Filed under: New York
The girls and I had one and a half days in NYC. (Grandpa dropped us off and went on to see carwashes and friends.) We made a list of all of the things we wanted to see while we were there. We saw everything on our list except the Statue of Liberty. We just decided that it was too much of a time commitment to make that trek. I wore my FitBit (which is just an expensive pedometer) and we learned after the first day that we had walked 18 miles! That’s pretty good.
We started the day getting up early to watch Good Morning America – mostly because we were staying in a hotel in Times Square that was feet away from the taping. Unfortunately none of us watch the show so we didn’t really recognize the people or know much about what was going on. So we headed south – partially because I was armed with a map of Banksy works. We were lucky enough to be visiting during the month that Banksy had taken residency in NY. So we were table to see lots of his street art. I was amazed at how much had been scrubbed away or defaced in the short time it had been up- who doesn’t know Banksy?! But I was happy with the amount that we were able to see.
We walked to the Brooklyn Bridge – and half way over it. We got bagels, which was on the girls’ culinary list. We toured the gardens of remembrance (sort of sneak previewed) at Ground Zero. We walked around Rockefeller. We went to FAO Schwartz – and got a creepy doll that has followed us to different places. We walked about the highline walkway – which is a cool elevated, artsy/nature path.
We went to the Museum of Modern Art, which Aine and I loved. Although with the visual arts, they had lots of small performance arts stuff happening around the galleries. We went to some cupcake place that the girls had seen on TV. We had slices of pizza. We had macarons at Laduree – somehow the girls knew about them. We walked through Central Park.
Who loves a road trip more than us? No one! We had a family baptism in New York so we decided to turn it into a road trip. Yes we were in the car as much as out of it – but that’s OK. Mostly it’s OK because Grandpa is the best driver ever. He drove every single mile there and back!
We started by going through Chicago to Northern Michigan. I don’t think I’d actually been to Michigan before. It’s very pretty – especially in the fall. It seems like we spent the first day or more driving. We did get the thrill of entering Canada. We had lunch there. The girls recognized that Canada is not exactly like the US – but it’s not really like London or Dublin either.
Also we all got a lesson on data plans. Only the mom gets to use International data roaming plans! So everyone else spent a few hours unplugged. OK maybe not the favorite few hours of the trip, but we all lived to tell the tale. We ended our time in Canada viewing the Canadian site of Niagara Falls. Unfortunately it was pretty dark but still pretty impressive. Also I realized that Priceline does not differentiate between US and Canadian hotels when you search for a place to stay near the border – after getting through the curt and unfriendly US border control. Luckily we also learned that we can get out of reservations made via Priceline if you call as soon as you figure out your mistake.
So we spent the night near Niagara, which was super nice for the two of us who got up early enough to check out the American side of the Falls. Though it was very cool. I always think it’s kind of amazing to see something that’s been around for so long. Then we continued on our voyage to New York City!
Filed under: Wisconsin
To celebrate some big birthdays, Grandma and Grandpa brought everyone to a very fancy cabin in Northern Wisconsin for a fun weekend. I’ll just say that the best part of having a brother who is a chef is not eating hotdogs or hot dish at family events. We ate like royalty! We also got to spend time on the boat and just hanging out in a very beautiful location.
Filed under: Minnesota
Being in town opened us up to attend more events that we usually miss – one example is the Dinner on the Farm. Great chefs come in to cook local food in farm settings. We go to these events when they are near town in the off season. This year we were able to attend a few on actual farms. When on the farms the events are very family-friendly. Usually they include access to beer and wine and some music. In town the events are a little more grown up – no kids, more beer and wine, occasional costumes.
Last summer I spent more time in St Paul than I have in years. I enjoyed being too hot for a change. (Dublin is nice – but it’s not hot!) We did get out to see a lot of shows and festivals. Aine and I started writing music reviews in earnest, in fact maybe I’ll just start linking to the reviews we write here to keep track of our in-town activities a little more. For now I just thought I’d share a few pictures. You’ll notice that the youngest kid appears more often than her teenage sisters – especially when we are close to home. That’s because I think they would rather be seen in last year’s fashion than with their mom!
I’m 62 minutes away from home according to the GPS. It’s been a long day but a fun vacation. We had an amazing time in New Orleans and managed a few fun stops on the way home.
It started last night in Jackson Mississippi. We had a quick (but really good!) dinner at Babalu. The dinner was so quick I decided we could take some quick pictures at the Jackson State Capitol. It’s pretty. Actually we were quite impressed with Jackson. On the way to New Orleans we stopped at the car wash – this time we were in the high brow neighborhood. Very nice houses.
Then we plowed through to Memphis with one plan in mind. We checked out Graceland Memorial Gardens because well, first Graceland is cool. But more importantly given the posse with which I roll, it is free to visit the gardens if you come between 7:30-8:30 am. How cool! We got to check out the grounds and see Elvis’ grave. It was more than enough for the girls. It got them out of bed early and helped us get on the road. I’ve visited Graceland before and would easily visit again – but again given our crowd the quick, cheerful and cheap tour was best.
Then we drove forever. We had a nice dinner in Iowa City. (I know, who knew?) We stopped at a place on the campus called Graze – nice small plates. Then I learned about Devonian Fossil Gorge. It apparently an inland sea that has dried up a few times (in the last 15 years) resulting in tons of fossils. It’s probably a lot better when it’s warm outside. Although it was very close to the city, very easy to get to, a good break for folks who have been in the car – just if it were a little warmer.
Now we’re just waiting to dock at home!
Filed under: New Orleans
Easter Sunday we woke up and went to the swamp for an alligator hunt on an air boat. Remember the big swamp boat with the propelling fan at the back from that old 70s show Flipper? Well that’s what we were on. It sat about 15. Aine scored the seat of honor at the top near the driver. I was very jealous and must learn how to cute it up for next time.
Kate was really the driver for checking out the alligators. And it was a really good call. It was so much fun! Not necessarily cheap, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. The swamp we visited was family-owned and used primary for the tours. We were one of about 6 boats that seemed to be out on the swamp. But it didn’t feel like Disney ride or anything – I think we all felt that we were on a hunt of sorts. We saw tons of alligators and some turtles, bald eagles and cows!
I learned a few things about alligators – so I have my fingers crossed for it being an upcoming Pub Quiz topic! Here are some of the more interesting (or at least memorable) facts:
- A baby alligator has 1-2 percent chance of making it to 6 feet (adulthood)
- Alligators like white food – like marshmallows
- An alligator egg is worth $18-22
- It takes a 6 foot alligator to make a boot (a pair of boots starts at $1200 – I wear 6.5 if you’re shopping!)
- There are 3.3 million alligators in Louisiana
- A bayou is a path through the swamp
But mostly the trip was just really cool. It was fun to be in the boat thing. It was fun to see – and hold – an alligator. It was fun to see terrain so different from what we’re used to seeing.
After the swamp tour we quickly got gussied up and headed out to the Easter Parade in the French Quarter. We thought we’d see it for a few minutes but the parade wound its way around the French Quarter as we snuck in out last must-do activities before hitting the road. Aine got a ton of necklaces. The floats toss out beads and other trinkets. And we finally got to try the beignets – which were delicious! And we soaked up the last of the fun spirit and sunshine of New Orleans.
Our funny last look was the fact that we had almost no gas when we got back into the van. Something we didn’t pay enough attention to – until we found ourselves on the raised highway above the swamp. There are no off road locations when you’re between a lake and a swamp. Also everyone melted down a little once we got into the car. So we have people spraying perfume, complaining about plugins (mobile wifi we can share, plugs, not so much), whining about being hungry (delicious as they are apparently beignets aren’t really lunch), a big rain storm started and we’re worried about running out of gas. Luckily it didn’t happen. We got gas, food, power, sleep and remembered rain isn’t like snow even if everyone in Louisiana seems to drive like it is.
Filed under: New Orleans
Our second day in New Orleans started with a tour of the Voodoo Museum. It was pretty cool – in my favorite vein of creepy but cool. We learned a lot more about top Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau. We saw a working alter and lots of paraphernalia. We learned that many Catholic Saints have sort of become Voodoo symbols – or maybe it mostly has to do with the statues of the saints. Either way I sort of liked the connection. Lily had a great interest. Aine was a little nervous in the museum. The woman working at the museum was very nice.
What was cool was that we could take pictures – so I took a bunch. The girls were *not* interested in being in the pictures since Reverend Zombie’s Voodoo shop had made a point of saying that taking pictures was entirely forbidden.
After the Voodoo museum, we couldn’t pass up the cemetery where Marie Laveau was buried. Well, buried isn’t the best term. Entombed is a much better term. Burying the corpses doesn’t make sense when the city is built on swampland. One good flood and you could see where the idea of zombies could spread. The tombs are different. We saw one modern-looking tomb that was shaped like a pyramid; mostly they look like European tombs. I have some pictures of Marie’s tomb, although there seemed to be some dispute about which was actually hers. It sounded as if both the contenders were family vaults, but unclear which was hers. As you can see from the pictures, people leave keepsakes by the tomb. You make a wish, leave an item and if Marie likes the item, she’ll grant your wish.
We also stopped by the Louis Armstrong Park. Very nice area with great fountain and modern art all around. Really it was just to be a little hot for a change.
In the afternoon we took the free ferry to Algiers, which is really just a hop and skip over to the West side of the Mississippi – but who can turn town either free or ferry! It does give some really nice views of the city. And it seems as if Algiers did not have the flooding that the rest of New Orleans had during Katrina – so the houses are beautiful and unique with beautiful gardens. And cats. The number of cats actually got a little creepy. (In fairness, I can find one cat creepy – and never cool!)
On Algiers we found a British Pub. It had something for each of us – the front door was a TARDIS (that’s the time travel machine from Dr Who for those who went to the prom), Dr Who played on the TVs inside, they had nice pints and Wotsits, which are my favorite British crisp-type thing. (They’re like cheese puffs.)
After the super quick trip on the ferry, we went to the 11th floor of the Westin for another great view of the city. You can sneak up to the 11th floor from the shopping mall beneath (very near to our hotel). On the 11th floor is the hotel lobby, which they seem happy to share with non-guests. The view was gorgeous.
After that we seemed to roam the city aimlessly for hours – eventually finding a fancy dinner at the Hotel Montelone.
Filed under: New Orleans
Dad and I started the day in New Orleans with a good walk around while girls caught up on sleep. We checked out the French Quarter and picked out some good places to eat. We even crashed a Good Friday parade.
We started with an amazing brunch at The Court of Two Sisters on Royal Street. The have a live jazz brunch every day. The food was amazing. Tons of peel and eat shrimp and some other stuff. Actually while I could be happy for a long time with peel and eats – everything was really good. And the jazz was just the perfect amount. We were about 5 feet from the musicians – but it was fun, not overwhelming.
Then we checked out the French Quarter. We saw some buskers. Aine was selected as the magician’s helper, which is always fun. She did a good job. We saw tons of shops – including Reverend Zombie’s House of Voodoo, which caught Lily’s eye. We saw some great musicians. There’s not a ton to report – but we had a great time. It was nice to be warm and at times actually hot. It was easy to see why New Orleans is called America’s best foreign city. It’s a good city for walkers. There are lots of nice places to eat – inside and out. Stuff feels old.
Not having visited before Katrina, it’s tough to say if anything was different. There are places that are boarded up – too many really but I can’t say for sure that’s all Katrina-related. There are many super gorgeous balconies and intricate ironwork and flowers hanging from above – despite frost warnings earlier in the week.
Patrick flew in Friday night. So we all checked out Orleans Grapevine Bistro, which was another amazing meal. We walked back around Bourbon Street, so the girls got a flavor of the scene – but not too much. The Patrick and I hit the town. We ended up on Frenchman Street watching a great band. Their encore was a great version of These Boot were Made for Walking. And one of us got asked to dance several times. I won’t say which one.
I do have to note one of my favorite pictures – Aine in front of the St Louis Cathedral with the big shadows!
Day two on the road to New Orleans. Not a ton to report. We had brunch at a place called Brother Juniper’s in Memphis. Monte Cristo with maple syrup – nonstandard, yet really good! Then we tried some car washes in Jackson. And we drove a lot. We saw snow until nearly Memphis – which was a little sad.
We arrived in New Orleans in time for dinner. We ate at a place called Mother’s. Apparently it was on Man v Food. Man tried to eat the giant Po’ Boy. We didn’t. The food was good. Poor Lily had nothing to eat with Mother’s does no specialize in vegetarian dishes.
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