Life Is Better On Vacation: USA

Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

Wednesday 30 January 2019

TAO Downtown

Location: New York, New York, USA
Address: 92 9th Avenue
Date: November 2014
Website: taodowntown.com

We arrived at TAO Downtown on a busy weekend evening. TAO offers Asian cuisine like dim sum, sushi and more all in a mysterious setting. We encountered a long corridor which was lit by candles. We slowly moved down the dark corridor towards our dining destination.

Tucked in behind the candles were different sculptures and artwork. Sitting men and elephants watched us as we made our way deeper into the restaurant.

We turned a corner and there was a reclining Buddha. According to TAO's website, the Buddha’s position signifies tranquility and serenity that comes with enlightenment and represents the final passage into Nirvana.

We turned around again and found ourselves at the top of a grand staircase looking out across the restaurant. It felt like we were entering a large temple. We were led down the staircase to the main dining area below.

At the far end of the dining room stands Quan Yin. Quan Yin is the goddess of compassion and has 24 hands.

3D projection makes Quin Yin appear in different colours and outfits. At some points it looked as if birds were flying past her or if a waterfall was flowing over her. All of this and we haven't even ordered our food yet.

Our group ordered various items from the menu and everyone was pleased. We also loved the cute little chopstick holder man even if he was a bit cheeky. After our meal we climbed back out of TAO's temple and into the busy Manhattan streets having had a memorable dinner adventure.

Map of Our World

TAO Downtown

Post # 240

Tuesday 30 October 2018

The Grave Of Mother Goose

Location: Bostan, Massachusetts, USA
Address: Tremont Street
Date: Sept 2013
Website: www.celebrateboston.com

Granary Burying Ground in Boston has been a graveyard since the late 1600s. Many of the graves have been worn thin through the years or had the writing on their faces worn down to where they are unreadable. Many famous people in Boston's history are buried here. We were looking for one grave in particular. The grave of Mother Goose.

Mother Goose is credited with many nursery rhymes. Some famous ones are "Three Blind Mice", "Humpty Dumpty" or Hickory Dickory Dock". After hunting around the cemetery we finally located her grave.

Mary Goose died in 1690. Her husband Issac remarried to a woman called Elizabeth. Thomas Fleet married her daughter also called Elizabeth. It is said that grandmother Goose sang songs and rhymes when Thomas and his wife had their first child. Thomas being a printer made a book of some of these rhymes called Mother Goose's Melodies For Children. This is said to be the first use of Mother Goose in America but Mother Goose had also been associated with rhymes in England long before even Mary Goose's death.

So it appears there is no true Mother Goose. At least not in a cemetery in Boston. Most people are familiar with some Mother Goose nursery rhymes even if much like the myth of Boston's Mother Goose, they have changed and been re-written through the years.

Just Put Your John Hancock Here. And Here. And Initial Here.

The Hancock Tower is the tallest tower in Boston. It is named afterJohn Hancock Insurance company which had offices there. The insurance company is named after John Hancock whose signature is on the Declaration of Independence. Johm Hancock's grave is also located in Granary Burying Ground.

The Midnight Ride Of Paul Revere's Statue.

Paul Revere's grave is also located in the Granary Burying Ground. Paul Revere is best known for riding through Massachusetts warning that the British were coming. We didn't see his grave, but did visit his statue in Boston's North End. Granary Burying Ground is filled with centuries of history and a little bit of mystery.

Map of Our World

Paul Revere Statue

Granary Burying Ground , John Hancock Tower

Post # 231

Monday 10 September 2018

Old Town San Diego

Location: San Diego, California, USA
Address: Old Town
Date: February 2014
Website: www.parks.ca.gov

Old Town San Diego is said to be the birthplace of California. Juan Rodriquez Cabrillo discovered the area in 1542. In 1602 Sebastian Vizcaino named it San Deigo de Alcala. The area became a bustling hub, military post and religious mission.

In 1846 the first American flag was raised in Old Town's plaza. In 1968 Old Town became a State Historic Park. In 2014 we made a visit to take in the history, sights and food that Old Town had to offer. We entered the Old Town area through the market. We would come back here later for some souvenirs.

The first order of business was to get something to eat. We had some churros from one of the food vendors. After enjoying our deep fried treat we headed further into the town for some history.

Order In The Court! I'd Like A Churro Please. That's A Little Further Back Up The Road.

San Diego's first courthouse was built in 1847. It is also the first brick building built by the Mormons after the war with Mexico. At one point it served as the mayor's office.

La Casa de Estudillo is an adobe mansion and was built in 1829. Adobe means it was made from earth and other organic materials. This building is located in the center of town and was the social and religious center during the Mexican Era. The Mexican Era ended in 1846 when the United States declared war on Mexico.

In the center of La Casa de Estudillo is a garden with many interesting plants and flowers growing.

Around Old Town there are also many plants, especially cactus. There are also some resident cats.

La Casa de Machado y Silvas was built in 1843 and used to be a restaurant. This building is also said to be where the Silvas family hid the Mexican flag during the war in 1846.

A covered wagon sits in the middle of the street. This was the primary means of transportation for anyone who came to Old Town.

Across from the covered wagon was the Cosmopolitan Hotel. Back in 1827 it used to be the home of Juan Bandini and later in 1869 a second floor was added and it opened as a hotel. The hotel has undergone some renovations but still maintains some original features such as the floorboards. We sat at a table over these floorboards as we enjoyed a meal in the hotel dining room. A highlight was the deep fried brussel sprouts.

After lunch we enjoyed a walk and some shade down by Fiesta de Reyes which housed some other vendors. It had a nice pineapple topped fountain out front.

In the garden was a metal mariachi band. Old Town plaza was a popular place for music, bullfights and other forms of entertainment.

The Colorado Hotel is much smaller than the Cosmopolitan. This is a reconstruction as we belive the original from 1851 was destroyed in a fire.

As we headed out of Old Town we passed a theatre. It wanted to be like The Swan theatre in England so it was named after a young swan. The Cygnet Theatre runs performances throughout the year.

We headed back to our car and passed the Immaculate Conception Church. This church was built in 1865 and was the first church in California built outside of the mission system. Just outside of Old Town we purchased some souvenirs from one of the many shops. There was so much on offer but we took a small vase as a memento. The mixture of food, fun and history had made for a great day.

Map of Our World

The Cosmopolitan Hotel (Old Town)

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park

Post # 226

Friday 10 August 2018

Sharks Take Buffalo By Storm

Location: Buffalo, New York, USA
Address: 420 Main Street
Date: July 2018
Website: www.mainliberty.com

As we traveled around Buffalo, New York we noticed that they have really embraced their city's name. Everywhere we looked we saw American bison (aka buffalo). There was this colourful mural on Hertel Avenue called Magic Buffalo (above).

There was a buffalo sculpture outside of the Child & Family Services building near the airport.

We enjoyed a very nice lunch at The Terrace at Delaware Park. They had a well dressed buffalo painted on the wall inside. There was a wedding in the rose garden beside the Terrace as we arrived. This buffalo would have fit right in. On second thought, the giant, furry head and horns may have made him stand out.

There were buffalo in the artwork on the side of buildings.

And finally, there was an actual American Bison at the Buffalo Zoo. Of course.

Jocko Will Be Right Up To Help You With Your Bags.

The only place we didn't see buffalo was at our hotel, Reikart House. They had a little monkey bellhop called Jocko. He was on our menus, coasters, writing pads and even hidden in the wallpaper.

We were not looking for buffalo or monkeys. We were looking for sharks. We had heard there were some in Lafayette Square near the Soldiers & Sailors Monument. Anyone who has been reading this far and thought this blog post was going to be about sports, we are sorry. We do see how the title could have mislead you into thinking San Jose defeated the Sabres in a hockey game.

A Beautiful Day In Buffalo. Not A Shark In The Sky.

2014 was a bad year for sharks in Buffalo. Or a good year depending on how you look at it. Sharknado 2 : The Second One premiered on July 30, 2014. This was a made for TV movie based on the ridiculous premise of tornadoes pulling sharks out of the ocean and dropping them onto major cities. In the original Sharknado, Los Angeles was under attack. This time it is New York City. Once again Ian Ziering, best known as Steve from Beverly Hills 90210, must save the day.

When it came to filming the movie, a second crew traveled upstate and visited Buffalo to film a few scenes. The extras grabbed pitchforks or anything else they could find in the trunks of their cars as the sharks fell from the sky. You can see them running in the streets away from the Liberty Building (above). In the previous photo you can see the small Statue of Liberty that sits on the roof of the building.

Basically sharks rain down and it is either kill or be killed for these poor extras. During filming we imagine they had no idea what they were fighting as the computer generated sharks were added later.

Is That Sinbad's Brother Doubar Chucking Chainsaws?

An older, bearded man tosses three chainsaws up into the wind to fend off the sharks. Yet another warning needed on chainsaws. "Not to be thrown into a tornado."

Finally, a Zevon Brothers Fireworks truck explodes right outside the H & R Block above. The sharknado has been defeated for now. The Last Sharknado is set to air in August 2018 and will be the sixth movie for the series.

In August of 2014 a different kind of shark arrived in Buffalo. Shark Girl appeared down at Canalside. She came from Cleveland and was not flown in by the sharknado.

Shark Girl is the creation of artist Casey Riordan Millard and she sits waiting for someone to join her on her rock. We took a few photos with Shark Girl and she just sat quietly in her blue dress.