My Oh M(a)y!

Its going to take me most of June to write about all of May. It has been a non-stop month for me. And while I love it, it takes a toll on the body and mind, and I'm looking forward to a somewhat relaxing June.

May started out with a trip to NYC! Travers stayed home in Geneva and I met Bryna, my sister, at JFK. We had a week together in the city and we definitely made the most of it.  I had all intentions to sleep on the flight out, but with all the movies I had to catch up on, I couldn't force myself to close my eyes. I think I ended up watching 5 movies total. And to be honest, I don't really remember all of them. But it made the flight go by fast.

After meeting Bryna in baggage claim at JFK, we cabbed it to the city and checked into the apartment we had rented on AirBnB. Great website if you want to rent an apartment instead of spending money on a hotel. You lose out on the daily housekeeping usually, but you get the plus of having a kitchen and feeling like you are really living in the city you're visiting.  We settled in quickly as Bryna had a concert she wanted us to go to. So we threw on some clean clothes, hailed a cab, and within a few minutes we were in the Soho at Le Poisson Rouge! How very appropriate the name is in French and I come from a french speaking country!


We walked up to the front door of Le Poisson Rouge and the doorman asked us if we had pre-bought tickets online. We said we hadn't cause we thought we could buy at the door. He said yes, you can, but some of the people that purchased online haven't shown up, so I'll just stamp you and you can go in. FOR FREE!!  So of course we said ok and he stamped our wrists and we went downstairs to the show. The band playing is called School of Seven Bells. Bryna is a big fan of Spotify and has found a ton of new bands. This was one of her new fave's.  And even without knowing the songs, I was able to really enjoy their music.

After the show, we realized it was Cinco de Mayo, so we walked down the street to a restaurant called Dos Caminos. We had gone to this restaurant several years earlier in nyc while celebrating Bryna's bachelorette! We walked in and the entire place was bustling. We ordered some skinny margaritas (that's an actual drink with less sugar etc...for girls who want to drink their calories away) and waited for a table.  We ended up meeting these two people standing nearby, who were both originally from Germany. The guy grew up in the states, but the girl was in New York on a visa and was going to move back to Europe soon and of all places, Switzerland! So we chatted with them for awhile, then all decided to go to a club called Cielo, in the meatpacking district.  This club reminded me of all the clubs we have been to in Switzerland. They were playing some great dance music and everyone was having a fun time. We danced all night long and poured into bed much later than anticipated. It wasn't until the next morning that I realized I had been awake that day for over 24 hours since I didn't sleep at all on the plane ride over. Yikes. Welcome to New York!

And that was just the first night! Not even a full day. The next couple of days we took it easier. We had brunch with some of Bryna's friends on Sunday, and found an asian fusion restaurant for dinner called Cafetasia. We shared some yummy pad thai and curry and called it a night early, falling asleep watching Sex and the City, the movie. Monday was spent running a few errands, shopping, and dropping into Bryna's showroom.  After buying some great clothes at my new favorite stores H&M and Zara, we met my friend Mich, who happened to be in the city visiting with her mom and a girlfriend of hers from argentina and her mom! Mich lives in Geneva, right across the street from us, and has become one of my best friends here. It was just perfect timing that we happened to be in New York at the same time! So we met them at their hotel for a quick drink, then headed to Rue 57 for a light dinner.

Tuesday, Bryna had to do some work at the showroom, so i was on my own. I strolled leisurely throughout the city, shopping all the while. I ended up getting some really great things and met Bryna for lunch at the showroom. Later that night we had another concert to go to. This time the band was called Bear In Heaven, and it was at The Bowery Ballroom. And just like the previous concert, I didn't know the band's music at all, but ended up enjoying it and dancing just as much as anyone else.  Bryna sure knows how to pick good music!

Wednesday was spent again with more shopping (Yes, i bought a lot of things. All very necessary, i swear). I headed towards Union Square in the morning, while Bryna worked. Then met her for lunch and we ran some errands that afternoon, one of which included me getting my hair cut! My hairdresser, Lindsay, moved from San Francisco to New York a few months before we moved to Geneva. So the chance to have her cut my hair while in New York was wonderful!  We then met up with a friend of mine at Bar 89.  My friend Sam is a girl I met while in Hawaii last November for Travers' friend Adam's wedding. She was the girlfriend of the best man and her and I hit if off and have stayed in contact. So we met at Bar 89 in Soho. Bar 89 is somewhat famous, as it was featured in a Sex and the City episode. It is also known for its bathrooms, as the stall doors are glass. And I'm sure you're thinking, what? glass bathroom doors? Well, once you step inside, there is a sensor that makes the glass opaque from the outside. So looking in, you can't see anything. The weird part is, when you're inside the stall, you can still see out, so its a little strange to be doing your business and not quite sure if the opaque sensor is actually really working! Yikes.

Since Thursday was our last full day in new york, we decided it was going to be our touring day. We headed up to Madison Ave and 60th, where all the super high end designers have storefronts. We strolled the streets, oohing and awwing at all the stores, sometimes tempting ourselves by going inside some. We had a nice leisurely lunch then headed back downtown to quickly change before heading to Battery Park to catch a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty! Well, this photo is about as close as we got to the statue. Due to some very bad planning, and poor reading abilities, we missed the memo that the last ferry left at 3pm. It was now 5pm. Oops. So we took some photos as best we could, and headed to our next tourist adventure, the 911 Memorial. 


I didn't know much about the memorial. I knew they were building new buildings and had done something with the locations of the original towers, but I had no idea just how amazing and stunning it would be. We walked up to the memorial office and were immediately taken aback by all the memorabilia they had up, and the videos and photos they had displayed. Before we could get too emotional, we picked up our tickets and headed back out to the actual memorial site.  For those that don't know, they took the two locations of the original twin towers, and basically built two pools in their footprints. Then you look up and you can see the new buildings they are constructing. I looked up and got a bit dizzy as the buildings are so tall (one is over 100 floors tall now) and they reflect the sky and things around it.












Later that night we took a subway out to Brooklyn for a birthday party. We had dinner at a french-mexican fusion restaurant, where brie and duck tacos were served, along with some risotto which comes out with a fire ring around the bowl!  It was delicious and something you can't get in Geneva.  We went to a local pub afterwards then eventually made our way back to the city.

Our final day, Friday, was spent sleeping in, packing, getting starbucks coffees (I had one every day I was there), and going to brunch at a raw-food restaurant. I had a tasty "burger" and bryna had some yummy sushi. We had a farewall glass of sangria then slowly made our way back to the apartment to get our bags and head to the airport.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a lot but we were just on the go non-stop and really just enjoyed the sister time we got to spend with each other. We were both exhausted by the end of it, but I actually lost a few pounds, so I can't really complain!  It was sad to say goodbye to Bryna at the end of our trip, but it was definitely one of the best week's I have had and maybe we will make it an annual event :-)

The rest of May to come...Sarasota, Simsbury, Amsterdam, Brussels, and Bruges if you can believe it!