Yankees whipped ass at Fenway Park!

Lil' Kate scored us complimentary tix to the much anticipated New York Yankees vs Bsoton Red Sox at Fenway Park and off we went to my 1st baseball match. About 36,000 other Red Sox fans(and a smattering handfull of Yankee fans) packed the stadium and I felt precariously endangered in my NY Yankees Cap surrounded by the Red Sox fans. The atmosphere was highly charged with a murderous voltage since the Yankees whipped the ass of Red Soz in 2 games the day before. By the time I left Boston, the Yankees had already won 5 straight games against the home team. I feel proud to be living in NYC. *big grin* Unlike football matches, these baseball games can last up to 6hours(WTF?) and some games start at 8pm and end around 1am in the morning. *yawn* And also unlike football matches, the players are very relaxed and they have a break every 15mins and retire back to their shack and then re-emerged 5mins later in a new formation. Players are chewing and blowing bubble gum and I dunno where I got the impression from (honestly) but they all seem to sport some kind of beer belly(sexy?). Enough to say, we didn't drive 4hrs to Boston to spend 5-6 hours looking at a bunch of pot bellied, gum blowing, bat swinging men on a pitch all afternoon, so we wished the Yankees good luck and slipped out of the stadium 1 hr later to do some serious sight-seeing.

The Boston Public Garden was pretty and reminiscent of an English Garden, especially when the signature Swan boats(since 1877) made its rounds on the lake. Cutting across the cool wading pool, we arrived at the elite neighbourhood of Beacon Hill. Old school oil-lit lamps adorn the cobbled streets as we stroll past well-manicured gardens and delicate summer flowers streaming down the windows.

At some point, Emmanuel decided he is hungry enough to eat a "cow". So he did.

The iconic Fanuiel Hall/Quincy market area was a nice place to watch buskers in action, shop for souvenirs at the street stalls and feast upon the fresh seafood(lobster rolls!) that is so abundant in New England. We popped by the Italian area in the North End and I swear my mouth was watering real bad by the time we walked past the snaking lines forming outside these non-pretentious restaurants.

We couldn't leave Boston without checking out Cambridge. We strolled on the campus of Harvard University and wondered if my IQ would be a tad higher after I leave its grounds(it didn't, of course). The entire town has great shopping and restaurants where we chanced upon this real authentic vietnamese restaurant(Le' pas) and Emmanuel tried durian fruit shake for the very first time(yumz, he said). Finally, our last stop was Charlestown where the USS Constituion was moored. This is an impressive old lady - she won 42 battles, lost none and is the oldest commisioned warship afloat since she was christened in 1797! Whoa!

Whales, whales and MORE WHALES in BOSTON!

MOTHER & CALF HUMBACK WHALES! FIN WHALES! MINKE WHALES! BASKING SHARKS! WHOOHOO!!!!
I AM WRITING IN CAPITAL LETTERS COS I AM SO F*CKING EXCITED I SIMPLY CANNOT CONTROL IT!!!! AFTER WATCHING THE BBC'S BLUE PLANET SERIES, I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE FASCINATED WITH WHALES - THE LARGEST MAMMALS ON EARTH!!! Do you know that the BLUE WHALE(the largest) is even bigger than any large dinosaurs that had ever walked the surface of the earth? I wish I could turn back time and become a marine biologist instead of a business executive. Anyways, we dropped by Boston last weekend to visit a friend and found out it was the perfect season to do whale watching just 30miles off Boston. There is a whale feeding ground and you can feast your eyes upon these magnificent creatures of the deep where they seem to be congregating in more numbers as the years pass for some unfound reason. Oh, what a big feast for thy eyes...!!! We had left the harbour with hopes of seeing some(maybe 2-3) whales but never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I would be seeing 3 types of whales(tho' I honestly couldn't tell them apart just by looking at the fins; remember - I am not diving!) and even a basking shark(again, i couldn't make it out from the boat...just a fin bobbing here and there)! These humpbacks are acrobats of the ocean and they do put up quite a show indeed! When we first spotted them, they were spouting from the two blowholes and the spray can shoot up to 3-4m above water! We were warned of halitosis(bad breath) of the whales but spared the torture(thank god). The adult humpbacks we saw were ranging in length from 10 to 14m(almost 1/2 of our catamaran! These whales eat an average of 2000-2500kg of plankton, krill and small fish EACH DAY! They feed by gulping a large volume of water and then filtering the water out from its bristle-like baleen. An impressive technique they use in cooperative group hunting is by bubble-net feeding and each time these whales dive down, they release a wall of bubbles (which we can see here in the pics) which trap their food within the wall and push the fishes and all into a concentrated mass to the surface before they spiral swim up to the surface with a giant satisfying gulp. In the distance, we saw a couple of the ballet humpbacks breaching high out of the water and doing a graceful pirouette and slapping back into the ocean with a big splash! AWESOME!!! Hip, hip, hooray!!!! They also "skyhopped", i.e. they poked their head out of the water for a peek-a-boo at us humans(really cute!). I think this is the best spent US$31 ever! I think we saw a total of 10-12 whales(lost count!) and there were at one point a total of 5 whales doing the open water feeding right next to the boat and I think I could hear my heart singing. I would have given anything to be able to dive and observe them underwater and if I am lucky, to hear them sing their eerie songs to me... *dreamy*

Wall Street Wonders

Taking advantage of the summer weather, I joined in the free Wall Street Walking Tour and was nearly bored to tears by the guide. The only interesting I learnt on the tour is of the 1st restaurant to open in the USA - Delmonico's. Ordering ala carte and having your own private dining table is a bit of a Parisian novelty back then in 1830. Before Delmonico imported the concept of "the restaurant" from Europe, "dining out" mainly refers to testosterone-filled raucous dining at long tables in taverns and eating whatever their kitchens served. As the nuevo rich filled the city, Delmonico's went as far as to serve thick, fat cigars rolled in US$100 bills and some dinner options include a free gift of a perfect black pearl in their shucked oysters. I wonder how it feels to see that bill burn away with each puff....

The second more interesting find on Wall street area is Stone Street. 5 years ago, this dumpster-filled back alley is considered dodgy and dirty and not many would risk their lives to walk through it even in broad daylight. After the city announced this street as a historical site, look at what it has transformed into - FOOD STREET! As you can see, only food interests me in this tour of the most powerful financial district in the world.

At Battery Park, I was taken aback by the sheer numbers of tourist who took the Circle Line ferry to visit the Statue of Liberty. I'm pretty happy with what I can see from the park, thank you very much.



As the tour concluded, all I could think about was eating some chinese food in Chinatown! Yumzzz!!!! Happily, I bided farewell to the Rockefellers, the JP Morgans, Trumps and what nots!

Salsa at Pier 17!!! Whompa!

The latino crowd that turned up at this free salsa concert at Pier 17 sure wasted no time boogeying away and swaying their hips in tune to the secutive live music. I felt slightly out of place with my non-salsa hips and wished fervently I had at least mastered salsa while I was traveling in latin america. Even grampies and grannies were getting it on with their slick moves! *whistle* Impressive!

Seeing that the Bodies exhibition is just at South Seaport area, Emmanuel and I popped in for a curious look-see. I regretted that pizza before entering cos after 10 mins, I felt a bit gaggy looking at these preserved bodies with chicken-like flesh flapping everywhere. Featuring many mutilated and cross-sectioned bodies(many of chinese origins, i believe), foetuses of every stage and even a cross section view of a palm size foetus huddled inside a woman's womb(hard gulp). The difference between a healthy pair of lungs versus a smoker's blackened lungs(really yucks!!) really made me glad I am not a smoker. The teratoma sample freaked Emmanuel out and I was impressed by their technique used to harden blood arteries in the body. We suspected they melted away the rest of the body, leaving only the entire bodie's blood system suspended in water for us to ogle at. Controversies surrounding the source of where these bodies come from, ranging from the mentally ill to unclaimed bodies from the prison, has kinda dampened the enthusiasm behind supporting this medical exhibition. Chicken & egg story, I think.

The Brooklyn Bridge at night, viewed from Pier 17. Sadly, it is not lighted up and hence not as magnificent as I had imagined...(maybe to save electricity to prevent another blackout). The entire Old Fish Market here has been converted into chill-out restaurants, outdoor beer gardens and this is definitely a summer place to bring friends to for a good time! The South Seaport area has been converted into a copy of London's Covent Garden(several of our English friends said "rip-off!") and very reminiscent of being in Europe.

Classical Indian Night

We were the first customers to arrive at Baluchi's Indian restaurant but the atmosphere is already tingling with sounds from the 2 classical Indian musicians seated here. No idea why any restaurants would want to schedule performances at 6pm sharp when half the work force is still bent over their laptops in their cubicles at that time. The crab curry here is absolutely yums and they do really good nans! The mango lassi is thick and consistent, slurpilicious all the way to the last drop! *slurp!* I love the decor at this place and it would have been very romantic (if only the sun had set by then) but the sun was still streaming in through the windows at 7.30pm.

My man(the romantic that he is) never fails to surprise me with fresh flowers and this time, he brought me to the florist and I picked out this bunch of pretty pink freesias. Lovely, lovely, lovely! Maybe I will use this flower for my wedding bouquet, if it is in season then(fingers crossed!).

Hiking at Bear Mountain(where there are NO bears)

Bear Mountain is only a 45mins drive from the hustle of the Big Apple and it is such a popular spot for families and their children to unwind that I actually found a family barbequeing at the grass patch right NEXT to the carpark! Unlike the magnificent mountain formations of western USA(think Yellowstone, Yosemite, etc), there is unfortunately a lack of breath-taking scenery here in the east. Alas, the most intriguing creature we found was this chipmunk. At the top of the Bear Mountain(391m high), we shared an open top plateau filled with Harley Davidsons of every colour and Goldwings shining brightly in the mid-day sun, surrounded by bikers of every age and size.

At the height of my Harry Potter reading fervour(I am down to Book 6), my dearest has decided with the wave of his wand that I should have the honour of meeting Harry himself in the form of Emmanuel(perhaps by chance of gulping down a polyjuice potion?)

This is the highlight of my day - meeting my first live groundhog! The last one I saw was dead(ran over by a vicious driver).
Ain't it the cutest thing ever??? =)

Shakespeares in the Park - The Comedy of Errors

Unconventional shakespearen plays have been performed by talented aspiring stage actors for years in Central Park by the New York Classical Theatre and I will tell you why it is a tad different. There is no stage and the cast members moves around the pond (located at 103 street and Central Park West) during different scenes - AND the audience moves along with the actors too! Summer plays in the park are fab and this is even more fab cos it is absolutely free! Of course knowing that it is non-profit and all that, we donated some $ to the astounding performance.

Just before the play started, we had a picnic with some of our friends here... Did I mention summer is great here? ;p

La francaise chinoise a la jardin de Central Park

Central Park is my absolute favourite place in NYC.
(taken at The Pond down south-east end of Central Park)

For the last 2weeks, I have been cutting across the park at 60th street to get to Alliance Francaise on the east side. The invigorating 15mins walk passing The Pond is always the highlight of my day as I almost get the pond to myself early morning. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of the stunning red cardinal bird which must be seeking tranquility at the Hatchett Bird Sanctuary nearby. I have never gotten sick of walking through its meandering paths amidst acacia, gingko biloba, birch, oak, cherry trees yet. Once the gingko nuts are ripe for picking, I will buy a basket and wait under the trees for the nuts to drop like those ol' chinese grandmas around the neighbourhood. (Need a boost for my fading memory cells... keke... ;p)

Emmanuel on the other hand doesn't need any gingkos. He needs a brand new wardrobe. I suspect after his career as a scientist has reached its highest point, he might want to switch to Cirque du Soleil for a stint. He found this Bozo jacket at the St. Francis Thrift store at 96th Street and Broadway and I have not seen him that excited since we spotted the Hugo Boss tuxedo going for US$20. This thrift shop is simply amazing...almost every clothing item is from US$3 - 6 and it is even going at a 1-for-1 price that weekend! We donated 2 bags of clothes and shoes and we came home with another 2 bags of Brooks Brothers suits, Pink/Mexx/Banana Republic shirts and Zara skirts. Love bargain hunting in NYC. A city full of rich and pampered folks. Heehee....

Finally, we ended the weekend with Kim making these children's ice-cream treats for us!!! More clowns! Haha... Her mom used to make these for her when she was a kid and now we got them too, since we were good. *wink*

Hawk's Nest Beach

We had one busy weekend the day we were invited back to the beach house(where Emmanuel proposed to me). On the drive up passing through Connecticut, we dropped by David's Bridal and Clintons Crossings Premium Factory Outlet Mall and outdone ourselves in every degree of shopping. By the time we arrived at Hawk's Nest Beach to meet our host family, we were spent(literally)! No posting of the bridal gown pix here... keeping it as a surprise! *wink*



Living with 2 little girls(1 is 13 months old, another is 3yrs old) under the same roof for one night gave me a real insight into having kids in your life.... (scream!!!!) As much as I always wanted to have kids, I must say I was not prepared for it in its entirety as a parent. Judging from the way it looked, it is without a shadow of a doubt "THE TOUGHEST JOB in the world". You can't quit this job. AND it is a 24/7 job whether you like it or not. *gulp* I think I will take one year for the mental preparation as a parent before i start to have any kids...oh yes, it is that much work! Kudos to all my friends who are parents or have a kid involved somehow in their lives! BRAVO!!!!

Little beetle having some fun, near the marshland where the osprey birds are nesting.