The Big Apple

Last Christmas, Derek gave me a plane ticket to New York City for mid-May. The trip was to be two fold, one for Kebra's (Derek's sister) graduation from Yale and two to see Manhattan, which neither Derek or I had been to before. Finally after months of waiting, it was time for the big trip to the big apple! Here are a few pictures of our time back east. 

The pre-planning process. If you know me, you can understand how much fun I had putting this together. 

We have arrived! 

Excited that we made it! Out and about. 

While getting lost in Greenwich Village, we stubbled upon a "Cheese Bar". Set up just like a sushi bar, with a specific person cutting the cheese (no pun intended).

 Strolled down Wall Street

Empire State Building 

Zero visibility at the top of the Empire State Building, due to the rainy spring day, but that didn't stop us. We hung out in a cloud!

More Empire State Building, beautiful. 

Walked down the High Line for a bit, very cool.

 More High Line, over looking the Meat Packing District

 9/11 Memorial, a very moving experience.  

Concrete Jungle

America

 Grand Central Station. Gorgeous. 

 Blocks and blocks of skyscrapers.

Derek loves 4 hour graduations.

Stoops.

This happened.

The Bull on Wall Street.

Rockefeller Center.

 NBC Studios.

 Radio City.

Hot Dog on the streets on NYC.

Congrats Class of 2013! Way to go Kebra!

Balls of Steel.

Manhattan Bridge.

Gelato... Yummy! And seductive. 

Home sweet home.

Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest - a sixteen-day festival held each year in Munich, Germany during late September and running to early October.

I wish I was reporting that since my last post I traveled to Germany, drank brew from a stein, and ate brat wurst with the locals. This isn't quite the case. I did however attend Fremont's Oktoberfest.

There was a beer garden with 70 Microbrews for tasting (*Don't worry, I didn't try them all). There was also live music, plenty of crazy outfits, lots of people, and an impromptu game of "Red Rover" initiated by my friends and I. 

Highlights of my time at Oktoberfest include, my delicious creepy (my pronunciation of crepe), tall Australian in a sobreo, getting away with not paying for a few of my adult beverages, eating a pretzel to help a man win a competition, still knowing every word to Coolio's "Gangster's Paradise", and meeting new friends in a long line for the port-o-potty.

Despite the rain (I'm still getting used to it here), its was a wonderful festival and I plan to attend next year, perhaps even dressed as a beer maiden.

Cheers.