updates

it's been a long while since i blogged for reals. i've been just too lazy. :P ok here i go...warning! it's long!

nyc, 1.06-.09.05
the plane ride over
all i can say is there's no place like california! on my way to nyc, i had a lay over in MN and that's when i wanted to just hop back on the plane back to CA. it was FREEZING! even in those hallway plane thingys. they said it was 17 degrees, which is coldness i haven't felt since last january. THEN, my flight was canceled to NYC and i had to wait out an extra hour for the next flight. northwest said it was canceled b/c of the weather, yeah rite, it was b/c they couldn't fill the plane up to its capacity. when i finally arrived nyc at 8pm, it was drizzling and a bit chilly, ~30 degrees.

tea shops, yummy fud, shopping galore, boring MOMA, and "meet my boyfriend" weekend.
my primary reason to go to nyc was research for my thesis. aka. visit tea shops, look at their packaging and logos. i was diligent in the freezing cold and visited 6 tea shops all over manhattan. i even got lost in noho/e. village for 30 minutes trying to transfer to a different train that didn't connect at the stinking station. ugh. thank goodness for my $2 sweater that kept me warm. i'm gonna log wat i did each day for my sake and if ya'll ever want to visit these places.

FRIDAY
- Century 21 (fave dept store of new yorkers), near wall st. i was very disappointed and it was even crowded for a friday! i cruised thru the store and didn't buy a thing.
tea shops
1. Podunk, near e. village. quaint small tea shop. tea service.
2. teany, lower east side. owned by moby. very, very small shop. tea service.
off track i found a candy store, economy candy. it sold a great variety of candy: old skool to worldwide!
3. Tea & Sympathy, greenwich village. has 2 shops, one for retail, other for tea shop. Old English style.
4. T Salon, near union square. red walls stood out. tea service
bought my $2 sweater in this area :)
i stopped for dinner and met cindy's new beau at this healthy, range-free restaurant called Josie's in the pretentious upper west side. i had the sweet potato ravioli. the inside was sweet and the sauce was a bit salty, which i didn't enjoy. but the sweet potato made it worth it. ;) afterwards, we hit
5. Alice's Tea Cup, upper west side. cute quaint service and retail shop. the mango tea i ordered was bleh but i enjoyed the ambiance. we were the only ones in the room and had some desserts that were mediocre. the company was good tho. thanks for treating me to tea cindy! :)

SATURDAY
-chinatown. met up w/ another MN friend, Linda. we had dim sum but had to leave half of it there. let's just say we were tempted by so many things but our stomachs were full. heh heh. this dim sum place is the best place ever! it's HUGE and serves dim sum all the time! it even beats out dim sum in CA.
the rest of the day was spent shopping at pearl river (asian marketplace that had everything nicely organized but of course for $$). i got a paper blowfish and monkey. :)
6. The Tea Box, located in the basement floor of Takashimaya Dept. store on 5th Ave. this shop was the BEST! if i ever had a retail tea shop, i would model it after this. i took quite a few pics but then the sales lady said i'm not supposed to take pics. oops, too late. ;P They also had an area for tea service but i didn't get to try it. their tea selection was diverse from peach tea to chocolate tea. unfortunately the chocolate tea was $30 so i opted not to buy it. :( it was in a brown porcelain jar which i loved. i have a picture of it. :)
-buttercup bake shop, 2nd ave, btwn 51st & 52nd st. cupcakes have become very popular in nyc. this shop was a cupcake shop which was quite cute. unfortunately i was disappointed at the quality of the cupcakes. i heard billy's bakery was better, which i must try next time.
-Divine Bar, TAPAS! i finally got to try tapas thanks to linda and her beau! (yes, i mentioned beau, hence "meet my boyfriend" weekend. :P) some of the tapas were tasty like the seared scallop and others were just plain weird, goat cheese and fig wrapped in prosciutto. bleh. i was also treated to this dinner! :)

SUNDAY
we hit the newly renovated MOMA. i think it took like 3-4 years to renovate it. can we say YAWN? i can't stand stinking modern art! the admission is also $20! luckily, cindy's friend works for goldman sachs and we got in FREE. :) i can say only the 4/5th floors are worth seeing. i saw the dyson vacuum cleaner and some normal paintings by chagall, dali, & monet.
i finally got my nyc pizza for dinner. mmm...chicken broccoli. :)

MONDAY
headed home. i had to stop in detroit cuz all the flights from MSP to SFO were full! i REALLY liked detroit airport! they have this really cool indoor tram and i even heard birdies chirping in the light, airy atmosphere. if you ever have a lay over, do it in detroit!

i had a good trip in nyc and a big thanks to my hosts cindy and linda and their beaus. :) after this trip i realized i don't think i could live in nyc b/c of the weather, pollution, and no green areaS.

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next stop: MN
going to my h.s. friend's wedding which is my last destination before winter break ends. sniff. i am so glad that MN has warmed up to 25 degrees! HAH! last weekend it was like -4 which scared the heck out of me. i almost flaked out of going b/c of it. hee hee. i'm becoming spoiled by CA. i just hope i won't catch another cold since i'm just getting over one. eeks.
MN, here i COME! TAX-free SHOPPING!