Springtime in New York City

Last month we decided to take a weekend trip up to New York City to visit our friends Alexis and Thomas. Paul had visited a couple of times for random events in the past few years, including a Sufjan Stevens musical and a Notre Dame football game, but David hadn't been since 2023. So we packed our bags and flew up to JFK late on a Thursday afternoon, and took the train into SoHo where we were staying with Alexis. We popped into a nearby Italian bar/restaurant for some late evening snacks and cocktails before calling it a night.

Friday we got up and got some coffee at Asano, met our friend Thomas, then took the subway to the Museum of Natural History. This museum recently expanded with a cavernous new hall and several new exhibits. We spent a few hours exploring this massive museum, which is a must-visit for anyone who likes museums.

NYC here we come!

They changed the metro map and it's terrible now.

The first, but not last of David's matcha experience in NYC.

The Pacific Northwest exhibit hall.

A skyline of crystals.

A great uncle of David's colleague painted this mural!

The Gilder Center addition.

The outside of the Gilder Center.

We then went to lunch at Chama Mama, a Georgian (the country) restaurant, walked around a bit and hung out at Thomas's apartment until dinner. We had reservations at Pranakhon, an over-the-top and delicious Thai restaurant. After dinner we grabbed some wine and chilled at Alexis's apartment that night.

A Georgian dips sampler platter at Chama Mama.

The delightful salad at Pranakhon.

View of Brooklyn from Thomas's apartment

Saturday morning we took the train across the east river for a day in Brooklyn. The weather was great - warm and sunny with a breeze. We got off the train near the Barclay's Center, and walked a couple of blocks to Greenpoint Park where we met Thomas and Petros. It was very lively, and we explored for a bit - walking through the street market adjacent to the park. 

After a bit we walked through the adjacent neighborhood admiring the brownstones and went to a bookstore before our brunch reservation at Miss Ada, a Mediterranean restaurant. We had a variety of hummuses, various fresh and pickled items, sandwiches and some non-alcoholic drinks. After, Thomas and Petros headed home for a bit, and Alexis and us caught the train to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. With the beautiful sunny weather and the emergence of cherry blossoms, this place was thronged with visitors. We walked around and enjoyed the Japanese garden

The Barclay's Center.

Downtown Brooklyn behind Greenpoint Park.

Lots of shareables for lunch.

Cherry blossoms floating on the breeze.

David and Alexis in the gardens.

Dramatic blossoms!

The Japanese gate in the pond.

Pretty!

Inside the desert dome. It was a million degrees in the greenhouses.

After finishing up at the garden, we took the train back to Manhattan, where we met up again with Thomas and Petros, and the five of us spent some time hanging out in the Lower East Side bar hopping. First, we stopped for a cocktail at Reception Bar, which does mostly Korean-inspired drinks with soju. We then tried to go to Attaboy, a highly rated cocktail bar, but were refused because one person in our party didn't have their physical ID on them. We're all in our 40s, so that was a little unexpected. We pivoted and walked toward the nearby "Double Chicken Please" but it had a line down the block. Finally, we found "StEight behind Kuniya Hair," a tiny little cocktail bar hidden behind an equally small beauty salon. It was atmospheric and the cocktails were Japanese-inspired. We accidentally went to two Asian cocktail bars!

After our bar excursions, we hopped the train back to SoHo and had pizza and wine at Alexis's apartment.

First cocktail - with soju.

Delightful drinks and company.

These two, not so much! ;)

Second cocktail, behind the hair salon.

David's strawberry matcha cocktail.

David got a calzone...thingy.

Sunday morning we started again at a coffee shop, this time at the Bedford Studio. We strolled around SoHo and then waited for Thomas and Petros to join us at Abingdon Square. From there we walked along the Hudson River Park. There were tons of people out and about because the weather was so great! After a while of strolling we popped by a small place for a quick lunch before heading back to Alexis's place, packing up and heading home!

View of New Jersey across the river.

Hanging out on the pier.

Paul and Thomas at lunch.

Florida Winter Wedding

It's winter outdoor wedding season! Sound like an oxymoron? Well, not in South Florida. Our friend Omair was getting married in Ft. Lauderdale, so we booked an AirBnB with our friends Alexis, Thomas, and Petros, packed our bags, and flew to southern Florida.

We arrived on a Thursday night and picked up some groceries before retiring to our AirBnB. It was a nice house on a lake/canal, with great outdoor spaces and a pool. The canal view was of a Rooms to Go, which was quite hilarious.

Our AirBnB pool at night.

On Friday we visited downtown Ft. Lauderdale. It has a small but nice touristy center, and we walked along the riverside path and through "Old Fort Lauderdale" before having lunch at The Downtowner.

Next we went to a wedding social event for people who had arrived early. It was on the rooftop deck of an Irish pub overlooking the beach. We enjoyed some drinks and snacks and enjoyed hanging out with the grooms. From there we wandered down the beach to get cocktails at the bar in the Four Seasons before heading back to the AirBnB where we ordered some delicious empanadas from Amado Market for pick-up. 

What a view of Rooms to Go from the backyard!

Some iguanas in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. These are an invasive species that are now everywhere in South Florida.

There were a lot of draw bridges around Fort Lauderdale.

We're the beating heart of this city!

Brightline train heading to Miami. New American high speed rail future?

Small historic site along the river in Fort Lauderdale.

Downtown Fort Lauderdale is super bougie.

View out towards the ocean from the Friday welcome venue.

Los of fancy hotels along the beach in Fort Lauderdale.

Hi!

Petros and Alexis say hi too!

Late dinner empanadas.

Saturday was the wedding day. Thomas, as best man, went to rehearsal events, and the rest of us took the rental car down to Miami, about 40 minutes to the south. We, unfortunately, weren't feeling the best today. We both picked up a cold somewhere on the way to Florida. Luckily, it never got too bad and we were able to soldier through with some cold medicine... but it put a slight damper on the weekend.

We started our half day in Miami at Wynwood Walls, an outdoor mural exhibit. From there we drove down to Miami Beach, and spent a few hours walking on Ocean Drive, checking out the beach, and having lunch. While at Miami Beach, we also visited the Art Deco museum to learn a bit more about the history of South Beach's unique architecture.

Oh, did Miami not tell the rest of us enough times that Messi plays on their (very bad) MLS team?

Wynwood Walls statute. Man-child hulk?

We really love the colors in this one!

This mural is from Atlanta native Greg Mike.

Miami has a really pretty setting.

South Beach is an art deco paradise. This few block stretch was closed to traffic.

The Leslie.

We briefly went down to the beach to put our feet in the water.

Very Miami.

Random Polish car club. Everyone was speaking in Polish.

The Art Deco Museum is very small, but tells the history of the architecture's presence and preservation in Miami.

Paul's an art deco flapper!

Leaving Miami Beach we drove back to the AirBnB to get ready for the wedding. The wedding was at the historic Bonnet House Museum & Gardens. This venue was a very beautiful, densely vegetated oasis among the strip malls and hotels that lined Fort Lauderdale's beachfront. The service and reception were both lovely. 

Our AirBnB had a great back patio! Unfortunately, we didn't have too much time to lounge around this trip.

Outdoor wedding in February? Why not! The weather was beautiful.

David, Alexis, and Petros posing by the lake.

Great venue!

 

David and Alexis all dolled up.

Cocktails after the wedding but before the reception.

After the ceremony and reception, we called it a somewhat early night and headed back to the AirBnB with Alexis. Thomas and Petros kept the party rolling with the grooms well into the early hours.

On Sunday morning we grabbed some coffee and pastries for takeaway from the Alchemist Cafe, which was a super cute restaurant/coffee shop with a large patio and a homey vibe. After showering and chatting for a bit, we headed to Bo's Beach for the post-wedding brunch. Shortly after we arrived the sky opened up in a torrential/very Florida storm that lasted 15 minutes before clearing out.

From Bo's the five of us went to a nearby coffee shop to hang out for 30 minutes before parting ways and heading to the airport. All in all a great 3-day weekend and happy event to celebrate with friends in south Florida.