Day Tripping to Cold Spring

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View of the Hudson River from the train

This past weekend, once again finding ourselves in the city on a long weekend with nowhere to go, we decided to venture out of the city on a day trip. We’ve seen those posters in the subway that urge you to “get out of town” and see the all the natural beauty that New York has to offer. Lacking a car, we had to find a place that’s convenient and accessible by train. After a quick search, we came upon Cold Spring, a small historical village nestled in the Lower Hudson Valley right on the bank of the Hudson River. Continue reading →

Photo of the Week: Illuminated

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IMG_3838Paris, France

This photo was taken at the Eiffel Tower, one of the most recognizable landmarks in Paris, perhaps in the world. While we were there, we decided that it was a good idea to go up to the top of the tower.  Even though the line was long, we were not deterred, that is, until a few hours in.  Four hours later, we FINALLY made it to the observation deck.  The view was amazing, but I am not sure it was worth the wait.  

The line down was almost just as long and we didn’t make it down until midnight.  At this point we were starving because we hadn’t had dinner, so we decided to spread out a scarf and have a picnic on the grass right at the base of the Eiffel Tower.  A guy came by and try to sell us a 5 Euro bottle of champagne.  Again, for some reason we thought this was a good idea.  It was not.  

It was a long night full of bad decisions, but it was memorable.  We will never forget the night we had dinner under the Eiffel tower with a cheap bottle of champagne.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Deal Alert: 2-for-1 Broadway tickets

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It’s that time again when the summer is winding down and Broadway week is kicking off.  For the first two weeks of September you can get 2-for-1 tickets to a lot of shows including Lion King, Mamma Mia, Chicago and many other new and old favorites.  If you are around the city, it’s the perfect time to catch that show that you’ve been thinking of going to, but never had the chance.  The show that I’ve been dying to see is Phantom of the Opera, a classic.  If you are not from the city, Fall is also the perfect season to visit.
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ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

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I’ve been seeing my Facebook feed get filled up with countless videos of people getting doused by icy water in the name of charity.  It’s pretty hard not to be aware of this challenge that went viral over the summer and shows no sign of slowing down. This social movement has helped ALS raise awareness and milllions of dollars. So when I was nominated to take part in the challenge, I was happy to accept.

As much fun as I’ll have dumping a bucket of cold water on my head, I will also be donating money. In addition, to showing my support for ALS, I wanted to use this opportunity to also raise money for Breast Cancer research, another cause that’s near and dear to my heart.  Both diseases affect countless people worldwide.  So for every ‘like‘ or ‘share‘ that I get in the next 48 hours, I will be donating $1 to the ALS Association as well as Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Here goes nothing. 

 

 

Photo of the Week: Foggy Cliff

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IMG_6181Cliff of Moher, Ireland

This photo was taken at the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.  After watching this spectacular site featured in many movies, we were excited to finally make it to the Emerald Isle in the summer of 2013 to see it for ourselves. This Irish natural wonder is where coastline rises high above the Atlantic ocean. If you are not scared of heights,  you can walk along  the cliff side all the way to the edge, staring down into the abyss.  This magnificent vista is one of the most popular tourist locations in Western Ireland.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.

Trip Report: Peru

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It’s hard to believe that it’s almost 2 months since our trip to South America.  Time flies! This trip report summarizes all the posts related to our trip to Peru and provide a break down of the cost.

  • Time Cost
    • Total Days In Peru: 8 day  –  1 days in Lima, 2 days in Cusco, 1 day in Sacred Valley, 4 days in the mountain
    • Total Days Off From Work: 4 days (we went over July 4th weekend).

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Travel Tips: What to Pack for the Inca Trek

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For our Inca Trek, we had a porter to help carry our stuff, however, there is a 6 kg weight limit on how much a porter is allowed to carry.  The limit includes the weight of the sleeping bag and air mattress, which will leave about 3 kg for personal stuff, and it all has to fit into a duffle bag. We had to balance between the weight limit and what we deemed absolutely necessary to bring for the whole trek. Anything extra would have to be carried in the day pack, but on the second day when you are climbing the steep mountain, you’ll be glad that you don’t have a 20 lbs bag on your back. Based on our experience, here are some tips on what to bring. This includes some of the tips that were given to us and some that we added from our experience.

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Peru: Machu Picchu

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Getting ready for the Inca trek

Finally, after all the preparation and anticipation, we made it to the day of the trek. Starting off from Ollantaytambo, we packed our bags, said goodbye to civilization and got on the bus taking us to the km marker 82, the official start of our Inca trail. As we wound our way along the Urubamba river, the bus driver was blasting music, pumping us up for the adventure ahead. Sitting at the back of the bus, staring out at the Andes mountains I contemplated if I really wanted to go through with it and if there was time to turn back when I heard the lyric “everything that kills me makes me feel alive”.  I think that’s a sign.

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Photo of the Week: Mosaic

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Volubilis, Morocco

This photo was taken at Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Morocco.  This ancient Roman city is located a short distance from the bustling city of Fes.  Scattered throughout the ruins you will find many well preserved mosaics.  This particular mosaic depicts the goddess Diana bathing with her attendants. Growing up I was fascinated with Greek/Roman mythology, so having the opportunity to see the myths come alive in these colorful mosaics was priceless.

Every Monday of each week, I’ll share a photo with you from my adventures around the world and at home.  Most of my photos have little or no post processing.  If you would like to see more, please click the ‘Follow’ button.