New York City

Our next stop was from Chicago to New York. It worked out nicely because the flight was significantly cheaper to fly a multi-city than round trip from Ohio to Chicago. I was excited because that meant I would get to see Mary Beth. Our visit seemed so short, but time with her always passes too quickly. The three of us were lucky enough to have a dinner date at Amy Sacco's restaurant Bette, which was wonderful. If you go I highly recommend the truffle fries!

Stefan and I felt like we were eating our way around town. We were happy that we are accustomed to walking, so we didn't feel too guilty about all of the great meals we were having. We stopped at Mesa Grill, Bobby Flay's Southwest inspired restaurant when we got into town. We had a delicious brunch and it made me like Bobby Flay even more than before. There's something so sweet and cute about him.

New York City is fascinating and large (yes, that's stating the obvious). I love the unique areas like Canal Street in the china town, although I don't think I could hear 'hand bag, hand bag, you want hand bag?' one more time.

NYC reminded me of Paris. Too much to do and see and quite overwhelming. We loved the views from Top of the Rock and walking through the quaint neighborhoods. There was so much character and bussle that I can see why so many people love this city. It also had a European feel because you really have to know what you are looking for because there are so many little niche shops.

We stumbled upon Magnolia Bakery with their super cream cheesey frosting (they were quite delicious). I think that is part of the charm and appeal... you never know what you are going to run into. I also really like the colors... the grays of the buildings and the bright yellow cabs.



Stefan bought me some beautiful eternity circle earrings at Tiffany's to celebrate his promotion. I will always cherish those. And the interior resembles a bean, like cloud gate in Chicago! Yes, I am sentimental like that.

Chicago

As soon as I got settled into life in Ohio, Stefan and I were heading to Chicago. Once again we hit the baggage dilemma. Stefan's bag was taking forever and they finally figured out that the two people waiting for their bags weren't getting them because the baggage man didn't show up to work.

We got our tickets for the 'el' and that was a bit of a shock to me. It seemed so archaic and slow that there were many points where I thought we could walk faster. We walked around the city and admired all of the public art. I really loved Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate... it is so striking and interactive.



I hadn't been to Chicago since I was about 12, and I had a new appreciation for the architecture and set up of the city. It probably helped to have quite a few friends there as well. We loved visiting everyone, eating Vosges naga cookies and ice cream, and celebrating with MK and friends.

Home sweet Home!

Some quick thinking saved me from having to fly through New York City and then to Ohio due to a delayed flight in Philly. This is the one instance in my life that I can say USAirways actually did something great for me. I made it home nearly 3 hours earlier than I was supposed to!

An error on my part of not tagging my bag plane side, meant that my dirndl would have to come out on the carousel. I had planned a great surprise for Stefan and my family picking me up to wear my new dirdnl. Yes, my second one. I guess it was a fair trade off. It was nice to be home early!

Being home is wonderful!

Lingo and working

Today was my last day of work and I was sad to go… I think about my new colorful vocab that my Northern Ireland co-worker has taught me using irish jargon. Here are some of my favorites:

Git – idiot
Mangen – smelly
‘your man’ – reference to anyone
slapper – a trashy woman

There is nothing like standing at the train station and talking with tourists. They are always ready for an adventure and some excitement. Plus they are just happy to be on vacation. I honestly couldn't ask for a better job... and it's a great feeling to know that I don't really have to be working. In a way it is like teaching, however I have to corral around adults and occassionally an elderly person or child and listen to their stories while offering up some excitement for their vacation.

It's funny how the people that I encounter are always 35 or in their 50s... I don't know where the young people are in Munich. Sometimes I feel a bit like an outsider because I am young, have graduated from university (I am even starting to talk like them), and I'm married. I can't complain too much though. After all, I do live in a beautiful city with one of the highest qualities of life in the world, with an amazing man that I adore, and couldn't ask for someone more fun to share life with. Working does give me a sense of purpose and help me feel like I am contributing to the world in some way.