When in Denver...

Rent a convertible (summer only, of course), stay at The Oxford Hotel in LoDo, eat breakfast at The Delectable Egg and visit the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA).

For my sister Jenny's wedding, we traveled to Denver for the weekend. The wedding was a couple hours away up in the mountains in front of a waterfall. The wedding was beautiful and we all had such a relaxing, fun time (once the bridal bouquet was finished!)

After the wedding we drove back to Denver and spent the next day strolling the streets of LoDo (Lower Downtown) which is the very charming, historical district of the city. In addition to the items mentioned above, we had lunch at Larimer square and visited the Museum of Nature and Science where we watched a beautiful IMAX film on Greece.

The picture above is a photograph of the roof top garden at the Museum of Contemporary Art. I love these planter boxes!

Pink's

Pink's, the celebrity frequented hot dog joint in Hollywood, was a fun moment from our vacation. I don't believe that celebrities actually eat there though, because I was feeling about 100 pounds heavier after my Mullholland Drive Dog smothered in cheese, bacon, grilled onions, and grilled mushrooms.

(That's Tyler's cute baby brother, Trevor, pictured.)

Getty Villa

For all the things that Southern California is or isn't to us folks up north, I have to admit that they have some pretty amazing museums. One in particular that I actually got to visit twice (because the first group I went with told the people who didn't go how awesome it was, so the second group wanted to go too) was the Getty Villa on the southern end of Malibu just off the PCH.

Getty's vision was to build a classic Roman villa modeled after the Villa dei Papiri which was buried in the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius and later partially excavated. He built the villa with the intent of housing his art collection for the public and giving us common folk a taste of what it would have been like to be a Roman citizen back in the hey day, albeit a really rich Roman citizen.

The result is an amazingly beautiful setting overlooking the coast. Today the villa only houses the antiquities collection. The rest of the collection has been moved to the new Getty Center just off the 405. I always forget that I really love antiquities. Usually at other museums like the Met or Louvre which house significant antiquity collections, I breeze past the ancient Roman and Greek art to see the "good" stuff like the 19th century French and modern paintings. When you are surrounded by only antiquities, they take on a whole new significance and beauty. It's also the type of art that you really need good explanations or a good guide to tell you the mythology stories and explain the context since it is so different from the way we live today or common religious beliefs.

The museum cafe is pretty good too. So if you get the chance stop by, enjoy a relaxing day of browsing antiquities, going on tours, and lunching on the patio overlooking the villa. The museum is free except for the $8 parking fee, but make sure you make a reservation in advance.

Vacation!

Sorry my posts have been so infrequent the past few days. I've been getting ready for a family reunion that Tyler and I are in charge of planning. I need a little break so I can finish preparations and attend the reunion. I promise to return after next week with some good posts plus I'll share my fun reunion ideas.

Michelle hosted a really great dinner club theme last night that I will catch up on when I return. Finally, I want to continue with my organizing tips and projects starting with Paper Piles Be Gone: Part 3.

I'm off to enjoy some sun and time with family!

Une Belle Vie

These pictures were taken by my friend Tanya on her recent trip to Paris. She lives in Switzerland and leads a fabulous life of travel. They really inspire me to get back to Paris soon. I long for une belle via too.

NYC: Final Note

It's official. I heart NYC! Now I just have to figure out how to live there without having to work there. New York was amazing! Thanks Kim, Heidi, and Ashley.

NYC: The Architecture

My favorite buildings were the Chrysler Building, Sony Plaza, LVMH Headquarters, and Prada as mentioned in my shopping post.

NYC: The Shopping

NYC is a shopper's Mecca. We have access to so many great shops and brands here in SF, but I guess the biggest difference is that NY seems to have a (insert name of favorite store here) in every neighborhood instead of one main store in Union Square.

Some of the most notable stores we visited were Tiffany & Co., Kate's Paperie, Dean & Deluca, Prada, Takashimaya, and Anna Sui. I can't even choose a favorite. Two stores that I would suggest visiting for pure aesthetic value are Takashimaya on 5th Avenue and Prada in SoHo. The Prada space is truly an architectural candy store. Make sure you ride in the elevator.

NYC: The Sites and Shows

We did the tourist thing and caught a ferry to Ellis Island. We saw the Statue of Liberty on the way, but didn't stop off. Ellis Island is currently being fought over in court by New York and New Jersey. It is situated in New Jersey but it is mostly land fill from the New York subway. Tyler and I think that NJ wins. If anything, it seems like NY should have to pay NJ to dump their garbage in NJ. Ellis Island was very moving. One of my great grandmothers went through Ellis Island from Croatia. I tried to imagine what she must have been thinking upon her arrival to the United States.

We had one celebrity sighting on our second to last day. We saw Rain Wilson (Dwight on the Office) outside of 30 Rockefeller. We took the NBC studio tour and got to tour the sets of Nightly News, Dateline, and Saturday Night Live. I have to admit I was pretty disappointed and amazed all at once- amazed at the mess of lights in the studios and disappointed that the studios are practically taped together cardboard sets. Evidently upgrading sets is an huge and costly undertaking for the networks since HD will soon be required. We also went to the top of 30 Rock one night to see a breathtaking view of the city. It was freezing cold!

Heidi got us really good seats for Wicked. It was my first time seeing it. It was very entertaining. Galinda made the show for me.

NYC: The Museums

I'm not even sure where to start with New York. The week was packed with fun experiences. I loved it!

We visited three museums - The Met, MOMA, and the Frick Collection. They were all amazing in their own way. Kim and I spent 6 hours at the Met and we didn't really even get to see very much. My favorite exhibit was a special exhibit titled Barcelona and Modernity: Gaudi to Dali. One of my favorite Van Gough paintings, Wheat Field with Cypresses, is also part of the Met collection.

I was very pleasantly surprised at MOMA because I had no idea that The Starry Night resides there. What child doesn't begin to love art when they see this painting? It was amazing to see it in person. I also especially loved the Paul Klee gallery and the Picasso still lives.

The Frick Collection was beautiful not only because of the very amazing art and antiques, but you also get to see it displayed in a beautiful 5th Avenue mansion looking out on the park. I loved the library. The cases, which contained a lovely collection of leather bound books, were only about 4 feet tall and wound all the way around the large room. What a life!

Final Notes on Philadelphia

Philadelphia is one of those places that you don't realize is fabulous until you visit it. I really enjoyed my time there. I got to see all of the historical sights like the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross's House, and Benjamin Franklin's grave to name a few. Rittenhouse Square was lovely. And best of all, I got to spend time with Katie, Carter, and Mike. Happy birthday Carter!

I found Tyler's calling in life. He needs to quit his corporate job so we can move to Philly, buy a condo in Old City and become a tour guide/ park ranger at Independence Hall. I'm sure that's an easy gig to get.

The Return of Rocky

The Philadelphia Museum of Art was probably my favorite sight in Philly. The stone they used is a warm yellow and pink stone rather then the more traditional white marble. It had a very relaxing and softening effect. My favorite piece of art is the huge backdrop painted by Marc Chagall, A Wheat Field on a Summer's Afternoon, which he painted for the third scene of the Russian ballet, Aleko. Recently, the Rocky sculpture was returned to the exterior of the museum after much controversy over allowing a pop piece to be exhibited at the very classical museum. It was definitely the most popular photo-op. The museum also exhibits the Duchamp piece, The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass), which Jeong-Im informed me is his most important work. Katie made me touch the spider. Yuck!

The Birth Place of Anthropologie

Philadelphia is where Urban Outfitters and later Anthropologie were founded. We visited the Anthropologie flagship store in Rittenhouse Square. The store is huge and the building is a gem!

Philly Foodie

I visited Reading Terminal Market in Philadelphia with Katie and Carter. It's a huge food market with stalls of fresh produce, large counters of fish and seafood, bakeries, butchers, etc. It's a lot like the Ferry Building in SF, but not pretentious or expensive. (For the record, I love the Ferry Building and visit it often to buy my $15 sliver of Neil's Yard cheese imported from England and $5 organic mini banana cream tart.) I ate my first cheese steak (with the cheese whiz for authenticity) at Rick's and had the most delicious butter almond ice cream at Bassett's. It's rumored that the best soft pretzels are made here, but the stand was closed by the time we got there. Fabulous place!!

I love hanging out with Katie. We always laugh and eat lots of ice cream!

NYC Restaurants

New York is definitely one of the culinary capitals or the world. We enjoyed several good meals during the week, but to be honest I don't think New York restaurants have anything on San Francisco other than sheer number of establishments. I guess I just like the fresher tastes of California cuisine. Here's a list of the major places we dined:

Balthazar: (Rated #15 most popular NY restaurant by Zagat voters) This was my favorite dinner (pictured above). I had the goat cheese tart, steak frite, and pineapple upside down cake with coconut ice cream. The atmosphere was really exciting and the food was really delicious. Bay Area equivalent - Bouchon

Cafe Grey: (Rated #39 most popular NY restaurant by Zagat voters) I thought this place was okay, but nothing to write home about. I had the gnocchi soup and steamed spring vegetables with citrus vinaigrette. The menu was pretty pretentious and it was definitely overpriced. The restaurant did have a pretty design and a great view of the park though. Bay Area equivalent - I had a hard time picking an equivalent, but maybe Postrio, although I'd rather eat at Postrio and for about 2/3 the price.

Norma's: (Zagat food rating = 25) This is the best breakfast I've ever had in my entire life! I had the banana macadamia nut flapjacks with whipped brown sugar butter. Bay Area equivalent - Zazie

Gramercy Tavern: (Rated #1 most popular NY restaurant by Zagat voters) I had the lobster salad, flank steak and short rib, and apple tart. I really enjoyed this restaurant. There were beautiful fresh flowers everywhere and the service was really good. The short rib was cooked to perfection. Bay Area equivalent - Boulevard

Other notable New York food moments:

The Doughnut Plant: We walked forever to get to this place and it's definitely not in a neighborhood you want to stand out in as a tourist. We got there just in time to get the last two doughnuts - Meyer lemon and hazelnut cake doughnuts and the last two cinnamon rolls which had unnaturally large plump raisins. They were pretty good! They sell them at the Soho Dean & Deluca too.

Serendiptiy: The first time we tried to go here the wait was 2 hours so we went somewhere else. Later in the week when Katie and I were looking for somewhere that was open late we went back at 11:00 PM and got right in. The food was nothing special and it's way overpriced so I wouldn't go here to eat again, but I would go back for the frozen hot chocolate which is what they are known for anyway. I would probably only be willing to wait for 30-45 minutes maximum.

Sarabeth's: We tried but never made it here for the famous breakfast. We did eat dinner here once. The food was okay, but I would only go back to try breakfast which is what everyone raves about.

The Cafeteria at the Met: Kim and I loved it! I guess we were pretty hungry because we were struggling to balance all the plates of food from the different bars on our two trays. Pretty good for a humble basement cafeteria!

Tea at the St. Regis: See my post here. I loved this experience!!

Dylan's Candy Bar: Heide got the peanut butter hot chocolate. The toppings were delicious, but the hot chocolate itself was too sweet and not chocolaty enough. Definitely a fun retail space though.

Tea Time

"There are few hours in life more agreeable, than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." -The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

One of the things I enjoyed most about my recent trip to New York was tea at the St. Regis. It was nice to relax for a couple of hours in a beautiful atmosphere after walking around all day. And who doesn't love miniature sandwiches and desserts? We had a really delicious fruit tea.

I think I am going to try to implement tea time into my life. Maybe it would be a good Sunday afternoon refresher for after church.

Souvenirs From Tiffany's

What girl can resist Tiffany's on her first trip to New York? We all got necklaces to commemorate our trip. I got this round Atlas necklace. I love pretty much everything in the Atlas collection.

Travel Mad Libs

These fun mad lib type cards were fun to mail from our trip.

Art Deco

I'm really inspired by the art deco architecture in New York. My favorite building was the Chrysler Building. We had a great view of it from our hotel room. I was so inspired that I couldn't pass up this Anna Sui dress from Anthropologie. It has geometric pinwheel and stylized floral patterns that give it that art deco feel.

Wanderlust: Travel Log in Brief

I'm home! I have a lot to share from my vacation but I'm going to pace myself. I visited Chicago and Madison briefly for a family matter. Then I went to Philadelphia and finally ended my two week vacation in New York.

Chicago
I haven't spent much time in Chicago. I usually see it passing through on my way to Wisconsin where I have a lot of family. I spent a couple of hours on Michigan Avenue this trip while waiting for family to arrive at the airport. A couple of hours has definitely peeked my interest. I'm a city girl through and through and I've never met a city I didn't like. The architecture and landscape of Chicago was very beautiful. Hopefully I get to see a little more of it some day.

Madison
What can I say about Madison? I've travelled there every few years to visit family since I was a little girl. It's definitely one of America's best kept secrets. You can't even fly direct from most cities. It's one of those places that most people will probably never see unless you have a very specific reason to visit, but it's really a beautiful city especially in the summer when everything is very green. Surrounding the city are gently rolling hills of bright green grass and picture perfect red or white barns. Frank Lloyd Wright claims Wisconsin as home and you can visit his estate, Taliesin, which is about an hour from Madison near Spring Green. You can also visit nearby Alex Jordan's House on the Rock.

Philadelphia
I was very pleasantly surprised by Philadelphia. They have been working very hard to renew Old City and the area around Independence Hall. Philadelphia is also the birthplace of the much beloved Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. The Anthropologie flagship store resides in Rittenhouse square in a very beautiful old building. More on Philadelphia later.

New York
This was my first trip to New York and I'm in love! Growing up in a small town in the West, I always dreamed of living in New York because it was the biggest city I knew about. I wasn't disappointed! Much more on New York later, too.