New York City Adventure Club

Living in Manhattan, it can often be hard organize outdoor activities and sports. Being raised in Seattle, all people do is hike, bike, boat, rock climb, etc. 

Therefore, when Raina and I moved to New York and started working 9-6 jobs, (where we sat at desks all day) we decided we should  get our friends together to do something active and fun on the weekends. Hence, the “Adventure Club” (formerly named the Hiking Club) was formed. 

With the crazy warm weather in New York, our first hike was last month in December. We traveled out to Garrison, NY on the commuter rail from Grand Central Station to do a moderate hike 15 minutes away from the train station.

Rachael (our group appointed President!) organized the trip and told us to wear layers and bright colors (hence Raina’s bright get-up — we named and called her Rudolph for the entire trip!) to stay warm and avoid hunting season.

This month, we’re going to Brooklyn Boulders to go indoor rock climbing! Our club is growing quite large and we’re even thinking of getting t-shirts so we can wear them when we go camping, snow-tubing, or whatever our adventure of the month is!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! 

Thanksgiving 2011 = London and Paris!

I recently visited London over Thanksgiving Break. It was the first vacation I took and paid for all on my own (a big post-grad accomplishment!). Initially, I had some regret missing Thanksgiving since it’s my favorite holiday; However, once I got there I was so excited to be out of America for the week. I hadn’t been back in nearly a decade and this time I was visiting my friend Esha who is there for grad school. Her two cousins, Umang and Varun were also visiting so while she was in class, we visited all the touristy sites (Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, etc.).

We also managed to make it out to Paris for a night where I my saw Gaby (she was my freshmen roomie at BU!). We went to the Notre Dame, ate crepes, delicious paninis, bread and wine. I even practiced my horrible french while I was there! 

Esha and I grabbing baguettes, cheese, and wine before we leave Paris!

Basilique du Sacre-Coeur at dusk

I had more pictures of Esha and I at the very first Chanel store on Rue Cambon (Cambon Street in Paris), but it didn’t load so I’ll have to post those later. 

I absolutely loved London and if it wasn’t such an expensive flight, I’d go as often as possible. I took Virgin, and with all the refreshments and movies, the flight was extremely easy (only six hours to get there!). I even sat next to two extremely kind British guys who gave me reco’s on where to go in London (they were really cool! One was a dancer for Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ theater show and the other a dancer for a British boy band!!). 

I got tons of shopping pointers from friends who had been there before and visited the Oxford Street Top Shop, Zara and H&M. I LOVED Harrods and couldn’t believe all the stuff they sold (everything from clothes to grocery to furniture to puppies!). We visited Portobello Road and Borough Market as well as the Winter Festival in Hyde Park. I came back with clothes from Zara, a William and Kate wedding mug (are you surprised? I love them!!), tea from the East India Trading Co. and some chocolate for my family back in Seattle. 

My vacation was much needed and though tiring at times completely worth every penny and hour spent. I really can’t wait to go back again! =)