Christmas highlight reel

A great Christmas in Vancouver this year.

It kicked off with Christmas Eve at Rachel and Chris'. An evening of great food, lots o kidz, and a couple episodes of 30 Rock. Does it get any better? I also used video skype for the first time. Awesome! Please, everyone in the family sign up, I will be using this during my travels next year. My user name is 'hazbnrower'. :) So great to see the Dunnet Chicago branch of Christmas Eve. Love technology.

Above are some of the Dunnet and Jonat boys on Christmas Eve. Cute eh? So impressed they are all looking at the camera.

I slept over at R and C's for Christmas Eve. Henry woke from a coma just when we were all going to bed. I think that was the only time I heard him before 7am but rumor has it he was up every 2 hours.

Spent a quality hour and half with H while is parent's caught some sleep on Christmas morning. I even put the carrier on and made myself coffee. Not sure it gets any better than nespresso and newborn sleeping on you.
We opened stockings (thanks Santa!) and presents, had homemade breakfast sandwiches and then went for a walk/run as it was a spectacular day out. Above is Henry really happy with his stocking.

FYI Santa was great to me; great stocking, and presents from H, R and C for my travels. Not that it is about the gifts; that was all bonus after the great evening and relaxing morning.

I third wheeled on the family walk and went for a bit of a run. First run outside since the half marathon in November and the day was perfect.

We all split up after, me home to mash potatoes, Jonats off for Jonat Christmas.

Headed over to Mum's with the mash potatoes around 4pm and spent the evening there.

Highlight for me was some quality time with Kaz late in the evening. Here he is climbing over his passed out Dad (too many rum and cokes!).

Boxing Day brunch at Chach and Dave's; Grand Forks Dunnets are all about Wii. Disappointed to have missed the Boxing Day run but the cold is starting to win and I am not feeling great. Awesome breakfast casserole thing at Chach's and it was a nice chill morning.

Next up: the Grud returns to Vancouver!!!!!!!!!!

'I can see clearly now....'

'...the rain is gone. I can see all obstacles in my way.' Johnny Nash

Other song lines running through my head in the last 24 hours.

'I wear my sunglasses at night. So I can, so I can...' Corey Hart

The sunglasses song was as I was sitting in my living room wearing sunglasses while eating a super late lunch.

Yesterday at about 2:30pm I paid $1580 to have a surgeon do this to both of my eyes. I have to say the worst is when they put the ring around your eyeball because on the left eye it was super tight and uncomfortable. Feels like your eyeball is being squished. And that is the part where you vision goes black so that was also a bit worrying. Other weird parts are watching the surgeon rake a tiny brush across your eye to make sure the flap is sitting smooth. It is like your eye has turned into a camera and you kind of watch it happening. Surreal. Overall, a short amount of discomfort for what I am hoping is a lot of comfort for the next ten years when I am not wearing glasses. And never having to wear contacts again.

I also really enjoyed the Ativan they gave me right before the surgery.

One more week of no eye makeup, a month of being super careful outdoors, and I should be good to go.

Only noticeable signs of the surgery are a couple of broken blood vessels in my eye. If you actually lift up my eyelid they are worse on the top of my eye and are big bruises. Small price to pay for 20/20 vision.

All about dinner

Had a lovely barbecue feast last Sunday evening at Memphis Blues with Mum, Harry, Rachel, Chris and Henry. The four of us from downtown walked (FYI it is 4.4kms one way) there and back to meet to Memphis Blues on Commercial. I am really enjoying the walking these days...especially when it is not raining.

Dinner was a protein feast. Can't even remember the last time I had ribs. Had the combo plate and only made it through 1 rib and 1/3 of the chicken before I called it quits. I did eat the sides (fries, beans, corn bread and slaw). All washed down with a beer. Yum.

Other restaurants I've eaten at recently.

Campagnolo

I went for dinner post-work a few weeks ago with Kristina and Beth. Walking there from Main street skytrain I didn't know quite what to expect as it was right next to sketchville but looked to have a fantastic menu. Outside dodgy; inside cool modern and inviting. Excellent Italian food and I kicked the meal off with presseco. Just because. Had a Vancouver market salad and a pizza. Felt like I really might have been in Italy.

Grub

Another post-work meal with Jacqui and Kristina. FYI Kristina has the hot hand with restaurant picks as this was her pick as well as Campagnolo.

From the exterior I again had no idea what to expect. On main street a little farther south and so subtle we almost walked by it.

We started with the bread as we waited for the third and it was a massive serving of assorted breads with hummus, butter and olive tapenade. Third arrived and we ordered; had steak with mash potatoes and veggies. Amazing! Generous portions and the food was perfection. Simple fare that was extremely well done and at very reasonable prices.

Bistro Pastis

This time it was dinner with Jodi and Anna. Jodi and I go out for dinner every 4-6 weeks to catch up and we like to eat at higher end restaurants. C, Chambar, Goldfish and Glowball so far. All excellent. It was Jodi's choice and I decided to make the effort to meet her and Anna OTB (over the bridge) as they both live in Kits.

Pastis felt like being Europe; warm, inviting and cozy. Had the endive salad to start; was a bit too cheesy for my taste as I am not a huge fan of Roquefort but still good.

Went with the bacon wrapped tenderloin for main. C'est fantastique! I never cook red meat so I often go for it when it looks like it is going to be good. Almost wanted to go for dessert but didn't have the space and it was 10:30pm at the point.
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No plans for any dining out this weekend but am really making an effort to try out new (to me) restaurants as much as possible. Not that I don't enjoy Earl's, Milestones and the Keg, but feeling like I should be diversifying my taste.

Back at it

I've just enjoyed a vegetarian chili and rice dish Rachel gave me after my Sunday run (treadmill). So tasty and healthy but really hope I won't be too full to enjoy Memphis Blues ribs in a couple of hours.

Life has been busy since I returned from my New York trip on Wednesday but I finally got some quality hanging out time in with R and H. We made stew (a first for me) had sushi for dinner and I watched the film Angels and Demonds while Henry slept on me. It was an awesome Saturday afternoon/evening and I now feel organised as I head into a busy week with laundry done and food in the freezer.

More (higher quality) pictures from new york on facebook. Not that any of it compares to the amazing stuff Dave has been putting up. Although, it looks like he is resting on his laurels in the blog world.

Day 4 NYC: wrap it up

Day 4 kicked off with brunch. Dominika was running late so I grabbed a latte in the Essex market. See attached photo of coffee beans. One man show coffee bar with old school espresso machine. After a late night with drinks (only 3 but that is a lot for me) I welcomed the caffeine.

Brunch was at Shopsin's in the market. Tiny breakfast and lunch place with great food where the staff are known to be rude. I was hoping we would get yelled at when Dominika asked what 'Hatch" was (hot pepper sauce) but they waited right until we left and yelled at us for trying to take a photo of the place. I had 3 poached eggs on spicy, cheesy garlic bread with peppers and chicken sausage. Yum.

Said goodbye Dominika (who was the best tour guide ever!) and got on the subway to head to Battery Park for Ellis Island ferry.

This experience was by far the most touristy. Full security check to get on airport, long lines and crush of humanity. After security we all piled onto to ferry; first stop Statue of liberty. Very cool seeing it from ferry.

Having purchased a ticket yesterday I actually got to go into the pedestal. Another round of security to get in and no phones allowed (sorry, no camera phone pics). Pedestal was very cool. Neat history on how it was but and restored, along with 156 steps to the lookout on the pedestal. You can visit the crown again (was shut down after 9 11) but tickets are sold out for it until March. Wandered around listening to audio tour and taking photos.

Next event was supposed to be Ellis island but I was exhausted and not in the mood for more tours. Maybe next time.

Ferry back to Battery Park and subway to Rockefeller plaza. And mixed nuts from street vendor. See photo.

Day 2 I had a brief visit NBC store but didn't look around and took no photos as I was running late for Greenwich food tour. Picked up a half dozen famous Magnolia's cupcakes (hope they make it home) and watched the ice skaters. Definite Christmas feel.

Now I am going to look for somewhere to get a pedicure. Tired feet.

Heading to Newark airport hotel in a few hours and then on 7am flight tomorrow. May take my only taxi ride when I bring my luggage to Penn station (to get to Newark) as it is 5 blocks and 2 subway transfers from hotel.

Awesome trip and I am looking forward to coming back soon.

Day 3.5 NYC: hanging with a local

All the photos from this adventure are on my regular camera. That is the downside to the camera phone in the evening.

Met up with my friend Dominika (she and her husband Ray were on my Morroco tour and live in NYC) at Union Square at 330pm. I was in luck; she had no plans for the afternoon and was happy to show me the east village while we caught up.

I think my bus tour had driven through the east village but I hadn't actually seen any of it upclose. Lots of character and brownstones. Tons of restaurants and bars but we started off with coffee due to the time. Cute little shop that reminded me of commercial street. From there we went for a glass of wine at a jazz bistro. Very cute and european looking. Dominika's friend joined us and we discussed travel hazards before her friend departed for a nightclub in chelsea.

From there we went to a hot dog joint. Inside the hot dog joint is a phone booth, you get in call, other side of phone booth opens and your in an old school speakeasy. We sat at the bar and had a cocktail and some fried (the fries are from the hotdog place since they're owned by the same person).

At this point it is 9 or so and we haven't had real food so we walk to Soho and a restaurant called Delicatessen. Apparently celebrities frequently dine there (not last night) and the food is amazing. Had another cocktail, squash and arugula salad, braised beef sliders and we split chocolate cake. At 1130 we called it a night and headed for the subway.

It was an 8 hour tour filled with excellent food, drink and company. Dominika uses her iphone to direct us places and also uses an app that suggests restaurants. Never lost or hungry.

About to meet up with Dominika for brunch and then I am off to the statue of liberty. Last night was for sure the highlight of my trip.

Day 3 NYC: flexibility

I attempted a short run on the treadmill this morning and found out all the walking has left a mark. Took effort to stretch and my knees said no to running. Did some elliptical and then got ready for what was supposed to be a day of seeing the major sites.

Kicked it off with the Empire state building. Had heard horror stories about the lineups but I breezed through to the elevator, no waiting. My plan to avoid tourist stops during the weekend was working.

View was great and reminded me that the city is crowded. Like the view of central park is actually blocked by skyscrapers.

Left with the intention of hitting the statue of liberty next. Arrived at Battery Park via the subway (i love the subway!) and headed with the crowds to the ticket booth. As I was walking there I got a text from my friend Dominika asking if I wanted to meet at 3pm in the east village. I said yes and that meant I needed to bust a move if I was going to make it to Ellis Island and back.

Turns out there was an hour wait for ferry so I bought a ticket for tomorrow which also meant I would get to go into the pedestal (sold out already for tody).

Checked guide book for lunch recommendation and chose a cuban restaurant at south street seaport pier 17. Conveniently this is where the brooklyn hop on hop off tour starts from. Lunch was delicious and exactly what I needed after pizza and baked goods yesterday; lots of vegetables and chicken.

Took the bus tour of Brooklyn and it was boring.

Then met up with Dominika and have seen too much to add into this blog at this hour. More tomorrow but we hung out from 3:30 until midnight and visited four different places including a real speakeasy. It was like insider's tour of the city.