Top of the Rock

Last weekend, I took SE to Top of The Rock to for her birthday. Though I have been on the observatory deck of the Empire State Building before, Top of the Rock was something else. 

I mean, if you are on top of the Empire State, it's hard to... well, see the Empire State as a part of the concrete jungle that is New York City! Top of the Rock is unique in that it gives you the fullscape view of upper and lower Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Upstate NY, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, Palisades, Northern Jersey, and a lot more.

After Top of the Rock, the evening was made better by stuffing ourselves with decadent desserts at Max Brenner and then lazing around at the Newport Waterfront, gazing at the same NYC skyline which we saw top-down a few hours earlier. Somehow, that day, I realized that it (literally) took a whole another level to appreciate a city that's been a part of my life for the last decade.

Some memories-in-snaps from the day -

Empire State Building and Midtown/Downtown Manhattan

Uptown Manhattan and Central Park

Bibimbap and Zetinz

No, I'm not going crazy, nor am I speaking baby language. Bibimbap is a Korean dish, and the word literally means 'Mixed Rice'. I was recently exploring Midtown Manhattan, as this is where I work now (new job). While walking to the New York Public Library after work one day, I saw this really cute-sie café called Zetinz, which reminded me of a similar one that I had been to in Paris. I went in to see what they have, and oh my, the spread was so eclectic! All the way in the back, I saw a huge table with a ricecooker that had steaming hot Jasmine rice and nicely-arranged colorful arrangement of various vegetables, tofu, bean sprouts, sauces, fried eggs/meat, etc. On top of that table was a huge sign called 'Make Your Own Bibimbap!'

Perplexed by the name, I googled it on my phone and read that it was a Korean dish. You put the hot steaming rice on the bottom of the huge bowl they give you, and top it with all those delicious-looking vegetables and other toppings, sesame oil, hot-sweet soy sauce and some ginger paste. Then, you mix everything and in go your chopsticks.

I'm eating my very own Bibimbap as I write this post, and it's hands-down delicious. All the flavors blend in together so well.

The sum of the toppings is definitely tastier than the whole!

Arabs Crossing The Desert by Jean-Leon Gerome

This past weekend, I had a great time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. I love anything that has to do with Art, so this was a treat for me. I visited the MET after almost 10 years, so I noticed quite a bit of change, of course.

My favorite from this trip had to be Arabs Crossing the Desert by Jean-Leon Gerome. This is an oil painting, and the clarity is phenomenal. The perspective, fabulous and the effect, dramatic.

You can almost feel the scorching heat, the blinding sunlight, and the dust in your eyes.

I'm attaching a snap of the painting. It's a treat for the eyes.