TravelStream™ news feed for member babieemelly on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/babieemelly en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:47:46 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1222454940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1222454940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1222454940/tpod.html Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:47:46 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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New York, New York, United States

The American Museum of Natural History has always been one of my favorite museums. It's housed in a gigantic building full of amazing artifacts, displays and pieces of history. I remembered thinking that the museum was pure magic when I was little and my feelings haven't changed. It's an amazing place! As much as I love it though, I hadn't been to the museum in years, and neither had my brother Mike or cousin Cari. We'd been wanting to see the traveling Mythic Creatures exhibit for a while, so when we found out it was leaving in just a few days we figured now was a perfect time to go to the museum. We took the train into the city and the museum was really crowded. I thought crowds would have thinned out after New Years but that didn't seem to be the case. The only time we really encountered the crowds, though, was when we were on line for forty-five minutes to get our tickets. UGH. Thankfully the building's so big that we didn't notice the crowds once we got in. We had a great time walking around and revisiting our favorite exhibits, and we even took a half-hour to just relax and talk on a bench in the Mayan exhibit. Funny enough, the only part of the museum we didn't like was the Mythic Creatures exhibit. It was like a glorified Ripley's Believe It Or Not Odditorium - everything looked cheap and fake. As disappointed as we were in the Mythic Creatures exhibit, we had a great day at the museum and it really rekindled our love of the place!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1203180180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1203180180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1203180180/tpod.html Sat, 27 Sep 2008 11:46:58 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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Brooklyn, New York, United States

My mom and Aunt Stacy grew up loving Carol and Paula from the children's show "The Magic Garden." My mom would always sing my brother and I songs from the show when we were younger, and it was something we've always joked around about. So when my cousin Alison's school set up a concert with Carol and Paula, my mom and Aunt Stacy jumped at the chance to go. Carol and Paula were born and raised in Brooklyn so it was a special homecoming show held at Kingsborough College. I've never actually seen "The Magic Garden" so I'll admit all the kids songs got really tedious after a while, but it was a fun show and all the kids in the audience loved it.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1199043480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1199043480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1199043480/tpod.html Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:47:50 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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Anyone who's read my travel blogs knows how much I love Disney, and the Little Mermaid has always been one of my favorite Disney movies. As soon as I heard that they were bringing my favorite Disney movie to Broadway I knew I'd have to see it! My mom and dad had no interest so I jumped at the chance to see the show when my Aunt Debbie said she was getting tickets for herself, my grandma and my cousin Cari. I hadn't seen a Broadway show in a while and I was used to paying discounted prices, so it was tough handing over $130 for a two-hour long show. Ouch. I knew it was my only chance to see the show though so I just went for it. We left early the afternoon of the show and parked before heading for dinner. It was freezing out and was supposed to rain, so we just hoped for the best. We had dinner at Daniela's, our favorite Italian restaurant in midtown Manhattan. The food was delicious, as always. By the time we left it was pouring out and even colder than ever. Oy. We went over to the theater and were thankfully let in after only a few minutes. We were seated in the 5th row and it was a really cute show! The music and special effects were great but as cute as it was, I surprisingly didn't love it as much as I thought I would. The costumes looked cheap and pretty ridiculous, and I didn't like the changes to the story. Was it worth $130? No, but it was a fun day and I was glad I'd gone.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1198350900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1198350900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1198350900/tpod.html Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:18:24 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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Every Christmas my family likes to head into the city to walk around and take in the sights around Rockefeller Center. This year we waited until a little too close to Christmas though, and it was packed! My mom, dad, Aunt Stacy, cousin Ali and I took a few pictures by the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree before being completely turned off by the crowds. It was more crowded than I've ever seen it... I have no idea how my dad deals with that every holiday season! So after only a few minutes outside we headed into NBC to take some pictures. My Aunt Stacy hadn't been there in years and Alison had never been, so it was a good time!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1198263240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1198263240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1198263240/tpod.html Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:04:10 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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I'd been fascinated by Christopher McCandless and his story for a long time, so I was incredibly excited as soon as I found out that they were turning his story into a movie. Directed by Sean Penn and starring Emile Hirsch, the movie looked great and I looked into seeing it as soon as possible. It was a very indie film, though, with a limited release so it was only playing at three small theaters in Manhattan. One cold day in December, after fall semester ended, my cousin Cari and I decided to venture into the city to see the movie at the Regal E-Walk Theater in Columbus Circle. We took the train in and picked up our tickets before walking around the Shops at Columbus Circle in the Time Warner Center. We did some shopping and Cari got cookies at Dean and Doluca. It was really, really nice walking around as everything was decorated for the holidays and Christmas music was playing! We could see a street fair going on in Columbus Circle so we walked around for a little while but didn't see anything we liked. Then we stopped for snacks at a deli before heading back to the theater, which was relatively empty except for a few people. We got some popcorn and settled in - and what an absolutely amazing movie it was. It moved me in ways that a movie hadn't done in a long, long time. It was sad but also incredibly inspiring - anyone with a love of travel should see this movie as soon as possible. It became one of my favorite movies of all time right away. It was an amazing day all together - one I still look back at and hope to recreate in future holiday seasons!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1194111180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1194111180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1194111180/tpod.html Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:49:12 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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We're huge fans of Cirque Du Soleil, so when we heard that New York was getting a permanent winter show we knew we had to see it. The show was called "Cirque Du Soleil Wituk" and was the story of a young boy in New York who was on the search for snow around the holidays. It would be playing every November to January at the WAMU Theater at Madison Square Garden for the next few years. The tickets were expensive but we figured it would be worth it. Unfortunately, it wasn't. This was the only Cirque show we've ever been disappointing with. It was very much for kids and didn't offer much for adults. The acrobatics weren't even all that good or entertaining, especially compared to the other Cirque shows we've seen. It was a cute show, but not something we plan on seeing again.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1176150000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1176150000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1176150000/tpod.html Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:20:25 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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Brooklyn, New York, United States

My family is made up of a lot of food fans.  We all love to eat and try new restaurants.  Everyone had been to an Hibachi Steakhouse before except for Mike, Alison and I so we decided to all try Arirang in Downtown Brooklyn.  Arirang is a fun Japanese restaurant in which everyone sits around a large table with a grill in the middle.  A chef then comes and cooks your food right in front of you, putting on a show all the while.  Mom, dad, Mike, Aunt Stacy, Alan, Alison, Uncle Marc, Aunt Tanya and I all went together and we had a great time!  The food wasn't anything special; it was good, but since everything was being cooked together it all tasted the same.  However, getting pictures of the chef throwing food and having everyone try to catch it in their mouths more than made up for it.  What a fun experience!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1192900440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1192900440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1192900440/tpod.html Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:19:17 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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Brooklyn, New York, United States

My neighborhood holds its annual Halloween Walk in the local park every October right before Halloween. It's a fun walk through the nature preserve where neighbors dress up and try to scare as many kids as possible, haha! We went a lot when my brother and I were younger, but we hadn't been to the walk in a good ten years so my mom, dad, Aunt Stacy and I decided to bring my cousin Alison for the first time. It used to be at night when it was really scar, but now it's held in the afternoon and is a lot more family-friendly. It's definitely been toned down but it's still fun. The Headless Horseman makes appearances before the walk, and the Good Fairy gives out candy at the end. We met some neighbors at the park and had a great afternoon of Halloween fun.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1183422780/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1183422780/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1183422780/tpod.html Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:14:16 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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New York, New York, United States

AntiGravity is a traveling acrobatic show that got it's start right here in New York City.  It's "New York's Answer to Cirque Du Soleil."  I hadn't known much about the show until about a week ago, when I got a call from a local radio station (102.7) saying that we were the grand prize winners of tickets to see the show at the Hammerstein Ballroom!  My mom had entered us in a contest to win tickets and we not only won, but we were the grand prize winners!  We won front row press box seats, a backstage tour and a meet and greet with the cast.  At first I wasn't too excited about going but it wound up being an amazing night.We left Brooklyn at 5:00 and were in the Hammerstein Ballroom area by 6:00.  We were able to find free parking on the street and then we went to eat at Brother Jimmy's restaurant.  It was a barbecue restaurant with wide open views of Madison Square Garden and the rest of 8th Avenue.  We started with the corn fritters as an appetizer and I didn't really like them.  They were huge and they were just big pieces of regular fried bread with a few pieces of corn.  Nothing special. As an entree mom and I decided to share the pulled pork platter (since it had been so good at Bubby's) and the hush puppies appetizer as an entree.  The food came and it really wasn't that good.  The pulled pork was kind of gray and really spicy.  The platter we got also came with two little corn muffins and our choice of sides - we chose fries and coleslaw.  The little corn muffins were good but tiny, the fries were great and really salty, and I didn't try the coleslaw because mom ate it all.  She didn't at all like the pulled pork, or even how it looked, so she didn't eat any of it.  I picked at it but it didn't look right and was just too spicy.  Also, the hush puppies were the worst I've ever had.  The hush puppies at Bubby's had been great but these had absolutely no taste at all.Another thing that didn't sit well with me was that Mike ordered a chicken sandwich which came with one side, and when he ordered his mashed potatoes our waitress said he got two sides so he also ordered macaroni and cheese.  When our food was brought out he instead got his two sides with fried chicken.  He sent it back for his chicken sandwich, which only came with one side like Mike thought, and he only got his mashed potatoes back.  I just thought they could have also given him his mac and cheese.  It was the waitress who made the mistake and told him he got two, and it was already made.  What were they going to throw it out or just let it sit there until someone else ordered it?  It made no sense. The bill came to $60 without a tip, so about $70 in total.  It wasn't at all worth it to mom and I, although dad and Mike liked their food.  Again, this food wasn't anywhere as good as Cracker Barrel.  Sure it's a southern chain restaurant but you can't beat it for down-home southern cooking!It was 7:15 by the time we were done eating and we were supposed to be at the Hammerstein Ballroom by 7:30.  We walked over there and there was already a long line of people waiting to get in for the 8:00 show.  We saw the Mix 102.7 booth and went to introduce ourselves.  We got a big welcome and congratulations, and I spun a big wheel to try to win a t-shirt or a candle.  I came very close to winning but didn't.  We still had some time so we walked down the block and back before meeting a woman from the radio station back at the ballroom.  She took us right into a side entrance and we didn't have to wait on line.We got to our seats early and they were awesome!  We were in the first row of the press box seats and had a prefect view of the three stages - the main stage at the front of the theater and the two smaller ones on each side of the middle of the theater.  The show started at 8:00 and it was off to a touching start.  That night's show was a fundraiser for the Team Continuum cancer charity.  There were a lot of cancer patients in the audience, and the show was opened by the founder of the organization and a family of three who were living in one room of the Ronald McDonald house due to the fact that the seventeen year old son was sick.  It was very sad, but the whole show was uplifting and for such a good cause.The show itself was amazing!  It was like Cirque Du Soleil with a few differences. Some of the acts were really crazy.  There were two extremely strong guys lifting each other up in really crazy ways.  There was also a trampoline act, aerial acrobatics, antigravity boots and more.  There was a ten minute intermission and the show ended at 10:00.At 10:00 the woman from the radio station came and got us and introduced us to the AntiGravity tour manager.  She was with one of the guys from the show and we went around to some of the cast members and talked and took pictures.  We only saw the guys and a lot of them were cute!  It was definitely a lot of fun.  After our meet and greet we went backstage with the tour manager and the original cast member we had met and we saw the antigravity boots and trampoline.  We were told all about the history of the show (how it was created and based in New York City, but the shows permanent home is now in Orlando) and she also told us that a lot of the people in the show were in and out of Cirque shows.  It was really interesting. When the short tour was over we went back to the theater and a lot of the cast was still milling around.  We were tired and my dad had to go to work early the next morning so we didn't stick around.  We walked back to the car after a great night.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1182037920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1182037920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/babieemelly/newyorkcity/1182037920/tpod.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:14:46 -0400 New York, New York: Life in the Big City

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New York, New York, United States

Bubby's Pie Company is a restaurant and pie company with locations in both Manhattan and Brooklyn.  Since May of 2006 we have been wanting to try the one in Brooklyn, but when we tried to go for my birthday it was closed for a private event.  After that we thought about trying again but we always thought of somewhere else to go.  Then when Father's Day rolled around this year we tried to think of somewhere to go.  We thought of a few places before finally deciding on Bubby's.  When we called to make a reservation, though, we were again told that the Brooklyn restaurant was closed for a private event so we decided to just go to the one in Manhattan, located in Tribeca.The restaurant is small and cozy, and is run by guys and girls in their early twenties.  There were ten of us but we had a reservation so there was only a ten-minute wait.  The wait was due to one of the waitresses standing on our chairs to write the day's specials on the specials board.  I was a little annoyed by that since I didn't want to sit on the benches after she had stood on them, but they were clean and it was fine.  The only problem was had was that the table we were at was very, very small.  Ten of us were squished around a table that would seat six comfortably, but that was the biggest table they had.Bubby's prides itself on having the best southern, down-home cooking in the city and the food was pretty good.  Not the best I've ever had but it was definitely good.  First we started with three appetizers - chicken wings, nachos, and chips.  I didn't try the chicken wings since they're not my favorite, and the chips weren't very good.  They were fried and the plain ones were great, but some of them were covered in fresh blue cheese and it literally tasted like feet.  It's just not for me!  The nachos were really good, though.  They weren't the best I've ever had but they were good.As an entree I got the pulled pork sandwich with hush puppies and onion straws.  It was all so good!  I had never had pulled pork before but my dad loves it so I decided to try it.  It was absolutely delicious.  The hush puppies were also great, but the best was the onion straws.  I love onion rings, but I love onion straws even more.  They were very small, thin and crispy and were covered in salt.  Completely unhealthy but completely delicious.The only thing I could fault here was the service.  We waited a good half-hour for our appetizers, and then our entrees came out no more than five-minutes later.  We had hardly made a dent in the appetizers when our entrees came and there wasn't any room on the table.  It was a big pain.  It was like the waiter waited for all of our food to be ready and brought it to us all at once so that he only had to make one trip to our table.  After he brought our food we didn't see him again.  We waited around for a good half-hour for the bill while he was nowhere in sight. The bill came to $300 for the ten of us, tip included.  That was a LOT of money for the food we had.  The food was good, but you could get the same thing, and a lot more, at Cracker Barrel for less than a quarter of the price.  You could tell it was so expensive simply due to the fact that it was in Tribeca.After we ate we walked around Tribeca for a little while and then made our way back to Brooklyn.  Bubby's was good, but I don't think we'll be back anytime soon.
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