a walk in the park...

...well, ok, it was a bit more that just a walk... but then again this is so much more than just a park! It is the Central Park! And it is better than shoes!

This feeling of absolute tranquillity and quiet, the zen of being surrounded by skyscrapers but at the same time finding oneself  in the greenest of the sceneries, is just amazing! I have had the same feeling in Tokyo, in the Rikugi-en garden years ago and it felt so good to relive it... and in a much bigger scale if I may say so! After all, this is US of A, everything there is bigger than anywhere else in the world, right? ;)

The park is huge and pretty and in every corner (and mind you, I think I've been in literally every corner... or at least it felt like it after a good total of about 5 hours of walking...) you might discover something interesting... Get a map, it will help you a lot as eventually you will get lost in it, and choose a sunny but not too warm day to spend there.
If you like spots, plenty of space for it and surely a great place to get to see a softball game and try to figure out the rules if you are not an American; if you like to walk and run or even ride your bike, well, by all means the best place to be; if you like calming views over the water, for sure you have them in abundance; if you like to lay on the grass and just feel the sun, just bring a towel and you are ready; if you like the buzz and the people laughing and being in a great mood, go towards the Boathouse (if you like turtles, look for them in the water); if you want to see a real obelisk, there you go; if you ever wanted to take a horse&carriage tour, go ahead; if you like a piece of modern history and memories, go visit the Strawberry Fields, for sure it will warm up your hear to just... "imagine" ;)

There is something for everyone in the Central Park. I loved it and I am convinced my visit there was worth all the blisters I got on my feet! And if you want to have the complete feeling, grab a hamburger or hot-dog from any street vendor and go have your lunch sitting on a bench, or the grass, in the park... better yet, combine it with a visit to any of the museums on both its sides (east and west) and you are in for a very, very pleasant day! But start early, the city never sleeps and neither should you when you are there ;)

burgers and shakes...

Still a bit jet lagged... Back from New York only for 4 days and I miss it so much I started planning the next trip there already!!!

My second visit has been about 37 times better than the first one! Mainly because it was without the terrible flight to get there and the stress and the quarrels and the allergic reaction which led to the elephant foot (long story...) and the boat ride (nearly the worst 3 hours of my life...),  all things that I prefer to forget when reminiscing my first time in the city that never sleeps. No, this time it was perfect!!! And after almost a week of "better than shoes" experiences, I have so much to share with you and I am thrilled to do so... plus, it has been pointed out to me that I have not blogged for ages... rightfully so ;)

So I will start with the first "better that shoes" thing which I enjoyed there: the "Shake Shack"!!! Now, please do not dismiss it as trivial (yeah, yeah, you went to the States and you had a good hamburger, big deal...) because it is all but that. Details: On my way there and while I was enjoying an amazing flight upgraded very reasonably to the business class, I watched Antony Bourdain's show about a layover in NY where he said that the best burgers are to be found in the "Shake Shack". Now, imagine the coincidence that I get to my hotel and right next door, literally, there it is!

First dinner there. Queue for 15' (starting even outside the shack) and another 10' after ordering already made it hardly a fast food... To get a table there, is a quest but, as for the queue you have to endure because after the ordeal is over and you get your order in front of you and you sink you teeth in that juicy, delicious, succulent burger and you accompany that with fries with melted cheese on top and you wash it all down with a sip of their amazing original lemonade, ohhhhhh heavens!!!! What a burger! The meat is seasoned to perfection, the lettuce crunchy, the tomato juicy and the sauce, really saucy ;)

Obviously this was not the only time I dinned there, needless to say that I did try also the shakes that are divine too and I do admit I had a dose of their nectar even at the airport right before I boarded to come back... Yep, as you suspected, there are countless calories in those babies but NY has so many things to see and do that no worries, they are all nicely burnt while walking around enjoying yourselves ;)



 

moments of happines...

I have said it many times before, I'm sure I have written here too, that in my view happiness is not a constant state one can find themselves at some point in their lives. I do not believe that the pursuit of happiness can ever be fruitful because happiness as such, as in a beautiful rose garden that one can finally arrive at, well, doesn't exist.  What I believe we get to have is moments of happiness and the more we have the better our lives feel. And we need to train ourselves to see these moments, to not let them pass unfelt, to appreciate them no matter how brief they might be.

So that's how I live my life. I go to work every morning, some days are good and productive, some days are hell and drain the energy out of me completely, some days I am bored, some days I am full of will. Then I go run errands, supermarket, dry cleaners, chores and the mundane just like every other working woman, no more no less. And then I get to be home, make some dinner, some times really dragging myself to do that, sometimes with a bit more brio (usually on Fridays that is..) and finally, after the kitchen is cleaned and all is done,  I get to sit and relax with my partner.

That's my favourite moment of the day, right there. My moment of sheer happiness. When all the chores are done, when the worries of the day fade away, when the TV is on and we are watching something good or we get to catch up on our social networks, both with an iPad on our hands, but always cuddled up on the sofa together, safe, comfortable, cosy, that, right then and there is my bliss! I do not need anything more you see... These are my everyday "better than shoes" moments. And I treasure them! More than any shoe I could possibly treasure ;)