L'aissez les bon temps roulez!

I am officially here in N'Orleans for the Rock n' Roll Half Marathon this weekend!

Goals for this weekend include:
1. Run a sub-2:15 half (yeah, we'll see about that...)
2. Hang out with some of my running besties
3. Find (and visit) the New Orleans Lululemon Showroom.
4. Eat as many Shrimp Po'boys as possible.
5. Drink at least one hurricane a day.

If you need me, check Bourbon Street.




*UPDATE*

After our little shake out run around the French Quarter today I'm fairly certain my 2:15 goal is never going to happen. Granted race morning should me much cooler, but holy humidity Batman!

NYC

Last week took me on an impromptu trip to NYC to visit my BFF and help her move. Recently she found herself in a bit of a pickle...she and her longtime, live-in boyfriend broke up. Seeing as I've found myself with a little extra time these days, and she had a free airfare voucher, flying out on moving weekend seemed like the least I could do.

Going, going, gone!

First order of business on Friday evening when I arrived was dinner before heading downtown. Dinner was veggie burgers and fries at Petey's on 30th Ave. Let me tell you, most amazing sweet potato fries. EVER. Seriously, if you are in the area and are a self-proclaimed french fry connoisseur like myself, this is a must. After dinner we cleaned ourselves up and hopped a train to Manhattan.

View from the train stop.

I should mention here my love affair with the subway. I dream of living somewhere with mass transit like the NYC subway system it would be a dream come true. First of all, no car or driving. Second, (quasi) efficient mass transit. And most importantly, the people watching! Sure, I want want to wear gloves and sanitize everything, but that's just because I'm a bit of germaphobe. I'll take the germs and funk any day.

20mins later we were downtown (how magical is that?!) and headed to Broadway to see Wicked.

Wicked!

I've read the book (more than once) and have been known to sing along to the soundtrack, but I have to say I was a tad disappointed with the show overall. I think it was a combo of my love of the book and how awful I thought the casting of Galinda was in the show (can we say tone-deaf). That combined with the fact that both the BFF and I were distracted by our respective life challenges made it difficult to sit through the show. I am so happy I finally saw it...but kind of wish we had seen The Book of Mormon.

Next stop was Time Square. I've been there multiple times, but when you're but blocks away it's hard not to stroll by. The lights and energy never ceases to amaze me.

I refused to get close enough to pose with them, but I couldn't resist snapping a pic of one of the meany flea-ridden Elmo's panhandling.

Saturday morning, bright and early, it was down to business. The day started by renting a van and heading to Ikea so that the BFF could shop for some new furniture. And by some I mean a van full.

This doesn't even do the van load justice.

Moving in NYC is unlike anything I have ever done. There is no such thing as pulling up to front, or back, of the building, propping open the door and unloading. No. You cross your fingers and hope to find a close parking spot and you schlep everything from the van to the building. And don't even think about leaving the van open or unlocked during the process. Ugh.

After unloading the new furniture we headed back to the old apartment to pack up things there.

Holy Cows! These pics aren't even the tip of the iceberg of what we moved. Some was packed, some was not. Some was organized...much was not. Let's be honest, the BFF has never been a neat freak. I can remember college and wading through the stuff in her bedroom in search of the bed, chair, phone, etc.

Two more van trips later we had the majority of the stuff at the new apartment and it was time to call it a day!

Sunday began a day of building Ikea furniture. Who doesn't love building Ikea furniture? Oh wait, this girl.

Another thing I love about NYC is that every neighborhood has virtually everything you could ever need, and want, within walking distance. The BFF just moved to a new part of Astoria near Broadway and Steinway. Talk about a hip little neighborhood. Either street you walk down you won't be disappointed!

My favorite part?!? The fro-yo! After a loooong day of building furniture and unpacking I would say the non-fat Cake Batter and Vanilla fro-yo with sprinkles and cookie dough was well deserved.

16 Handles. Yum.

Next morning, Monday, we broke our daily Brooklyn Bagel routine with crepes. The bagels were to die for, but the Nutella crepe was a worthy substitute.

Monday was filled with more cleaning, unpacking and Ikea furniture building. Oh! And I painted a wall purple in the bedroom. There was also a bit of a roach situation, but I'd rather not think about that.ever.again. I guess that's the trade off for living in NYC.

Monday was a long, long day, which meant Tuesday started later than planned. We grabbed a quick dinner breakfast/brunch before taking the train downtown to visit a few of my favorite places before I headed home.

A trip to NYC is not complete without a stroll down 5th Ave.

Central Park

Art display outside Central Park

We also stopped by Lululemon...but I was too busy trying on clothes and shopping to take any shareable pictures. And no trip NYC is complete without a stop by the happiest place on earth, the original Tiffany & Co.

And just like that I was on a plane, headed home.

Thailand: The Itinerary, The Weekend Market

Also known as Bangkok, Part II

11/27: The Chatuchak Weekend Market

If you've ever been to a flea market, like 7 Mile Fair for those in the WI/IL area, the Weekend Market is kind of like that...but supersized. It's almost as though the world's most eclectic collectors each had an 8x10 storage locker in the same oversized storage locker maze, and all at once they opened their lockers...overwhelming and yet amazing.

To set the mood for the day, we wandered down to Th Suhkumvit to the friendly neighborhood McDonald's, again, for some familiar comfort food. We then decided to wander the soi's (side streets) to see what was in the area. After aimlessly wondering past countless massage parlors and hostels we decided to hire a tuk-tuk to take us to the market.

We approached the driver, who spoke English impeccably well, and asked to go to the market. Without hesitation this fine gentleman told us it was under water, closed, flooded...but he could offer to take us on a 2hr tour of all of the must see sights of Bangkok for 200 baht. It's true, much of Bangkok had recently been devastated by floods...but something didn't small right. And for once it wasn't the soi. We decided to take a chance and walk away from the very persistent tuk-tuk driver, who followed us btw, and ask the nearby cab driver. The cabbie was quite willing to take us to the market and assure us that the market was quite open. Turns out the market was farther than the tuk-tuk could go, but desperate for business the driver was willing to say and do whatever it took to convince the silly foreigners to hire him anyways...

Let that be today's lesson. Thailand is touted to be the 'land of smiles' with the friendliest people. Wellll, sort of. We did not find this to be entirely true in Bangkok, which I suppose is a reflection of it's size and high tourism rate. Know where you want to go, what is a reasonable rate, be willing to barter, and be firm. And don't be afraid to say no and walk away.

Minor hiccup aside, we made it to the market with a few hours to shop and browse. I think it is best to let the picture do the talking...

We seem to have been dropped off at the antiques and fine art end of the market. It was almost as thought we were transported back in time...ornate woodworking, beautiful furniture, sculpture and fine art surrounded us. It was astounding. We wound our way through that section of the market, without any plan or direction, until we ended up at one of the many, shall we say, food courts.

The smell of chestnuts roasting filled the air...as did the stench of dirty soi and fish, but I'm choosing to remember the chestnuts.

Fresh fruit as far as the eye could see. Tangerines, strawberries, pineapple, coconuts, dragon fruit, watermelon. The fruit was being continually transformed into fresh cut fruit cups, coconut water, popsicles, smoothies and fresh squeezed juice. We partook in the fresh tangerine juice and it was heavenly.

We even found freshly roasted ears of corn on the cob, which I am astounded to say that W refrained from trying.

From food court to the bizarre...knock off handbags and clothing, underwear, lots and lots of underwear, and pet apparel. This particular little guy was sporting a SWAT team vest of sorts and helmet complete with protective visor for scootin'. And believe me, the Thai scooted with their pets.

From there we seemed to be transported back a decade or two. Boatneck tee-shirts, neons, sleeveless t's and "retro" prints. Only I don't believe the items to be revival pieces...I think that our 80's wardrobes finally made halfway around the world.

My only true regret in Thailand was not picking up one, or ten, of the slap watches that seemed to be all the rage.

From there we found our way to the shoe department. While there were hundreds of seemingly handmade shoes, there was also an abundance of used footwear. Original Air Jordan's? No problem. The highest of hi-tops in every color of the rainbow? You betcha. It was like falling through the rabbit hole and finding yourself in the closet of an 80's pro basketball player.

We wandered down aisles of precious,and not so precious gems, beautiful beads by the sold by the string or pound.

We looked at reams of fabric of every style, color and weight....

And eventually found our way to the fish market. This might have been the most astounding part of the market. Goldfish and Koi of ever color, shape and size imaginable. Amphibious lizards. Plants. Piranhas. Waist-high swimming pools set up to house fish nearly as big as I am. And more. Astounding a terrifying all at once.

And that is when we decided it was time to call it a day.

Thailand: The Itinerary, Bangkok

I realized the other day the details of our trip to Thailand are growing fuzzier and fuzzier. There are memories and photos that will last a lifetime...but all the details seem to be slowly running together.

So before any more of it slips away, and because people are still asking about our trip, I thought it was time to put it all down on paper (so to speak).

11/24-25: TRAVEL TIME!! We started out our travel day, which was Thanksgiving btw, in the very we hours of the morning waiting to catch the Van Gelder bus from Madison to O'hare. From there it was 22+ hours of travel...ORD>DET (1.5hr)>NRT(~12hrs)>BKK(~7.5hrs)

With travel time and time zones we arrive in Bangkok at around 11:30pm Friday. After navigating immigration and baggage claim, and figuring out how to hire a cab, we were on our way to the Radisson Suites Sukhumvit. The sights and sounds of Sukhumvit, from the safety of the cab, were mesmerizing and amazing, much as the sights and sounds of NY Times Square would be to a foreigner. Being that we had been traveling for so long we opted to head to bed and wait to explore the city.

11/26: Exploring Sukhumvit. I have to say, I found Sukhumvit, and Bangkok, to be much more endearing from the backseat of an air conditioned cab. Sukhumvit is the "hip" and touristy area of Bangkok, much like Time Square in NYC, only dirtier and seedier.

The streets are lined with vendors selling everything you could think of: Viagra, pocket knives, knock off t's, trinkets and sex toys. It's all there. It also, endearingly, smelled like rancid sewer. I can't say for certain if the stench was a result of the recently receded flood waters or if it is always that funky, but it was positively nauseating at times. Many of the restaurants along the street were either food carts or open air restaurants. I could not FATHOM eating Thai when all I could smell was sewage. SO instead we found solitude and familiarity in McDonalds.

Yes, we traveled a few thousands miles to eat McDonalds. On the bright side, in Thailand, McDonalds makes everything fresh as it was ordered. $3 for a 6 piece nugget, medium fry and a medium Coke, combined with A/C and refuge from the funk...it was a no brainer.

After eating our first official meal in Thailand we hired our first tuk-tuk and headed to the Divana Spa for a much needed massage and relaxation.

The streets are lined with massage parlors, but do your research so that you actually get the kind of massage you want...

Divana was a quaint home, complete with outdoor courtyard and garden. They greeted us with an assortment of fresh fruit and tea, and made us feel at home. We opted for a detoxifying and relaxing couples massage (which I cannot recommend enough when you've traveled as far as we had).

From there we headed to a local tailor to contemplate adding a few custom clothing pieces to our wardrobe....

Before calling it a day!

11/27: Weekend Market The Chatuchak Market, also know as the Weekend Market, was quite possibly my favorite part of Bangkok. That being said, it is worthy of a post all of its own (which I promise will be soon...).