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Sunday, October 27, 2013
Birthday/Trip Update
Here comes my overdue trip and birthday update. :) Been meaning to post but somehow it just never worked out to sit down and actually get it done. So here we go now. :)
Left work on Tuesday midday and headed to Hudson, NY where we had lunch. The weather was kind of dreary but no downpours for the most part so it wasn't so bad. Hudson seems like a neat upstate NY town with a bit of a hippie vibe. Unfortunately lots of shops seem to be closed on Tuesdays and some also Wednesdays in that area so everything had a bit of a closed feel to it. They even had a neat tea shop but of course that was also one of the shops not open. Maybe better in the long run. :) :)
After lunch in Hudson we continued on to Windham where our hotel was. It's amazing how in the middle of nowhere you feel when you get there. Windham is only 2 hours from where we live and under an hour from Albany, the capital of NY state. Pretty amazing. We had a fun time nonetheless. The area is definitely very between seasons at the moment where ski season hasn't started yet and summer hiking season has already passed. The weather was pretty chilly, saw frost on the meadow in front of our room in the mornings. Brrr.
Tuesday night we went into town in Windham and had dinner at a steakhouse, one of the few places open on a Tuesday night. Then Wednesday we took a daytrip up to the Finger Lakes region, about 3 hours from there. I always love that region. It's very pretty and there are so many wineries around the lakes. We had lunch at Dano's Heuriger which was delicious as always. Then went beer and wine tasting afterwards. Since it was mid week nothing was really busy so we had most places to ourselves which was nice.
On our way back we stopped in Stamford, NY for dinner. From there it was about half an hour back to Windham. Pretty amazing how dark everything seems there in the evenings. Driving on the windy roads with no real street lights was definitely interesting.
Thursday was already our check-out day again. Slept in for a little bit and then took advantage of the fact that it was sunny and checked out the Windham Path nearby. It was super chilly but the sun made it still pretty nice especially once we were moving.
When we got back into Danbury we had a late lunch at TKs for my free birthday wings. Afterwards we met up with a bunch of friends at Two Steps. Had a fun night. Lots of lovely presents from everyone as well. Thanks. :) Mike got me a Chromebook which is very exciting. Also received some wine, stationery, pens, candy and other lovely goodies, a Starbucks gift card, a Cafe Press gift certificate and a copy of the Outlandish Companion.
Mail Update: Received letters still owe a response to: Nina/WA.
Posted by Hanna at 01:27 PM in Food and Drink, Outdoors, Travel, Wine | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
NYC Meetup with Tina
Quick update for the weekend. Saturday I had to work. After work we headed to Fairfield and went to the movies to see "Rush". I thought it was a well done movie and was fun to see Niki Lauda's story on the big screen. It's so rare to hear about any prominent Austrian figures here in the US. Had fun at the movies and then headed to Flipside for dinner. Always enjoy that place. I love places where you can create custom burgers/sandwiches with tons of different toppings, cheeses, sauces and whatnot. So yummy.
On Sunday I took the train into the city to meet up with my Long Island friend Tina in Manhattan. We had lunch at Landbrot Bakery & Cafe. It was a place I had wanted to check out for ages and ages and really thought it would be amazing. It wasn't terrible but definitely ended up being a lot different than what I had pictured from the website. I ordered schnitzel which came with potato salad and some sort of spaetzle. The schnitzel was just ok and the potato salad super vinegary. All in all not terrible but definitely overpriced and overhyped for what it was. I ended up taking some pastries home which were pretty good.
Still had fun chatting with Tina. After we were done at Landbrot we headed back uptown. Walked around Times Square for a bit before getting some Starbucks and settling down in Bryant Park. The weather was gorgeous, a truly perfect fall day, so it was nice to sit outside.
Today we are working 1/2 a day and are off to the Catskills for a 2 night stay after that. Looking forward to a few days away even though the weather is supposed to be pretty crappy. Not the best weather to be going into the mountains, that's for sure. Cold rain, possibly even some snow showers. Oh well. We will make the best of it I am sure.
Mail Update: Received letters still owe a response to: none.
Posted by Hanna at 09:59 AM in Food and Drink, NYC, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Friday, October 18, 2013
NYC Highline Update, clumsiness and other various things
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Been meaning to make an update since last weekend when we went into NYC. Feels like it's been a while since we hung out there, went on a walk etc. We never really went on one of our long walks along the West Side. We usually start out around 59th Street where we park and then make our way along the river downtown. You pass by the passenger cruise ship terminal, the Intrepid, some nice parks etc. We have gone down to the Battery and also across the Brooklyn Bridge. Here's a link about the path. Long walks but always fun.
This past Sunday we started out as usual around 59th Street, headed downtown along the river, then crossed over around 29th Street to walk along the High Line. I always enjoy the High Line. They converted one of the old elevated rail line tracks into a park which is really neat. You get very cool views being higher up. It has transformed and helped the whole neighborhood that it's in as well. Very neat.
After our walk along the High Line we headed to a Mexican restaurant in the Meatpacking district called Dos Caminos. We had been to their location in SoHo previously but not the one in the Meatpacking district. They had brunch going on when we got there so we had Mexican brunch. Quite delicious I have to say. :)
So that was our Sunday NYC day out. On our way back we stopped at Rosy's and met up with our friends John & Kim and their daughter Riley. It had been a little while since we had seen them so it was fun to catch up.
I am glad it's Friday today. Still have to work tomorrow but at least the week is coming to an end. I was off this past Monday since I am working Saturday. All in all a nice day off except for the fact that I managed to sprain my left ring finger. Yeah I am super clumsy. I was cleaning out/organizing some boxes in our garage. Worked my way through two boxes and went to turn the box over to break it up. Well, somehow in that movement my finger must have gotten caught in the edge of the box and somehow hyper extended it. Well, let's just say it hurt. I was able to bend it so I don't think it's broken, just a bad sprain. I wrapped it together with the middle finger to help restrict movement and will have to wait for time to heal it. Annoying but what can you do?
In other news I signed up for another online writing class that started this past Wednesday. Another 6 week course. Should be fun. Next week we are off to the Catskills for a quick 2 night stay for my birthday. Looking forward to a couple of days away.
Mail Update: Received letters still owe a response to: none.
Posted by Hanna at 07:56 AM in Food and Drink, NYC, Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Sunny Fall, Outlander and more
Nice, sunny fall Saturday. Guess what more can you want? I am off from work although I already had to deal with a few things from home but still better than having to go in. I will be working the next two upcoming Saturdays so enjoying my weekend off this week.
Browsing the web for a bit. Then at 1:30 we are taking the train down to South Norwalk for a late lunch at SoNo Brewhouse. It's been a little while since we have been there so should be fun.
Not sure what we are doing tomorrow yet. I want to see the movie RUSH (I am still amazed that they made a movie based on Niki Lauda and Formula One) but the weather is supposed to be pretty nice again so maybe we can squeeze in something outdoors before going to the movies. Guess we will see what happens.
This weekend the New York Comic Con is going on and while I don't normally care about that sort of stuff that much I have been following along on Facebook/Twitter intently this time since Starz and Random House have a booth there promoting the upcoming "Outlander" TV show. It's a TV show based on the books by Diana Gabaldon. They started filming the first few scenes of the show this past week. It's been fun following along on all the fan sites.
Mail Update: Received letters still owe a response to: Charles/TN.
Posted by Hanna at 12:38 PM in Books | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Monday, October 07, 2013
Rainy Fall Sunday
Another week gone by. Already October, the year is flying by. It's definitely been very fall/autumn-like this past week/weeks. We mostly had really nice weather. Some super gorgeous days. I love it when there is no humidity in the air, the sky is brisk blue, a slight breeze, and leaves are tumbling through the air and crunching underfoot. Just perfect.
Yesterday and today the weather hasn't been all that great. Still typical fall though. Rainy and foggy. We are getting the remainders of a tropical storm so will probably have the rain for another day or so before it clears out. It's been so nice for almost a month straight I don't even really mind the rain. It kind of fits with the season. The picture on the left is courtesy of my friend Sharon. Check out her website here.
Was off on Tuesday this past week and managed to unpack and declutter from our Virginia trip. Worked in the yard a little bit enjoying the gorgeous weather. Had to work Saturday, which was luckily a pretty quiet day. Yesterday, Sunday, we decided to drive to West Nyack to the Palisades Mall to check out the Yard House location there. Hadn't been to that location before. That mall is just crazy though. I am pretty sure it's the biggest mall I have ever been in. It's a pain to even try and find a parking spot. I guess the weather didn't help. A bunch of people probably had the same idea of going to the mall on a rainy Sunday. Oh well.
Mail Update: Mailing a letter today to: Carmen/Malta. Received letters still owe a response to: none (actually all caught up for once).
Posted by Hanna at 07:16 AM in Weather | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack