How Philly cured the Gotham blues

G'bye, Manhattan.

As mentioned in the previous post, I've been getting a bit tired of New York over the past few weeks. It was a general, no-specific-reason-for-it funk, something that happens from time to time when life sucks you in a vicious cycle of whatevers. 

SOTD: The Wonder Years - Local Man Ruins Everything. 

Enter: weekend trip to Philadelphia to visit some friends. 

Pretty skies in downtown Philly

I made it South on Saturday afternoon and the shenanigans started with a drink at a firehouse-converted-into-bar establishment, followed by a sinfully delicious Greek dinner. 

Said dinner involved setting cheese on fire and binging on vampire vaccine. And baklava. Because: duh!   

My friends took me to a great party afterwards and I got to chat with some great people. I also met a ghost writer. Which was just about the coolest thing ever. Ghost writer, y'all!    

Love Park.
Yes, they are THAT cheesy.
Of course, couples stand under the sculpture and kiss
while someone takes their picture.
Ugh, cheesiness...

Sunday started with brunch, which for me consisted of a delicious french toast drowned in cream cheese sauce with a side of fruit salad. Allow this to sink in properly: buttery rich french toast smothered with a sweet-tart cream cheese (philadelphia, of course) sauce. Yum!

After brunch, my friend had the awesomest idea ever. We went to the Mütter museum. It's tagline is "Disturbingly informed" and it could not be more true. Which is a medical museum full to the brim with freaky sciency medical stuff like a preserved GIGANTIC megacolon, 300 years old obstetric forceps, extremely twisted scoliotic spines and dried up hands. And histologic slides of Albert freaking Einstein's brain. 'Nuff said. 

Needless to say, I loved the place and will definitely go back for more. 

        

After all the weirdo-fest, we rewarded ourselves with a stroll through Rittenhouse square. And since I am a fantastically lucky girl, the Fine Arts Show happened to be happening that weekend, so we go to check out some cool paintings. Seeing some beauty after the freakiness was a welcome cleanse. Also, ice cream! 

Until next time, Pennsylvania.

Jules

p.s. Excuse the non-so-pretty photos. Posting them completely crude without any editing. Not even a smidgen of straightening. Because I am that lazy. 

I have a case of Gotham fatigue. I have a cure for that, too.

Oh hey.

It's been a while. I've had a boring few weeks, but that's changing NOW:

Philly skyline appearing on the horizon. Almost there!

A weekend in Philadelphia is happening as I type. Ouyeah!

The Toronto Diaries, Part 3

Friday, April 11th 2014

Pretty sunny day, homemade smoothies. 

I could live with that, yes.

A noon choir and organ recital. The best felafel I've ever had, the Aquarium, ethiopian food for dinner, red wine galore, a guitar, and then gin martinis. And Jameson. 

So far, so good. 

Davie's saying hello (Bloor and Bathurst)

Roy Thompson Hall ready for the Orpheus Choir

Aquarium. Done right.

People in front of a giant tank of jellyfish. Obviously.

Leaving the Aquarium was a sad, sad moment.
Luckily, Lake Ontario's shore really tried hard to make it up to me.
Freaking show-off.

Holy mother-of-binge!

                         

Apparently, Toronto knows all and every single one of the ways to my heart, that I can tell. Oh, you sneaky, sneaky charmer, as if I haven't told you that I belong to New York. That smelly, loud big cousin of yours, you met him, I am sure.

SOTD: Everything is Awesome (The LEGO Movie OST). Duh!

That'd be all, folks. Thanks for keeping up.

Toronto was great, but now it's time to swing back to the real world. File taxes, do laundry, split cells, go for a run, paint nails, fall in love with spring in New York. You know the drill.

Jules

p.s. Many, many, MANY thanks to N for making these past few days beyond memorable. I owe you. BIG TIME.

The Toronto Diaries, part Awesome

Thurs-night, April 10th 2014

Getting giddy.

The venue. 

Demons 

Squalor Victoria

I need my girl

Best encore ever:
Vanderlyle Crybaby Geeks.

Matt letting the audience sing.
Many, many shivers down many, many spines.

Finally.

SOTD: The National - Start a War.

One of their finest.

Sadly, they didn't play it. But that's what iTunes is for.

The Toronto Diaries, Part 2

Thursday, April 10th 2014

First thing on the agenda for the day was coffee and pecan pie at Kensington Market, a lively and colorful Toronto neighbourhood that, among other things, possesses exceptionally good coffee and pecan pie.

Back on Bloor

As if good coffee and pecan pie were not enough to teleport me to my happy place, the weather was ridiculously springy and the company beyond delightful. And before we knew it, it was time for lunch. We opted for cheapo chinese, dumplings and fried rice. It was great. 

N and I parted ways after lunch, so I explored Downtown on my own, additionally fuelled by Tim Hortons iced coffee. Totally ignoring Google Maps and Lonely Planet was worth it.

Trees growing out of houses. I can deal with that.

This is one fucking ugly chunk of the ROM.

I really enjoyed wandering the streets of Tornto. The city has this energising vibe, but nothing too intense (as Gotham can be). Overall, it very much feels like if Berlin and New York had a lovechild and decided to raise it by a pretty lake. If it were a drink, it would probably be hot whiskey. If it were a song, it would be the opening track of Interpol's Antics.

SOTD: Interpol - Next Exit. Looping it while walking down Yonge. 

Ok, you must think I am turning into an annoying gooey chipper overenthusiast. I feel the same way. But hey, it is really hard to keep it real when everything was so freaking good. And I am writing it while chewing on maple caramels. See, EVERYTHING is so freaking good. Fear not, half an hour of inhaling New York and I'll snap back to my slightly snarky self.

After a nice day, another highlight: concert night. A whole other level of awesome.
Cheers to that!

Jules

The Toronto Diaries, part 1

Wednesday, April 9th 2014

I dragged my butt down to the lab at 8.15 in the morning. Say whaaaaaaaaaaat? 

Well, a postdoc's got to do what a postdoc's got to do. In my case, it was tissue culture. Wouldn't want the vicious killer cancer cells I so lovingly grow to starve while mommy goes out in the world, non?  

It was a quick and painless 1/3 day at the lab and then off to LaGuardia to catch my flight. All went smoothly and before I knew it, we touched down in sunny Toronto. Oh yes, I kid you not, the North Pole outdid itself weather-wise. 

First impressions were lovely. Canadian dollars look adorable, so do tall blonde immigration officers with hipster glasses and crooked smiles. Free wi-fi at the airport didn't hurt either. 

One other adorable thing I couldn't help but notice was the fact that people here read actual books on the subway. On my first few rides I swear I saw more people reading books than playing with their phones. A bit retro, but undeniably cool. 

My first activity in the city was a leisurely walk down cool Bloor street and further down to Chinatown, where a fantastic place called AGO, aka The Art Gallery of Ontario, is located. 

AGO architeture.
Cool indeed. 

             

I went in and spent a few hours wandering the galleries. It was really beautiful. And the building itself pretty marvelously matches the beauty of the collection stored inside, courtesy of one Frank Gehry. 

AGO & CN & clear blue skies.
Just a wee sample of Toronto's finest.

Before I knew it, it was time to go meet my CS host, which turned out to be tougher than originally planned thanks to my incredible abilities of typing the wrong address into Google Maps and thus ending up half way up to the Northern Territory. The error was rectified thanks to two very nice bus drivers and, about two hours later than planned, I found my way to a shower, a fresh shirt and the obligatory get-to-know-you beers. All was well. 

Incredibly well, actually. 

The Toronto Diaries, part 0

Canada, eh?

You bet.

Source.

A spur of the moment decision to buy tickets for a The National gig + tickets for appropriate transportation up north has brought me to Toronto. The timing was not exactly perfect, but it actually was. Perfect, I mean. After a draining tiring few months of trading my daylight for a career, I needed a break to recharge and regroup. 

It's been a long and freezing winter, but spring has finally marched in. So of course, it makes perfect sense to go and choose the freaking North Pole for a minibreak. I am talented that way. 

In a nutshell, you got three days, two airports and one very satisfied gal.

But since I've always been one for juicy and mellow instead of concise, you're not getting away with just a nutshell. You get the whole shebang down to the last clumsy detail in the form of a few blog posts, which are being typed in at the airport while waiting for my flight back home. The 21st century is a beautiful thing.  

Enjoy!

Jules

Ocean? Re-crossed!

Roughly six months after crossing the Atlantic, I did it again. 

Sunrise over the Atlantic in Miami.
Next stop? Africa. Close enough to Europe, I guess.

Touched down in Venice around noon yesterday, had a lovely catch-up with my brother, then lunch with the fam and a nap. Then I managed to get shitfaced with my girl M. All in all, first day back was successful. 

SOTD: Chris Rea - Driving home for Christmas

Sunday felt victim to jet lag and a bit of unpacking. The weather sucks anyway. 

Here's to reunions!

Jules

Miami Bitch*

I spent this past weekend in sunny Miami working on a tan, swimming in the Atlantic and finishing off copious amounts of coconut water/mojitos/lavender-gin cocktails. 

In the meantime, there was an ice storm (don't even know what that is exactly, but sounds cold) all over New York. 

South Beach. AKA Exactly What I Needed.

The best mojito I've ever had. With Haitian rum.
Yum!

Time to snap back into work mode. It's Monday.
Yuck!

Jules

* In reality, it was Miami Beach, bitch.

Fall. New England.

A couple of weekends ago, a coworker invited me along for a road trip through New England. We did what seemingly every other person on the East coast did: checked out the foliage. 

M: I know you're about to roll your eyes at me for yet another cheesy post, but hey, I like cheese. And I miss you, girl!

Foliage was in full swing in Vermont and New Hampshire; cheddar cheese, maple syrup and pumpkin-flavoured everything were what kept us going; good music and plenty of chit-chat filled the car while we were driving through some seriously beautiful scenery. 

We visited little towns, a civil war re-enactment (no, I'm not kidding!), a book fair and a pumpkin patch, a cool maple syrup farm, the Norman Rockwell museum, and a bunch of places in between. Our Garmin took us on some pretty remote backroads and I will be forever grateful for that. 

We stayed at a very cliche B&B with a chatty owner and elderly guests and a totally weird son/cook and had dinner at a restaurant with the craziest waitress - she drew a pumpkin on our bill. Good times.

We returned to the city on the third day. A little tired, a little nutrition-deprived (as we completely relied on junk food and desserts), and with our batteries completely recharged. It was good to trade New York for the woods for a couple of days. 

SOTD: Green Day - Hitchin' a ride. 

The weirdest part of all was when we first caught a glimpse of Manhattan's skyline on the way home. I felt excited and warm. I felt I came back home. It was the first time that I felt this. I am at home in New York. Cool!

But: Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, you all look adorable in the october sun and I liked you very much. I am just a tiny bit biased towards Gotham, that's all.

Jules

Twelve hours in hipster central

Oh, weekends, how I cherish thee.

I've been in New York for little more than a month now. Besides two trips to the beach and one to Ikea, I have not left Manhattan. Well, I hardly left Midtown/UES, to be completely honest. Blasphemy, shame, shame, blasphemy, shame, I know!

So, to make up for it, I have made arrangements to meet with some lovely people in Williamsburg later Sunday afternoon. And, since I was leaving this god forsaken island otherwise known as Manhattan, I decided to put the trip to good use and spend the day there.

Scenes from Williamsburg, I

I took the L train and I don't know what it is about the tunnel ride under the East river, but as soon as we left the last Manhattan stop, the number of hipster-like-clad passengers increased dramatically. That was the first sign, I guess. Williamsburg is supposed to be the world capital of too-cool-for-you hipsters, indie rock, street art and vegan food.

Scenes from Williamsburg, II

My adventure started with a walk around Bedford Avenue and some browsing around vintage stores. I seriously debated having lunch in one of the small restaurants in the area, but eventually decided on having a picnic in McCarren park, followed by a long walk and thorough enjoyment of street art.

To me, the area looked like a giant construction site with glitzy, modern looking apartment complexes popping up everywhere, and with the occasional stubborn ex-industrial building thrown in the mix. But don't take it wrong. All in all, I liked the feel of the area.

A friend pointed out yesterday that to her, Williamsburg gives off a very Berlin-like vibe. I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!

Scenes from Williamburg, III

Since I was roaming the streets around the famous Brooklyn Brewery and since they offer tours on weekends, it was only natural for me to join. It was definitely not my first brewery tour, and although they like to see themselves as the coolest place ever (and they claim to be the biggest craft brewery in the US), I admit the tour was the most pointless and disappointing one in my collection. It consisted of a cool hipster guy taking a group of people into a big hall where he took the microphone and talked for 25 minutes. And that's it. He made some good jokes and gave a brief lecture in botany explaining that hops are related to marijuana, but other than that, the experience was pretty underwhelming.

"Tour" was a bit boring, but the brewery itself is kind of fun.
Please note the lovely  "official" clock.

But two of the beers I sampled were very very good, so that kind of made it up for the crappy tour, whereas the other two were pretty mediocre.

Love the packaging & the logo & some of the brews.

I left the brewery slightly tipsy and with about half an hour to spare until meeting T and W for a drink. I spent said half an hour browsing Beacon's Closet.

Meeting T and W was the highlight of the day and it transformed our 5 o'clock drink plans into a 6-hour talk-laugh-drink-explore-eat affair that ended with me finally leaving their lovely home just before midnight. 

Saying goodbye to a marvellous Sunday in Williamsburg
AKA view of Midtown from T and W's deck. Gorgeous!

It was nice to meet you, Hipsterland. See you soon.
Jules