travel zen on friday: a perfect sunny day in santa barbara

On a morning stroll in Santa Barbara...

some favorite cheap(er) eats in new york

(New York, New York).  Too little time; not enough meals.  There are some cities where it is a struggle to find enough time to indulge in all the delicious food offered - and New York is definitely one of those cities.  Whenever I visit now, I will try to do a new "high-end" restaurant, and then try to squeeze in some old casual/cheap favorites.

On this trip, I was able to squeeze in following:

restaurant review: marmoleo in medellin

Marmoleo.

For a romantic dinner in Medellin, I'd like to suggest a steakhouse restaurant called Marmoleo. It is located up in a hill overlooking the city. The views there are fantastic as one can see a valley of city lights surrounded by towering mountains.

I know, you might say that usually restaurants with great views do not deliver on the food. But, I can tell you that my experience dining here with Mr. Sazy Rock was positive.

Tip 1: when reserving a table online, check the website for the configuration of the tables vis a vis the view. Then, choose the perfect table. 

Tip 2: The place is usually empty until about 8 pm, when everyone starts arriving.  

travel zen on friday: medellin at sunset

Medellin is a land-locked town that's quite hilly.

Medellin at Sunset.

things to do in nyc (aka things i did on my recent trip to nyc other than eat....)

(New York, New York).  I've been to New York many many times so I don't usually do a lot of touristy things when I visit now - other than eating, which is always top of the list, but will be addressed in other posts.  In this post, I want to focus on the activities I enjoyed on a recent trip in the spring.

First - I always try to spend some time to stroll through Central Park.  It's vast, beautiful and offers a wonderful sanctuary in the middle of the bustling city.  Even if there are crowds of people, I find it serene as I walk through aimlessly, discovering new sights each time.  This time I found a quiet bench to people-watch while listening to music.  

Afterwards, I walked towards Rockefeller Center and while there are always new restaurants and shops or installations there, I somehow always find my way to La Maison du Chocolat to have a nice treat.  I had some tea and chocolates at the coffee counter - but the servers were sweet and kept giving me "extras".

restaurant review: carmen in medellin

When Mr. Sazy Rock and I travel to research the food of an area, we tend to try street food, casual dining and fine dining options. After all, we believe that all the food - whether street, casual or fine - reflect the people. After all, those who can afford fine dining are just as much a part of the populace as those who can only afford street food and vice versa.

That being said, whether a particular restaurant or a particular dish is good is more a reflection of the proprietor and not of the food of the region or country. Put another way, not all restaurants serve good food. Some are better at creating tasty dishes than others. That, I believe, is true everywhere around the world.

Carmen.

During our recent trip to Medellin, one of Mr. SR's colleagues suggested we try Carmen, a fine dining restaurant in the Poblado neighborhood. We decided to give it a go since we have been eating at a lot of fast casual restaurants and sampling street food at stalls around town.

travel zen on friday: feeding pigeons in times square

 

While I was rushing to see the show "Waitress", I saw a man patiently feeding pigeons in Times Square in NYC while ignoring the crazy crowds and traffic surrounding him.

restaurant review: eleven madison park

Spring flowers at Madison Square - right across the street from Eleven Madison Park.

(New York, New York).  For years I have wanted to try Eleven Madison Park and during that entire time every single person I knew who went said the same thing - it was worth it!  So my expectations were quite high when I arrived for lunch.  

From the outside it looked like a stuffy office building across Madison Square (yes, where Shake Shack is located - and yes, I was tempted...).  Once inside, however, the mood and atmosphere becomes nicely elegant and formal (but not stuffy).

There were only a few other diners in the large dining area - in fact there were probably as many servers as there were actual diners.  Thus it was no surprise that the service was very attentive.

We chose to do the prix fixe lunch menu and ordered a bottle of rose - perfect for the oddly hot April day in New York.  And then the lovely parade of food and flavors began...

restaurant review: mondongo's in medellin

There was once a time when going to Colombia (not Columbia), and specifically, Medellin, would've triggered plenty of alarm bells. These days, not only is the country safe (as safe as any other big city) to visit, but it is also a great place to sample the local cuisine.

Medellin is land-locked in the country's interior (and quite hilly). So, the restaurants in town had plenty of good meaty options. My visit with Mr. Sazy Rock started at a very popular fast casual joint called, Mondongo's, in the Poblado neighborhood. (We found out later that they have another branch in town, and one branch in the US - in Miami.)

The line outside Mondogo's.

travel zen on friday: botero's medellin

Medellin may have been famous because of Pablo Escobar but it is also the home town of the renowned artist, Fernando Botero. In fact, the downtown area housed many of his sculptures. But, for a concentration of these sculptures, head to Botero Plaza.

One of Botero's sculptures.

hotel review: sixty les in new york's lower east side

View from our room and my first breakfast at the hotel.

(New York, New York).  Recently my husband and I went to New York for both business and pleasure.  For business we needed to be in the Lower East Side - which worked out well since it's one of my favorite areas in New York to eat and play.  We picked Sixty LES purely for location and fortunately, we were not disappointed, even though our room was a bit small.

what is an arepa?

A very short video primer on the Arepa, the ubiquitous bread found in Colombia (not Columbia). Enjoy!

travel zen on friday: being a local tourist at the getty

A lovely day at the Getty - sometimes it's fun being a tourist in your home city!

travel zen on friday: youtuber sighting in nyc on st marks

While strolling on St Marks in NYC, I saw the Fung Brothers filming in front of Papaya King.  I'm surprised I don't see more youtubers on the streets of NYC ... or LA...