New York

Hello New York City!

It's been a long time comin', but (four months later) I've finally found the time to write about my trip to New York City. In Mid-August, Caiqian and I came to visit Grummy and her dogs, Roxy and Mr. Gruffyd Babyan. Immediately upon arriving, we knew this was definitely the Big Apple.

Not your typical Austin sights

I love seeing Grummy, and Caiqian enjoyed meeting Grummy for the first time. I've always enjoyed hearing Grummy's tales. While we were in the Harvard club, Grummy told me about a time when Luke was young, and he thought that she looked like George Washington. Based on the photo evidence below, I see what he was talking about!

Which is the original image?

Funnily enough, Grummy wasn't the only historical figure who lived in her apartment.

Her Royal Majesty, Queen Roxy

Anyways, after catching up with Grummy, we spent our first day on top of three double decker buses,  learning all about the history of NY.

Day One was Bus Tour Day

Throughout the rest of the week we went to many, many places around the city. One of our favorite events was going to see the Book of Mormon musical. Weeks later we were still ourselves humming the songs.

The Boooooooook of MoooooooOOOOOOOOoooormOOOOOOON (Click me)

We also had fun at Times Square at an Absolut Vodka Advertisement had a camera pointed towards the crowd below. Where's the couple in the picture below?

Our Fifteen Seconds of Fame at Times Square

Another cool place we visited was the High Line, which is a park that was built on a historic freight rail line. My favorite part of the High Line was one of the vendors, who made handmade shaved ice by actually shaving a large ice cube with a grater.

Fun on the High Line

We also had the opportunity to see the One World Trade Center building and the 9/11 Memorial pools. The pools in particular were impressive because we couldn't see how far the inner depression went. It was like the water just fell into an endless abyss.

World Trade Center Memorial

We got this picture of us and the Statue of Liberty while on a Water Taxi tour. Need I say more?

Mandatory Statue of Liberty Pic

After many long days full of walking, we found a foot massage place in our price range in Chinatown, so we thought, why not? The people there were really nice, but spoke broken English. At one point, the owners got a call and handed the phone off to Caiqian so that she could tell the patrons on the other side what the store hours were. I had a good time 'cause they kept complementing my large american feet.

Foot Long Live

Museums, Exhibits, and Toys

We also had lot's of fun indoors as well. One of our favorite buildings was the Museum of Natural History.

Our favorite exhibition at the Museum of Natural History

We really enjoyed all the scientific showcases, but this one below we felt used a bit too much of the scientists' imagination.

Extrapolating Much?

We also thoroughly enjoyed ourselves at the MoMA and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The art museums were especially fun because we were able to interact/pose with a lot of the exhibits.

Art you can interact with is the best 

In addition to museums, we also had fun at many of New York's more famous toy stores, like the Toys R' Us superstore and the M&M's World Store.

Toys!

We also had the great fortune of getting to see one of our friends, Matthew Drews, during the middle of our trip. Matthew, Caiqian, and I enjoyed going to F.A.O. Schwartz, the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory, Pommes Frites, and Grimaldi's, as well as just hanging out and catching up.

Fun with Matthew!

Food

After waiting in line for an hour or so, we all made it into Grimaldi's Pizzeria, which featured very peculiar (albeit very delicious) cupped pepperoni slices.

Grimaldi's Pizzeria

We also gorged on some Pommes Frites, and tried out a lot of their unique fry sauces. While we were there Matt introduced me to my new favorite, Mexican Ketchup.

Pommes Frites (Hint: the red & green Mexican Ketchup is the best)

Caiqian and I also enjoyed our fair share of eateries after Matt left. One place we came back to several times was The Original Soup Man, otherwise known as the Seinfeld-famous Soup Nazi. Every soup of his was great, but the lobster bisque was truly above and beyond. The bowl was just packed with lobster pieces. Every spoonful we ate had lobster chunks in it. We highly recommended it for anyone who can eat seafood.

Enjoying some Soup from the Soup Nazi Original Soup Man

Speaking of Lobster, I'm also going to quickly endorse Luke's Lobster as the best place to get a Lobster roll. We tried several places, but this was the clear winner. The bread is to die for.

Our first Lobster Roll. Thanks Luke's Lobster!

If you go to the Oyster bar in Grand Central Station, our advice is to actually go to the bar, not one of the tables. If you sit at a table, you have to buy entrees. If you sit at the bar, you can get away with only ordering oysters, which is important at a pricey place like the Oyster Bar.

Enjoying some of the world's most expensive oysters

On the other end of the price spectrum, we found a hole in the wall in Chinatown that sold a large quantity of fantastic food at the lowest prices anywhere. This was Caiqian's favorite.

The best food $3 can buy

Swinging back to the expensive side of the spectrum, why are these dirty looking sea cucumbers so expensive? Seriously, $118/lb?

Anyone Else hungry for a $118/lb dried sea cucumber in a sketchy plastic box? I know I am!

While we were exploring the fruit vendors in Chinatown, I discovered a fruit I love even more than lychees - rambutans. They have the same texture and sweetness, but with more flesh. Another plus is that before you peel them they're all awesome and spiky and red.

Lychee's Badass Older Brother, Rambutan

Dessert is the last pat of a meal, so I'll have it as the last part of this post as well. Caiqian was pleasantly surprised to find that Ladurée, a macaron store we found in Paris, had a NY establishment. We had fun tasting what they had to offer.

It's no Pierre Hermé, but we'll never turn down a good macaron

Ladurée was fun, but the Lindt store was better. For one, every time we entered, they gave us free chocolate. Second, the store was like a modern-day candy shoppe.

So... Much... Chocolate...

However, our favorite desserterie was Serendipity 3. Their frozen hot chocolate was so good that we bought ourselves powder so we could make more once we got back to Texas.

The 3 stands for how many times we ate there.

Well that's it for New York. Based on my current posting frequency, You'll be able to read about my next update in another four months! Next up... Braaaaaaains.

Detroit: The Motor City

So as I was driving down to Detroit, I realized about 20 miles from the city limits that I had forgotten my digital camera. Doh! As a last-minute fix, I decided to purchase a classic Kodak camera with a mind-boggling capacity of 27 pictures. I was going to have to be selective this trip!

While purchasing my disposable camera, I also decided to buy breakfast, namely, a pint of Graeter's Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip ice cream. I can't recommend this ice cream enough. It comes with the biggest chips I've ever seen! It's so good that I've decided I need to try Graeter's other chocolate chip flavors.

Graeter's Blackberry and Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

After my pleasant surprise with Graeter's ice cream, I was even more pleasantly surprised when I accidently met up with Lindsey at the Ford Rouge car factory tour! Lindsey is a fellow UT ChE student, and she and her room mate just happened to take the same tour at the same time. Small world!

Lindsey (middle), Christine (right), and I (guess) at the Ford Rouge Factory Tour

Since we weren't allowed to take pictures of the assembly line, here are some pictures I found on the internet. This was pretty much exactly what we saw. I thought the F-150s looked pretty silly without their truck beds.

F-150 Assembly Line

I was surprised how much of the process is manually done. I guessed that in this modern age everything was automated, but at this factory the assembly of the different components was surprisingly hands-on.

Partial F-150

After we finished the factory tour, I said my goodbyes to Lindsey and her room mate. After we parted ways it was time for me to make my way to the Detroit Zoo to see the Arctic Ring of Life. I more or less rushed through the zoo, only taking a couple shots of the outdoor zoo sections.

Anteaters at the Detroit Zoo

But before long, I made it to the Arctic Ring of Life, an underwater glass tunnel where I was supposed to see polar bears swimming.

Arctic Ring of Life

When I arrived and started talking to the guide, she told me that the polar bears usually only come out around 11:00, which is when they were fed. Still, the engineering marvel of the cool, underwater tunnel was a sight to behold.

My first time in an underwater tunnel

And after just a bit of waiting, we got to see a seal bob swimming around the glass tunnel. At least it wasn't totally empty!

Seal

After leaving the zoo it was about 4:00 and I had worked up quite an appetite. It was time to experience some authentic Buddy's Pizza. Buddy's Pizza served Detroit-style pizza, which according to wikipedia is a "square shaped pizza... that has a thick deep dish crisp crust... which  is the result of being baked, not in a pizza pan, but an industrial parts tray."

Buddy's Detroit-Style Pizza

To conclude my Detroit day trip, I decided to walk around the Heidelberg project, which is an outdoor art display lead by Tyree Guyton. Guyton began the project as a political protest, but he also used it to turn one of Detroit's more dangerous neighborhoods into an area that welcomed visitors.

The Heidelberg Project

By the time I had arrived, there were less than ten pictures left on my Kodac, so I was fairly conservative with my pictures. The broken-down house below shocked me because of all the "GOD"s was written on it.

A Decrepit Heidelberg House

Here's a creepy tree that was covered in sun-bleached stuffed animals that were hanging or nailed to its trunk.

Creepy Doll Tree

One of the livelier houses was this spotted house. What surprised me most was that people actually lived in the house, it wasn't just for show.

Spotted House

The same was true for this number house.

Number House

Not everything was just houses and dolls though. There was also the equivalent of a post-apocalyptic yard sale going on, complete with antiques and broken down appliances.

Assortment of objects, including a Mario Mushroom

At the very end of the street was a house that had a twist: for one dollar you could take a maker to the house and write your name. It was too good to pass up.

Standing next to my signature. 

At the end of my long day I came back and developed my photos at a Walgreens. Thank goodness they digitize pictures or else I wouldn't know what to do! My adventure in Michigan is finally coming to a close. A week from now, not only will I be back in Austin, but it will be my 21st birthday. See you soon Texas!

Chicago

I visited Chicago!

The Windy City

Interesting fact: Chicago is not called the windy city because of the weather, but because of its politicians. When Chicago wanted to host the world fair in 1893, it was not an attractive location. But Chicago's politicians talked so much about hosting the fair that they convinced the World Fair Board to hold it in there. Afterward, one newspaper man claimed that the politicians in Chicago spoke so much that the city must be windy. 

Anywho, ever since I first heard about deep dish pizza, I've wanted to try it. And what better place to have some that at Uno's, where deep dish pizza was first created?

The Original Deep Dish Pizza

Deep dish pizza is very different than traditional pizza. The first thing I noticed was that the cheese was on the bottom while the tomato sauce and toppings were on top. This prevented the crust from getting soggy,  which was necessary so that the pizza could hold up all the ingredients.

The Individual Numero Uno Pizza

The only thing better than Uno's pizza was Portillo's Chicago-Style Hot Dogs. Before, all I knew was that Chicago-style hot dogs existed. But after going on a bus tour, I learned that asking for a  hotdog that's been "dragged through the garden" means that your hot dog comes with mustard, onions, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices, sweet relish, sport peppers, and celery salt.

World's Best Hot Dogs

And this is going to be blasphemous, but I've never had a more delicious hot dog. I daresay that Portillo's Chicago-style hot dog is better than New York style hot dogs or any other type of hot dog I've ever had.

After gorging myself with the local specialties, I decided to visit the #1 tourist spot, Navy Pier.

Navy Pier

I didn't go on the Ferris Wheel or carnival rides, but I did see Cirque Shanghai, a wonderful performance full of eastern-themed stunts. There was a man who juggled seven balls, eleven girls who all rode on one bike, and five performers who simultaneously drove motorbikes in a tiny globe of death.

Cirque Shanghai

After Navy Pier, it was time to see Millennium Park. The first thing I noticed were the two gigantic water towers with large, animated faces. On one tower was a giant man's face, and on the other was a giant woman's face. One thing that caught me by surprise is that every time one of the faces made an "o" shape with their lips, a water jet shot out.

The Crown Fountain

After the Crown Fountain, I saw the iconic Cloud Gate, surrounded by a formidable crowd of tourists.

Cloud Gate, aka "The Bean"

The most fascinating part of "The Bean" for me was walking underneath it, where mirrors reflected mirrors and reality warped and echoed itself over and over again. Can you spot the orange in the partial picture below (hint, I'm the only one with orange)? I counted dozens of mirrored, warped images of myself when I stood underneath Cloud Gate. 

The Underside of the Bean

After touring the rest of the park, I decided to go on a Chicago bus tour. It was a fascinating ride on the top of the double decker bus, seeing all of the different building structures Chicago had to offer. The guide told us that Chicago has many unique skyscrapers because it was the central hub of the New Bauhaus movement.

Trump International Hotel and Tower

Aqua Tower

Marina Towers

NBC Tower

The most impressive building by far though was the Willis (formerly Sears) tower, which is the tallest building in all the western hemisphere.

Willis Tower

I love tall places, and I couldn't resist the opportunity to go to the tallest building in the western hemisphere, especially since they just recently installed the SkyDeck, an enclosed glass deck where all five exposed sides are made of reinforced glass.

SkyDeck atop the Willis Tower

While I was waiting in line I befriended some nice people from Brazil, and they took a picture of me on the deck.

Bryan on the SkyDeck

After exploring downtown Chicago, it was time to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. Once I made it inside, I knew I'd made a good decision. I could hear children and adults laughing and screaming in the background, and on the domed ceiling, the museum had etched in huge letters,

"Science discerns the laws of nature. Industry applies them to the needs of Man."

After only a few steps inside one of the first things to catch your eye is the 40 foot twister! Besides the twister, there was also a giant Tesla coil, Rhodium (which is more expensive and durable than platinum), and even kids running on giant hamster wheels. It as like everything I've ever wanted, under one roof.

Chicago Museum of Science and Industry

The cherry on top was that on the way out I bought a desert that was an old childhood favorite.

Awesome

Lastly, it wouldn't be a Chicago trip without experiencing the the Blues scene. Unfortunately, I was only twenty (although not for long) so there weren't many options. Luckily though, there was a blues band playing at a joint called Smoke Daddy. Seeing Rockin' Johnny and his band play was an unexpectedly fun experience.

Rockin' Johnny at the Smoke Daddy

Overall Chicago left a wonderful impression. I talked with lots of people, ate exciting new foods, and enjoyed the best Chicago had to offer. That's why I'm giving Chicago the full five stars: ★★★★★