New Orleans old houses, bright colors, and bright blue skies – what’s not to love about this city? Some of my favorite NOLA pictures below…
5 Things I Learned From Las Vegas Uber Drivers
1. Where to find the best cheesesteaks in Philly.
“Pat’s is perfectly fine, but I find their steaks a bit too heavy,” Ron, a Philadelphia native, tells me after I regale him with the tale of my first-ever cheesesteak experience last fall. “Next time you’re in Philly, here’s what you’re going to want to do: stop by this place called Tony Luke’s, at the end of Oregon Avenue. Now, at Pat’s your steak probably had a few thick slabs of meat and then Cheez Whiz on it, right? Well at Tony Luke’s, you’ll find super finely sliced meat, a lot easier to eat, and more cheese options, you can choose between Cheez Whiz, provolone, or cheddar.” This guy knows his stuff. He tells me afterward that he wants to open a cheesesteak restaurant on the Vegas Strip the second he finds himself a good backer.
2. The backstory of one of the most beautiful bars on the Strip.
Halfway through our commute to the Cosmopolitan hotel, our driver Ryan says, “okay, I have to brag for a second, because I can’t help mentioning it every time the Cosmopolitan comes up…” I have zero clue what to expect next. “My brother is an architect, and you know what his last big project was?” I hold my breath. “He designed the Chandelier bar at the Cosmopolitan.” At first, my only response is a brief shriek. This thing is the highlight of the whole hotel, it’s a bar surrounded by a larger-than-life, multi-story chandelier—and Ryan’s own brother designed it!? “You wouldn’t believe how long that took to get done. He worked so hard on it! He lives in New York now, but every time I pass the Cosmopolitan, I can’t help but tell people about his work here in Vegas.”
3. How to manage the creative process.
“My brother and I, we’re a lot alike in that way: we both need our creative outlets,” Ryan the actor/driver says. “But him, he channels his creativity onto paper in his work as an architect, whereas I’m an entertainer of sorts—depending on who you ask. So we both have that need to express ourselves, but if you were to put a piece of paper and a pencil in my hand, I would have no idea what to do with it.” When I ask what kind of performer he is, I predict he’ll say he’s a comedian—it just seems like it would suit him—but his response is even better: he’s a stage actor.
There’s Nothing Like Brooklyn In The Springtime
I started this spring in Brooklyn with a specific dream in mind: to make it to Sakura Matsuri, the annual cherry blossom festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. (Okay, so “dream” is kind of a lofty word for what could be more accurately described as “a particularly stubborn goal,” but bear with me here. I take my flower viewing very seriously, kay?)
Boston In Bloom
Spring is finally here—well, sort of. In the Northeast, we’ve endured nearly a week of constant clouds and rain. While I’d like to say I’m not complaining (at least it’s not winter, right?), it’s definitely starting to get to me. So! Let’s celebrate the season with a few shots of Boston at its springtime finest. On a solo day trip from New York that some might call ill-fated (ahem, I prefer pleasantly detoured), I hopped the wrong train and, instead of arriving in the heart of Boston like I intended, found myself alone in the Massachusetts suburbs.
I missed a not-too-important appointment in the city, but it was far from the end of the world. Spring was in full bloom, the ‘burbs were an unexpectedly gorgeous storybook page, and I had the entire day to myself to gawk at the flowers. I eventually made my way back into the city to wander around Beacon Hill and the Public Garden, but that day wouldn’t have been half as much fun if my plans hadn’t gotten so derailed. The unexpected turn of it all felt so weird and magical. All this to say: life is strange and wonderful, so let’s all stare at some wildlife.
Fifth Grade Mission: Accomplished
As an East Coast transplant surrounded by natives, something I learned very quickly is that nearly everyone who grew up in the tri-state area seemingly spent their childhoods being dragged on roughly half a dozen field trips to Philadelphia. Yes, that’s a big generalization, but if the looks of horror, disbelief, and secondhand shame I received whenever proclaiming I’d never been there are any indication, an annual tired shuffle past the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall was as second nature to these folks growing up as recess.
I had plenty of great experiences as a kid in the Midwest, thank you very much, but I couldn’t help but feel a little disillusioned by the fact that a destination so high on my bucket list was so heavily taken for granted by everyone I knew. There I was, gushing over how exciting it would be to stand face to face with such rich pieces of history (or, you know, just finally eat an authentic cheesesteak), and try as they might, my friends could only muster so much false enthusiasm for something they’d done a thousand times.
Imagine, then, my reaction when we mapped out our transportation plans to Lancaster and discovered we’d have to stop in Philly to pick up the car we’d use to get out to the country. I felt like I’d won the lottery! When we stepped off the bus from New York City, we found ourselves right across the street from the Liberty Bell. THE LIBERTY BELL! Oh hey, there’s the thing I stared at in picture books all through elementary school! The beautiful surrounding streets just added to the magic even more.
