A transcendent experience with cheese and bread

A couple of weeks ago, Sam and I went up to Brighton Beach, which is an area of Brooklyn which has a lot of native Russian speakers living there. I was having a blast--listening to Russian being spoken on the boardwalk, speaking to cashiers in Russian, and buying Ukrainian juice and candies.

[the ones on the right are my favorite.]

The highlight of that day, though, was going to the Georgian restaurant, and especially having the khachapuri. If you don't know what khachapuri is, it is a traditional Georgian dish which is essentially melted cheese in a bread boat.

And it is a revelation.

Seriously, every time we took a bite, it was like we were about to start weeping with joy. So. Good. DEFINITELY one of my top food experiences. If I am ever in Georgia, I'm guessing that the khachapuris there will be better, but then again, I'm not exactly sure. This one was so good. It changed all of our lives. You think I am exaggerating, but I am not.

NYC at Christmas

I've never experienced New York City at Christmas time. Even though I've lived in the NYC metropolitan area for about 2.5 years now, I still haven't made the trek up to the city to see the lights and bask in Christmas cheer. I figured that this was the year to do it.

Most of our day was spent walking (Sam tracked about 20,000 steps!). But when we stopped, it was for food and Christmas lights.

Food stop 1: Katz's Delicatessen.

Katz's is basically semi-controlled anarchy. But, their pastrami sandwich was worth the chaos. 

Food stop 2: Fabrique Bakery. 

I wanted to try a kardemummabullar ever since I saw Henry on this year's Great British Bakeoff make them. They looked so good. I tried making them, but I messed up on the dough rise, and so I ended up with really heavy cardamom buns. 

This is what they're supposed to look like. 

And they taste so, SO GOOD. Definitely worth the trip and the extra 20 minutes to have a new batch come out of the oven. 10/10 recommend. 

[and this Swedish bakery is just so cozy.]

Last stop: The Christmas lights. 

I wasn't expecting the Christmas tree (the tree) at Rockefeller Center to be as incredible as it was, but I was utterly delighted by it. I stopped mid-sentence to let out a "Whoa!" when I saw the tree. It lived up to the hype. And I was delighted. 

[This is where I stopped talking and was like, "I need to take a picture." Still doesn't properly capture the moment. Maybe if I had a better camera? Still probably not.]

[The TREE]

[Right before this, we got in the way of a proposal picture, and then right after this, we got in the way of a family picture. Go us.]

All in all, even though going to New York alllllways exhausts us, it was a good day in the city. Maybe New York is growing on me? Or maybe it's just Christmas magic. 

Nothin' Like Summer in the City

Sam and I have gone into both NYC and Philadelphia in the past month. It makes for a fun weekend outing, and it’s been fun to see different parts of the cities that we haven’t noticed before.

It’s also nice to start liking some cities a bit more *cough cough* New York *cough cough*

I don’t know why I’ve never really connected with New York City. It seems like it’s the ultimate love of every basic white girl, and I fit the mold of a basic white girl most days. But not when it comes to New York City.

Maybe because it’s too big and crowded. And smelly in the summer. And how I really cannot figure out the Subway system for the life of me.

But this time with Sam it was better. Why? I think because 1) we had a very specific plan, 2) when we got tired, we went home, and 3) I was with Sam. It makes a difference.

Highlights of this NYC trip?

Walking along the High Line and along the Brooklyn Bridge. I’d never been outside of Manhattan before, so it was good to venture to another borough.

Sam also made his debut as an Instagram husband.

[He is taking these selfies because I can apparently only take good selfies of myself.]

[And he also took this one. Because he will be taking pictures of me to put on my Instagram account for a very, very, very long time. A true sign of modern love, right?]

We also went to the 9/11 Memorial Museum. It was very well worth our time and good to remember what happened that day and what came afterwards.

[I thought this work was particularly beautiful. They are squares of the blue of that September sky.]

Philadelphia

Sam and I go into Philadelphia more than NYC—and I think that will mostly be the case while we live in Princeton, because we both like it better (we just—do), and Philadelphia is home to the nearest LDS temple for us.

Once when we were in Philly, we ran into an old friend in the Philly Temple (incredibly randomly), and he was really kind and took us to get food and ice cream afterwards. We went to an ice cream shop called The Franklin Fountain, and it had a really old-timey, soda shoppe (I feel I have to write it like that) feel. It felt just a bit like I had stepped into 1903, and that was fun.

[Isn't it cute?]

[So fun]

[Also, the ice cream came in Chinese food cartons, which was also fun. 10/10 would recommend.]

Philadelphia (II)

Sam and I also went down to Philadelphia last weekend to see his—ours! I keep forgetting that—sister-in-law. It was SO INCREDIBLY HOT. Like. What is this heat? What is this humidity? It made me feel a lot more connected to the signers of the Declaration and the Constitution, that’s for sure. Ugh. Philly in summer heat is miserable.

But art museums are not! Especially the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Love this museum.

[This was Sam's favorite picture]

[And I really liked this one.]

[This one always reminds me of an episode of "Arthur".]

[We tried to re-create some of our engagement photos.]

[I was also exhausted by the end of it all. And so of course I proceeded to take angsty selfies while waiting for the others to come out of the bathroom. I mean. Obviously.]

[And then a not-so-angsty but still v exhausted photo.]

[Outside of the Rodin Museum]

Do you know what is also not terrible? Fountains. You bet that we dipped our toes in.

Another great thing was the Reading Terminal Market, where we ate the most amazing grilled cheese sandwich and salted caramel doughnuts. Seriously. Still dreaming about them. (And unfortunately unphotographed, but they will always remain in my heart.)

Some trips to the city

I've been pretty open with how I feel about New York City: I just don't get it. I really don't. It just feels so big and I don't know if I'll ever love it. (I am a basic white girl in many ways, but not in NYC love.)

But there are things I love about it. Like beautiful art museums and the New York Public Library.

A few weeks ago I went to the Met to see the Michelangelo exhibit. It was really beautiful. (But, confession: I took most of the pictures for an Instagram Story which I then did not post until two weeks after I went. Oh well. Hahaaaaa.)

[That red chalk art is beautiful.]

[In the room, the women come and go . . .

[. . . talking of Michelangelo.]

[Not Michelangelo. But still a beautiful picture of Joan of Arc (who I deeply admire).]

[My ticket covered the Met Cloisters, and since I had time, I decided to make the trek uptown. And I wasn't disappointed.]

[I remember learning about this triptych in Art History 202.]

[Look at that detail.]

[So lovely.]

[All alone with the unicorn tapestries. That was really cool to be the only person in that room.]

[Why I love Medieval art. So wacky.]

My most recent trip to the city was for archival research at the New York Public Library. I went up there on Valentine's Day, and it was a beautiful winter day, and the city was quite charming to me that day. So maybe I'm warming up to New York. Maybe. 

[NYPL]

Especially when you can find views like this in New York. I do get some of its appeal. I have a few more years for New York to grow on me. We'll see what happens. But I do enjoy quiet uptown vistas like these.