The blog has been quiet lately, because we’ve mostly been in the office and off the streets. But, that’s not to say we haven’t had some fun in the six weeks since we’ve arrived in New York. Here are the highlights.
We made our first major purchase as a married couple (not counting all the plane tickets we’ve bought so far). Who knew couch shopping could be so stressful fun?
Grocery shopping has been a bit challenging.
No, it’s not that we have to carry our bags, it’s that prices are absurd. Some NY grocery stores are beautiful and gourmet with aisles and aisles of chocolate and other delicious foods. Then on the other hand, there are itty bitty grocery stores that don’t have much to choose from and what they do have is not so quality. Whichever category of store you choose, the prices are at least 30% more than Denver prices — maybe even twice as much as what we’re used to.
But oh well. We heart NYC, and think its kind of cute that the diapers are right next to the sodas.
We made a new friend, thanks to Facebook.
Remember that video of me in Singapore where I was eating creamed corn on dessert? (Click here for a reminder). Well, not long ago I received a message on Facebook from a woman named Kirsty who said she didn’t know me, but Facebook recommended me as a friend. She had no idea why that would be, but she did recognize me from that silly corn-eating video.
You can read more about the incident over at her blog, Nerdy Nomad.
Anyway, we were lucky enough to have lunch with Kirsty (even though we still have no idea why Facebook wants us to be friends), because she is spending some time in New York too. What a treat to meet someone who travels and works like we do, and someone who hearts New York like we do too.
Jason took us on our very own walking tour of Soho.
We took a gander at several of the caste iron buildings in the area and enjoyed all the people watching and window shopping too. Who said you can’t live in a place and be tourists at the same time?
And then, of course, we are lucky enough to be around a lot of great friends. Here we are after an awesome pizza dinner with Alli and Larissa. Look at all those drinks! We must’ve been thirsty.
In a previous post, I talked about how we found an apartment on the Upper East Side, and then I posted a couple of pictures of the neighborhood. The pictures posted were not of our apartment building, but of quintessential Upper East Side scenery.
I wasn’t clear about that so a lot of you thought you were looking at our apartment, but you weren’t. This is our apartment…
I think that might even be our mailman too.
It’s not bad news, but things are probably going to change. Ever since we signed up for the new Google phone, it’s become evident that most of our photos will now be taken with our phones.
Just like this picture taken of Jason on our third day in New York (and our third day of eating pizza, I’d like to add).
The Google Android phone has made navigating NYC super easy. We have maps and Internet directions right at our fingertips. Top that off with one of the coolest desktops I’ve ever had on a phone. Every 30 minutes my screen updates to show a new Web cam photo taken from somewhere in the world Universe. I took a picture of my phone (with our actual camera even) to show you. The image you see on the phone is from a Web cam at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center that is snapping shots of the sun.
I love this thing.
You’re probably thinking: geez, this sounds like an ad. Well, it is.
If you have a Google Android or are thinking about getting one, then buy all your accessories from Amazon. I’d suggest you try out the Google G1 Android Phone Mega Accessories Bundle
For those that click on this link and purchase from Amazon, we will make a small commission. Any money we make on this blog helps us keep up our travels and our blog, so thank you in advance for your support.
First Unbelievable Fact
There are millions of people who live in Manhattan. I know five people and managed to see one randomly on the street. On our second day of apartment shopping we turned a corner and, lo’ and behold, my good friend Romona was walking right for us.
Now, I knew Romona lived in New York, but I didn’t know where. Turns out she lives just a block and half away from us now.
This is the same Romona who in high school had a locker right next to mine. We also walked right next to one another at our high school graduation, and then that same summer at CU’s freshman orientation we roomed together by coincidence too.
Here’s to having last names that start with “Mu.” And of course, to finding nice apartments in the same NY neighborhood — the Upper East Side.
Second Unbelievable Fact
Pedicures are a steal. I think this is one of the few things that will actually be cheaper here. Only $23 and that includes a manicure too!
Third Unbelievable Fact
Our wedding song was “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys. Now, this song is nice and lovely for a wedding, but there’s actually no particular reason we chose it except that it’s one of the few songs we both like. Our tastes in music are entirely too different.
The coincidental thing here is that apparently Alicia Keys filmed a video right here in the courtyard of our apartment building.
We weren’t there for the filming, of course, but the locksmith told Jason so it must be true.
Fourth and Fifth Unbelievable Facts
You pretty much have to hire a broker to find an apartment in Manhattan. It’s still not something I’m all that comfortable with. I mean, we’re renters and we might as well have been buying an apartment with all the paperwork and background checking we went through.
What’s more — we met with three different brokers, none of whom we were all that wild about. And guess what? We have run in to all three of them at one time or another. Again, out of millions of people and it was awkward every time too.
Creative Commons Image Credit: EdenPictures and Damek
Since returning to the States from Panama, we’ve been a little busy with work and getting our domestic lives back in order. But that’s not to say we haven’t had any fun.
Once in Denver we had quality time with Jason’s family and with friends. The big event was our friends Alex and Matt’s wedding. Here we are lookin’ good…
After a week or so in Denver, we made our way east to Iowa where we stayed with my parents for awhile. If a few years ago you had told me that I’d be living in my parents’ basement for three weeks at a time, I would’ve laughed at you. But we always have such a nice time when we’re there, and they make it so easy for us to work and SLEEP that it’s hard not to resist an extended stay.
Of course while we’re there we get to spend a lot of quality time with my nieces and nephew. Can you say baseball games and dance recitals? It was fantastic. Here is Sydney — 3 years old — on her tippy toes making Jason laugh.
After dozens of high-calorie Mid-Western meals, we got back in our truck and continued east. New York City was the final destination, but first we stopped in Baltimore to visit with my aunt and relax for an evening. Less than 24-hours later we were back in the truck and headed to New Jersey where we’d stay while looking for an apartment.
The hotel worked out great, but it was a little stressful with all of our belongings. Never fear though, we just packed it all in the cab and made a go of it. I’m happy to say that we had no problems in our cross-country drive or our 4-night stay in Newark.
Woo hoo! How lucky are we?
This is the last day of our international exploration. Today, we get on a plane in Panama City and return to Denver for a wedding and to get caught up on life and to see family too.
It’s a little sad to leave Panama, but it’s also exciting to think about the next leg of our trip. Although we’ll be in the States, our lives will be far from “normal” for the next couple of months. Once we get back we’ll have to dig through the storage unit, buy a car, and start to piece together our next set of travel plans. First stop Denver. Second stop Iowa. Third stop New York City.
You see, Jason and I have always planned on spending time in New York City. Originally, we were going to head there straight from Denver after Jason’s condo sold, but those plans morphed into something much bigger. Instead of one destination it’s now turned into 12.
New York was pushed off for a few reasons. First, we figured we didn’t have a mortgage so we might as well take advantage of our freelancer status and enjoy a little “telecommuting” in Asia. Once that was over, the timing worked out to meet my parents in Costa Rica. We liked it and so it just made sense to stay. Then, Panama sounded interesting so we thought we’d give that a try too. But now all that’s over.
Since this is my last post from abroad, I thought I’d recap some of the highlights from the last 10 months. It’s sort of amazing to think about all we’ve done.
- We’ve been to Aruba, Tahoe, Des Moines, China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, Hong Kong/Macau, San Francisco, Costa Rica, and Panama.
- We both turned 30.
- We have attended several weddings, including our own. Here’s Jason at our friends Kim and Kevin’s rehearsal dinner. Isn’t he handsome? That’s the bride there in the background. Sorry Kim — action shot.
- I spilled a glass of water on one laptop and we have failing hard drives in two others.
- I only had two injuries to speak of. The first in Aruba when I got into some nasty coral and the second was in Costa Rica where I took on a big rock with my shins.
- Took thousands of pictures and hundreds of them with silly faces.
- Dozens of near-death traffic accidents.
- Two free upgrades to first class…now that’s living.
- One possible food poisoning event.
- Have worn the same clothes over and over and over again. Including this purple t-shirt, which you probably recognize from almost all the pictures.
- Only one accidental mooning.
- Worked very hard.
- Fell in love with a brand of coffee in almost every country (sorry China).
- Walked through several of the stinkiest streets in the world (once again, sorry China, but your fish markets stink!).
- Eaten some of the best and some of the worst food of our lives.
- We’ve met some amazing people.
- I bought and wore out four pairs of flip flops.
- No serious sun burns.
- Eaten 82 meals (including breakfast) that involved some kind of rice and bean combination.
- Not a single case of theft, but we were overcharged countless times.
- We grew to really miss our friends and to be super happy when the joined us on our travels.
- Lost two ATM cards, had one ATM card expire, and made four consecutive trips to the ATM before said expiration to make sure we didn’t run out of cash during our last 3 weeks of travel:).
- Rode an elephant and an ox cart and never need to do it again.
- Saw 4 different kinds of monkeys, and scorpions, tarantulas, and countless types of lizards.
- Speaking of lizards, Jason killed two of them.
- We never saw a toucan:(
- Jason and I had a lot of fun together. Who said couples can’t live together, work together, travel together, and still like to hang out?
Part I – Metropolitan Park
In case you were wondering, this is me doing the “bird watching pose” at the Parque Natural Metropolitano in Panama City. According to Frommer’s, this is the only protected tropical forest within the city limits of a major urban area in the Americas. As a side note, and just in case you were wondering this as well, my blond highlights are real.
While this was a nice hike and a nice afternoon break, our bird watching was not all that successful. I think bird watching may be one of the most difficult sports I’ve done. You hear them, but they’re darn near impossible to see — especially in the rain forest with all that foliage.
But it wasn’t entirely fruitless. We did manage to see a few birds and even the infamous “Jesus Christ Lizard” who ran over a little pond as we finished up our hike.
This is a red-headed woodpecker that Jason managed to get a shot of.
Part II – The Non-Bird Watching Part
On Saturday we went to Panama Viejo, which is a part of town where you can find the ruins of the “oldest capital city in the Americas.” I could go into the details of the history here, but Wikipedia will be much more informative and accurate. Suffice it to say that Captain Henry Morgan came here in the 1600s and destroyed the city. After that, the survivors relocated to Casco Viejo, the other “old town” in Panama City. The good news is that many of the old ruins remain.
It rained in the middle of our tour so Jason and I played an impromptu game of cherades in the old cathedral. Here he is looking for birds.
Part III – Soberania National Park
A few days after our in-town bird watching trip, we drove out of town to Gamboa where you’ll find a rain forest and Gatun Lake — the man made lake that allows all those ships to pass through Panama. We got up nice and early so we could see the much-heralded toucan, but like I mentioned before … there are no toucans in Central America.
We did, however, see a lot of amazing sights. We climbed up a 90-foot tower to look at the tip tops of trees and we hiked down several paths to find monkeys, leaf cutter ants, and other fun jungle creatures.
This is Gatun Lake – quite a sight.
I’m not sure what is in the air here, (it is the world’s largest urban jungle after all) but something makes me itch in Panama City.
I’m on day 7 of Clarityne and day 5 of benadryl and not much is helping. I’m best off wearing jeans and long-sleeved t-shirts to prevent the crazy itching I’ve got going on.
Anyway … I know you don’t care about that and neither do I really.
What I really care about is the fact that this whole “toucan” claim that Central Americans make every chance they get, is actually a big scam.
There are no toucans here. I’ve looked everywhere. I’ve officially put toucans in the same category as unicorns and leprechauns.
And don’t be leaving any comments here about how you’ve seen all kinds of toucans. I’ve heard the stories and even seen the pamphlets. I still don’t believe it.
On the other hand, Panama and Costa Rica do have an abundance of humming birds. These little guys are loud! And fast!
Recently, Natalie from the Nomad Backpackers blog reached out to us for a virtual interview about our telecommuting lifestyle.
Of course we were honored, and of course we participated. If you’d like to read the whole Q&A, head on over to Nomad Backpackers and read the Our New Office interview.
Natalie even makes a reference to tiny bananas. In case you haven’t already heard, they are delicious.
1 – You hear the non-stop sound of honking horns and car alarms.
2 – You can find bite-size-bananas; 18 for 50 cents. They are delicious.
3 – There are fireworks most nights right in the middle of the city. I’m talking big, exciting displays next door to the high-rise building we’re staying in.
4 – The Red Devils
5 – Coke out of the bottle. Also, delicious.
6 – Colorful handicrafts. It appears that all the random handicrafts in Panama are authentic, unlike a lot of other places we’ve visited.
7 – 49 cent beers
8 – Flowering trees and shrubs of all colors. The orange is my favorite.
