My most vibrant image of Shanghai is from a scene of Lust, Caution where Tony Leung and Tang Wei are going into a jewelry store to pick up her diamond ring. What drew me into that world were the European style architecture set against dusty roads with lanterns strung along the side and the rickshaws that lined the streets. I had hoped there were still some remnants of this in what is now considered the largest city proper in the world.

On my first trip to China to visit my good NYU friend Joyce, I tried to see as much of the famed Shanghai sites as possible. Since I got in late on Friday evening, we rushed out the door to meet up with friends at the fairly new cocktail bar Southern Cross. With prices a tad cheaper than those in NYC, it’s a cozy place to enjoy a few expertly made drinks over intimate conversation. By the time we left it was already 1 am and some people wanted to go to an actual club on the Bund but unfortunately since we got lost on the way there, we weren’t able to get in without coughing up $15 USD so we called it an early evening. The following morning, we accompanied Joyce’s roommate to the Fabric District near the Science and Tech Museum to pick up her cheongsom and at the same time had one made for Joyce. Had I brought more cash to Shanghai, I probably would have gotten something made as well since the prices were ridiculously cheap and you could make anything that your heart desired. A tailored shirt costs around $15 USD and a cheongsom costs $70 USD. While Joyce spent the afternoon finishing up some homework, I met up with another friend and his family at Tianzifang. Hidden from the busy streets, Tianzifang is a little blast from the past filled with tiny brick alleys of art, gift shops, cafes and restaurants. During the 1950s, the entire area was a typical factory sector but as the years past, it became more residential up until the early 2000s when it really became almost the Soho of Shanghai. In the evening we decided to head to the club M1nt super early to ensure that we would get in without paying cover. M1nt is definitely bigger than most clubs in Taipei and boasts amazing view of the city; the entrance way also contains a 17 m. long shark tank that isn’t exactly PETA friendly considering we saw a dead shark inside. Overall the club was fun and has a way more international and ex-pat crowd than what I’m used to but I have to say the best part was the Tex Mex truck parked outside where we got our fill of quesadillas and tacos at 2 am.

After our 5 day trip to Zhangjiajie, I had a few more days to explore Shanghai on my own. Of course, I had to check out the infamous skyline in Pudong. Lit up at night, I always thought the Oriental Pearl Tower looked like an alien satellite dish reaching into space; it has such an out of world feel. Because it was raining all day, I didn’t get a chance to check out Fuxing Park but nearby happened to be Sun Yat-sen’s (also known as the pioneer of Nationalist China) old family home. What’s beautiful about this home and the surrounding others in Xintiandi is that they are fashioned in European colonial style. It was such a contrast to see these spacious homes built right in the middle of a very Eastern environment. Once the rain had calmed down more in the evening, we went to a swanky lounge called Flair located at the top of the Ritz Carlton in Liujiazui to get a view of the Bund lit up at night. Unfortunately it was still a bit misty and towards the end of our drinks, we felt like we were surrounded by a cloud bubble unable to see anything past the edge of the railing.

I had quite the active last full day in Shanghai. Joyce, Sen and I ventured to an older part of the city called Nanxiang, known for its’ soup dumplings. Prior to lunch, we took a little side trip to the Humble Administrator’s Garden. I was starving so couldn’t fully appreciate the bonsai trees, ancient homes and landscape, not to mention the old couple who made one of the outdoor sitting areas their own personal karaoke space, but I suppose it makes for a leisurely stroll. I was more interested in the food located in Old Town but I have to say, I was extremely disappointed. We ordered a portion of crab and another portion of pork soup dumplings. The crab tasted almost the same as the pork and both lacked the soup that really makes the dumpling special. After lunch, we dropped by M50, an area comparable to the Chelsea art galleries in NYC. Filled with contemporary Chinese artists, this warehouse like area is a breeding ground for Shanghainese hipsters looking to buy some pieces for their lofty apartments or catching up over a cup of Illy espresso at a bookstore café. I didn’t recognize any of the artists but nevertheless, it was still interesting and was able to see a part of Shanghai that’s usually not mentioned in typical guidebooks.

My China trip ended with a relaxing brunch at Maya located in a residential complex called Grand Plaza Clubhouse near all the high end shopping. For a surprising 75 RMB, I was contently full on Maya pork and beef burger with lime aioli sauce and side salad and piping hot churros topped with hot sauce and strawberry jam. As we walked out of the restaurant area, my friend Jack was trying to get his parking voucher redeemed when the security guard who took his deposit refused to give it back. Jack then rushed us off and said goodbye since “shit was about to go down” over 10 RMB and that’s when I realized how grateful I am to live and work in Taiwan vs. China.

The first pets I’ve ever owned were a couple of goldfish back in elementary school. My parents bought a brand new fish tank and all the required food and cleaning supplies. I was enthralled for about 2 weeks until I lost interest in keeping my pets alive and left all the maintenance to my dad. Since that experience, I’ve really never had an interest in having another pet. Sure, it’s cute to play with other people’s dogs for approximately 10 min. or take care of a guinea pig for an afternoon, but to commit full time and be responsible for another living object’s well being is quite another issue. So it took me by complete surprise that while in Taiwan, I found myself longing for a dog, particularly a French bulldog after seeing a cream one last month perched on a stool drooling and blowing bubbles while patiently waiting for its’ owner to finish eating dinner. Conveniently, the opportunity arose when Garry announced that his grandma and mom both have birthdays in November and he needed to buy them a present. I suggested buying them a new dog after seeing how much they missed having a dog of their own.

After quite a bit of online research on 34c.cc trying to decipher posts in Chinese and making sure we don’t get scammed by animal farms who inbreed, we settled on a brindle French bulldog. I had envisioned getting a cream one but after seeing multiple photos of brindles, I fell in love. The problem was that the dog was located in 斗六 (Douliu). Where in Taiwan is this place that I’ve never heard of?! Luckily I was traveling down south for work and 斗六 happened to be on the way back up by train, a 2 hour train ride from Kaohsiung and 3.5 hour from Taipei. Upon arriving at the train station, the breeder greeted me with 2 brindles to choose from that were both from the same litter. It took me a whole car ride and a trip to the pet store to buy a crate and water feeder before I chose the bigger of the brothers. On the train ride, he was so scared that he didn’t make one peep.

Garry was pretty excited about our new puppy and after a couple of days of discussion, we agreed on the name Rocco. We keep him in my spare mini bedroom in a crate for most of the day and let him out to roam when we were at home. We also put out a pee pee pad to train him. Even though Rocco isn’t ours, we’re keeping and training him for 2 weeks until we hand him over to Garry’s family who will eventually spoil him rotten. For the first couple of hours that we had Rocco, he was pretty good and for the majority of the time peed on the pad. But we noticed that he wasn’t pooing when he should and soon found out that he was pooing and eating his own shit when we saw little brown markings left on the ground and in the crate!!! As a result of this unsanitary habit, Rocco wakes up during the night and constantly makes vomiting noises; however, when we check the crate in the morning there is no vomit. And when I checked on him during my lunch hour and other times during the day, I finally came to the conclusion that Rocco was also eating his own throw up. Based on our research on coprophagia, we think Rocco does all this because he’s not properly digesting his food thus not consuming the nutrients and when he throws up or poos, he thinks he’s creating more food. We of course try to teach him and reprimand him but we’re never home to actually see him go. Needless to say, raising and training a puppy has definitely been a lot harder than expected. In addition to many sleepless nights (it’s only been a week) and guilt from leaving Rocco unattended during the day and watching him almost every waking minute spent at home, I am utterly exhausted and now knows what it feels like to raise a baby. Though I have come to love Rocco and his smelly poop breath, I am also secretly relieved that he won’t be my puppy for that much longer but will only be a 2 hour bus ride away in Hsinchu should I ever want to visit.

 

Greetings friends acquainted and unacquainted.  I am the not so oft alluded to “Garry” on Ms.Yellow’s blog.  Now since Tina is a native of 埔里 and has already blogged about it twice, I was bequeathed (bequoth?) the status of guest blogger for the week.  On my previous visit to 埔里, our local guide (aka Jeff, Tina’s cousin) took us to one of the cliffs surrounding the town where tourists and natives alike come to enjoy the natural thermal updrafts by jumping off a cliff tied to a giant parachute.  Unfortunately, due to the rain, my maiden voyage was postponed.

Several months pass and I find myself once more in 埔里 for the 10/10 weekend. Having seen most of the sites in Puli on our last visit (Sun Moon Lake), we once more venture past the paragliding cafe.  Being the more veteran paraglider between us, Tina assured me that not only is paragliding safe and fun, it is considerably cheaper in Taiwan than in Geneva.  With minimal haggling, we find an instructor to take us out for NT 2000 each.  However, since there is only one instructor we would have to go one at a time.  Conveniently Tina suddenly realizes she is car sick, so I would be flying solo…problem solved.

As I charge down the hill and took to the skies with this stranger strapped to my back, something occurred to me…there was very minimal paperwork involved in this transaction.  More specifically there was none.  The “professional” behind me didn’t even ask for my name not to mention my emergency contact information.  At this point, since I was already floating over the township of 埔里, my choices were to do a slightly belated reference check or sit back and enjoy the ride.  Being the “cup half full” kinda fella I am, I went for Option B.

We circled the valley for a few minutes, unsuccessfully searching for an updraft that never came.  My guide informs me that sometimes it’s better to land and try again, so after five minutes of flight,we steer towards a landing field where other gliders were already folding their chutes.  On our approach I notice my instructor steering us towards a group of trees rather than the clearing where the other gliders were.  Not wanting to appear overly anxious, I casually ask the guide if  it’s preferable to enter the field from an angle.  I’m sure there was some wisdom to his actions, but sadly the fast approaching forest did not give him ample time to explain.

We crashed through the canopy of the fruit trees , me grabbing desperately at branches while a brief mental inventory of Bear Grylls’ survival wisdom flashed through my head (parachute cord can be fashioned into a makeshift ladder or used to splint a broken leg/arm).  When we stopped, I was hanging from my harness roughly 6 inches off the ground.  My guide instructed me to unstrap and wait in the clearing, where I observed other gliders landing in more orthodox fashion.  Since his chute was stuck in the trees still, I wait with my guide for his friends and my ride to find their way down to the field. It was at this point he began explaining how it’s customary for guides to charge more in such circumstances to cover the costs of retrieving their chutes…roughly 3 times more.  Judging solely on the caliber of services rendered, this didn’t strike me as an appropriate time to renegotiate our previous arrangement.  As I’m walking down the street trying to find cell reception, I see my ride pull up.  After a brief moment contemplating whether or not to go back to pay and possibly be charged more than the original NT 2000, the groups’ consensus was that the money could be better spent elsewhere. Suffice to say, I don’t think I will be going back any time soon to take another flight.

To celebrate Garry’s birthday, we took a long weekend vacation to Green Island, just off the east coast of Taiwan. I’m not going to lie; I don’t think I will be back there especially since it was such a bitch to get to the first time. This is just for those ABC’s who might be interested in going at some point or another but my suggestion is don’t go during holiday season when everyone is going. Before even getting to Green Island, one must first get to the city of Taitung in order to take a ferry. Here are a few options on how to get to Taitung.

• 6 hour train from Taipei directly to Taitung
• Bus to Yilan, train from Yilan to Taitung
• HSR from Taipei to Kaohsiung, train from Kaohsiung to Taitung
• 6-7 hour car ride

The first is obviously the most convenient and cheapest way; however, since it was peak season all the train tickets were sold out online the very first day so we resorted to Option 3, the most expensive one. After arriving though, it was pretty much smooth sailing from there. I had booked early enough with a travel company run by a South African named Eddie who has lived in Taiwan for many years and arranged everything for us, from ferry transportation to accommodations to scuba diving. Check out his website for more packages and travel options for other Taiwan locations www.greenislandadventures.com

We stayed at Eddie’s hostel in Taitung on Friday night and departed on a 7 am ferry to Green Island, only 50 minutes away. As soon as we arrived, we went to the scooter station to pick ours up. This was the first time that Garry had ever drove a scooter so I was a little apprehensive and rode in the car on the way to the hotel. The locals are so used to riding around on scooters that some of them were even able to sit on one scooter while steering another scooter with their other foot. It was quite impressive! The hotel that we selected was newly built and was specifically opened for the long weekend due to overbooking at the other hotels on the island. It wasn’t even completely furnished yet but the location was nice, a little bit secluded from the main street and right by the hot springs. After a long nap in the morning, we took a drive around the entire island (approximately 19 km around) while taking in the scenery. For lunch, we tried some of the local cuisine that included fried flying fish but I wasn’t brave enough to order the seaweed shaved ice dessert. In the afternoon, we drove around the island yet again and noticed that there were strangely a lot of prisons around. I later learned that Green Island was where most of the political prisoners during the KMT party rule were sent along with some of Taiwan’s most dangerous criminals and gangsters. We also stopped at Guanyin Cave, a tiny limestone underground cave that was kind of dirty and not really worth looking at. A better location was Sleeping Beauty, a tiny mountain with rows of stairs leading to the viewpoint on the northeast side of the island where we were able to see another attraction called the Pekingese Dog (large rock resembling a dog).

The next morning, we woke up super early at 5 am to catch the sunset at the hot springs nearby our hotel. What’s unique about Zhaori is that it is one of the 3 salt water hot springs in the world. I’m not sure if that made any difference because it all felt the same to me but at least it didn’t smell like sulfur like most hot springs do. Even at 5:30 am, the entire place was packed with people taking in the cloudy sunrise and cooking eggs in the water. In the morning, there was only one pool that was really heated; all the ones were mildly warm or even cool. An hour later, we grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel and then met up with our scuba diving instructor for my first discover dive ever. Full disclosure but I am terrified of the ocean and the thought of drowning. Therefore, scuba diving wouldn’t be a hobby that I would typically take on but decided to try it since Garry had his license and we got a great deal for the instructor + equipment. After getting over the initial fear of breathing underwater, I was able to enjoy the experience and take in all that the ocean had to offer. I think we only went about 12 meters under but that was more than enough for me. My favorite partwas feeding the fish underwater (shhh don’t tell) and having them all eat out of my hands.

In summary, Green Island is one of those places that always looks better in pictures. When the locals speak about it, it sounds like Shangri-la but in reality, it’s just another tiny island, nothing particularly special.

 

 

Apologies for the lack of updates, August was quite a dull month for me between the sticky humid weather and work events around the country, I have been thoroughly unmotivated to do anything except sit at home and chill in my AC almost every weekend. In hopes of an interesting adventure, I had made one attempt to see the 1,000+ lbs. divine pigs that are annually slaughtered for the Hakka Yimin Festival; however, I was a day too late. Damn the Chinese Lunar Calendar for confusing me! For those interested, here are more details and pictures about the festival.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/photo/2010-08/29/content_11220939.htm

But now that my slacker month has passed, I feel that September is a new beginning for me. I spent a relaxing Labor Day back in the New Hampshire with my family where it was actually starting to feel like fall. To capitalize on the wonderfully chilly weather, we took a day trip up to Cape Elizabeth, Maine for some lobsters and lighthouses. Our first stop was lunch at the Lobster Shack, a go to place for locals and vacationers since 1969. The lobster and crab rolls here put to shame any of the rolls that come out of 3 star kitchens in NYC. For $13 (market price of the day), you get luscious chunks of lobster mixed with a bit of mayonnaise topped of with a dollop more and paprika nestled between a warmly toasted hot dog bun. There were no fillers whatsoever, no celery, no breadcrumbs, nothing to interrupt the lobster meat. The crab roll was the exact same way and the clam chowder had an approximate 3:2 clam to potato ratio.

Next stop of the day was a hike through Two Lights State Park adjacent to the Lobster Shack. Had we known there was a $3.50 per person entry fee and that the park is tiny, we would have hiked over the rocks from the restaurant. It’s a nice way to spend an afternoon bbq-ing with friends since there are little grills and benches set up but I wouldn’t recommend it for hiking.

Lastly, we stopped by Fort Williams Park, famous for the oldest lighthouse in Maine called the Portland Head Light. It was such a beautiful day out that the entire park was packed with runners, bicyclists, families, kite flyers and picnickers. Besides the statuesque lighthouse, another highlight was the Maine food truck that was also featured on the Food Network. It served up its own version of the lobster roll, various locally made root beers but the one thing I  couldn’t pass up was the blueberry ice cream; it was the quintessential end of summer New England day.

 

 

 

It wouldn’t be summer without an outdoor pool party, something quite difficult to find here since the Taiwanese have an intense aversion to sun. Luckily there are plenty of ex-pats in Taipei who don’t mind a little baking in the afternoon, thereby making up the majority of the Havana Pool Party attendees held at the Taipei Country Club every other Saturday from 11 am – 9 pm throughout the summer months. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first arrived especially when the words ‘country club’ evokes images of old men in stuffy polo shirts playing golf and smoking cigars. But as we approached the pool area, it looked like we were entering a hidden getaway high above the mountains in the Xinyi District that also offered a spectacular view of Taipei 101 in the distance.

Once inside, the scene can only be described as a very tame version of Wet Republic in Vegas, with the occasional children running around (country club members are allowed to use the pool during party hours as well) making the scene a tad bit awkward. There’s bumpin hip hop and dance music blaring from the DJ booth, water volleyball games already underway, ladies lounging on floating chairs, cookout food and of course, plenty of alcohol in plastic cups. The pool itself has 2 large sections separated, one for lounging around + waterslide and another for games. Besides a volleyball tournament, they also held their first annual chicken fight competition. I don’t think many locals are familiar with this game so were probably a bit surprised when they saw a few flyaway nipples. Eventually one of the few white chicks who participated was the winner. We left after the fight, just as the sun was setting against the skyline.

$250 for women and $350 for men will get you an entrance into the pool area as well as a free drink. For that price, it’s a pretty worthwhile way to spend a hot summer afternoon.

 

It’s beginning to look a lot like summer here in Taipei; with temperature usually around 93 degrees and 80-90% humidity days, my voracious appetite has slowly been weaning. With my NYU friend Lucy in town last weekend, we decided to try a new popular restaurant called Oyster Ichi for dinner. I figure that some chilled oysters and light seafood should cool us down a bit. We all started off with 3 each (a pricey $200 NT/oyster). None of us are connoisseurs so we graciously allowed our waiter to select them for us. Each one was perfectly prepared and extremely fresh; there was no brine in any one of them and the waiter even shucked them for us at the table. After our starter came a complimentary rice and beef dish and a skewered lamb platter. My favorite was the crispy chicken bites dipped in a raw egg sauce and the not too heavy tomato and seafood based risotto. Overall it was a great dining experience and the wait staff was extremely helpful but it was very pricey. For 3 people, it came out to around $1,500 NT per person.

We didn’t want to overload on our dinner since we had Luxy’s annual White Party to attend that same evening held at the same warehouse like space where Halloween Massive was held. The headlining DJs that evening were BT, Marco V and Richard Durand but I particularly liked a local DJ called J-Six who did an awesome mash up of Florence and the Machine’s “You’ve Got the Love” and “Howl”. This party was extremely fun because it was mandatory for everyone to be dressed in white. There were those who went all out who went so far as to dress up as angels with wings, even guys dared to break out white pants. Everyone was particularly excited when the Ibiza girls got up on stage and on a podium near us wearing next to nothing blinged out undergarments.

For those who want to attend next year, I highly suggest buying pre-sale tickets ($800) and getting there by 9:30 pm. When we arrived at 10 pm, the line had wrapped around the entire venue already and we had heard that it was estimated that 10,000 tickets were sold. We didn’t end up staying the entire night but for those who love trance and rave music, this was the party of the summer.

This past weekend I went back to Puli to visit my grandma and my adorably chubby 4 month old cousin Hunter. It’s always enjoyable to spend a weekend away from the mugginess and pollution of Taipei and to relish in the greenery that covers the majority of the island. As it was Garry’s first time in Puli, I had to find something entertaining to keep him amused. Coincidentally my cousin who lives there had heard from his friend that a Transformers “exhibit” recently opened nearby. Even though we heard it was not worth the 30 NT admission fee, we were still curious enough to see for ourselves. Located on the side of the highway, the “exhibit” is actually the little junkyard of a man, who I’m assuming is a local mechanic. He lives and works in a freight container inside the exhibit and started creating little robots made from car parts. And to capitalize on the success of the recently released Tranformers: Dark Side of the Moon, he started creating some of the key characters solely with car parts. The exhibit itself was quite small but I was very impressed with the size and detail of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.

Since the exhibit took all of 20 min. to explore, we drove around Puli stopping at some sites I had never seen before like a house that was tilted on its side from the 9/21 earthquake and the epicenter of Taiwan.

 

During my very short 4 day trip back to the states, I spent 2 days visiting friends in NYC and also rushed up to NH early on Saturday morning to spend some time with my family. My mom had planned a big bbq for me on the Sunday before the 4^th and invited the entire family over for some burgers, hot dogs, home cooked Chinese food and alcohol. Besides the yummy food and drinks, I was so excited to see all my baby cousins who despite being shy, eventually all warmed up to me after picking blueberries in my mom’s garden and painting toenails. I also spent quality time with my parents catching up while playing mahjong. July also happens to be the birthday month of 3 of my cousins so to celebrate, we got the prerequisite poopa cake aka ice cream cake and guests also brought a chocolate cake and fruit tart for those who aren’t fans of ice cream. After dinner, my brother and his friends set off our own little firework show in our backyard. It was everything I wanted my 3^rd of July to be.

NYC is absolutely magical around the fourth of July. Everyone is eagerly anticipating getting off early on Friday, preparing for BBQs and strategizing which seats have the best view of the many fireworks that are set off around the island. I was particularly excited to be able to spend an itinerary packed day running around basking in the buzz of the frenetic energy of the city. What made it even better was the wonderful sunny, humidity free weather we had that day.

The Met: Hoping to beat the crowds, I rushed to the Met as soon as I left the apartment to wait in line for the highly touted Alexander McQueen exhibit “Savage Beauty”. Even though I arrived at 10:30, I still had to wait an hour before I was allowed in. Unfortunately, I was unable to take any pictures while inside but trust me when I say it is definitely worth it if you are a fan of fashion and art. It is a concisely curated 100 piece exhibit that includes McQueen’s infamous “bumster” trouser to his alien platform shoes from his Spring 2010 collection. The clothing is grouped into thematic rooms complete with music and videos from his previous shows as well as specially designed headpieces and accessories. Even if you don’t fully comprehend McQueen’s designs, you can at least appreciate the craftsmanship and detail that goes into every piece. After the exhibit, I spent another hour revisiting some of my favorite areas in the museum, which include the Rooftop Garden, The Temple of Dendur, The New American Wing, Medieval Armor and the Greek Statues.

 
M3 Bus: If it’s a nice day and you have the time, I recommend taking the public bus to get around the city. There is a perfect route that goes from the Met directly to the East Village that goes down 5th Avenue past the fancy department stores various NYC landmarks.

 
Momofuku BarBar: I met up with my East Village dining partner Nikko at Momofuku’s recently opened duck centric restaurant BarBar that took over the old Milk Bar space for lunch. The décor was slightly renovated, all the glass counters that used to stock sweets were removed and replaced with handsome wood but it still retained the same casual atmosphere as the Milk Bar. Nikko was starving and ordered the rotisserie duck over rice with lettuce and chive pancake while I got the duck sandwich with spicy mayo and peppadews and Sprecher root beer. Both items were extremely filling and the duck was nicely cooked throughout and another plus is that it’s a cheaper alternative than Momofuku Ssäm or Ko.

Sei Tomoko 13th St.: I’m going to give a quick plug to my reliable hair salon in NYC. I’ve been going to them since I was a junior in college and have never been disappointed once. Each appointment lasts approximately an hour and includes wash/massage/cut and blow dry. They are particularly skilled with Asian hair since all the stylists are Japanese. The best part is the price that usually ranges from $35-60, a bargain in a city of $100 haircuts.

The Standard Grill: One of the latest additions to the ever expanding Meatpacking District, this restaurant/bar is conveniently located under the first section of the Highline. Just a warning, the absolute largest party they will accommodate is 7 people. We tried squeezing 9 and two of our dining companions had to sit at a romantic table a stone’s throw away. The food is typical American fare; I ordered the Alaskan Black Cod while my friends tried the bass, steak and burger and we all split the “The Deal Closer” a massive bowl of chocolate mousse and whipped cream and the rhubarb crostata with cinnamon ice cream and strawberries. To be honest, the food was ok but not one of the more memorable meals that I’ve had in the city. I think the restaurant is popular mainly for the beautiful people watching.

Rainbow City/The Lot on Tap: The Highline welcomes it’s first beer bar by Tom Colicchio’s. The outdoor bar seats about 350 people and has a few food trucks for those who get hungry after a long day of drinking. There isn’t a huge variety of beverages but prices are reasonable; the only major downfall is that it closes at 11 pm, the same time as the Highline. Situated nearby was the AOL sponsored art installation called Rainbow City. I’m still not sure what it was about but it was fun to revisit my childhood bouncing against colorful inflatable objects. For more information, visit their official site http://www.aolartists.com/rainbowcity.

The Park: This spacious bi-level lounge/club brings back memories of my graduation week in college where we danced till the wee morning and fell thigh deep into the stinky feet infested Jacuzzi water. The tub is no longer there but the good music, creepsters and strict dress code still remain. The Park was also the setting for the early beginning of the Cyn/Jay relationship that eventually blossomed to a recent engagement. We might have fallen under the older demographic that night but we could still party until 3 am like we were 22 again.