loveliness.

Tag: exploring

• randomness in NYC

  Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on April 1, 2016

  A few random pictures from my trip to NYC in February. I was there for work, and it absolutely poured for most of the time I was able to run in the park a few mornings, which was heavenly as always.

  I didn’t stay for the weekend this time, instead I took the latest flight home on Saturday so I would still have some time to creep around.

  

  

  

  I wanted to see a play on Friday night, I’ve been dying to see The Book of Mormon for years, but the only ticket I could find was standing, with a partially obstructed view for $100. I passed, but apparently I’m just going to have to suck it up and spend the money if I ever want to see it. They came to SF a couple of years ago and it was $800 a ticket, so $150 next time I’m in NYC probably isn’t terrible.

  

  

  

  I spent all of Saturday creeping (read: walking) all over the city, including a trip to Brooklyn, and eating ALL OF THE THINGS. It was the best day ever, but more to come on that. At the end of the best day ever, I still had some more time to kill before my flight so I decided to head to the Museum of Natural History, because I’ve wanted to go there for years.

  

  

  

  I didn’t realize they had a new exhibit on dinosaurs opening that day, so I was truly shocked to see a line that went on for 3 city blocks. I decided to skip it, and instead, I cut across the park and went to the Met.

  What people (including me) don’t realize about the Met is that there isn’t actually a ticket price, it’s a donation. I didn’t get it until the cashier asked me for the 5th time if I was sure I really wanted to pay $25. I’m sure I couldn’t have looked stupider as I pointed to the sign and stammered inarticulately at her, but in the end I just ended up paying the full price so that the interaction could be over. Money well spent.

  

  

  

  Being at the Met in person was amazing, I went from room to room taking in all of the pieces, and so many of them I had seen prints of before, which did absolutely no justice to the real thing. Some of my favourites were the Vigee Le Brun exhibit, she painted images of Marie Antoinette and her children (I’ve probably read every single book ever written on Marie Antoinette, it’s a problem) and the Monet paintings.

  

  

  My mom bought me an enormous waterlilies print when I was in high school, and it was so big it took up almost the whole wall of our bathroom. It didn’t really go with anything else in our house, but it was love at first sight and I begged until she gave in.

  

  Even just writing this post has me excited for my next trip. Truly love this city.

  

  Posted in art, exploring, New York, travel, USA | 2 Comments | Tagged Central Park, exploring, monet, New York, nyc, renoir, the met, travel

• seattle: everything else

  Posted at 8:22 am by jasminedesirees, on December 7, 2015

  A few more random snaps from Seattle.

  We took an underground tour of the city, which was actually really interesting, and it started in a bar, which was useful since I am extremely claustrophobic and spending almost two hours underground would likely not have gone so well if I hadn’t been a little tipsy to begin with.

  We rode the ferris wheel, visited the Space Needle, and had the most amazing breakfast at Biscuit Bitch.

  I got a biscuit with jam and mushroom gravy, so I could try a couple different things. I don’t even like jam, and I wanted to put some of it in my hair to save for later.

  The mushroom gravy was so good I just drank it after I ran out of biscuit. I would do it again, too.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Posted in Seattle, travel, USA, Washington | 0 Comments | Tagged Bill Speidel, biscuit bitch, exploring, seattle, space needle, travel, washington

• twenty eight

  Posted at 10:12 am by jasminedesirees, on March 16, 2015

  Yesterday was my birthday, I spent a great weekend exploring the San Diego area, sleeping on the beach, and eating cupcakes. I was thinking back over the past year, and how amazing it’s been, so I wanted to take a little time to reminisce, and share some of my favourite experiences.

  

  March 2014- On my birthday last year, we were on a trip to visit New York City for the first time, and it was everything I’d been dreaming of. It was kind of one of those spontaneous trips where you’re not sure if it’s really necessary, but you could do it, so we did, and I’m so, so glad. We also visited Niagara Falls, and got one of my friends married off in Toronto.

  April 2014- Last April, my sister came out to visit me in San Francisco for the first time, and we had the best weekend ever. We took a last minute road trip down to L.A. to spend a few days with my family. I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like, so driving down to meet up with them was kind of a no-brainer, even though we had to change a flight we already had booked, and rent a car in order to get there. We also went out to Phoenix for the weekend for the first time, not realizing then that we’d be moving out there in less than a year.

  May 2014- In May, we were well on our way to finalizing plans for our trip. We were spending as much time with family and friends as possible, and really enjoying our last few weeks of living in California, including a lovely day in Capitola.

  June 2014- In June, we spent a few days visiting my family in Montana, and then took off for Thailand, mid-month. I loved visiting Bangkok, the Floating Market and the White Temple.

  July 2014- In July, we moved down to the islands of Thailand, including Phi Phi and Railay, and then spent a couple of weeks in Cambodia, visiting Angkor. Ta Prohm was my favourite place in the world. We also spent a few days in Singapore, and visited the Cloud Forest, and the Supertrees.

  August 2014- In early August we finished up our last few days in Indonesia, including the most amazing time diving in Flores and trekking with Komodo dragons. Then we finally landed in Australia, hung out in Sydney for a few days, then started our road trip up to Cairns, and also, this happened.

  September 2014- In September we were still creeping around Australia. We visited Whitehaven, spent a few weeks working on a farm, and then a few more weeks hanging out in Byron Bay, and hiking to the lighthouse every day. This is still the most amazing graffiti I’ve ever seen.

  October 2014- In October, we made the decision that as much as we loved Australia, it was too expensive for us, so we headed back to Indonesia, to relax on the Gili’s, hike Batur, trek Rinjani, visit the beach of my dreams, and creep around in Kuta Lombok, and South Kuta.

  November 2014- In November we took a spontaneous trip to the Philippines (posts coming this week!) and eventually, made our way back to California.

  December 2014- In December, we spent as much time as we could with our friends and family in California, then packed up our stuff and moved to Phoenix.

  January 2015- In January, we spent a blissful week in Montana, made a quick trip up to Canada to experience the -40 weather and load up on ketchup chips, and then headed back to start life in Arizona.

  February 2015- In February, we finally got our furniture and got actually moved in to our new place, and then got to start exploring our new state with trips to Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and the Grand Canyon.

  Posted in exploring, life, travel | 2 Comments | Tagged Australia, birthday, Cambodia, exploring, Indonesia, life, nyc, Phoenix, Singapore, Thailand, travel

• the grandest canyon

  Posted at 7:44 am by jasminedesirees, on March 5, 2015

  On the way home from Page we decided to take a spontaneous detour to the Grand Canyon, because that’s what you do when you’re only an hour and a half away.

  

  

  It was one of those days where it looks really beautiful outside, but then as soon as you step outside the car it is freezing and you wish that you weren’t wearing shorts (every.single.time).

  

  

  

  The view was gorgeous, and amazing, obviously, but it was weirdly bigger than I remember? I’ve been there a few times, but I think I’ve always visited different parts along the canyon, so this was my first time at the South rim.

  

  

  

  There was a viewing tower there which was cool, it had lots of neat paintings and carvings inside, and provided a great vantage point, and a welcome respite from the icy cold wind.

  

  

  

  We are planning on going back to the GC over the summer with a group of friends that go every year. They spend a few hours picking up trash along the rim, and then camp overnight. It sounds really fun, and like a great way to spend some time out there and really enjoy the view.

  

  

  

  So far life in Phoenix is pretty great, and I’m especially enjoying all of the interesting places that are just a few hours drive away.

  

  

  

  I have a road trip to L.A. planned in a couple of weeks, and then I plan on visiting White Sands, Arches National Park and the Kartchner Caverns whenever we have a free weekend.

  

  

  Posted in Arizona, USA | 2 Comments | Tagged Arizona, exploring, grand canyon, roadtrip, southwest, travel

• antelope canyon

  Posted at 8:05 am by jasminedesirees, on February 16, 2015

  

  This last weekend we took the first of many planned roadtrips to check out our new part of the world. We drove up to Page on Friday night, and spent the next two days creeping around and exploring.

  It’s about a four hour drive, but I downloaded season one of the Serial podcast to listen to on the drive up, and the whole thing pretty much flew by.

  

  

  We were up early on Saturday, and our first stop was the Lower Antelope Canyon. I have a charming (probably) tendency to see something, or read about something, and then want to go off and do it right away, without doing a ton of (or any) research, which is usually fine, but sometimes it means we end up stranded in the Sydney airport, or spending 3 days in Mataram for no reason.

  

  

  In this case, it means we drove up to Page, and then I started reading about the Antelope Canyon, and how maybe if you are claustrophobic, you shouldn’t go in there. Errrrr. Also, it said the best time to go is March to October because that’s when the famous “light beams” are most prevalent.

  

  

  I read from a bunch of places that Lower Antelope is better, and less crowded, and also read that Ken’s Tours was the best company to go with for Lower Antelope (you have to go with a guide), so that’s what we did.

  

  

  

  The tour was $28/ person, and lasted about an hour and a half. It’s only about a half mile total, so not super strenuous, but definitely wear running shoes because the stairs to get down are kind of steep, and it’s a bit narrow in places.

  

  

  

  It was seriously worth the drive and the price, it was so amazingly beautiful in there. I took about 1000 pictures, I couldn’t get enough of it. Our guide was really nice, and she showed us different places to take pictures right up against the rocks to get a certain image with names like “Rocky Mountain Sunset” and “Sand Wave”.

  

  

  

  Also it turned out that the best time to visit Upper Antelope is in the summer, but the best time to visit Lower Antelope is actually in the winter, so we did get to see some light beams. I told you it usually works out fine.

  

  

  

  If you are going to visit, make sure to check the weather forecast (I never do) but if it rains the canyons are closed because they fill up with water quickly and it can be very dangerous.

  

  

  

  Also, bring a light jacket, because it gets chilly down there. By the end of the tour I couldn’t unclench my hands. And maybe don’t wear shorts. I will never learn, apparently.

  

  

  

  At the end of the tour, you climb out of a little slot in the rock (watch your head) and when you turn around and look behind you, you almost can’t even tell there is anything there, it just looks like rocks and desert.

  

  

  Posted in Arizona, exploring, USA | 7 Comments | Tagged antelope canyon, Arizona, exploring, Lower Antelope, page, road trip, serial, slot canyons, southwest, travel

• thai life

  Posted at 12:14 pm by jasminedesirees, on June 10, 2014

  

  I’ve only been here one day, but here’s what I’ve learned about Thailand so far.

  The people are nice. Like really nice. I thought people in South Africa were nice (they were) but we’ve met so many wonderful people already, including a street vendor who was so excited for us to be on this trip that he was almost crying (so was I) and a Thai businessman in the temple of the smiling Buddha that told us all about his life, gave us tons of tips and information, and taught us how to say a prayer to Buddha for a safe travels.

  It’s hot. Like don’t bother putting on clothes hot. We once rented a house in Zihuatanejo, Mexico that was at the top of about 500 stairs, and we stayed there when it was 100 degrees and so humid that everything was wet all the time. This is like that, but hotter and wetter. It’s basically pointless to shower.

  It’s beautiful. So far we’ve just been in Bangkok, which is a big city so lots of concrete, like anywhere (there’s a Starbucks around the corner), but we visited the King’s Palace, and some of the temples today, and it’s just mind-blowingly gorgeous.

  We leave for Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand tomorrow, and I’m so excited to see the country away from the big city.

  Posted in Thailand, travel | 0 Comments | Tagged adventures, bangkok, exploring, people, Thailand, travel

• venice

  Posted at 4:13 pm by jasminedesirees, on April 24, 2014

  

  We decided last night to drive down to SoCal this morning. It was very last minute, and there were lots of reasons why we probably shouldn’t have come, but I usually find that those are the most memorable adventures.

  We’re off to Phoenix in the morning, but we’ve got all night to play in LA.

  Posted in beach, California, exploring, Los Angeles, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged adventure, California, exploring, road trip, travel, Venice beach

• street food

  Posted at 6:09 pm by jasminedesirees, on April 21, 2014

  One of the things that I’ve always wanted to do in the City since I’ve moved here is go to a Food Truck park. Food trucks are such a big part of the culture here, and I’ve eaten from them a lot, but they have events like Off the Grid, where you can try a bunch of different ones, and get drinks and hang out as well.

  While my sister was here we were driving to Half Moon Bay, and we were hungry. I looked up food trucks on the map to see if any good ones were around that day, and I found one, so we decided to go get some lunch.

  It was a really great surprise to discover that we weren’t just at one food truck, we had accidentally found our way to the SOMA StrEat Food Park, where a bunch of food trucks congregate every Thursday and Saturday nights.

  
  
  
  
  

  It was a really cool environment, with lots of drinks, neat little areas like a barn and a school bus you could rent out for events, and a bunch of food trucks that switch every week.

  We scouted the place out and made our selections, I got beef sliders and crab stuffed wontons, the boy got an amazing pulled pork sandwich, and my sister was adventurous and got ox tail soup, and poutine.

  
  
  
  

  It was a gorgeous sunny day, the food was delicious, although I was a little disappointed to discover a truck that was selling mac and cheese burgers after I was already too stuffed to eat another bite.

  Saturdays are Sangria Saturdays, where they have bottomless Sangria, and they also sell mimosas and lots of other drinks.

  
  

  I was absolutely in heaven, to the point where, after yet another poetic exclamation of undying love, the boy responded with “Do you? Do you love it here? But do you love it?”, and I realized that I would need to try to be a bit more discreet about the depth of my feelings in case he got jealous and refused to accompany me on subsequent visits.

  But just between you and me, yes, I LOVED it there.

  
  
  

  Posted in California, exploring, family, food, San Francisco, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged bay area, exploring, family, food, food truck, food trucks, Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, travel

• why is the rum always gone?

  Posted at 3:35 pm by jasminedesirees, on April 17, 2014

  One of the coolest things we did while my sister was here was visit the Smuggler’s Cove, a really neat bar in the city. I’d never even heard of it before, but it was on her list of things to do during her visit.

  We did some shopping earlier in the day, and then started walking over there. After a brief but terrifying sojourn through the Tenderloin district (I wanted to make sure she soaked up as much SF culture as possible), we got there, but it’s quite sneaky, if you didn’t know where it was you wouldn’t be able to find it.

  
  

  It’s on a quiet residential type street, the front door is plain glass with a very tiny sign on it. Once you go through the door, you find yourself on one side of a draping black curtain. Once you pass through the curtain, you find yourself in Heaven.

  The inside of the bar is a pirate ship. It’s 3 levels, complete with netting, masts and water features, and dark, ominous lighting. There are two bars, one upstairs and one down and limited seating (it only holds 50 people) so you have to get there early.

  
  

  They have over 400 different kinds of rum, and their menu is a massive leatherbound book of rum recipes (and other liquor recipes) from around the world. It’s really hard to pick one, and dangerous too apparently, after my initial selection the bartender dissuaded me since I’d picked a fruity drink with 4 different kinds of rum and “there had been incidents in the past” with that one.

  I tried a couple different drinks selected at random, and all of them were delicious. We also had a flaming volcano, their answer to the fish bowl, that is served in a large wooden bowl, with 4 straws, and a fiery show as it’s served. It was very potent, especially since there were only really two of us drinking it, but it was also scrumptious.

  The Smuggler’s Cove is a very unique place, I would definitely check it out if you’re ever in the area.

  
  

  Posted in California, San Francisco, USA | 4 Comments | Tagged bars, exploring, rum, San Francisco, Smuggler's Cove

• asia sf

  Posted at 8:04 pm by jasminedesirees, on April 10, 2014

  I’ve been wanting to go to Asia SF for ages, it’s basically a San Francisco rite of passage and I knew it would be a really fun night out, I just needed the right person to go with.

  Asia Sf is a bar and restaurant where all the waiters are in drag, and they do cabaret/burlesque style shows on the bar as you eat.

  I took my sister when she was in town last week, and we had a blast.The show was great, everyone was there to have a good time, and the waiters looked amazing, one of them had the best legs I’ve seen on anyone, period.

  The food was delicious as well, which was a pleasant surprise, and their lemon drops were divine.

  I would definitely go back there with anyone visiting the city, as they say at Asia SF, “welcome to San Francisco, where the women are strong, and the men are beautiful”.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Posted in California, exploring, San Francisco, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged Asia SF, burlesque, drag, drag queens, exploring, restaurants, San Francisco

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