My New York: Hudson River Park

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I’ve struggled for two days writing this post.  I started with a thought and it quickly changed to something else and I am left with a draft full of hodgepodge ideas of what I want to write about New York.  It’s hard because there are so many things I want to write about this great place that we call home, but none of it fits together.  I have to learn to be patient, just like you can’t explore all the different nuances of this city in a day, I can not possibly do it justice in a single post.  So I’ve finally settled on sharing one of my favorite things about New York city with you, something that might not get mentioned in travel books.

Biking in New York

Biking in New York

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Musings: Ghost Town

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I always like the city on a holiday weekend. There are fewer people around, and all the New Yorkers have long gone to the Hamptons. The usual long lines have shortened and almost every restaurant is empty (except the ones in Time Square). It’s the perfect time to try that popular restaurant that everyone is talking about but impossible to get in. Every Memorial day, July Fourth, and Labor day weekend, New York turns into a ghost town, if New York can ever be called a ghost town.

Mileage Run: Vienna

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Last night, while we were watching TV and decompressing after a very long week, Fausto casually mentioned to me that he reserved tickets to Vienna, Austria on Halloween weekend. And when I say weekend, I literally mean weekend. We are going on another mileage run (a short trip that helps you accumulate more miles in your airline program and achieve status).

I am relatively new to this whole weekend travel business. Before, when I think of traveling, I usually think of a trip that lasts for at least a week (anything shorter doesn’t seem to be worth the airline ticket). You need time to acclimate and familiarize yourself with your new surroundings, not to mention you need time to relax and really enjoy being away. This past year, due to work and personal obligations, we were very short on time. That’s when Fausto convinced me to take a weekend trip to Tokyo and Seoul on Thanksgiving weekend. Two cities, across the other side of the world in four days, sure why not. I find that it’s usually not too hard to convince me to go somewhere, especially some place I’ve never been.

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Cheap Flight Alert: NYC to Multiple Destinations

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If you are looking to go to Europe and/or Asia for cheap, check out Priceline right now. Due to a pricing mistake (yay us!), Priceline is showing fares from New York to Milan and Prague to Tokyo for $237. Or if you so incline, you can switch out Tokyo for Bangkok for $359. These are multi-city fares and were priced out today around 10:30 am and they still work. Multiple dates and cities are available, but you have to be persistent and flexible as you play around with the different combinations.

JFK-MXP-PRG-NRT   JFK-MXP-PRG-BKK

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Photo of the Week: Reflection

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Ankara (9)Lake Tuz, Turkey

This photo was taken towards the end of our trip to Turkey.  After 6 hours on the bus, we were very eager to get out and stretch our legs.  Walking to the salt flats on a cloudy day, it’s hard to tell where the sky ends and Earth begins.  I was taking pictures of the reflection, and out of the corner of my eyes I saw this boy skipping.  I turned around just in time to capture this image.  It’s still one of my favorite photo of all time.

Every 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.

 

Preparing for Our First Trek

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In one short month we will be embarking on our first ever trek to Machu Picchu. Fausto, of course wanted to do the 4 days hike on the Inca road, traversing the well-worn path that leads to the ancient city. I on the other hand have many misgivings. We don’t camp or hike or embrace nature in general (unless you count walking around Central Park on the weekend). We are definitely city folks, so this feels like going from beginners to experts to me.


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