US Trip Abridged 1.0

I haven't been a good blogger since my trip to the US. Of course, there were a lot of issues that surrounded the lack of posts - the near immediate return to work days later, the need to upload the mass of pictures taken to Facebook, and reviving roleplaying with Kai. So to make up for it, I've decided to just wrap up the trip into two posts and hope that it counts for a good recollection piece looking back. Some memorable pictures surely to be included below!

All in all, my family and I went to four states and a few more cities.
San Diego and San Francisco in California, New York, New Jersey and the capital city of the United States, Washington D.C. It was a mix of old, renewed experiences of familiar places and new, breathtaking experiences of uncharted territory and sorta familiar places alike. So let's start the show and tell!

This entry captures the first part of our trip, focusing on our New York leg. Part two will have some outtakes from our brief New Jersey stop, Washington and San Francisco!

1. In-n-Out Burger, San Diego

Our midnight snack on the LONG drive from Los Angeles to San Diego. Dad wasn't able to join the flight with us, so it was just my siblings and my mom who arrived. My uncle Patrick and auntie Rose picked us up at LAX, and the drive was epically long.

2. Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York

My last trip to New York was a good 8 years ago back in summer 2004. At the time, I went with my uncle Patrick and cousin Troy, who at the time had graduated from college. Back then, my fondest memory of this place in New York was buying tickets to see the Broadway show of the timeless 'Phantom of the Opera'! We watched it at the Majestic Theater, and without fail, the broadway was absolutely magical and breathtaking! Now if only I could have watched The Boy from Oz....

3. Bethesda Fountain, Central Park, New York

The iconic fountain; a backdrop in a lot of movies shot in New York City. The first time I saw this 8 years ago, it was as breathtaking as I remember it to be~ Considering we live across Central Park, navigating to this fountain wasn't so much an issue as it was a true adventure just getting there.

4. Empire State Building, Midtown Manhattan, New York

My first trip to New York didn't put us in the luxury of having tours. We made like anti-tourists and took the subway to directly go to places we wanted to see, completely missing out on seeing the Empire State altogether. This time around however, we got the opportunity to see it during our Hop On-Hop Off tours around Downtown.

5. Flat Iron Building, Midtown Manhattan, New York

The iconic building where I always remember the Daily Bugle from the Spider-Man movies. A fantastic sight both point forward and from the side.

6. Statue of Liberty, Liberty Island, New York

Always a majestic view, and another icon of the great city on the East Coast. This trip was my first time touching down on Liberty Island to see Lady Liberty up close, so it was a real treat to actually appreciate and learn a little more about her and her significance in terms of symbolism and construction.

7. Bow Bridge, Central Park, New York

That bridge they use in Central Park for a LOT of scenes in movies and TV series would most probably be this one. Recently, I saw this featured during Episode 5 of Doctor Who Season 7!

8. Imagine Mosaic, Central Park, New York

Truth be told, I've heard about this, seen this in pictures, but it was indeed my first time seeing this "in the flesh" near Strawberry Fields in the midst of the vast Central Park. :) Hard to imagine hoe much of an impact this mosaic is, and not many people know that it's actually to fuss over and take a picture by!

9. The London, West Midtown Manhattan, New York

GORDON RAMSAY'S RESTAURANT! First learned about this during an episode of the 12-Michelin star chef's 'Kitchen Nightmares US'. So it was an absolute MUST to go and find this place no matter what and just have a picture outside it! And by some awesome circumstance, I found it! The London Bar, which also houses other restaurants of the 12-Michelin Star superchef: Gordon Ramsay at the London and Maze by Gordon Ramsay at the London. Hopefully someday I'll be able to sit down at one of these restaurants and have a bite to eat. Someday.

10. Nintendo World, Midtown Manhattan, New York

Seated in the midst of Rockefeller Center lies a two-story wonderland that is Nintendo World! From Pokemon to Super Mario Bros to Zelda and the like, it's an AWESOME store that sells merchandise and gadgetry of Nintendo happiness.

11. FAO Schwarz, Midtown Manhattan, New York

Ever remember Home Alone and that Big Piano in the toy store in New York? Well... THIS was the place! It's HUGE and full of toys of all sorts, including a Muppet workshop, sweets and candies, and stuffed animals, figurines and merchandise of all sorts! Toys, toys, TOYS!

12. Castle's Exterior Apartment, Soho, New York

Exterior used for Richard Castle's apartment in the ABC TV series, "Castle". :) It was a special side trip I took with my good HS friend Rina, bringing us all the way down to Soho. Definitely worth the trip, though I was at one point unsure if it was the place. But from some fun angle, I confirmed it. :)

13. Belvedere Castle, Central Park, New York

Location indicated in the Richard Castle penned "Heat Rises" in the middle of Central Park. One of the last places my friend Rina and I went to spending the latter half of the day together. While having full intentions of locating it, we actually stumbled across it by accident since we were almost getting lost and I wasn't going to ask for directions when the adventure of finding it was still there. Fun thing to note about Belvedere Castle is that it's actually used as a weather station of sorts, so the forecasts come from here, though it's more catered to the skies over Central Park, rendering some weather forecasts irrelevant in other areas of New York City. Go figure.

See you all in part 2!