Quite the steal

After Highline we had plans to go to the MOMA. Brando, as usual, had found out that if we go at this time on this day we don’t have to pay anything to get in. But on the way we stopped at BXL Belgian Café for some frites and a couple of drinks.

On our way to the MOMA we happened upon some very nice, very rushed gentlemen. They had a rack of winter coats and a proclamation, that any coat on the rack cost only $20 but they had to be bought RIGHT NOW!, there was fur and wool and all sorts of stuff, I had my eyes on a cashmere number and could not pass up that price point, so I wore 2 coats for the rest of the day.

The MOMA was populated by many pieces of art, but the main theme of the museum at this moment is, I guess, what you’d call post feminist.

After MOMA was one of the moments we were all waiting for on this trip… NINJA! Our reservation at Ninja was finally here! I couldn’t wait. Was the place a bit gimmicky? Yes. Was it an experience? Hell yes! And complete bonus, the food was absolutely fantastic. We entered through the ‘Ninja’s path’ which is basically just a narrow winding set of stair cases that bypass the restaurants other patrons. We sat in our secluded little area and waited for the show to start. Our first server was very much Asian and dressed in what I can only assume is business casual for ninjas. He flung out the menu scrolls dramatically and laid them on the table. Many quips and ninja references are snuck into every string of words anyone lets loose while employed here. You can order a-la carte or in groupings, all of which are ridiculously over stacked with food, but hey, we’re on vacation so what the hell?! I ordered the Sasuke which was 5 courses and started with this:’

Those support dishes had swords through them when the dish arrived and we had to yank them out while screaming to produce the effects you see here. That’s a popcorn shrimp dish up top and goose liver (might as well call it what it is) on the dish next to it. Also there were shrimp and spicy tuna sushi rolls. Some items had ninja stars next to them on the menu which indicated some theatrics or special presentation. Brandon noticed that the Ceasar salad had this marking and wondered how they managed to ninjafy a salad so he ordered it. Turns out what that meant was that Brandon would have to attack the cover of the salad when they brought it to him.

 

It was easily the least impressive aspect of the meal. Those doors up against our table did slide open and at one point a ninja flung them open and yelled at our table, effectively scaring the crap out of everyone for a second. Stuff like that happened throughout the meal. Many of the dishes were set on fire and some of them had some trickery involved in the presentation.

Here are a couple more shots of the crazy stuff that we ordered before thinking through the fact that we were expected to actually eat everything.

Again, running short on time, going to have to finish the rest later in the week.

Cojelo con take it easy,

Robbie

Highline or no line

We awoke Saturday and headed directly to Doughnut Plant, this was a new location closer to the center of Manhattan and had a much more dine in feel than the original location in Chinatown. Thankfully, the selection had not been dumbed down by the establishments further reach.

I had the tres leches and the blackout which had some fudge baked into the center of the ring, my mouth is watering just writing about it.

Then we headed to Highline park, this park used to be a train line that headed to Penn station, it was going to be torn down but the city had it redesigned as a very pleasant walking park above the city. To any avid watchers of Louie this is the spot where he goes after he witnesses that bum get decapitated by a garbage truck to have his deep moment about life and it’s value.

The view was also very nice.

And of course we made time to mess around and have some fun. We were also lucky enough to witness someone adding a bit of beauty to the walk, whether this was sanctioned or not we have no idea, either way I think it only added to the view and the experience.

We walked along and chatted about this and that, my mind was apparently in skit mode because the now infamous rapebies were spawned in this magnificent place. This only gets us into the early afternoon. Seriously, I only got through Highline?! I’ll have to go on later, the plane is landing, gotta run.

Cojelo,

Rob

In Memorial

I arrived in New York to find it just how I left it last, save one glaring difference… It’s God damned cold! The coat I bought in preparation is doing me alright but there will definitely be an addition made to my wardrobe while I’m here.

As always we wasted no time and got right to the good times. I met up with with the Segermeisters, Christian and our psudo-guide Mellissa and we headed to Breslin where the Laphroag was plentiful and the laughs abounded. Then we hit a dive bar I didn’t bother getting the name of. A quick stop at grays papaya for some delicious hotogs doused in caramelized onions and a final set of drinks at Down the Hatch where a yelling match about M&M not being the greatest white rapper signaled that it’s probably time for us to turn in.

We awoke the next day with signature deli food on our collective minds, so we headed to Carnegie Deli where the four of us split two pastrami sandwiches, no one finished their half.

We then ran over to the apple store because Christian needed some Jobs branded knickknack, the rest of us took the opportunity to visit FAO Schwarz, a toy store that my parents were wise enough not to let me know existed when I was a child. This place just isn’t fair, so many awesome things that no one person can own all of.

Then we headed to ground zero where the 9/11 memorial is mostly complete. The site where the horrible tragedy of 2001 happened is now a beautiful but poignant memorial to the many souls that lost their lives here, tragically, because of the misguided  ideals of zealots who believed that killing the innocent was an ok thing to do.

We then headed to the financial district and to battery park. The weather definitely made park visiting less of a visual treat but I managed to snap a couple of shots of key points. The barricades are still up along most monuments and statues in this part of the city from the occupy protests that have been happening recently.

After that we headed down to Canal St. to haggle with the shop owners and see who could get the best knock off, I think Christian won this round with his very reasonably priced Omega.

A quick stop into St. Andrews for some 18 year Glenmorangie while we waited for the show to start then we headed in to Avenue Q. Saying that I was unaware of what I was walking into is beyond an understatement. I knew puppets were involved but not that this was a foul mouthed exhibition of hilarious puppetry.  Yes it was a musical but not like you’d expect, ‘Everyone is a little bit racist’ and ‘The internet is for porn’ are only a couple of the awesomely hilarious and off color titles of the songs performed by the puppets and their human counterparts.

We then headed to Crif Dogs where I had a ‘good morning’ which is a hot dog wrapped in bacon and deep fried, served over a fried egg and a slice of American cheese. We were way early for our reservation at PDT so we headed to McSorleys. This place was so refreshingly authentic. In a city of gluten free decaf chai lates Mc Sorleys is a little slice of Ireland. You walk in, are seated wherever there is room (we were thrown at a table of NYU alums who were kind enough to share some NY war stories) and given 2 choices, “light or dark”. You make your choice and two mugs of whatever you expressed desire to drink are brought to the table for each patron. The dark was delightful. Also, I was wearing my Killkenny sweater and the gentleman who brought us our beers asked me about it, when I told him that I bought it in Killkenny when I was there last year he made a comment about how he remembered that being a rough town and they must have softened up to let a foreigner like me wear their colors, it was all in jest and made the atmosphere that much more authentic.

Then we headed back to Crif Dogs for our reservation at  PDT (Please Don’t Tell). Apparently this place was a true secret until Anthony Bourdain ousted it on his new show but either way it was new to us and a real gem. You enter the establishment through a phone booth in Crif Dogs, you have to pick up the phone and clear your entrance with the hidden establishment, here’s a shot of me at the hidden portal.

Once inside the menu consisted of some very specific and meticulously designed foods and drinks. Yes the main focus was still hot dogs but these hot dogs were like no other, kimchee and oyster dogs with all sorts of special sauces. Drinks crafted by some of NY’s most renowned mixologists. The ambient was dark and intimate and as a complete coincidence my “happy song” ‘bombay’ by El Guincho was playing just as we sat down, this was definitely a sign.

The ‘I knew about this place before it was cool’ element was palpable but the food and amazing quality of the drinks did a great deal to overcome that. This hipster owl should make the point.

We brushed off this minor draw back and managed to have a time and a half anyway.

Oh yea, I had the tots with chorizo gravy…

and yes they were as good as that sounds. I ended up finishing pretty much every drink that was ordered but here are the contents of a couple of the ones I actually ordered:

Shark:

Butter infused flor de cana silver dry rum, Wray and nephew overproof rum, frangelico, blue curacao, lemon & pineapple juices, cream, bittermans elemakule tiki bitters.

Kansai Kick:

Yamazaki 12 year old Japanese whisky, blandy’s special madeira, lime juice and orgeat.

Although a bunch of other things were ordered, this should give you an idea of what this place is all about. Also, you’re not allowed to speak on the phone while inside the bar and there are no public displays of affection permitted. I love this place, but it led to an acute case of amnesia for the ride home. This was the end of the night.

Cojelo,

Robbie

That’ll be 100 knockers!

I love PR and I seriously do believe that I will retire here one day. This trip was planned rather quickly because of the expiration dates on the free tickets we got when AirTran bumped us last year. A big thanks to AirTran for that because this was a much needed respite, and one hell of a time for such a hastily planned trip. When we got to town we didn’t mess around, we knew what we were doing this time. We got in, picked up the keys at my aunt’s amazing house in San Juan and ran to Yabucoa. When we got there we bug bombed the place right away which forced us to party outside for the 4 hours and change it takes to properly evacuate the place of any possible bugs.

Then we made grilled Cheese!

The next two days we indulged in the main event here in Yabucoa, the beach. It was insanely packed compared to the last time we were here (there were 8 other people stretched across the half mile or so) but we managed to carve out a nice chunk of beach for ourselves.

I was even able to sneak some rock climbing in…

This place has a soothing quality I can’t really put into words, it makes me feel like I’m home. Screw the fact that there’s no AC and there are animals that could kill you all over the place, I want property here.

Next we landed on our god damned feet, yet again. We went to San Juan intending to take my aunt out to dinner, unfortunately she had previous plans and couldn’t join us but when we arrived it became evident that something was going on. I had never seen San Juan like this, there were people dancing in the streets, there was live music everywhere and food, dear god the food. We had stumbled into San Juan’s culinary festival and it ended up being some of the most fun I’ve ever had in this city.

We finished with a meal at Raices, the restaurant Rafa brought us to the last time we came through San Juan in October. It was delectable and not a single complaint was heard.

The drive home was basically right out of an episode of I love Lucy, we were coerced to and from old San Juan a total of 3 times either by mismarked highway signs or defective electronics. One thing we have learned about PR is that GPS does not do this place well. We headed back to the house (which I now know is named Macondo) and had a little dance party before turning in for the night.

The next day we awoke to a challenge, one no one had any idea was coming. We were headed into El Yunque, the closest rainforest, for a hike. Amber had been here and been down a trail before, she warned us that there were “a lot of ups and downs” but that the trail was manageable. Normally people approach this place from the north, coming from San Juan, but since we were coming from Yabucoa we were coming in from the south. The drive was exciting, it was the closest I’ve ever come to rally car racing. I said on more than one occasion that I felt like it was something I should have paid for, it was fun, as in purely fun. It was perilous and at times we were on the edge of a mountain passing oncoming traffic with only an inches margin of error and I loved it. Much to our chagrin, the road was blocked only about a mile into the rainforest so we couldn’t get to the hike that Amber was familiar with, but there was a trail that started where the road was closed so we decided to divert our plans. The sign said that the hike was “challenging” and had highlights of a bridge and a river, that was enough for us. We started the hike and almost immediately it became clear that we were out of our element. The “trail” was rife with quicksand like mud pits that wanted to suck your shoes off. Thank god Amber suggested that we bring the music to have a soundtrack because I fear that without it we might have turned on each other. At one point we encountered some running water and we had to make the decision on whether or not to cross. I think this is someone’s idea of a joke.

Apparently a piece of string counts as a bridge here because that’s all we got, not exactly a point of interest. We did stop for a bit and soak in the freezing (and phenomenally refreshing) pure mountain water.

Then we kept on. From this point on the hike turned from taxing to down right dangerous, since no one had been this far down the trail in god knows how long, we were clearing the path of spider webs as we went on and on more than a few occasions the “path” led us along a sheer drop and broke, so you’d have to step over a gap to not fall to your death, or at very least the birth of a shitty day.

In all we ended up hiking for the better part of 5 hours, we were beaten but we conquered a mountain and we all felt a supreme sense of accomplishment for it, even though we all looked like hell. On the way back we encountered two stupid gentlemen who had just begun the trek in flip flops, we offered no warning, too bad, so sad. We hopped in our KIA and began the rally race home.

What do you do after you have stared mother nature in the face and let her beat the crap out of you? Why, you play monopoly of course… In what is quickly becoming a tradition when I pay a visit to Macondo, we had a game night. Megan had her heart set on playing a real deal game of monopoly. Much to my surprise, I had never actually finished or even really gotten into a real game before. I was completely unfamiliar with the boon of hotel buying and the bargaining rules were totally alien to me. As the straggler shots (we were running pretty low on the usuals so the concoctions we were drinking were less than favorable at times) kept flowing the game got more fun and we had one hell of a time.

For no reason, here are a couple of shots from a vantage point higher up on the mountain.

Once again I need to thank my aunt Mari for being the beyond gracious host that she is and allowing us to have this amazing time. Yabucoa is the place of my dreams and her facilitating our ability to make it a reality is a gift that I’ll be struggling to repay. Thanks Tia Mari and thanks Puerto Rico, we will see each other again soon and there will be much whiskey involved, I promise.

Coje lo,

Robbie

Portishead in Utrecht!!

Part of the original plan for this trip was to leave Ireland for a bit and meet up with Kerry who had been in Copenhagen. We met in Amsterdam as planned and had a quick bite to eat then I was reminded of a brief moment in Miami right before leaving where they had mentioned a concert going on near Amsterdam while we would be here, I didn’t think much of it until we got here and Kerry presented us with tickets to Portishead! The venue was pretty damn nice and the crowd was as expected, quite varied.

Since Portishead isn’t exactly stuff you rock out to, I was curious as to how the crowd would act, the best description I could give is stoic, rhythmic, thorough enjoyment. The lead singer honestly looked like she started crying during a couple of the more intense songs and Jesus was her performance moving.

Then, after a stellar performance they came out for an encore at the end of which she jumped down into the crowd and made a b-line for us, the guy next to me grabbed her and jumped up and down then when he put her down right in front of me, I snapped a picture then froze, I wanted to say “great show” or something but ,sadly, nothing came out. In a moment where I can only assume her supreme 6th sense for knowing people’s inner feelings jumped into action she leaned in and tickled my belly like the Pillsbury dough boy, I was flattered.

We took some time to let the whole experience sink in on the train ride home, for such an assortment of beautiful and admittedly depressing music the show left us all feeling extremely excited and happy, odd…

The full moon also made for a nice backdrop to the ride home.

That’s it for day 1 in Holland, time to call it a night.

Cojelo,

Robbie

Quick run over to Inistioge

This is a quick one just to get down a couple of pics and some info on where we went today. We headed out to some more gardens in Woodstock.

Then we headed into the town of Woodstock for a couple of pints, quite the view.

Not much time today so that’s about it for now, should have more from Dublin tomorrow.

Cojelo,

Robbie

Now that’s how you throw a party!

This was the day I had been waiting for, as much as I’ve loved every minute I’ve spent here in Ireland, this was the the set of events that had most been anticipated. For some reason, which has yet to be made clear to me, everyone split up today. The ladies all went to lunch at a posh hotel, big Noel and Fintan headed to god knows where and John and Mickey scooped me up for a meal and a couple of drinks at Johnnie Fox’s, the highest pub in Ireland according to them. After lunch we went for a drive through the Dublin mountains, I got a shot or two of the scenery and the view overlooking the capital.

Then we got to Liz’s in Enniscorthy and it was time to get serious. We were here to celebrate Annette’s birthday and celebrate we did. The beginning of the evening went as most family gatherings should, lots of light hearted joking and finger foods. Good times.

Fast forward a couple of hours and now you’re looking at some seriously good times. I wish I could put into words the feeling that this group inspires, I have no idea how to explain it, although I’ve only known them for a couple of days combined with the last trip and this one, once you put a few collective drinks in the group they have a rare ability of making you feel like you are a not too distant cousin and this is home. By virtue of being here and having a smile on your face you are welcome and privy to all the fun that is swirling all around you. The following are a selection of pictures spanning from about 10pm to somewhere around 6am, in one order or another but most just to show the mood of the evening.

From left to right: Keara, Little Noel, John, Liz and half of Mickey then Liz, Chris, Annette (the birthday girl) and myself.

Although this is very much how the last night I spent at Liz and big Noel’s went a couple of years ago, I’m still amazed at how everyone here has the supreme capacity to make you feel at home. I can’t thank everyone enough for making this the grand night that it was, I can’t wait for the next one. Happy b-day Annette!

Slainte!

Robbie

Waterford, all three sheets rolled out

It speaks volumes to my traveling acumen that I’ve been through Waterford several times and have yet to visit the crystal factory. Today I made sure to remedy that situation. Annette and Fintan dropped me off outside the factory and I headed in, right away I noticed one glaring fact: I was the youngest visitor by at least half a century. I had anticipated something along these lines, but not at this severity. Regardless I headed into the tour and I’m pretty happy about it. The process, although reasonably straight forward, was very entertaining to see first hand.

First these guys get the glass out of the oven (So hot that it has to stay on 24/7 otherwise it would take 2 weeks to get back to its operating temperature) and blow it into shape by hand.

Then this guy marks it.

Then these guys cut it.

 

Where necessary these guys arrange and do the specifics for one off orders like this Viking ship.

Finally this guy does all the engraving.

The stuff they had laying around was pretty impressive too, considering it was all made by hand by the few guys in the room. The Factory had been reduced in size greatly recently which pretty much assures that these few men are the best that the craft has to offer.

After the factory I met up with the group again and we headed to the only flyover pub in Ireland, Mead’s under the bridge. We had a few drinks and I managed to get a candid shot of Fintan who has somehow remained out of my lenses line of fire so far.

Then we went for a drive through the coast, apparently Keara’s parents bought a house here a while ago and sold it straight away, I’ll have to have a talk with her dad about this decision.

While we were in the pub I saw this on the wall, I gotta see if I can find one for the bar back home.

Alright, time to turn in, more later.

Slainte,

Robbie

We’re up to here with castles, got ‘em laying about the place

It’s with a heavy heart that we leave Killimor, we say goodbye to the fantastic hosts, the free roaming dogs and the other farm life and head back to Waterford.

On our way back we did stop at a few attractions, first of which was a very scenic lake which gave Keara and I a chance to practice acting like fools, something we do rarely and with great discretion…

With that out of the way we had an unexpectedly delicious lunch at a pub along the road and proceeded to the Rock of Cashel. This was a fortification used to defend rich people from the armies of other rich people until it was appropriated by the government and given to the church since they need lots of fortified places to show how peaceful God is, then it was abandoned and now it’s a place where tourists pay money to take snazzy pictures. Queue a whole bunch of creepy ruin pictures:

Of course being in such a pious place didn’t stop us from the usual poses and jumping around on things:

 

In all it was a great day of travel, we wound up back outside of Waterford to have dinner and a few drinks, settle in and call it a day. Tomorrow we head into Waterford proper to take in the sights, can’t wait.

As is common at the end of a long day in Ireland, the whiskey weighs heavy so it’s time to call it a night.

Till tomorrow,

Robbie

Look at the heads on ‘em!

I love how the first thing you see in the morning has a way of influencing the rest of your day. This is my view as I arise at Anita and Greg’s place in Killimor:

Yes the skies have been a bit cloudy most of the day, actually, if I’m being honest the weather has been completely insane. We went from sunny skies to rain back to sun then a flash hail storm on our way in yesterday but believe me I’m not complaining. I feel an odd kinship to this place, everyone treats you like family, you couldn’t ask for a better backdrop for your travels and not a soul will ever look at you twice for ordering a rum with your breakfast… Heaven.

Today we headed into Galway, I was excited about this destination for a few reasons, I’ve known it was one of the larger city centers in the west of Ireland and it came with a recommendation from Zane Lamprey of three sheets fame. The city did not disappoint as there were plenty of street performers and the bay made for some very nice views.

As you can see the street art is lively here, which is refreshing. We then took in a bit of pub hopping, starting with the Kings Head and ending at the Quays.

That second picture is of Keara with two of our beyond gracious hosts, Anita and Anette.

The day ended with dinner at Maggy May’s which was absolutely delicious, we then retreated to Anita and Greg’s for night caps and to serve as entertainment for the dogs. If every day were half as entertaining and full of kind-hearted jests as today, my entire life would be a vacation, I can’t thank everyone enough. Tonight I sleep with a smile.

Cojelo,

Robbie