Koalas have fingerprints, too.

The fingerprinting lady said I have lovely ridges.

Check this out!

This is where I will most likely be doing my student teaching:













http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools-c/profiles/?id=217

I took a 6-hour nap today...

...because my poor body was so tired from running around for a week! The fun I had in New York was worth it, though.
My parents live in the Hudson River Valley (art buffs: Hudson River School's Frederick Church's estate is not far from them), about an hour and a half northwest of the city. They take the train in. And while it is a long commute, the views make it more manageable:















After the train stopped in Hoboken, New Jersey, we had to take another train into the city or take a ferry over. By the time we got to the city, we were starving! I introduced James to a fabulous place called Pick-A-Bagel. Don't let the name fool you, friends... they serve a kajillion things! The bagels are still my favorite, though... you can't find anything as good on the west coast, sadly.



















We went to Chinatown, one of my favorite places to visit.






























Aren't these lychees beautiful!?




















This is the restaurant we ate lunch at. I had sweet and sour duck with peppers, pineapple, and lychees. Oh oh oh so good!!

And Little Italy was great, of course. We got gelato in a little shop... I got pistachio gelato--I've never had pistachio ice cream before! Yum!

You know you're in Little Italy when...





































So much cheese!!!

















And of course, Central Park. I took off my shoes and we cuddled on a hill. The weather was perfect!

My favorite museum!

One of the first places we went was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. For a small donation (technically, you can get in for free, but that would be rude), you can see some of the most awesome things in the WORLD!



















First, we saw all sorts of cool mummies and stuff. This tomb was probably 8 feet tall and 4 feet deep! They've also transplanted an entire Egyptian temple into a big window-walled chamber in the Met. Why didn't I take a picture of that?!




















Aaaa!
















A Rembrandt self-portrait.




















"The Oath of the Horatii"
















This is one of my favorite paintings. The fabric looks so real, and smooth, and wonderful... this picture doesn't do it justice, but whenever I'm there, I just stand in front of it and stare and stare... and the painting is very big, so it's almost life-size.




















"The Abduction of the Sabine Women", or, "The Rape of the Sabine Women"















I also had a special surprise for my hubby... a detailed Seurat study of one of his favorite paintings! Dope.
















Among these, we also saw one of Beethoven's pianos (I'm dumb and didn't take a picture!), several Stradivari violins, some Picassos, Rothkos, Klees, Branscusi, and a Jackson Pollock. And so much much much more! Rembrandts, Van Goghs, Monets, Manets, you name it....

Boston?

On Saturday and Sunday, my parents drove us up to Boston. We saw where Paul Revere rode, and visited the Battle Road where the Battle of Lexington-Concorde was fought that sparked the Revolution. Old stuff is dope.

Near the battle sites, there's an old cemetery:










In it is buried Nathanial Hawthorne...










And Ralph Waldo Emerson...















And Thoreau, and Alcott... But no Walt Whitman, alas.

Here is James sitting by the Old North Bridge, where the Lexington-Concorde battle began.















The river was so swollen! This sign reads, "Follow path to Visitors center" + arrow. Uhhh... no thank you. I'll go around.




















James and I standing on the Battle Road...















On Sunday, we were going to make a quick run to see Fenway Park (no scheduled game), and then do a historic tour downtown... but serendipidously, the Sox were having a make-up game! Yay! What great luck!






























I'm glad my super hubby got to see a game in Fenway Park. I had a blast! We had hot dogs and ice cream in little helmet cups. Did you know Fenway still has the original wooden seats?

Whirlwind tour

Pictures really don't convey the sort of fun we had... but at least they'll give you an idea of where we went.




















This is a statue across the street from the stock exchange, shown below.
















Aren't we having fun? It's only 11 AM and we've already been in a car, a train, and a boat, and we've seen the Statue, Ellis Island, south Manhatten, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Staten Island Ferry, and Wall Street.































This is a view of the Statue and Ellis Island from the Esplanade, south Manhatten, where we'd catch the ferry back to Hoboken, New Jersey. This is the view coming FROM Hoboken, earlier that morning:















I decided we ought to take the more expensive, yet more entertaining, ferry as opposed to the subway. It took us all the way around the southern tip of the city... something I make a point to do every time I'm in town, and I knew James would appreciate it as much as I do.











And we made new friends! Seems like New Yorkers have replaced half the pidgeon population with finches. Much cuter. I wanted to name them.

The Story Told Backward

And here we have the worst hair EVER:















This fellow was waiting for a flight in the Newark Airport. On one hand, I'm relieved I saw him in New Jersey, not Portland. On the other hand... it might have been the PDX flight he was waiting for. Let me know if there are any sightings.