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USA: NYC: All-You-Can-Drink Floating Bar

Posted on September 11th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, NYC, USA.

[The Ventura - my floating bar]

After an exhausting seven-week summer program, one of my classmates, whom I now call Mr. New York, shared information about sailing tours in the New York Harbor.  The special thing about these trips about the Ventura, a historic 65-foot sailboat (and not a governor), is that they’re run by a Manhattan bar called dba, and they offer you all-you-can-drink win, beer, and champagne.

[Myself with Mr. New York - this man knows EVERYTHING in the City]

A few of us took Mr. New York up on this offer: $40 for a three-hour sunset sailing tour in the New York Harbor.  At 7:00pm, we found our way to the docks near the World Trade Center site in the Lower West Side of Manhattan.  I came armed with a large party tray of fruits and cheeses…mmm…

[Lady Liberty at sunset - my first time to see her since moving to NYC]

We went right past the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island as the sun sank down, and then it was out under a brightly lit Verrazano Bridge, and then turned around and headed back up, enjoying seeing the stars, which can’t really be seen in the city due to light pollution.  We got in around 10:30pm, and it would have been the perfect hour to start drinking, but I think we just went home…  Oh well.

[From underneath the Verrazano Bridge - my apologies for the quality, but the darned boat kept moving]

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USA: NYC: Manhattan Bridge

Posted on August 28th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, NYC, USA.

Living in New York brings back those college moments…like when you feel rich because you’re riding in a car one of your friends owns or has access to.  Yeah, that’s what happened in the above pic as Rebekah and I drove over the Manhattan Bridge.

[A view of the Manhattan Bridge from DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) - great name for a neighborhood.]

Actually, I take the Manhattan Bridge almost every day, but I’m on the lower level, on a train, while the rich people driver their cars over my head.  Such is life.

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USA: NYC: Brooklyn Bridge

Posted on August 26th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, NYC, USA.

Little did I know, you can actually walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.  Had it not been 95*F and sunny that day, I think I would have found the trek highly enjoyable. 

I made the walk with my summer ESL class.  From Brooklyn, we took the M to the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall stop.  You’ll be able to see the bridge from around the corner; then just follow the sidewalk on up.  The traffic will drop below you on either side, so you’ll have a better view, removed from major traffic.

I really enjoyed the above view, which was taken from the park below the bridge on the Brooklyn side, where there’s a smattering of modern art and a cluster of benches for picnickers.  They’re apparently in the process of developing that area, so it will be worth visiting again in the future.

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USA: NYC: Settling in

Posted on June 10th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, NYC.

So, I moved to NYC.  And, of course, three days after moving into my apartment, the place caught on fire.  Actually, I never figured out if it was my building or the one I share a bedroom wall with, but the FDNY was quick to respond, so I never had to leave my apartment.

 
[Five fire trucks pile into the intersection below my apartment]

I’ve been told that all cabbies and cops drive Crown Victorias, but that’s obviously a lie.  It seems NYPD has been importing Tuk Tuks from Thailand.

[I suppose it’s just a meter maid, but it’s still funny.  It’s totally a Tuk Tuk.  And NYPD Tuk Tuk.]

I drove in NYC, and - to my own shock and amazement - I did not die.  Though, mind you, I have no real desire to do that on a regular basis.  Still, I felt like a real New Yorker as I drive over the beautiful Verrazano suspension bridge.

[The Verrazano Bridge, connecting Brooklyn to Staten Island, charges a $9 toll EACH WAY!]

What really makes the city home, though, is having the Jedi Cat here, comfortable settled into the only chair we have in the entire apartment.  (That’s a lie - we now have two more chairs - but we’re down a bed after my roommate’s cat, Darwin, punctured the inflatable mattress in his room last night.)

[The Jedi Cat, Tarzan, lounging comfortably in our new home in Brooklyn]

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Mexico: Chiapas: Agua Clara

Posted on April 8th, 2007 by Anna Zhan.
Categories: Blog, Mexico, Travel.

[Bridge over Agua Clara]

Agua Clara’s blue-green waters may make it worth viewing, but the real draw to this other 30-minute side trip on your day trip to Agua Azul - in my opinion - is the stereotypical freaky bridge of wooden planks that hangs precariously from the two shores over this pretty lake.

The thing that makes these bridges freaky, other than their tendancy to make scary noises as they swing back in forth in the air, is the fact that not al the planks are wholly in tact - in fact, some of them are no longer a part of the bridge at all.  I suppose only a skinny Asian child could fall through to the rocks and water below, but if you weren’t watching, you might have a terrifying misstep.

For those who can’t bring themselves to cross the bridge back over to their waiting tour group, an old Mexican man offers a solution: for a small fee, he’ll take you back over on his raft.  (I took the bridge back - it’s so much fun!  How could I resist?)

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