In the nick of time...

Well, I'm back in Charlotte, and apparently I got out of NYC just in the nick of time.  I left at around 6pm on Saturday and the subways closed at 7pm on Sunday.  And then apparently all hell broke loose along the entire Eastern seaboard!!  I could not feel more blessed to have gotten out without any delays, and I seriously hope that NYC and NJ recover soon.

The pictures online are absolutely amazing.  From the blackouts to the flooding, I can't believe this is the same city I was just adventuring around a few days ago!

Blackout in lower Manhattan

Check out this website for a before-and-after .gif

http://gothamist.com/2012/10/30/compare_lower_manhattan_before_and.php

Empty Grand Central Station

http://gothamist.com/2012/10/28/photos_grand_central_terminal_gets.php#photo-5

MTA/Aaron Donovan

The Red Hook neighborhood, which is where I stayed last month

http://gothamist.com/2012/10/30/photos_stormtroopers_flooding_and_m.php#photo-6

flickr

This picture of the flooding at the ground zero/Freedom Tower dig site is amazing, because it shows the sheer power of that volume of water.  I remember this statistic from a disaster preparedness course that we took during med school - it only takes a foot of water to displace the weight of a 4-door car, sweeping it with the current.

http://weather.aol.com/2012/10/30/at-least-80-flooded-houses-destroyed-by-nyc-fire/

But alas, leave it to Diane Sawyer to leave us with a ray of hope; that after the storm the sun really does shine!

instagram - DianeSawyer

Perfect Fall Weekend!

The weather in New York this weekend was nearly perfect this weekend!  So I took full advantage of my time off and ended up having a nearly perfect time!

SATURDAY
- A foggy run through Brooklyn Bridge Park

- Yoga class
- Awesome iced latte and pain aux raisins from Bien Cuit on Smith St.
- Lunch at Candle Cafe on the Upper East Side - the most disgusting green juice and the most delicious BBQ Tempeh and sweet potato sandwich (the second time this week I've had sweet potato on a sandwich)

- An overwhelming trip through the Met

- A quick walk through Central Park

- A homecooked dinner of pasta with vegetables and goat cheese and catching up on lots of TV!

SUNDAY
- Run through Brooklyn Bridge Park
- A walk across the Brooklyn Bridge (a total of 8 miles...so tired....)

- Saw newlywed Amber Tamblyn walking her dog!

So all in all, nearly perfect!  Now it's time for a nap...

Mmmm...Pizza....

So after shopping at Eataly, I was sufficiently overwhelmed and decided to get lunch elsewhere.  There is an amazing food truck park (an area where food trucks/stands congregate at lunchtime) at Madison Square called Madison Square Eats.  There are tons of big name carts there like Momofuku Milk Bar, Wafels and Dinges, and even a place called Arancini Bros, which just might be my idea of heaven.

But the place I most wanted to try, especially after having spent so much time in Eataly, was Roberta's Pizza.  Amazing wood-fired pizza - they actually travel around the city with the oven.

Perfect crispy crust.  Great cheese and sauce, and lots of basil and red pepper.  Just perfect!

And all with a view of the Flatiron building in the background...

 What would happen if I ate pizza every day?  Maybe it's like an apple a day?

NYC Math

I just spent $20 on a cab home from work at 12:00am.  (Yes, I work ridiculous hours).  It took 8 minutes.

I could have spent $0 on a shuttle, train AND bus home.  It usually takes 90 minutes.

I saved approximately 82 minutes by paying an extra $20.  (4 minutes of which I'm using to post this)

That's less than 25 cents for every extra minute of sleep I get!  I'd say that's worth it!!

Eataly!!

One of the places I was most excited about visiting in NYC was Eataly.  It's this huge Italian supermarket chain that was brought over from Italy my Mario Batali, Lidia Bastianich and other big name chefs in NYC.  There are lots of different sections within the market - and each one is more amazing than the last.  It's quite overwhelming!  There's a huge cheese shop, fresh pasta, bakery, fish, meats, housewares, and on and on and on...

 The bakery was absolutely amazing.  With what seemed like a mile of italian pastries...

And a huge italian espresso bar...

But the fresh pasta bar was the most beautiful...

In addition to the market, there are eateries sprinkled throughout.  A pizza and pasta restaurant.  A seafood restaurant.  A vegetarian bar.  And apparently there's a beer garden on the roof.  I might have to come back in the summer to take part in that...

It was so overwhelming that I didn't even end up eating lunch there.  But more on that later...

Brooklyn Bridge Park

The first thing I did when I got to New York was go for a run.  I'm staying with a friend from high school who lives right at the end of the Brooklyn Bridge Park System.  It's still in progress, but it's a gorgeous trail with amazing views of the Financial District, the new Freedom Tower in progress, and even the Statue of Liberty from a few places.  

The weather has been nice and I've had a few more opportunities to run there.  This is a required activity as I need to counterbalance the insane amounts of food I've been eating!  Between snacking on night shifts, NY pizza and food trucks, it's a miracle if my jeans will fit by the end of this month!

There's the new Freedom Tower @ 1 World Trade Center, under construction, to the right of center.  When completed it will be 1776' high.  The tallest building in the western hemisphere.

Now I'm off to an overnight shift.  Thankfully it's the last one I have this month!!

Back to my traveling antics...

It's been over a month since I last posted, and its only because I was on my favorite rotation thus far (neonatology) and was spending time in Charlotte where not too much fun stuff happened.

But then I started traveling again.....

I'm currently in Brooklyn on an Emergency Medicine rotation, but first my parents and I made a stop over in Boston.  I lived there for a year from 2006-07 and it was great to explore again with my parents.  Unfortunately it was really rainy and cold during our stay.  During our stay we

• strolled down Newbury St.
• saw this guy who was just on the season premiere of New Girl
• had an amazing eggplant sandwich at Cutty's in Brookline
• went to dinner at what claims to be the oldest restaurant in the US
• walked almost the entirety of the Freedom Trail
• ate amazing Italian food (cannolis included) in the North End

Then I took a train to NYC and started working in the ER the next day....

I won't stay away so long next time...