TT & JMB take on the Big Apple!

Our goal in New York was to eat well, drink well and see every borough - and that is what we did! Let's go through them shall we?

Queens
We stayed in at a great little airbnb in Queens. Not the prettiest area, but the place had everything we needed and it was a quick walk to the metro. Our first night we had dinner at a place Jan saw on Chef's Table called Cinegas las Tiayudos y Oaxaca - a hole in the wall with yummy mexican food. After our tacos, we stopped for Icees at the Ice King of Corona (even though it was freezing out) and let me tell you, the king knows how to make an icee. That was our first evening in Queens... more to come.

Greenwich Village & Lower Manhattan
We bought our week long metro pass and ventured out! The metro system is huge in NYC, but once you get the hang of it, it is pretty simple to navigate (Google maps help a ton as well.) After two transfers, we hopped off the metro into an area that looked a lot more like I expected NY to look like - brownstones, high rises and lots of pretty buildings. Lunch was one of my favourite meals of the whole trip - ramen at Momofuku! So delish. Our next official stop was an hour walk away in Tribeca, so we slowly made our way to that side of town, stopping at some thrift stores, Bloomingdales, Uniclo and an ol timey bar called Walkers. Jan said there was an ol timey accountant drinking at the bar as well - I didn't see him... We also stopped at a great wine bar called Terrior which we really enjoyed - the wine menu was huge! It was actually a binder. Finally, we made our way to Tribeca to see Michael J. Fox & Denis Leary speak as part of the Tribeca Film Festival. They spoke about their friendship, Michael's recent injury and more about his charity and it was pretty cool! Dinner was at a vegetarian michelin star restaurant called Nix. I wasn't blown away by this meal to tell you the truth. The dishes sounded delicious, but I wasn't really impressed with any of them. After dinner, it was time for a show at Comedy Cellar! This was definitely a highlight of the trip - I've seen the venue on television so many times, it was really cool to be there. The comedians were great - 6 in total for some big belly laughs :) When the show ended, even though we had no room in our bellies, we grabbed a slice down the road at Joes - our first NYC slice and it surely was not our last. Jan was too drunk to navigate the metro on the way home... so we went in the wrong direction for a good 20 minutes... but we made it home safe and sound... 2 hours later!

Manhattan/Times Square
I considered us metro experts after the previous night, so we easily made our way to Times Square. We left the dank underground terminal and stepped onto the sidewalk and into the madness that is Times Square. The sidewalks were packed with people and the sky was full of 20ft screens and skyscrapers as far as the eye can see. Jan bought himself some new Levis and I bought a soft pretzel from a food cart - and I huddled against a storefront as I ate my pretzel and watched people take their picture with a person dressed like the Statue of Liberty. Then ladies and gentlemen, it was time for the pièce de résistance... HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD ON BROADWAY. The entire Lyric Theatre was decked out in HP awesomeness - even the carpet! Patronuses painted on the walls, house flags to pose with, a cloakroom... they weren't messing around. The production itself was so beautifully done... so much magic onstage! I honestly don't know how they did half of it. We were asked the #keepthesecrets so I will leave it at that. In between the shows (yes, Jan sat through 2 shows - one at 2pm and another at 7:30pm) we had dinner at an Ethiopian place called Meske and a drink at As Is. It was truly a magical day!

Queens cont'd

Back in our hood for the day, and we really are the only white people around. At least in our particular neighbourhood, it is all spanish people... you hear spanish on the street, the signs are in spanish and there are delicious food carts selling mexican food all down the streets! We walked over to Citi Field to watch the Mets play the Reds and were blessed with a perfect sunny day for a ballgame! So sunny in fact, that we had to sit under our umbrellas! After a very quick game, we walked down the boardwalk to Flushing Meadows Corona Park. There were all kinds of things we wanted to see in this park but we somehow missed most of them! However, we did find the Unisphere (although it is pretty hard to miss!) We had some beer and snacks at Mikkeller after our walk - a brewery attached to Citi Field. For dinner, we went just west of Queens to Jackson Heights area. We had momos for dinner at Momo Crave and they were very yummy - a Nepali dumpling served in a variety of ways. For our nightcap, we went to a jazz bar call Terraza 7, where an 18 piece jazz band was practicing on the mezzanine. 

 

Staten Island

Definitely my least favourite borough, but a cool day nonetheless. The ferry ride to Staten Island is free and has some pretty awesome views of the Statue of Liberty - although it was a pretty cloudy day so visibility wasn't great. The first thing I noticed was trees! The island has more trees than I saw in New York up to this point. Our first stop was Lee's Tavern for some tavern style pizza (thin crust). Pretty good - but the hunt for the best NYC slice was still on. We decided to check out Historic Richmond Town next... this was a weird stop. A little town full of historic buildings - but unfortunately you can't go inside any unless you are with a tour, which we missed. So we visited the museum which was full of baby chairs and toys and walked around the town - but it was a very quick visit for us. We took an uber over to the FDR Boardwalk for a walk along the water next... again not the best way for a walk along the Atlantic Ocean, but we went with it. Dinner was at a Sri Lankan restaurant called Lakruwana - highlight of that meal was the hilarious conversation between a family we overheard - quintessential New Yorkers with thick accents and attitudes - something we actually didn't hear much of! Oh and Jan lost his sun gees - it was a big deal.

 

The Bronx

We went to the Bronx on a Saturday, so the metro was just jammed. It was pretty nuts how many people continued to board the already jammed car at each stop. Out first stop was in Manhattan to see Grants Tomb. Jan loves his presidential graves. The tomb was a GIANT mausoleum with two giant caskets lying in the basement and fresh flowers everywhere. Not a shabby resting place. We continued our grave visits in the Bronx at Woodlawn Cemetery. A 400 acre cemetery that we got quite lost in to tell you the truth. After hunting for a few graves Jan wanted to check out, including Myles Davis, we headed back to the gate to find ourselves locked in! The gates were 10 feet high and spiky... there was no way we could have jumped them easily. Luckily, there was a number listed and we just had to wait 15 minutes for a guard to show up. Once freed, we headed to the heart of The Bronx - over to Arthur Avenue, known as the Little Italy of the Bronx. We of course had an Italian meal at Tra Di Noi which was delicious, and also our first real meal of the day, so we scarfed it down. For a night cap, we stopped at the Bronx Ale House which was inside a market that seemed pretty cool. Oh, and on our way to the metro, Jan peed in the middle of a busy street. Only in NYC!

Brooklyn

We had quite the rainy day in Brooklyn - that's spring for you. Brooklyn was quite trendy... no one warned me. I wore one of my most casual outfits! We started at Best's Pizza for a slice - I will officially have to admit at this point - I was not as blown away by NY pizza as I hoped I would be. The crust is thin, the sauce is very tomatoey and the cheese just can't compare to Galati. I suppose Windsor pizza has spoiled me. Next stop was The Four Horsemen, a wine bar owned by James Murphy. As we walked into the bar, James Murphy walked in right behind us! We were too awkward to say hello, but it was still cool to see him in normal life. His bar was fabulous - delicious selection of cheese, wild pear tea, natural wines - the highlight of the day for me. We sat by the window and watched Brooklyners walk by in the rain. We walked around looking for the Brooklyn Flea (Market) but it was closed... but we stumbled into the Williamburg Hotel for a drink, and boy was it full of hipsters (and tequila girls). We stopped into Rough Trade Records next, and happened to catch The Feelies doing soundcheck for their show that night! We found an open flea market, stopped for a glass of wine at Woodhul and then it was time for our reservation at Have & Meyer. We sat at the bar and boy did they pack us in - elbow to elbow. The bartender/server barely spoke english and brought Jan whatever wine he wanted each time he ordered. It was kinda hilarious, but also kinda annoying. We order some Jamon Iberica to start, shared some pasta for the main and crème brûlée for desert. The meal was decent, but the ambiance left something to be desired. 

Back in Manhattan - FINAL DAY!

We started the day at the Museum of Natural History. It was beautiful outside - so we were selective about which exhibits to visit. We chose the Forest Exhibit, Planet Earth, African mammals and the dinosaurs of course! We decided to have one more slice of pizza at Rays - my favourite of the trip but Jan would disagree. Once fuelled by pizza, we were ready to take on Central Park! Super pretty, with very diverse vegetation... clearly planted, but beautiful nonetheless. The park was full of horse-drawn carriages, bikers, runners... an awesome escape for New Yorkers. We sat by a pond and visited the Imagine Mosaic in Strawberry Fields. We left the park and headed to Rockefeller Plaza and on our way we passed Trump Tower. In front was a guy holding a sign that said "Shit Hole," and selling anti-trump buttons. Two feet from him was a man in a MAGA hat with a big Re-Elect Trump in 2020 banner. I truly wish I took a picture of this, but the streets were so busy it was hard to stop. We also stopped for a drink on the patio at Brasserie Ruhlmann before I finally got my photo at Rockefeller. Final stop was Grand Central Station. We had a drink at The Bar, before our dinner at Agern - a restaurant which is actually inside Grand Central Station. The meal was fantastic - a perfect ending to the trip! They took their time with each delicious course and were so accommodating. Highly recommend.

We did it, we saw all the boroughs and I only blistered four toes. Goodnight Everybody!

Holiday Greetings from the CCS Staff

We had a little fun this holiday season at the Canadian Cancer Society... 

Cheers to another great year with these crazy ladies!

Best albums of 2018

Courtney Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel (Milk)

Beginning to end, I loved it.

Wye Oak - The Louder I Call, The Faster It Runs (Merge)

Jan played this so much, I knew every word before I could say The Louder I Call, The Faster I Run. See what I did there?

Dusted - Blackout Summer (Polyvinyl)
It creeps in there. Give it a few spins.

tUnE-yArDs - Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life (4AD)

I can't help but love what Merrill Garbus does. 

US Girls - In A Poem Unlimited (4AD)

I think Half Free was stronger, but still, a solid album.

David Byrne - American Utopia (Nonesuch)

Ok... the album was weird, but the concert was awesome.

Other songs on repeat this year 

(not all new... but I get obsessive with some tracks)

Childish Gambino - This is America
Whitney Houston - How Will I Know?

Chaka Khan - Ain't Nobody

Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol

All Prince... good lord all Prince.

RIP

Aretha Franklin

An East Coast Ending

I have always wanted to see more of Canada. I have been to Africa, South America, Central America, Europe... but no where in Canada. So Jan agreed to go on an East Coast Camping Trip (if you know Jan, you know that was quite the compromise). The plan was to drive from Windsor to Cape Breton and back through the US. 'Plan' being the key word...

First stop... Montreal!
Passing two accidents on the way to Montreal made for a pretty long first travel day. It took us about 12 hours in total to arrive at Matt and Kat's place in Outremont. There was a huge heat wave in Montreal at the time so it sure made for a sweaty visit. But we had a very enjoyable stay with Katthew and Sylvia. We walked around their neighbourhood, had a delicious BBQ lunch, dinner at Manitoba, ran into Sarah D and her gal pals at Cicchetti, danced to some 80's tunes at La Tulipe and had a quick visit with Hilda.

On to Quebec City

Our cute little studio apartment was a quick walk to Old Quebec. The first night we stayed in our neighbourhood. We visited some breweries - Korrigane and Noctem and had a dirty poutine at Chez Gaston... which we ate for breakfast the next day too! Officially in vacation mode. There was a massive staircase we had to climb to get back to our apartment though, so we definitely worked off that poutine.  

The next day we braved the heat and walked down to Old Quebec. We made a stop at Chateau Frontenac, had drinks at Papes Georges (a 300 year old house), walked around an old anglophone cemetery, found free books and visited the market. Before our dinner reservations, we had a cocktail at Maeestorm and then a delightful farm to table meal at Le Renard et Chouette.

Bay of Fundy, NB

We hoped to arrive at our campsite in Fundy National Park around 5pm, but as seemed to be the trend of the trip, the travel time took way longer than we expected. We didn't get to our site in Point Wolfe Beach until 8:45pm. At this point, the roads were dark, windy and foggy... and it was kinda intense. Of course, our first night of camping on the trip and we had to set up in the dark and the rain. To top it all off, we killed our car battery by using the headlights to set up. Gah... It was a rough start. BUT, the camping gods showed us mercy... in the morning the sun came out and the car started with only a few groans. During breakfast Jan made a squirrel friend who he named Joshua - things were looking up!

We did the obligatory stop at Hopewell Rocks. The tide had already receded by the time we arrived, so we were able to walk around on the ocean floor. We headed back to our campground to watch the tide come in... and boy did it come in fast. We had to help a family lift their son over the side of the staircase because the tide quickly rose over the stairs. Three words describe Bay of Fundy - moss, fog and mist.

Province #3... PEI!

We crossed Confederation Bridge and entered province 3/4 of the trip... Prince Edward Island! We decided to start with the Central Coastal Drive to see some of the island and find my co-worker's cousin's restaurant 'O'Neils.' The island is beautiful - colourful houses, rivers throughout, bales of hay everywhere and lobster traps for sale at the end most driveways. Our first stop at O'Neils was great for a quick bite and our first taste of PEI brews. Scott had a beautiful gallery, and I finally learned the name of the gorgeous flowers I was seeing everywhere - lupins! The PEI National Park was pretty close quarters, but luckily we had a private site tucked in the back. Our site was walking distance from the beach, so we headed down to the Atlantic Ocean to watch the sunset. There were jellyfish everywhere on the beach! You had to be careful not to step on them. 

As we were having a beautiful fire on this chilly evening, I saw something walk in between Jan and I. We turned on the flashlight to see a skunk trying to open our cooler! He was aggressive and clearly very used to people. Jan thought I should get in the car and honk the horn to get rid of him... LOL! Instead, I continued to shine the light on him and he eventually headed back into the bush. That could have been bad. 

The second day in PEI was a gorgeous day. We woke up early and hit the beach. It was a very hot day, so it was nice to be there early. The red sand and red rocks are very unique. I attempted to go in the water, but there were so many critters I wimped out - crabs, jellyfish and some other creepy crustacean I couldn't identify. We stopped at Cow's Creamery and had some PEI fries at Boom Burger. Next, we headed to downtown Charlottetown for a drink on the harbour at Brakish before visiting Chelsie! It was so great to see Chelsie, Tim, Ewan and Bronwen in their new home. They made us a delicious meal which included local beef and scallops. More than palatable :) As we were heading back to the park, we saw 3 orange and brown foxes jumping around... they were so darn cute!

The final province... Nova Scotia

We took the short ferry from Woods Island, PEI to Caribou, NS and the weather was yucky. Our plan was to camp in Whycocomagh Provincial Park, but we decided to grab motel for the night. It was a classic strip motel... and I totally felt like Sam and Dean :)

The next day we hit the road and we were ready to explore the Cabot Trail. We hiked the Uisge Ban and visited a beautiful waterfall. Then we stopped in Baddeck to explore the Alexander Graham Bell museum. 

And then... we got into an accident. I was driving and we missed our turn for the Cabot Trail. I made a left turn into a gravel turnaround, and as I did, the guy behind me decided to pass and t-boned us. We went into a ditch and that was the end of the road for us :(

Everyone was okay... except for the Impala. A very nice officer drove us back into Baddeck where we stayed at the Silver Dart Inn. The staff were so caring and hospitable - they comped our room and breakfast. Sarah and Mark even sent us a bottle of wine... so our rough day was made a bit better by some kindness. We spent the night making calls and strategizing what to do next.  

We took a cab over to Sydney the next day, as that was the only city around us with a car rental office. Unfortunately, there were zero available cars for us to rent. We really didn't know what to do... and our plan changed quite a few times. But finally Jan said it was "Maritime for us to go home." We shipped our camping gear on a Greyhound bus, donated what we couldn't ship and booked a flight home for the next day. 

We missed out on the Cabot Trail, Halifax, Portland and the Finger Lakes. I am still pretty bummed and wish we could rewind time... but I take solace in the fact that Jan and I don't have a scratch on us, and the kindness shown by our friends, family and many strangers.

The positives - We got this amazing photo, and we were able to see all 4 provinces we set out to visit. Hopefully, when I finally get to visit the West Coast of Canada, it will go much smoother!