busy!

Summertime brings a more frenzied social life along with the searing heat. I've been busy the last few weeks but here's some of what I've been doing:

Long Beach- took the LIRR out to the beach. Although the $12 beach admission seemed pricey, it was worth it for the pristine sand beaches. The water was cold and a bit rough, but worked well enough to cool me down. And lying around on the soft sand and listening to the ocean was pure bliss

Movie in Bryant Park- due to the crowd, the concrete and the long bathroom lines we didn't stay to watch the movie. We did however enjoy a nice al fresco picnic in an interesting setting.

Sazon- awesome. This Puerto Rican restaurant offered two hours of unlimited mimosas or sangrias plus a two course burnch. They had a great eggs Benedict with a green Hollandaise sauce. It's a hard dish to pull off, but it was perfect. And the drinks were strong!

Madiba Restaurant in Fort Greene- tasty South African place in cute Fort Greene. We sampled lots of dishes and had a great time.

Hill Country- meat! meat! meat! gotta love the meat here and the caloric, buttery sides. Although the sauce doesn't match up to the actual hill country greatness, the meat is pretty darn good. And the drinks were great! I tried a serrano pepper margarita (what a kick!) and a rum & rootbeer mixer (like dessert!). Fun and informal.

Big Apple moment

Walked into a random wine shop in midtown west and Whoopi Goldberg was there! But I can't add her to my list because she's already on it. crazy city!

The Winter's Tale in the heat of summer

Shakespeare in the park! After many weeks of fruitlessly entering in the virtual lottery for tickets, I finally got rewarded with a pair to see The Winter's Tale. And it happened to be on day where the heat in the city broke, the sky was clear and there was just enough of a breeze to keep one altet and cool. The scene to the left is Paulina ripping Leontes a new one after he has let jealousy get the better of him and caused the death of his wife and son. Paulina was amazing! She really stole the show with her energy and fiery tongue. Although the it only got a tepid review in the New York Times (they liked the other play in this summer's cycle, Merchant of Venice) I thought it was thoroughly enjoyable. For a three hour play, it kept a pretty good pace and the actors recited the twisty Shakespearean lines with enough clarity and panache that I understood most of it. The staging was also well done. They had fake sheep popping up from hidden grooves in the stage and a lovely glass window pane that mimicked rain fall. The drama was absorbing and the comic relief hilarious. It made me realize that as the precursor to television and modern entertainment, Shakespeare knew how to keep the rabble interested. All in all, a most enjoyable evening. :)

Oh Canada!

This weekend I went to Montreal for fun with a few close friends. Montreal is a pretty and spacious city and seemed very uncrowded and sparkling clean from a New Yorker's point of view. I loved the spiral staircases, the flowers and ivy covered walls, and the cobblestone streets of Old City. And it was far enough away to feel like a real vacation and adventure.

We climbed up the winding Mont Royal to see the views from the top and the drum circles at the bottom. Bought and sautéed duck liver. Consumed loads of ice cream and sorbet, and maple flavored everything (including soda!). Went to the Montreal International Jazz Festival where we saw The Lost Fingers, a very popular Canadian band that covers eighties songs. Their rendition of Billie Jean was amazing.

We also ventured to Quebec City where we played around in the castle/palace like hotels before wilting in the scorching sun and having an impromptu picnic. Who knew Canada would be so frakkin' hot? Also did some shopping in cute French boutiques, where I bought pates, a nice wall hanging, and some maple tea.