Yosemite

This video of Yosemite is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. If I ever needed motivation to hike Half Dome, this is it. 

Kayaking

I love kayaking, and would love to get to do it more often. Here are some amazing spots I hope to get to go someday:

Outside a SF Giants game

In NYC

Under a glacier in Alaska

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New York, New York

The New York Department of Records recently made 870,000 rare images of the city available for viewing online. Aren't they amazing?

Building the Manhattan bridge, 1908

40th Street in 1940

Looking out from the George Washington Bridge, 1936

Painters on the Brooklyn Bridge, 1914

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I'm back!

Ok, I didn't fall off the face of the earth. Well, maybe a little. But I'm back, and I'm ready for my NYC recap. (Apologies for the picture-heavy post.)

I landed Friday afternoon and after a quick stop at the hotel, we walked over to Times Square. We wandered in and out of the shops (including a 4 story Forever 21!), and walked to Rockefeller Center. 

We also walked past Parsons. Sadly, no sign of Tim Gunn.

Then we headed back to the hotel and watched a movie. The next day we hit the ground running. We walked up Fifth and headed to the #1 place I wanted to see: the New York Library! I kind of wanted to just stay there. 

Next, we headed to Rockefeller Center to go ice-skating! This has been on my life list for years. 

But we only stayed on the rink for around 45 minutes, cause it was too cold for this wimpy girl. Then we headed to the Top of the Rock. Where it was even colder. But beautiful!

We also saw St. Patrick's...

and the Empire State...

and made a stop in Tiffany's...

Next, we stopped in FAO Schwartz where I fulfilled another life dream. I played the piano from Big!

So much fun! Then we walked through Central Park to get through the Natural History Museum.

I met the dum dum head...he didn't speak to me, which was infinitely disappointing. 

We didn't spend a ton of time going through the museum cause we were both tired and hungry, so I'll need to make another trip sometime. After the museum, we walked back to Times Square and went to a brewery for dinner. Once we both got food and beer, we felt much better. After walking so much, we made it another early night. The next night, we took a train up to where my friend lives and then I left the next day. It was a whirlwind trip, but it was so much fun. I can't wait to go back!

NYC

So I don't know about you, but I'm still recovering from my Super Bowl food coma. Trying to get back in the swing of things. Anyways...something that has been dominating much of my brain space lately is my upcoming trip to NYC! A good friend of mine lives in upstate NY and I finally planned a trip out to see her. We are going to spend a couple of days in the city, then head up to where she lives for a night. I'm over the moon excited. Not only is NYC one of my favorite places ever, but I get to spend a huge chunk of time with one of my besties! I've only been to New York once, right after high school ended (side note - the picture above is from that trip, when our tour bus broke down. On a bridge. I don't need a repeat performance of that mmkay?) Since we won't be there for too long, it's hard to choose exactly what to do, but here are some ideas:

Ice Skating at Rockefeller Center 

This has been on my bucket list forever, and the ice rink will still be up when we go! Plus, they have a ticket where you can go ice skating and then go to the Top of the Rock. Maybe I'll get to see Liz Lemon and Kenneth there?! (Yep, certifiably addicted to 30 Rock. When I have a bad day, I watch this clip of Kenneth. Or really any clip of Kenneth.)

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New York Public Library

Ok, dork alert here, but the first thing I told my friend I wanted to do was see the library. I mean, look at it?! It's ridiculously gorgeous. And I may or may not sit out front and pretend to be like Blair Waldorf. 

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American Museum of Natural History

My cousin went there last year and informed me that the dum dum head, is not, in fact, real. This is a fact I'm still coming to terms with. 

Serendipity

There's a Serendipity in Las Vegas and it's a must-visit for me every time I'm there. It's so crazy delicious. Maybe we can get a frrrozen hot chocolate and pretend to be Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack? (I realize that all the things on this list reference some tv show/movie, but what can I say? I watch a lot of tv. )

And maybe most importantly - eat some pizza. NY pizza is bombdotcom. Yep, I pulled out the bombdotcom for that one. 

So, any recommendations on things to do/see/eat while I'm there?

Paris

So, let's talk about Paris.

Paris, my dream city. 

Paris, the reason I took French in high school. 

Paris, the place I was most excited to visit on my backpacking trip to Europe in 2008.

Paris, the city I was hoping would be like this. (It's still like this in my head)

Oh Paris, someday I'll revisit you. When I have more time and money. When it's not 90% humidity out. 

There's so much I'm dying to do. Walk around inside Versailles and see the fountains outside. Visit Shakespeare and Co, an English-language bookstore. Go inside Notre Dame. Explore the Louvre more. Eat macarons at Laduree. Stroll down the Champs-Elysees. Climb up the Arc de Triomphe. Go to the tippy top of the Eiffel Tower. Remember what it felt like to be in a new place, witnessing something amazing, and dancing with pure joy. 

San Diego

This past weekend, my cousin and I headed to San Diego for a girly weekend (where we watched lots of football, drank beer, and ate nonstop, haha). 

We stayed at Hotel Indigo, near the Gaslamp District. It was a super cute hotel. Our view:

We ate lunch at a cute pub, then walked around the Gaslamp District and went shopping. Then we rested up at the hotel (ok, ok I took a nap!) Then we headed up to the rooftop bar for a great view of Petco Park (too bad a game wasn't happening)

And some yummy sangria.

That night we went to the Yardhouse and split a beer float (mmm). Then we headed to the Tipsy Crow (I think we just liked the name) and relaxed with some drinks. 

The next day we ate at a small restaurant and then said farewell to the neighborhood. We stopped by Balboa Park for a quick walk around and then drove around Coronado Island. Then it was back home! A wonderful weekend that went by way too fast. Neither of us had spent much time in SD, but we both fell in love. Ready to go back!

Weekend in SF

Last weekend I headed up for a reunion weekend in San Francisco with my college girls. I haven't been to SF since after freshman year of college, so it was fun to go back and play tourist. It was even better to see all my girls again! We're spread out across the state, but manage to get together every few months. It's always a blast with them. 

We hit up Pier 39 and saw the sea lions.

Saw Alcatraz (from afar).

Walked by Fisherman's Wharf. 

Headed up to Ghirardelli square....

...for the most delicious sea salt hot chocolate.

Later that night, we headed to my friend Nicole's house for a Breakfast at Tiffany's party. (Girl - you outdid yourself!) When she told me she was throwing this party, I kinda thought she was going to throw on the movie, order some pizza and call it a night (which is what I would have done), But she went above and beyond - check it out:

The next morning, we all had brunch (I requested mickey mouse pancakes!) then we headed home. Quick trip, but so worth it. Miss them already!

Wanderlust

My cousin and I have a serious case of wanderlust. (Check out her super cute travel-themed tumblr) We love to travel, and I think our thirst for new places really kicked off with our trip to Europe in 2008. Ever since then, we've tried to explore as much as possible. The only problem is, we have champagne travel tastes on a beer budget. Until we strike it rich, we're content to soak up local culture (hence our recent trips to Dodger Stadium, the Getty, LA, etc.) We also try to get away for one weekend a year (08 - road trip up to Santa Cruz, 09 - Sequoia, 10 - Palm Springs). This year, we're heading to San Diego. Even though I've been a So Cal girl all my life, I really haven't explored San Diego all that much. We're only going for one night, but I'm really excited. I always have a ball with her. (And since we're both overpackers, it's like having twice the clothes to choose from!) Here is where we're staying (must admit, the rooftop bar pretty much made our decision for us). I can't wait! Any San Diego recommendations?

Dream destination

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Wishing I was here right now. 

#5 (Part 2)

Ok, on to Canada! We spent 4 nights in Vancouver and 1 in Victoria. We started our time in Vancouver exploring Gastown (and the abundance of souvenir shops there). 

The next day we headed to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. I was psyched for it. My parents, not so much. But we all made it across fine!

Later that day, we headed to Stanley Park and Prospect Point. We wandered around for a few hours. We peeked over the wall of the aquarium and saw beluga whales! And I promptly sang the baby beluga song for the rest of the day. And now it's stuck in my head again...

That night was the playoff hockey game between the Canucks and San Jose Sharks. The entire city was cheering the Canucks on...they won!

The next day we headed to Granville Island. Loved it! They have a large farmer's market and tons of food. I had a bagel and a delicious raspberry and dark chocolate scone that I'm still dreaming of. We took a walk around the harbor there. 

Then it was onto a ferry to Victoria. Such a gorgeous ride (and pretty sure we saw a bald eagle on our trip!). 

Oh man, I loved Victoria. If I ever move to Canada, this is where I'd want to be. It's a really sweet town with gorgeous neighborhoods, and a to-die-for view of the harbor. Here is the Empress, famous for their $58/person tea. Really?! Yeah, we passed on that. 

The Parliament building. That they let people wander around. For free. No security checkpoint. No big deal. 

Victoria had a ton of good pubs to eat at. Which I was carded to go into. (P.S. Canada's drinking age is 19. I'm 23. Thanks Canada). But I digress. Lots of good food to be had! Wish we were there for longer than 1 night. 

The next morning we headed to the Butchart Gardens. The gardens were stunning. I've never seen so many gorgeous tulips in bloom.  

We booked a reservation for afternoon tea there (for $26/person, thankyouverymuchempresshotel!) Oh man...the tea was so fantastic. My mom and I had a ball! My dad was kind of bored, but he put on a brave face. All the food was good, their truffles were melt in your mouth heaven, and I wish I could have their ginger scones every. single. day. We ordered 3 pots of tea and they were all fantastic, but we loved the Rose one the best. I seriously couldn't stop that day. I finally clocked in at 6 cups of tea! Whew. But it was so fun. Highly highly recommended!

And that's it! We headed back to Seattle and then back home. Already planning a re-visit!