The Three Star Experience

There are doubtless many financial bigwigs in New York City who can afford to have gourmet dinners every night. But for the rest of us mere mortals, visiting a three star Michelin restaurant is still a big event in itself. Last week M and I went to Le Bernardin, one of the great holy grails of fine dining, spending as much in one meal as our entire 5 night NYC hotel bill. Was it worth it? Well, we definitely can’t make a habit of eating there regularly, but between the superb service and fabulous food, we had no regrets.

Even the outside looked fancy

The moment we walked into the restaurant we were greeted by an attendant asking to take our coats in the coatroom. It only got classier when we walked into the actual dining room. Our waiter led us to our table and shifted our table out, making it easier for us to take our seats. This was only the first of many actions taken that were entirely unnecessary but worked at making us feel like royalty.

We decided to order the Chef’s Tasting to make the most out of our visit. After ordering, the waiter came around with a complimentary pre-appetizer dish. There were three parts of the dish - a tuna tartare, a piece of sashimi, and a creamy mushroom soup paired with a parmesan cracker.

Complimentary pre-appetizer

After finishing the pre-appetizer, our actual tasting dishes started coming out. The first dish was a yellowfin tuna carpaccio. It tasted delicious, and the texture was really interesting. The soft, almost chewy texture of the gelatin base contrasted nicely with the crunchy bits of bread and asparagus embedded within.

First course

The second appetizer was a warm king fish sashimi topped with osetra caviar and served in light mariniere broth. The sashimi was great, and the caviar practically melted in your mouth. But my favorite part about this dish was the broth. It had a vibrant buttery clam flavor, and yet avoided being too heavy to drink. 

Second course

The third appetizer was a pan roasted langoustine topped with truffled foie gras and served with aged sherry-versus vinaigrette. We were trying to figure out what exactly the langoustine was - some sort of cross between shrimp and lobster? Turns out it’s a specific type of lobster that can be found in the waters around Europe. Either way, it was tasty.

Third course

We got a brief reprieve after finishing the last appetizer. In the meantime, the man with the bread basket continued to make his rounds. Everyone got a piece of bread at the beginning of the meal, and basically every time we finished our bread he came back around to give us more. They had really interesting flavors, from tomato basil to cranberry walnut. It was a challenge controlling ourselves with the bread. Gotta save room for the rest of the meal…

For the first part of the main course, we got lobster tails with lemongrass consomme served with herb spring roll. The lobster was super tender and fresh.

Fourth course

The next main dish was poached halibut in wild mushroom soup. I’m normally ambivalent towards halibut, but this one was great, best halibut I’ve had.

Fifth course

Last main dish was a “Surf & Turf” consisting of a black bass and braised veal cheek. It’s hard to choose a favorite dish because they were all delicious, but I really liked this one in particular. The sea bass was cooked to a nice tender finish with a crispy layer of skin left on top. The veal was even more tender to the point where it almost melted in your mouth.

Sixth course

By this time we were pleasantly surprised to find that we were actually starting to get full, considering each dish was a relatively small tasting size. Guess it adds up after awhile. It was also worth noting that the waiters took the time to switch out all our utensils between every course, and even re-covered part of our tablecloth because there was a tiny smudge on it. Such incredible attention to detail.

We started our dessert part of the meal with a “matcha ball” made with green tea custard, with jasmine ice cream and preserved lychee on the side. A very Asian dessert following a mostly French meal. The different flavors matched well together and were sweet but not too sweet.

Seventh course

The second dessert course was apple themed. We got a apple slices topped with caviar, more ice cream, and a ginger-scented apple “bomb” - applesauce encased in a white chocolate shell. It made sense why the apple dessert came second because this was a lot sweeter than the matcha one.

Eighth course

The waiter surprised us with a final complimentary dessert (probably because we were spending so much already). It was a decadent dark chocolate mousse served on crispy rice clusters and chocolate branches. A heavy, but very satisfying end to the meal.

Complimentary chocolate dessert

And then just for fun we got a few more goodies after that. 

Bonus dessert - truffle, macaron, fruit jelly, brownie

After the actual last dessert, we asked if we could take a picture of the menu, and the waiter one-upped us by giving us a physical copy of the menu along with a free copy of the 2016 Zagat guide for NYC. Flipping through the guide, we saw Le Bernardin near the top of multiple lists, and from our experience, it was clear they deserve it. Everything about our meal was world class - not just the amazing food, but also the quality of the service, with servers who would get you what you wanted before you even asked. Despite the resulting hole in our wallet, it was one of the big highlights of our trip, and I would highly recommend it to be on any foodie’s bucket list.

Historical Day Trips Around Upstate New York

As one of the original thirteen colonies, New York has numerous historically significant points of interest dating back to the founding of the nation. Many battles from the revolutionary war were fought around the area, and countless historical figures made their homes in New York and the surrounding states. Lots of these historical sites have been preserved as state parks or tourist attractions, providing ample day trip opportunities for the history buffs. What follows are a few of my recommended historical places to visit in upstate New York and nearby in Vermont.

Main house at Hildene

Hildene

Located in Manchester, Vermont, Hildene is the family home of Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln’s son. The house was purchased from the Lincoln family by a non-profit, and is now open for tourists to visit. Self-guided tour of the house takes less than an hour, but one could spend a full day exploring the entire estate. An extensive network of walking trails connects one point of interest to the next. Two of my favorite points on the estate were the Pullman car and the goat farm. An original Pullman train luxury car is open for visitors to walk through and admire. We used the free shuttle service to go from there to the goat farm on the far side of the estate, where you can learn about the cheese making process and pet some goats. There’s a lot to do, and I would recommend at least a half day to get the most out of a visit to Hildene.

Petting goats at the goat farm

Inside Fort Ticonderoga

Fort Ticonderoga

Many battles from both the French and Indian and the Revolutionary Wars were fought at Fort Ticonderoga. The fort, located about two hours north of Albany, has been rebuilt and restored over the years to function now as a living museum. In addition to the indoor exhibits featuring historical artifacts from the revolutionary era, the fort staff give tours and demonstrations all throughout the day. 

Musket firing demonstration

Beside the obligatory full-fort tour, my top recommendation would be the musket firing demonstration which takes place several times a day. Several staff members dressed up in military uniforms show firing line formations and musket reloading and firing. When we went the garden was already past peak, but I would also recommend the garden tour during peak season. Ticonderoga is another feature filled attraction that would best be visited for at least a half day, if not a full day.

View from the top of Bennington Monument

Bennington Monument

At over 200 feet high, the Bennington Monument towers over the town of the same name. The monument commemorates the Battle of Bennington from the Revolutionary War, and features some exhibits in the small museum at the base of the tower. But I’m highlighting this mostly because of the awesome view at the top. For $5 you can take a ride to the observatory at the top of the monument, where you can see parts of Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts. Visiting the monument shouldn’t take more than an hour or so, but you can combine it with other nearby attractions (such as the Bennington Museum) for a full day trip.

Artwork from the Bennington Museum

Saratoga National Historic Park

Comprised of four distinct areas of interest, the Saratoga National Historic Park is a full day attraction. The main part of the park is the battlefield. Visitors have the option of exploring the battlefield on car or bike on the main paved self-guiding tour road, or on foot via the many walking trails throughout the park. The road takes you to various historical points, including battle sites, monuments, and old army occupied buildings. I chose to drive the tour road, and it took me roughly four hours to see everything, plus another hour spent at the visitor center at the beginning of the road. 

Cannons around the battlefield

A few miles north of the battlefield is the Schuyler House, where General Philip Schuyler lived. Hour-long tours run throughout the day. Northwest of the Schuyler House is the Saratoga Monument and Victory Woods. By the time I got this far, the monument was already closed for the day, but there was still enough sunlight to take a quick walk through the Victory Woods trail. The trail was about half a mile one way, and included various signs you could read about General Burgoyne’s last stand in those very woods. Overall it was a nice, relatively cheap (I only had to pay $5 for the battlefield - everything else was free) day trip, and highly recommended for anyone in the area with an interest in history.

The monument I didn't get to go up

Trains, Buses, and Planes: A Beginner's Guide to Transit in the North Atlantic

In my past few months of traveling around the north Atlantic region, I’ve done a lot of individual research into the different available modes of transportation. Of course, driving a personal car everywhere is always an option, but I’m a rather city-driving-adverse individual, and tend to look for alternatives when visiting major metropolises. Below I thought I could share some of my findings, comparing the different modes of transportation and giving some suggestions based on some of my own experiences traveling out of the Albany region.

Buses

There are a lot of bus lines that operate in the area, but I usually end up choosing between two main players - Greyhound and Megabus. If you live in a big city with a Megabus hub (e.g. New York City), Megabus can get you basically anywhere you would want to go. But the coverage is much more limited for other starting points. Greyhound tends to have more destination options for smaller cities like Albany, where I usually travel from. In my experience, Greyhound seems to be a little more spacious and punctual. But where Megabus really shines is the cost. Megabus ticket prices start cheap and increase as time goes on, so if you plan far enough ahead you could potentially snag some great deals. I’ve been able to get tickets from Albany to NYC for $5 one way, versus the $40 round trip it would have cost with Greyhound. My general strategy with bus travel is to check Megabus first for any good deals, and then look at Greyhound if the Megabus tickets have already gone up in price.

A word of caution on buses though - their punctuality depends heavily upon traffic conditions, and I’ve had buses outright canceled on me before. In the latter case, they put me on a later bus also going to my destination, but it meant arriving a few hours later than expected. So if you are on a tight schedule and absolutely must be somewhere at a particular time, taking a train or driving might work better for you.

Trains

For intercity travel, most people I talk to equate trains with Amtrak. I personally avoid Amtrak because they don’t go much faster and tend to be more expensive than the buses ($42 for a roundtrip ticket from Albany to NYC, versus around $30 for the bus), but some people swear by Amtrak. Advantages of traveling by train are more leg room, more pieces of luggage allowed, and no delays due to road traffic. So if you have really long legs, a lot of luggage, or a tight schedule you could consider taking the train. I think where Amtrak really shines is extreme long distance travel - a ticket from LA to Chicago can be as low as $169, and for a 40+ hour ride like that the extra comfort you get on a train might actually make a difference.

Planes

Flying is fast, but airport security is not. My general rule of thumb is to only consider flying if the destination is more than 400 miles away - roughly the distance from San Francisco to LA. (Or if Southwest is having one of their huge sales…) Otherwise the time you spend traveling to the airport and waiting at security would negate any time savings you get from flying.

Cars

Even with all these different public transit options, you definitely still need a car to go to smaller cities and towns in the region. Many cities are only reachable by car, especially once you get up to Vermont, New Hampshire, and beyond. Other cities can be reached using transit, but may lack transit options within the city, making it a hassle to get around once you get there. And some cities are reachable via transit and have ample public transit options in the city itself, but depending on where your departure point is, there may not be a direct way to get there using buses or trains, making driving a more attractive option. (This was the case with my trip to Providence.)

Of course, all this is only a brief introduction to transit around the area. By all means use this as a starting point but definitely do some homework before embarking on your own trips. Hope this information helps, and feel free to comment below with any questions, comments, or suggestions!

The Lonely Mountains of New Hampshire

Last weekend M and I went hiking in one of the most isolated places I’ve ever been. Maybe it was because it’s already considered the off season in the New Hampshire state parks, but we could literally go for miles without seeing another human being. Big difference from certain other parks that even require lottery ticket systems for their most popular hikes. (Yeah, I’m looking at you, Half Dome.) You would hear nothing but the wind howling through the trees and the leaves crunching beneath your feet. It was kind of nice.

The area we visited is called the White Mountain National Forest, a huge expanse of woodland stretching over one portion of the rugged Appalachian Mountains. We went to two of the more prominent parks within the White Mountains, Crawford Notch State Park and Franconia Notch State Park.

Silver Cascade

Crawford Notch is most known for its waterfalls. As California natives, we were exceptionally excited at the prospect of seeing real waterfalls with actual water in them, so we spent most of our time in the park trekking to as many falls as we could. The Silver and Flume Cascades were easily accessible right off highway 302. They were small but photo-worthy.

Flume Cascade

Arethusa Falls took a little more effort to reach. We decided to hike the Arethusa Falls Loop, the most highly recommended hike in Crawford Notch. The trail started by going up, and continued to go up basically until we reached the falls over a mile later. With a drop of over 200 feet, Arethusa Falls was very impressive and well worth the climb. We took a nice snack and photo break there and continued along our way.

Majestic Arethusa Falls

The next part of the loop climbed up some more up to the Frankenstein Cliffs. The cliff overlook provided a great view of the surrounding mountains and the valley below. If you looked hard enough toward the west you could even faintly see the top of Arethusa Falls poking through the trees. It was all downhill from there. Though I actually thought the downhill was the most difficult park of the hike - that part of the Cliff Trail was quite rocky and steep, and leaves covered the trail to the point where it was often difficult figuring out where the trail was. Luckily there were painted trail markers at frequent intervals, and slowly but surely we made it back down.

View from Frankenstein Cliffs

Franconia Notch is one of the biggest state parks in New Hampshire and contains a variety of attractions. Unfortunately many of them were closed when we went. But we did get to see the Basin just off of I-93, a giant pothole at the base of a waterfall, carved perfectly smooth by the forces of nature over thousands of years. 

The Basin

Also right next to the highway was the Old Man of the Mountain. Or at least, what’s left of it. Look on the New Hampshire state quarter and you’ll see what the Old Man used to look like, a natural rock formation resting on the top of a cliff hundreds of feet high. If you looked from a certain angle, you would see the face of an old man, hence the name. But a few years ago, the rocks fell, leaving a gaping hole where the face used to be. Unable to let go of their crown jewel, the state of New Hampshire installed metal rods at ground level in what is now known as the Old Man Plaza. If you stand at just the right angle, the metal rods form a silhouette that lines up with the former Old Man, recreating what it used to look like.

The new Old Man of the Mountain

The last thing we did in Franconia Notch was go on another big hike up to the summit of Cannon Mountain. We made our ascent up on the Hi Cannon Trail, and it was extremely rugged - we were basically scrambling over boulders the entire way up and at some point there was even a ladder we had to climb. At some point we crossed the snow line and continued our way up tromping in snow. When we finally made it to the top, wind chill brought the temperature down to 20 degrees F, but the view was unparalleled. We could see for miles in every direction. I would’ve stayed up there longer if I didn’t feel my fingers start to go numb from the cold. 

View from Cannon Mountain summit

On our way down we took the Kinsman Trail down to Lonesome Lake. The trail was just as steep and rocky as before, and we were quite worn out by the time we got to the lake. Luckily there was a hikers hut there run by the Appalachian Mountain Club, where we could warm up and take a short break. The last segment of the descent down the Lonesome Lake Trail was the least difficult park of the hike, good news for the weary travelers.

Lonesome Lake, aptly named

I think one of my favorite parts about the trip was simply getting relatively far away from civilization. Sometimes it’s nice just to take the path less traveled and spend some time communing with nature. 

5 Places to Eat in NYC Without Breaking the Bank (Mostly)

New York City is known for many things - Broadway, Wall Street, Times Square - and I recently spent two consecutive weekends there playing the tourist and visiting these famous sites. While I was there, some of my non-tourist friends made sure I didn’t miss another big part of the city - the incredible food scene. As we partook in some of the best (affordable) food NYC has to offer, I quickly learned that there’s so much more to New York cuisine beyond cronuts and Shake Shack. 

Totto Ramen

If I could only have one type of meal for the rest of my life, I would be quite content to have it be ramen. We came here my first weekend in the city to sate my craving for ramen, and I returned again the next week because it was just that good. Totto has all the bases covered with firm chewy noodles and flavorful pork pieces. But what really sets them apart is the broth. Instead of using a pork base for the soup, Totto uses a chicken based broth. The result is a lighter, clearer flavor that wonderfully complements the rest of the ingredients instead of overwhelming them as some other places’ broth tend to do. And for about $10-15 a bowl, it’s great value for what you pay, especially with NYC food prices.

Paiten (regular) Ramen at Totto

Joe’s Shanghai/Ginger

If you’re looking for food in NYC’s Chinatown, most guide books will recommend Joe’s Shanghai, known for their pork soup dumplings. Instead, we went to Joe’s Ginger just down the street for basically the same food but with less crowds. We ordered both the pork and the crab dumplings. Whenever I have soup dumplings, I can’t help but compare them with the ones from Din Tai Fung - I thought the dumplings at Joe’s had great flavor, but the dumpling skin was little too thick compared to DTF’s. Nevertheless, they were quite good, and very affordable at less than $10 a basket. Great place for a quick lunch to satisfy a dumpling craving.

Everyone loves XLBs

Snowdays

One thing we are severely lacking in upstate New York is a good Asian dessert place. Which is why I was exceptionally excited to go to Snowdays and have some Taiwanese style snow ice. At Snowdays you can pick between building your own cup by choosing a snow flavor, toppings, and drizzle, or picking the pre-built combos. I ordered the “Made in Taiwan” combo, featuring green tea flavored snow, mochi and grass jelly toppings, and condensed milk drizzle. My favorite part was the snow itself. It had just the right amount of fluffiness and the green tea flavor was sweet but not too sweet. I definitely thought it was worth the $6 for the regular cup.

"Made in Taiwan" snow ice at Snowdays

Takashi

This trendy yakiniku place is the one pricier restaurant I have listed here. We split roughly 10 plates of meat between five people and ended up paying around $50 each, so not quite gourmet Michelin prices, but still more than I usually spend on food. Though I guess these sort of prices are to be expected for good yakiniku, and the stuff here was quite good. I’m not an expert on meat, but the marbling on the beef was beautiful, which I’ve heard is indicative of high quality meat. Our waitress was supremely helpful, giving us excellent suggestions for cuts to try, and great recommendations for marinades. Everything we had that night, from the beef tongue to the short-rib, was delicious. If it wasn’t for the price, I’d go back in a heartbeat, but if you do want to splurge you can’t go wrong here.

Yakiniku at Takashi

Cooking all the meat

Adrienne’s Pizza Bar

A large variety of pizza, pasta, and salads are available at Adrienne’s Pizza Bar, but apparently what you’re supposed to do here is order the “Old Fashioned Pizza”, a rectangular pie you can customize with individual toppings. The first thing I noticed when our pie came out was that it was huge. We definitely got our bang for our buck with our large cookie sheet sized pizza we only paid around $40 for total. The pizza itself also tasted great. The crust was pleasantly crispy, and the ingredients all combined harmoniously into perfection with every bite. Alas, even with the three of us we couldn’t finish the enormous pie. (But I’m sure the homeless person we gave our leftovers to enjoyed the rest.) Delicious food, and excellent value considering this was right in the heart of the financial district.

Giant pizza at Adrienne's

Looking forward to eating more on future trips to the city!

- MC 9/20

PAX Prime 2015

Last weekend I flew across the country to Seattle with some friends and guildmates, where a massive gathering of gamers was taking place at the Penny Arcade eXpo. It took roughly 9 hours of travel time one way, but it was worth every minute. I could go on and on about all the cool demos I saw and interesting game I tried, but I’ll just pick a few highlights of my PAX experience:

Crowds on the show floor

Project Morpheus

VR was the big thing at PAX this year. Spread across various areas of the convention were stations where you could try out a new game showing off the latest VR technology. But like almost everything else there, massive lines formed, and unless you got in line before 7 in the morning you were unlikely to get a spot. By some stroke of luck, we were able to get a couple of the walk-in spots at Sony’s Project Morpheus booth.

Project Morpheus

They had several different games available for demo. The game I got put you in the point of view of a tank getting besieged by other tanks from all sides. You had to physically turn your neck back and forth to see where the enemies were coming from, and then use the Playstation controller to move, jump, and shoot. The helmet was a bit heavy, and I definitely got motion sickness after a few minutes, but overall I was impressed by how smooth the game ran. There’s a lot of potential for gaming applications (and non-gaming applications for that matter), and I’m excited to see how the technology develops. I’ll just make sure to have a healthy serving of ginger before trying it again.

Gigantic

About a block away from the convention center was a large restaurant-arcade hybrid called Gameworks. After eating lunch there, we wandered around the arcade, and stumbled upon a demo station for the game Gigantic in the back of the building, completely by accident. Apparently not a lot of other people knew of its existence, so there was no line whatsoever - a miracle! So of course we decided to try it out.

I actually forgot to take a picture of the Gigantic booth

so here's a gigantic Pikachu

Gigantic is a head to head game in which you and your team of five fight the other team and try to take out their guardian, a huge (gigantic) creature that you can only damage after getting enough kills and capturing enough points from the other team. You can pick between many heroes, each of which have their own play styles and special abilities. The game itself was a lot of fun. It was simple enough to pick up and start playing right away, yet complex enough to provide longevity. The only thing I was disappointed with was the fact that it’s only available for Windows 10. Not quite sure if I want to upgrade to Win 10 just yet, but when I do, I’ll have to revisit this game.

Super Mario Maker

If you’ve ever played a Mario stage and thought, “I could design a stage so much better!”, soon you’ll have the opportunity to do so. One of the many game Nintendo had in their massive booth was Super Mario Maker for the WiiU. The game allows you to play stages made by other people, but as the name implies, the point is really to let those creative juices flow and design your own stages. My interest in this game was actually only lukewarm prior to trying it out, but once I got my hands on the controller and started playing around, I found myself really getting into it. How do I make this jump sequence challenging and exciting, yet still doable? How many cannons can I stack before things start getting too ridiculous? The game allows you to quickly go back and forth between editing and play testing, allow for rapid iteration in every sense of the phrase. Alas, this is another game I lack the platform for. Maybe it’s about time to start thinking about getting a WiiU… (Clearly Nintendo’s marketing has worked.)

Super Mario Maker

Console/PC Free Play Rooms

At PAX there were several free play rooms for both console and PC gaming. I actually ended up spending quite a bit of time here because I just wanted to play something and didn’t want to spend all my time waiting in lines. In the console room you could check out current gen and previous gen consoles and pick from their extensive library of games. I’d been wanting to try out Hyrule Warriors for awhile, so I got that. It was basically Dynasty Warriors with Zelda characters. Not sure what I was expecting. 

PC room

The PC gaming room was literally just a room full of PCs. You could hop on a PC and play for 45 minutes, more if no one was in line after your session expired, and pick between the many games they had pre-installed. There were some familiar ones, like Civilization V - although how they expect any Civ game to finish within 45 minutes is beyond me. There were also lots of games I’d never played before, many of which had been sitting on my to-try list for a long time. I tried Bastion, Transistor, and Kerbal Space Program. It was kind of nice being able to just sit down after a tiring day walking around the convention and try out some new games.

***

This was my first time going to such a large gaming convention, and it was an amazing experience. It isn’t everyday that you can walk around and see and play the latest and greatest surrounded by enthusiastic like-minded gamers. I only wish I could have spent more than two days there. Guess that’s something to consider for next year. See you at PAX 2016!

- MC 9/2

Lobsters and Landscapes in Rhode Island

The thing about New England is that the states are tiny compared to the west coast, meaning you could cross multiple state boundaries in a relatively short amount of time. Last weekend I took a mini-road trip, driving through three states in as many hours to reach Providence, Rhode Island where I went to visit some old friends. 

Delicious grilled pizza

Being quite accomplished foodies, my friends introduced me to much of the great food Rhode Island has to offer. Like many other college towns, Providence has a plethora of good, yet reasonably priced restaurants. We went to a small modest looking place called Bob and Timmy’s Grilled Pizza, famous for their grilled pizza, as one could guess. We ordered a Gorgonzola Salad and a half-and-half pizza with Lasagna and Wild Mushroom flavors. Everything was absolutely divine. The cheeses all tasted excellent, the pizza crust was delightfully crispy, and I even enjoyed the olives in the salad - quite astonishing considering I usually try to avoid olives. The whole thing reminded me of Berkeley’s Cheeseboard, but with more choice in pizza flavors.

Super fresh lobster

We actually decided to spend most of the day walking around in Newport, a charming, picturesque seaside town. On the way there, we stopped to eat at Anthony’s Seafood, featured in Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”. We ordered some lobster rolls, crab cakes, and of course the featured Kung Pao Calamari. The crab cakes were delicious, and the calamari was as good as advertised, but my favorite part of the meal was the lobster roll. Lobster rolls are always a little pricey, and this one was no exception, but the sheer freshness of the meat made it worth every penny. The lobster has wonderful texture and it tasted like it had been caught just hours ago, which considering we were in the Ocean State, I could definitely believe.

Scenery along the Cliff Walk

After stuffing ourselves silly, we took a nice long walk to digest along Newport’s famous Cliff Walk, a 3.5 mile path that follows the cliffs right next to the ocean. It was a wonderfully scenic place to sightsee from, with the dramatic seaside landscape on one side and perfectly groomed gardens and mansions on the other. We went to visit one such mansion, The Breakers, previously owned by the railroad empire Vanderbilt family. The Breakers is one of many mansions in Newport that used to be owned by the filthy rich and now function as tourist attractions, much like Hearst Castle in California. Admission included a nice audio tour that introduced each of the rooms in the house, as well as the family members and some of the house staff. I found the tour to be both aesthetically pleasing and a great insight into the life of the Gilded Age upper class.

The Breakers

There’s much to do in Rhode Island despite its small size, and if I get a chance to come back, I definitely want to check out the other Newport mansions and spend some time exploring the museums in Providence. Of course, more lobster rolls are always good too. ’Til next time!

- MC 8/23

Freedom and Seafood in Boston

As one of the oldest cities in the United States, Boston has a tremendous amount of historical attractions to occupy the millions of tourists that visit every year. Last weekend a friend and I met up in Boston and went sightseeing together. She’s Canadian, but we decided to walk the Freedom Trail anyway.

Freedom!

The trail starts at the visitor center in the Boston Common, and winds through the city, taking you to over twenty different historical sites and ending across the Charles River at Bunker Hill. Even though it’s officially only 2.5 miles in length, we made numerous detours, walking around at many of the sites, and ended up walking for a good four hours. Not exactly the most leisurely stroll, but well worth the effort if you are at all interested in history. 

I for one found myself wishing I remembered more of high school US history as we continued along the trail. A few of the sites required admission fees, but there were also plenty of free ones. Among them were a bunch of churches of various denominations, and burying grounds containing some familiar names. We were able to find the gravestones of John “City on a Hill” Winthrop, Paul “The British are Coming” Revere, and John “My Name is Bigger Than Yours” Hancock. 

The whole Winthrop clan

About halfway through the trail we stopped for lunch at Quincy Market, a large narrow building housing food stalls and restaurants as far as the eye can see. It was a madhouse in there, like going to a Taipei night market on a weekend. One would think every tourist in Boston was there, but for good reason - I counted at least five seafood stalls selling lobster rolls and the famous New England chowder, as well as many others serving items as varied as pad thai and bagel pizzas. Finding seating was a bit of a challenge; we ended up eating at a standing table. All part of the Boston experience, I guess.

Baked clams from Quincy Market

One of the most interesting stops along the Freedom Trail was the Charlestown Navy Yard towards the end of the day, a large harbor area north of the Charles River. Front and center was the USS Constitution “Old Ironsides” herself, open for tourists to walk around on deck free of charge. The USS Constitution Museum was right next door, also with free admission (though accepting donations). I found the museum to be very impressive, with well curated and informative exhibits containing a good amount of interactivity. Unfortunately we got there just 15 minutes before closing, as we definitely could have spent a good amount of time there.

Old Ironsides in for restoration

The next day, some kind friends took me on a tour of Harvard University, actually the first Ivy League school I’ve ever visited. It was suitably impressive, especially the giant pillared main library and the majestic gothic style Memorial Hall towards the middle of campus. Though I think I was most impressed by simply how clean and well maintained all the buildings were. Harvard is one of the oldest universities in the country, but the campus was pristine. Such is the difference between public and private schools.

Looks like Hogwarts

Overall, I enjoyed my first taste of Boston. I really liked how walkable the city was, and how convenient the public transit was to use. Last weekend was a great introduction to the area, and I look forward to my next visit!

- MC 8/4

Adventures Awaits on the East Coast

Having been born and raised, and done all my schooling in California, I have spent almost my entire life living and traveling around on the west coast. So when I happened upon an opportunity to take a six month work assignment in upstate New York, I jumped on the chance to travel to the east coast, a part of the country that is still relatively unknown and mysterious to me. 

For the next half year, I will be living and working in Malta, NY, a small town in an area whose sleepy exterior belies the rich history within. Less than ten miles from my apartment is the site of the Battle of Saratoga from the Revolutionary War. A few minutes drive northwest of there, and you can reach Saratoga Springs, a town with it’s own longtime traditions of hot springs and horse races. Even today, you can go there to watch (and bet on, if you’re feeling lucky,) live thoroughbred horse racing, a pastime that seems to be distinctly east coast.

There are also countless activities available for the outdoor enthusiast. Warm summer days offer swimming and kayaking on the many lakes in the area, hiking in the vast Adirondack mountain range, and running through the nearby forest trails. Winters are said to be harsh, but also provide opportunities to ski, ice skate, and snow shoe without having to drive four hours up a mountain. 

As an added bonus, upstate New York happens to be in a great location for weekend trips to popular east coast destinations. Three hours of driving can get you to New York City to the south, Boston to the east, and Montreal to the north. With an additional hour of driving, you could reach Philadelphia farther south or Niagara Falls to the west. I definitely plan to visit some of these locations, as well as others in the vicinity. 

So far I’ve been enjoying the east coast experience, seeing interesting places unique to the area. It’s been a bit hot and humid, nothing like the year round temperate weather back home, but that hasn’t deterred me from going exploring. There’s so much to see and do - more than enough to keep me busy for the next six months.

- MC 7/27

P.S. I'd love to hear any suggestions for things to see/do from all you east coasters!

Ships and History in Halifax

We ended our train journey across the eastern stretches of Canada in Halifax, a port city known for its history and lobsters. In many ways, Halifax almost reminds me of San Francisco, with its ample selection of seafood restaurants and waterfront establishments swarming with tourists. But as an older city that had taken an active role in numerous international events in the past, I found the historical buildings and attractions in Halifax to be much more interesting and impressive.

Famous Halifax seafood

Similar to Quebec City, Halifax also has a star-shaped Citadel built on the highest hill overlooking the city. These fortifications were also built by the British, but were intended to be used in defense against the French. The Citadel in Halifax seemed a little smaller than the one in Quebec, but boasted equally impressive features. A tall wall and deep ditch surround the entire fort, meaning any attackers would, after charging up a steep hill, have to drop 20 feet into the ditch and climb 40 feet up a sheer wall before making it into the fort’s interior, all the while being shot at by snipers on both sides. The inside of the fort contains storehouses and sleeping quarters, giving it the ability to be self sufficient in the case of a siege. It appears just as impenetrable as the Quebec citadel, but we’ll never know how it would have actually held up in battle, because like the other fort, this one has never been attacked. In fact, the only time the Citadel ever functioned as a defensive structure for the city was during the Halifax Explosion of 1917. 

Standing in the ditch of the Citadel

It was the height of World War I, and the French cargo ship, the Mont-Blanc, was on its way across the ocean loaded with explosives. Before heading east back to France, they were to make a stop in Halifax. The big ship barely fit in Halifax harbor, and due to miscommunication, the Mont-Blanc collided with the Imo, a Norwegian ship headed in the opposite direction out the harbor. Fire quickly spread across the carnage, resulting in a massive explosion that wiped out the entire east side of the city. The Citadel however, stood firm, protecting the rest of the city behind it from the blast.

The Halifax Explosion is the subject of one of the many exhibits at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Other exhibits featured model ships with exquisite detail crafted by local hobbyists, and a real full-sized ship outside that was free to explore with museum admission. Also featured was a whole exhibit about the Titanic and the aftermath its disastrous journey, of which I was surprised Halifax played such a large role.

Intricate model ships at the museum

After the Titanic sank, rescue ships quickly set out to bring the survivors to New York, the original intended destination. The bodies of the victims however, were sent to Halifax. Halifax was the closest port city to the wreckage that had relatively easy access to the rest of the continent via railroad. After the bodies were identified, they could be sent to their families for burial. Of course, only the families of the first class passengers could afford the shipping costs, so many of the bodies ended up being buried right in Halifax. During our city tour, our guide took us to Fairview Cemetery, where most of the victims were buried. It was interesting hearing the stories he had to tell us about certain individuals buried there, but also sad to think about the tragedy that had befallen all those people. Many of the tombstones were simply labeled with the date of the disaster and a number, the body unable to be identified, destined to rest there forever in anonymity. 

Grave marker at the Fairview Cemetery, inspiration for the character Jack Dawson

Having gone through the US school system, I learned a lot about American history, but not much about the rest of the world. My favorite part about this past trip was learning about the rich histories of each stop, visiting monuments from a different time, and hearing stories about the lives of people past and present. There are many things that we didn’t have time to get to during our stays in Montreal, Quebec, and Halifax, and discover more stories yet untold.

- MC 6/27