Phase 3 of East Coast: New York City!...Monday

Monday morning, bright and early at 5 am, Wendi dropped us off to catch our bus to NYC!

We both admitted that we could have packed a little lighter...;)

Egg mcmuffins and Hot Chocho and we were on our way to the Big Apple. I have not so much McDonalds in my life as I have these past couple of weeks. It was my go to meal for quick, easy, and cheap.

Our first taxi cab! Welcome to New York City! Like two little school girls.

The view from our 33rd floor apt in Midtown west.

The apt where we stayed. A bachelor's pad, but very comfortable, convenient, and great price! He was gone to Nashville for the week, so he rented out his apt to us. Found it online.

Is that really lettuce or cabbage growing on the streets of NYC?

My first appointment was at NYU to meet with some program directors there. So nervous, but both meetings turned out fabulous. I was surprised at how both directors were encouraging, open, gracious, and a lot of fun to talk with. I got a good feel for the programs and how I would fit there...for future reference. :)

My professional attire for my appointments at NYU and trapsing around New York City.

I met up with Maury Jackman and his son Asher for dinner. brother Jackman was in my singles ward bishopric with uncle Alan and I got to be good friends with him and his wife. His wife had a work meeting that she couldnt get out of at the last minute. But it was so good to catch up with Brother Jackman and their miraculous and divine transition from Orem to Manhattan.

12 Course Tasting at Casa Nonnas in DC

One of the highlights in Washington DC was the 12 course tasting meal Bonnie and I had at Casa Nonna's. Bonnie's friend Jen is friends with Mark who is in the restaurant business in DC and hooked us up with this tasting as there was a cancellation. Perfect! We had no idea what we were getting ourselves in to. Wow. Ate things I never even knew were edible...come with me, I will show you. :)

We sat at the bar and watched the cook (lady in the blue apron) make everything in front of us. Just like we were on the front lines of "Chopped"...Bonnie's dream come true, she is a food network junkie.

First 4 courses (I was a little late, so had some catching up to do when I arrived)...

1. Tartar Di Tonno-Ahi Tuna Tartar, Red Beet, Crispy Beets (in the martini looking glass), basically raw tuna with lemon juice on it, the acid slightly cooks the fish. SO yummy.

2. Carpaccio "Testa"-Pig's Feet Carpaccio, Red Onion, Cornichon, Citrus (plate to right of tartar)

Not my favorite, but not bad

3. Polpo Alla Pignata-Baby Octopus in Terracotta, Potato Confit, Chile (far right)

Actually really good, I liked this one.

4. Midollo Al Forno-Roasted Bone Marrow, Parsley Salad (far left)

Not bad once I got over the idea of eating bone marrow (what?!), kind of a bland jelly spread on croutons, totally classy. The salad was really good.

Bonnie and me with our virgin drinks: Canteloupe Mint and Pomegranate Peach. Divine. The whole tasting was about the food, but also about the wine pairing, they brought out specific wines to go with each course and each with their own glass. Bonnie and I stuck with our sparkling water and finally after asking us all night, Adam our host asked about bringing us these fruity virgin drinks. For the first time, I really felt like the oddball not drinking the wine. Interesting.

5. Zuppa Alla Toscana-Cannellini Bean Soup, Rosemary Oil, Cracked Pepper (Not pictured)

6. Tagliolini Al Ricci Di Mare-Fine Egg Yok Pasta, Sea Urchin, Anchovy, served in the sea urchin shell (below). Good, needed a little salt for this one.

7. Casonsei-Crescent Shaped pasta of Spinach, Potato and Sausage...basically glorified ravioli. SUPER yummy, this was one of my favorites.

8. Risotto Della Chef-Risotto with Ubriacho Cheese. Really good, the cheese adds a strong flavor.

9. Merluzzo Al Forno-Wood Roasted Maine Cod, Roasted Cauliflower, Anchovy Sauce. REALLY yummy, this was also one of my favorites. The cauliflower, anchovy sauce was delish!

10. D'Anatra E Sedano Rapa-Cured Duck Breast, Crunchy tow of Celery (celery paste with potato chips. mmm.), Orange Duck Jus. My most favorite course. OH my, this was amazing. The duck was divine, so tender and flavorful combined with the potato chips and celery paste. Mmm.

11. Panna Cotta-Gorgonzola Dolce, Fig Vin Cotto, Fleur du Sel. A course of gorgonzola cheese...I smiled about this one. That's about as much gorgonzola cheese for one sitting as I can take. But very good.

12. Semifreddo Di Giandujia-Hazlenut Chocolate Semifreddo, Bacio Blanco Gelato. Um, this could have been A LOT bigger. Absolutely delish!

Mark, Jen, Adam (our host), Bonnie and Me after the meal. So Fun! A unique and memorable experience for sure!

Phase 2 of the East...Wendi and DC

After teaching for a week, I went up to DC to see Wendi Maney and her family. Wendi and my sister Margaret were roommates in Ogden during their single days and have stayed good friends and consequently have become great family friends, so I was SO excited to visit her and play with her kids. They were so excited when I got there and had to tell me everything and I just soaked it all in. They are darling! Jordan, Spencer, and landon.

They had just gotten Butterscotch, their hampster, from Santa as an early Christmas via Scottie the Elf's report that they were being good. Scottie watches and reports to Santa on a daily basis.

Saturday we went to the national theater and saw a shortened version of The Nutcracker by a local company. Fun and Christmasy...the spirit is starting to catch on.

After the performance we went and saw the National Tree and all the state trees around. This is the Utah Tree, ornaments made by some local arts school in Utah. Fun national tradition.The White House. Next time I go, a tour is on the non-negotiable to do list.

Wendi, me and the kids. So fun to hang out with them. Landon is hilarious and no fear, not pictured here because he was running around somewhere.

National Tree with trains around it. So fun.

The new "King" memorial. The side of the momument has a quote about "out of the mountain shall come..." so he is slices out of the mountain in the background. Other quotes of his are etched in the semi-circle of stone in the back as well. Pretty cool and inspiring.

Saturday night Wendi and I had a ladies night out. We went to a free concert at the Kennedy center, a teeny-bopper rock and roll band, but they were actually pretty good and it was fun. Pretty funny juxtaposition of this rock and roll band playing in this grandiose classy building.

The inside of the Kennedy Center. Absolutely gorgeous! My first time and thoroughly impressed.

After the concert, we went over to National Harbor where...the PEEPS store is! All things PEEPS and more, Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike's...so fun! Totally thought of my sister Lisa who loves PEEPS.

Dinner at Elevate Burger...all organic and healthy...so no calories right? :) Very yummy!

Tree at National Harbor. The lights dance to music and change colors. Really beautiful place.

After church on Sunday at the 31-older singles ward (not quite my demographic yet), I walked around downtown DC and enjoyed the gorgeous weather. Here is the Capitol Bldg tree, imported from California. Washington DC and their trees...all these special trees from around the country. The ornaments were made from household items by kids in California including Shriners hospital to show how California 'shines', which was the theme of the tree this year. Kinda fun.

Sunday night I went to the temple to see Jenny Oaks Baker perform. SO great! And out walks Joyce Bennet with the rest of the group backing up Jenny. One song on the program was "What Child is This?" which is a duet with Jenny and an Indian Flutist. She found this guy through one of the museums specifically for this performance.

Her three daughters playing their version of "It's a Small World". INCREDIBLE. Ages 10, 8, 6...it was a medley with flavors of all the famous composers: Bach, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, etc. Absolutely phenomenal and SO fun, they are incredible talented. The cellist (youngest) was pulling faces and being funny during the performance. So funny.

So great to see Joyce. She was fabulous.

Me and Bonn in DC! With the hint of the Capitol building in the back.

After dinner at Casa Nonnas (it's own separate post because it was so incredible), we went to this whiskey bar...first bar experience, whiskey 101 lesson included. I think I thought it would be more fun. All you do is sit around and talk about not so cool things and drink. Clubbing might be more of my scene, at least there is dancing there. ;)

Temple session with Bonnie. Gorgeous temple, inside is even better!

Bonnie wanted a diner meal on this trip, so we stopped at the first one we passed and had and amzing corn beef sandwich. Holy cow, it was yummy!

After lunch, the Holocaust museum. Wow! Special propaganda display with a tour guide and the rest of the museum, awesome. I got more of the full story and context of this event and filled in some gaps in my own perception of what happened. The sculpture of the crematory is still vivid in my mind, wow. Really cool. Thought of Curt and Riss multiple times. And Curt called me while I was in there. Totally on the same wavelength. I love it when that happens.

Washington Monument. my stable landmark while navigating DC.

Bonnie met up her friend David and I went to Georgetown for the evening. Just walked along the shops and enjoyed the town.

Found this fantastic hat at one of the boutiques. GREAT piece, but couldn't justify $150...shoot.

National Gallery of Art. Inside Art Gallery. Great works and fun to peruse...haven't been to an art gallery for a while.

A high school choir was performing in the rotunda, got me in the Christmas spirit, so fun to gather and sing along with them on some of the songs.

Pennsylvania Avenue. Where the Star Spangled Banner was first sung in public. Put my hand over my patriotic heart and smiled.

Met up with Sherwitt, Bonnie's friend from High School in Italy, and her friend Michelle. Fantastic girls, fun conversation!