UptownLowDown

Honeymooning in Cambodia

2010-01-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

Angkor Wat, gorgeous and rosy in the very early morning sun on New Years Eve 2009. We spent the last day of the decade hiking around the old ruins.

And I kissed a king, but he didn't kiss me back.

Here's What Happened...

2009-12-30T17:02:00.001-05:00

We got married. But, first, we went on our honeymoon...and that is where we got engaged. We are very happy! More on that later.

This is Saigon (or HCMC), which was the first stop. The scooter traffic was overwhelming.

A Cold Weather Ode to Jimmy B

2009-10-23T15:12:00.000-05:00

We took a short flight to Ft. Myers, Florida...and then a looong drive to Captiva Island, a lovely little spot in the Gulf of Mexico. It was beautiful and peaceful, and our pace slowed down for a few days. Sofi and I decorated a large fish with dollars on a day trip to Cabbage Key. The guidebooks claim that this Cabbage Key restaurant inspired Jimmy Buffett to pen "Cheeseburger in Paradise." I suppose that's possible, but we opted for seafood.

And another seafood lover is this guy. I got the feeling that he wasn't very happy to see my and my lens...so I walked swiftly away after snapping his lunch.

Possible new home???

2009-09-03T14:51:00.001-05:00

J's dream is to renovate one of the gorgeous old brownstones in our Harlem neighborhood. I'm on his team, but never really thought he meant this...

But then I saw this...

2009-09-03T14:43:00.006-05:00

And by the time we reached this room, I was reconsidering...

So we left, totally confused, and celebrated my dad's 67th at Zoma, the best Ethiopean restaurant I've ever known (mom + rachel in Zoma below)

And sang to him with treats from the Cupcake Cafe...

And ended the night on our balcony under the stars.

Sunny Sedona with my Honey

2009-09-01T14:25:00.004-05:00

We took a long weekend trip to Sedona, Arizona. There were vortexes (vortexi?) everywhere.

I found the love cactus on our hike.

Minnesota with Cherries on Top

2009-06-24T16:07:00.006-05:00

We spent a long weekend in Minnesota, unpacking (and then repacking) J's entire childhood in two days while his parents prepared for their big move. His mom taught me how to bake his favorite dessert from childhood...but I bet it won't taste the same when I make it (and it shouldn't, really...)

Home Sweet Home

2009-06-09T15:19:00.001-05:00

We didn't know what to expect when we moved to Central Harlem two years ago. We bought our apartment because it had space and light, and we imagined that we could sprawl out there, and not need to move on for a while. We were moving from the Upper West Side, and the new neighborhood seemed to reflect our new apartment: there was space and light, and we a feeling that it was a place that we could grow with and into. And as it turns out, that feeling was right.

Perfect Day in Buenos Aires, No. 2

2009-06-08T18:43:00.003-05:00

My second perfect day in Buenos Aires (and fully interchangeable with the first perfect day).

I would start the second day in San Telmo, especially if it happens to be a Sunday. On Sundays, the streets of San Telmo become a feria, with magicians, antiques and tango dancers all competing for attention. Stop for a cortado at Bar Dorado, or a big bowl of pasta at Bar Federal. If you have room left over, try a delicious ice cream at Dylan.

In the evening, head to Voulezbar in Palermo for a delicious meal in a lovely setting.

My two perfect days in Buenos Aires

2009-05-19T18:53:00.010-05:00

The dark forces of work stranded me alone in Buenos Aires for many more days then originally expected, but it turned into the perfect way to spend an early fall week in South America. I've boiled my favorites into two ideal days of wandering in lovely Buenos Aires...

Perfect Day #1

Try to wake up early to avoid the other tourists at Recoleta cemetary. It's a little creepy to be all alone in a cemetary where tombs the size of small houses tower above you, but it's worth it to be alone with the feral cats. Evita's tomb, piled with flowers, is on the left if you face inward through the main gate.

After the cemetary, pass through knick-knacks in the Recoleta feria and then its a simple decision -- empanadas or ice cream? It's an easy walk to Una Altra Volta (Avenida Santa Fe 1826 on the corner of Avenida Callao in Recoleta) for delicious helado, which was more like gelato. I tried a few flavors and chocolate amargo (a bitter, dark chocolate flavor) won my taste test, but I bet that you won't go wrong with any selection. If you are craving a more substantial meal, try La Cumana (Rodriguez Pena 1149 between Arenales and Santa Fe in Recoleta), for delicious empanadas and clay pots of locro (a thick stew with corn, beef and pumpkin).

In the afternoon, check out Palermo SoHo. Begin at Plaza Palermo Viejo or Plaza Cortazar, and then wander to the other -- the blocks are lined with boutiques and cafes. It's the perfect place to spend a lazy afternoon. If you are still hungry after an afternoon of empanadas and ice cream, try La Cabrera (5099 José Antonio Cabrera in Palermo Viejo), by far the best parilla that I visited in the city (and believe me, the parilla list was long). Ojo de bife and a delicious malbec...

Calle de los Suspiros

2009-05-19T15:12:00.000-05:00

Indeed, I did sigh.

I spent a single day in solitude in Colonia, Uruguay. It is a quick boat trip from Buenos Aires, but it feels like you've entered another world. The leaves were changing, and I sat outside in the dwindling sun watching the clouds move over the Rio de la Plata.

Bao Noodles: Not So Wow

2009-04-20T14:05:00.000-05:00

I went alone to Bao Noodles for lunch this afternoon because it is a beautiful afternoon in New York and I wanted to walk far from my office and trick myself into thinking that it was not a day the majority of which I would spend in front of a computer in a little windowless box.

The restaurant has a cool, old Manhattan bar feeling to it, with big wooden booths that might be old church pews, painted tin ceilings and a cracked tile floor. It's a small and cozy space, but it wasn't crowded at one o'clock on a week day afternoon. There's also a pretty bar with milk glass lights. It's a nice setting, and I was thinking "date night!", or "after work drinks!", or "more solitary lunches..."

But here comes the sad part: Bao falls from grace by way of the "service" of one very bad waiter. At first glance, he just seemed surly. I barely registered his nasty attitude when he slung a glass of lukewarm water (albeit in a very cool shaped Tiger beer glass) on the table in front of me. I started to dislike him when he tossed three pieces of the slightly sticky menu on my table like a frisbee, two pages of which skidded off the table and onto the floor while he kept walking past. When he came back to the table to take my order, he just glared down at me, silent. "Maybe he is having a very bad day," I thought, practicing my mother's advice that I should stop assuming everything is about me. "Maybe he had a terrible break-up last night, and I should be warm and kind to remind him that there are nice strangers in this world..." So, when he returned to the table with my salad, I gave him a big smile and a enthusiastic, "Thanks!"

Crickets. Silence. He walked away quickly.

The salad was weird. It was primarily composed of bean sprouts, which were dressed with an admittedly nice vinegarette on top of very large, uncut leafy greens. I felt like I was eating an entire plant with chopsticks. Halfway through my salad, a messy-haired wild-eyed man came out from the kitchen carrying an armful of surgical tubing. He looked around for a moment, then rushed out of the restaurant. I'm not sure what this has to do with anything, but it seemed worth mentioning.

Surlywaiter returned with my lemongrass chicken, droppped it in front of me in silence, avoiding my eyes. I started thinking, "Do I know him? Did I do something mean to him?" I watched him return to the bar, and then suddenly -- Surly's eyes lit up! A cute laid-off investment banker type appeared at the bar and received Surly's smiles, laughs and immediate service. He started drinking, and Surly actively mixed new and exotic drinks for cute laid of investment banker while continuing to actively ignore me and all of the other people in the restaurant, some of whom were flailing their arms in the air in an attempt to catch his eye for the check.

The lemongrass chicken was fine. The chicken was well cooked and not dry at all, but it was a bit salty. The portion was huge, I could only eat a quarter of it.

Mid-way through my entrée, more people came in and started heavily drinking at the bar. Surly liked these people, too, and he was a rainbow of smiles. When cute laid-off investment banker went to the bathroom, Surly used his alone time to drop off my check and the checks of everyone eating around me, seemingly without regard to where they were in the meals. It didn't matter to me, though. I was happy to cut this meal short.

Leaving the restaurant, I almost stepped on a dead rat on the sidewalk. I know this isn't the restaurant's fault, but I took it as an omen.

Space: lovely
Food: ok
Cost: $9.00 for salad and lemongrass chicken.
Service: nasty

391 2nd Ave

New York, NY 10010

(212) 725-7770

2009-03-03T16:20:00.000-05:00

Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

2009-02-17T16:27:00.000-05:00

All of us are travelers lost,
our tickets arranged at a cost
unknown but beyond our means.
This odd itinerary of scenes- enigmatic, strange, unreal -leaves us unsure how to feel.
No postmortem journey is rife
with more mystery than life.
- Dean Koontz

Ecuador, Redux

2009-01-01T15:08:00.003-05:00

We spent New Years in Ecuador. On this trip, we spent a few days in lovely Quito (the views from the deck at Cafe Mosiaco are incredible!) then heading into the Amazon for hiking and birdwatching. Our affection for birdwatching was an unplanned surprise. The trip ended in Mindo, where we stayed at El Monte. El Monte is definitely, without a doubt, one of my favorite spots in the world. It is romantic and beautiful, and I would return in a heartbeat.

That is my fishing pole in the corner. Piranha fishing. Really.

2008-12-24T16:12:00.000-05:00

GOODBYE...!

2008-11-07T16:26:00.000-05:00

Friendly Red Hook, Brooklyn

2008-10-09T15:17:00.000-05:00

I love Red Hook, despite (because of?) its salty attitude.

Patagonia, Chile

2008-10-09T15:03:00.000-05:00

On my (unofficial but clearly annual) trip with Caro, we went to Chilean Patagonia (at the bottom of her own country). We stayed at explora. On the second day I began to realize that I was in the middle of a highlight of my life.

Storm King

2008-10-01T15:15:00.001-05:00

We took J's kids for a daytrip to Storm King in the Hudson Valley. It was gorgeous and relaxing -- the perfect break from hectic NYC.

Jenny's Tahoe Wedding

2008-08-07T15:06:00.002-05:00

J and I flew to California to dance at the wedding of my beloved friend Jen. On the way, we took a road trip through gold country, and stopped to snap some photos in Amador.

Key West in July

2008-07-09T16:08:00.000-05:00

Who goes to Key West in July? Caro and I do!

It was a million degrees already, without jumping through fire hoops. We drank lots of mojitos to stay cool.

2008-04-19T16:30:00.000-05:00

Everything is blooming most recklessly;
if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.

- Rainer Maria Rilke

Chinese New Year

2008-02-16T16:15:00.000-05:00

He looks mean, but he was really sweet.

Happy New Year from Isla Mujeres, Mexico

2008-01-01T14:39:00.000-05:00

A shark on the horizon.

2007-10-03T16:17:00.000-05:00

"What matters is that you allow your heart - not your ego - to rule your life. Then very little matters because you will be a humble person and you'll take most of life as it comes. If it rains, you get wet; if they don't show up on time, you wait; if they don't pay you, you eat less; if they don't love you, so what, you didn't come to please them anyway; if they don't think you're special, that's marvelous, it frees you from having to thank them for their compliments. If life doesn't go the way you want, accept the way it does go, use it as your teacher."
- Stuart Wilde

Paris with Jacques

2007-09-14T15:26:00.000-05:00

This is always in the back of my mind.

Meeting Point

2007-09-14T14:24:00.000-05:00

Time was away and somewhere else,
There were two glasses and two chairs
And two people with the one pulse
(Somebody stopped the moving stairs)
Time was away and somewhere else.
And they were neither up nor down;
The stream's music did not stop
Flowing through heather, limpid brown,
Although they sat in a coffee shop
And they were neither up nor down.
The bell was silent in the air
Holding its inverted poise -
Between the clang and clang a flower,
A brazen calyx of no noise:
The bell was silent in the air.
The camels crossed the miles of sand
That stretched around the cups and plates;
The desert was their own, they planned
To portion out the stars and dates:
The camels crossed the miles of sand.
Time was away and somewhere else.
The waiter did not come, the clock
Forgot them and the radio waltz
Came out like water from a rock:
Time was away and somewhere else.
Her fingers flicked away the ash
That bloomed again in tropic trees:
Not caring if the markets crash
When they had forests such as these,
Her fingers flicked away the ash.
God or whatever means the Good
Be praised that time can stop like this,
That what the heart has understood
Can verify in the body's peace
God or whatever means the Good.
Time was away and she was here
And life no longer what it was,
The bell was silent in the air
And all the room one glow because
Time was away and she was here.
-- Louis MacNeice

2007-09-14T13:28:00.002-05:00

After great pain, a formal feeling comes -
The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs -
The stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore,
And Yesterday, or Centuries before?

The Feet, mechanical, go round -
Of Ground, or Air, or Ought -
A Wooden way
Regardless grown,
A Quartz contentment, like a stone -

This is the Hour of Lead
Remembered, if outlived,
As Freezing persons, recollect the Snow
First--Chill--then Stupor--then the letting go

Emily D.

I'm grateful that I no longer read this and remember...

Something Useful That I Learned

2007-08-16T13:48:00.000-05:00

How to make a Colca Sour

8 parts Pisco
3 parts cactus fruit juice
2 parts lime
1 egg white

Shake hard (or use your blender).

View from the Top

2007-08-15T13:37:00.000-05:00

Beyond this point you can only see more mountain tops. They told us it would be overrun with tourists, but we were almost alone.

Speaking To You (From Rock Bottom)

2007-06-01T14:35:00.000-05:00

Speaking to you
this hour
these days when
I have lost the feather of poetry
and the rains
of separation surround us tock
tock like Go tablets

Everyone has learned
to move carefully

'Dancing' 'laughing' 'bad taste'
is a memory
a tableau behind trees of law

In the midst of love for you
my wife's suffering
anger in every direction
and the children wise
as tough shrubs
but they are not tough--so I fear
how anything can grow from this
all the wise blood
poured from little cuts
down into the sink

this hour it is not
your body I want
but your quiet company

Michael Ondaatje

2007-05-12T15:35:00.000-05:00

Love among the llamas

2007-01-01T15:17:00.000-05:00

The love of my life and I finally figure it all out together. And then we go to Ecuador. We stayed at Hacienda Cuzin in Otovalo, which is the perfect place to kiss and make up.

Wintery Prague

2006-12-01T14:41:00.001-05:00

Prague is beautiful but cold, and I walk on gloomy streets haunted by ghosts of my bad decisions.

2006-11-22T00:00:00.000-05:00

then the voice in my head said

WHETHER YOU LOVE WHAT YOU LOVE

OR LIVE IN DIVIDED CEASELESS

REVOLT AGAINST IT

WHAT YOU LOVE IS YOUR FATE

— from "Guilty of Dust" by Frank Bidart

Halloween with Jacques

2006-10-31T16:06:00.002-05:00

My dear friend Jacques and my doggie Henry, just before many bottles of champagne at French Tuesdays Halloween Party. Henry really hated Jacques' "costume."

Hauntings...

2006-10-09T15:04:00.002-05:00

At a photo workshop in Rockport, Maine. I was scared of the crickety old house where I was staying, and via text message J promised me that he'd protect me from the ghosts.

And so I shut my eyes...

2006-09-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm.
Jump.
It is not as wide as you think.

-Native American Indian saying

Sometimes the answer is no...

2006-08-09T16:29:00.000-05:00

Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles, and the water is clear?
Can you remain unmoving until the right action arises by itself?

- Lao-tzu

U2 in Sao Paulo, Brazil

2006-06-09T13:45:00.000-05:00

And then, some days, I truly love my job.

Two weeks in Thailand

2006-02-05T14:25:00.001-05:00

Two weeks in Thailand with Caro, my best friend in the world. We shopped for silk in the Bangkok markets, took cooking classes in Chaing Mai and had (multiple) massages every day on the beaches of Ko Phangan.

Guatemala

2006-01-05T14:30:00.001-05:00

Antigua, Chichi (to see the amazing market) and Tikal. Right place, wrong person.

Henry's First Vespa

2005-11-09T16:10:00.000-05:00

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but then we were weaving madly through traffic, Henry barking like crazy into the wind...

And so I ran away to Milan...

2005-10-14T19:43:00.001-05:00

If you are going to run away, there's no better place than Italy. It's nice to have a job that enables bad habits, like escapism.

Henry

2005-06-09T15:21:00.000-05:00

Only two people know where we really are right now...

2005-02-11T16:11:00.000-05:00

Welcome

2004-11-11T14:16:00.000-05:00

"The first sentence of every novel should be: "Trust me, this will take time but there is order here, very faint, very human." Meander if you want to get to town."

Michael Ondaatje, "Palace of Purification".