen. LOL. We had to perform a series of actions (running, jumping, dancing) that were then inserted into the game. HILARITY. We got such a kick out of this.



Spaceship Earth (aka the ride inside the giant golf ball) was a pleasant surprise. The ride itself is ok at best (it takes you back in time to track advancements in human communication) but the end is pretty entertaining. The ride is equipped with interactive touch screens where you answer various questions and somewhere along the way your image is captured. Then your future is revealed to you in a series of images. Ours were HIGHLY AMUSING. Well, technically, it was Rob’s future because my picture didn’t get taken for some reason. It ended up being MUCH better this way.



OH MAN. This was THE BEST. We could NOT stop laughing.

After we had our fill of Future World, we made our way to the World Showcase, which is my favorite part of EPCOT. I LOVE to travel so this part of the park is right up my alley. Plus, there’s such a wealth of dining options. There’s only 2 rides in the World Showcase (in Mexico and Norway) so we did lots of exploring. Just taking in the sights, checking out the food & drink offerings, and browsing in the shops (that actually sell non-Disney merchandise!). Some of my favorite pics…



The Canada pavilion is so beautiful.

Continue reading →