New York Getaway

After we left Baltimore, we drove to Cherry Hill which took maybe 3 hours or so. We were only stopping by our place because we were then on our way to New York City. Once we were ready we drove to Hamilton train station and caught the New Jersey Transit train. It only costs $15 each way and you don't have to worry about traffic and parking and all the rest. We made the most of the opportunity for resting and slept most of the way. We knew it was going to be a big weekend.

When we arrived we walked from Penn station to Chelsea which is Downtown. We stopped at a great little cafe called Koffecake Corner where I had the best Almond Croissant ever. In case you were wondering, previously the honour of that title was held in my opinion by the tiny coffee stand in Sydney's Central station near the Elizabeth Street exit. 

Then being refuelled and ready to go we arrived at our hosts' house and were welcomed with a glass of wine that was pretty much kept constantly refilled for the duration of our stay.

That night we went to dinner at Uncle Boons, a kitsch little Thai eatery which was absolutely lovely. We ordered the Laab Neuh Gae or Spicy chopped Lamb salad with mint, pickled onion, cucumber, chillies, & toasted rice powder. This is the spiciest dish on the menu. It came with a severe warning / disclaimer from the waiter and everything. I honestly would rate the spice level as mild, but according to our hosts there is not much a very high spice level in NY. From my experience things are not so spicy throughout the East Coast either. But I digress... The larb went beautifully with the sticky rice. Something I never pair together usually but I enjoyed very much. 

Laab Neuh Gae

We also had the Kao Pat Pu or Traditional crab fried rice with egg, cilantro and lime. The crab meat in this salad was so juicy and all the dishes were generous portions. We also got the Pet Palo or crispy duck leg in soy anise broth with caramelised tangerine, Chinese broccoli and duck egg - because I can never say no to duck, as my dad says "once you try duck, you can never go back to chicken".

Uncle Boons

We also ordered the Massaman Neuh or boneless beef ribs with Massaman curry, potato, red onion, peanut, and green peppercorn. Who doesn't love a good Massaman? No one, that's who! Lovingly marinated and slow cooked meat that melts in your mouth, with the little peanut cruch... mmmmm... I love it! Oh and don't forget to order a side of Roti bread to mop up all that beautiful sauce. Go on, get in there ;-)

Besides all the amazing food they also have a varied and quirky drink list. The boys were kept happy with the Beer Slushies (yes really!) while I opted for the Singapore Sling. Even this classic cocktail got the Bangkok treatment as you can see below.

Singapore Sling

In the end what made Uncle Boon's such a great little experience besides amazing food and drink options (which should not be underrated), was the overwhelming care that went into ensuring that you get the full Thai experience of being welcomed into the family. The restaurant feels like an embodiment of a Thai family them and their quirky spirit. 

At this point we were well fed and watered, our host suggested we walk over to a sweet little bar that he knew which was a few blocks away. This was New York speak for about a 20 minute walk, but I love walking so I was not complaining. Also, after all that Thai food, it was really nice to walk it off :-)

We eventually made it to The Eddy where we all sat down at a cosy little table together. Our male host and myself ordered the mulled wine which was beautiful, though the fact that it was served in a fine china teacup and saucer was a source of ire for our poor host. I thought it was perfect. Our lady host ordered the Crazy 88 which came complete with a fan and parasol! Tim ordered Frances the Mute which is like a fizzy eggnog I think, but they serve it without a straw so it was hilarious to watch him try to guzzle it down without one, surprisingly it was quite the challenge. We were actually having so much fun at our table talking, laughing and playing with the drink props provided that the table next to us got a little jealous and decided to order a round of the Crazy 88 and the Frances the Mute to join in the fun :-) I really loved this place and would recommend it to anyone. We left when they were closing and decided that maybe that would do for our first night. It was 3am when we were leaving so we didn't do too bad.

The next morning we woke up at about 11 am. Not wanting to disturb our lovely hosts who were still asleep, we set off to explore a little on our own. First Tim took me to Blue Bottle coffee shop. This is a lovely boutique style coffee shop. You can see in the picture below how they developed their own drip coffee cup filter which is really cute. As I prefer espresso coffee, I decided to skip this house speciality and get a latte. The barista made a perfect coffee for me but sadly I did not enjoy the spicy twist in their blend. Tim did order the house speciality of course (he loves suggestions!) which was the drip coffee and he LOVED it. He is the biggest coffee snob out of the two of us too. He used to work in coffee so he always brings the coffee-speak to the table and it has rubbed off on me over time hehe.

Blue Bottle Coffee

Next up was Chelsea Market which is literally across the road from Blue bottle coffee. We headed over with our takeaway coffee and had some Tuck Shop which was amazing. After a night out nothing beats a good Aussie Pie and a coffee for breakfast! The funny thing was that our host did the same thing some 2 hours later when he finally woke up without our even knowing. I had a delicious Guinness Steak and Mushroom pie, yummy! Tim had a special pulled pork.

Tuck Shop

Visitors should be warned that there is very limited seating in Chelsea Market. We couldn't find a seat but managed to squeeze into a corner of some stairs without blocking the thoroughfare which was a major score - the weekends are SUPER busy. We walked through a little and there are so many cute little shops and even an actual Etsy market. As in the website, my mind was a little blown. They also have an Anthropology store that we browsed a little and were given free water bottles in. I love that shop but currently I'm on a budget so it was browsing only *sigh*

Chelsea Market

When we finally left the market we went to explore the High Line which was ok, but I find it is an exaggeration to call it a tourist attraction. It's a walkway for goodness sakes.... The day we were there was a sunny winter's day. We have been here in winter for what feels like an eternity so it was good to be getting some Vitamin D. The thing is it was so busy you kind of had to walk single file pressed up against people, like marching in the Korean People's Army. That is not so pleasant in my mind. I can't even imagine in the warmer weather or peak tourist season how ridiculously crowded it must get.

So we walked to the end and slowly made our way towards Midtown. This was not Tim's first time in NYC but he had avoided this part of town to explore it with me. It started off nice enough, though very cold of course. I had on my snow jacket thank goodness or I don't know how I would have survived it.

It was at about this point in the city near the Macy's that we saw a girl dressed in all brown with reindeer antlers that jingled. Tim and I both said at the same time "she really loves Christmas" and then had a bit of a giggle. But not long after we saw a group of girls dressed like elves, we commented that they were all probably going to the same Christmas party. Then we saw a group of guys dressed like Santa, but we didn't think too much of it. It was December in New York, it didn't seem too far fetched. But as we got closer to Times Square we started seeing more and more people dressed like this. We could no longer dismiss it. Also it was quickly going from kinda cute to scary. All the people that were dressed up were quite young and they walked around in packs. I am sure that that area is the busiest at any time of year but with all these hundreds of 'Santas' there was not even room on the side walk and people were spilling onto the busy road. But the part that made them scary was that most of them were intoxicated - at about midday mind you, so I can't imagine what a mess they would be by the night. Also, they were not dressed like jolly happy Santa, but sleazy, dirty versions and skanky elves. It was all very disturbing. We just wanted to get away from those horrible pushing Santas at this point and we realised that we were in the WORST part of the city if you are looking for somewhere to eat. Every single place was packed out. So we turned around and headed downtown again.

Along the way we found a hole in the wall place with Thai and Sushi. Normally I would not eat in a mixed up lot place like this but we were getting desperate by this time, not just to eat but to find a place away from the crowd. This place was had lots of empty tables which for once was a godsend. The food was incredibly cheap and almost impossibly pretty ok. 

It was just nice to get warm again. While we were there we decided to finally Google why there were so many damn Santas around. It turns out it is a thing called Santacon, which is like a Santa piss up really, so exactly what I suspected from the start. If you Google it, they claim to be a charity but, none of those individuals is doing it for charity.... They even have to make a rule that Santa's should be nice to children and not make them cry... Like I said, Santacon is horrible! So it was funny that being so out of it by this point from being up so late the night before and tired from walking around in Baltimore for the last two days, I had not noticed a whole table of Santa's was behind me! Tim was laughing when I saw them, he already calls me Grinch because I hate Christmas songs and my distaste for these Santas just really set him off.

So after lunch we meandered down towards Chelsea, stopping at a the Salvos (Salvation Army Store). I scored big time, buying a henley longsleeve shirt, a stripped tee dress, an oversized jumper and the most fabulous hat that I hardly want to ever take off now. It cost be all of $18.00 for everything *score*. So we I happily headed back to our hosts place. We were on our way to Brooklyn that night for a trimming party. What is a trimming party? Well none of us Aussies had any idea actually. Some scandalous suggestions were thrown around (what exactly would they be trimming?) but we really did not know what we were in for at all.

Rather than heading to the party we decided we should really take this opportunity to head into Crif Dogs and boy was I glad we did. I had the Jon-Jon Deragon which is a hot dog topped with sour cream, shallots and everything bagel seeds. The boys had the Chihuahua; Philly Tubesteak and chillidog hehe. So that was a great little stop :-)

We then hopped into another cab, and god are the drivers crazy there. I lived in China for six months so I thought I knew crazy drivers, but these guys were bordering on reckless. I was full on covering my eyes and sometimes even gasping in horror as we narrowly scraped by some really tight spots. I thought I had gotten into a cab not the 3D screening of Drive 3 for goodness sakes!!Whatever, we did manage to make it to the party in one piece, phew!

So we got there and there was a TWO-STOREY Christmas Tree!!!! We were having a Christmas Tree trimming party. This tree belonged in a department store. In fact the guys had asked the delivery boys if it was the biggest tree they had done, they said "We did one that was bigger, but that was for a town". As in the town tree people. I could not believe it. Also, as I mentioned eariler I do have some Grinch tendencies so I was not sure how this would go. We did have a lovely time, the guys were incredible hosts and we really loved the warm cider and the yummy hors d'oeuvres. It was all great until someone jumped on a keyboard and lyric books were passed around. Suddenly I was in the middle of a Carolling Christmas Party, ugh! I did not sign up for that. After a seemingly endless session full of enthusiasm and some Broadway worthy performances (I was a little impressed despite myself), karaoke Xmas hour was thankfully over and it was time for us to order a car to take us back to the city. 

Our host arranged an Uber which would be my first time using their service. We got into the man's car and he was incredibly a safe driver, very different to all our NYC cabs so far. Everything was great until BAM!!! We got hit from behind. It was so scary and everyone was pretty freaked out. We very quickly ascertained that we were all unharmed so that was good. Our driver walked out to speak to the idiot that hit us. Straight away the guy was trying to blame our poor driver. Lucky we were all witnesses and our host gave our driver our details if he wanted to take the guy to court and we quickly hailed a yellow cab. In the end we saved about $40 or more, so there is always a bright side.

So we had finally arrived at our 1:00 am dinner reservation at Takashi for delicious late night Ramen. Let me start by saying that before going here I did not actually like Ramen. I don't know if it was because the restaurants I had been to before were bad (they were a little shady come to think of it) or if this restaurant served incredibly good Ramen, but bottom line is we all loved it. Have a look at their cute little menu, this was actually the highlight meal for me from the trip. I was also persuaded to get the Crispy Beef Intestines which I really didn't want. They are served on the side, but as soon as I tried a little, I quickly tipped the whole bowl in. I don't even eat Intestines. You all need to try this place if you can.

Ramen Menu

The next morning was Sunday and our final day. We walked to Maysville for Brunch which is a place that ticks all the boxes. I ordered the Maysville Brunch which came with home made doughnuts, the Crispy Grits and a Bloody Mary for onlu $26. It was great and my grits were so fancy and nice. But the thing is after so many great places it was almost underwhelming. Just a little too standard Brunch if you know what I mean.

The Maysville

After the Maysville we were going head back to New Jersey but our hosts persuaded us to go to one last stop. This was Barcade and it was a whole lot of fun. Tim and I killed it on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle machine while enjoying a beer and cider respectively. We also tried the Indiana Jones, Donkey Kong and others I had never seen before. Our host being an 80s kid, was very excited by them, I was born in the late 80s so many of them went over my head. Wether you grew up playing these games or not it is a great little spot for all over 21s to enjoy.

So that concluded our trip, we then caught the train back, very exhausted but very satisfied. It was a great trip to the city and I especially liked staying with a local.

Pan de Leche

Pan de Leche 

or Spanish Sweet Milk Rolls

These little beauties have just the right hint of sweet to them with a lovely crusted top. They smell divine too. They are super easy to make and won't take all day either! The only challenge is not eating the whole tray before anyone gets home hehe.

Enjoy plain, with sweet or with savory toppings. These are amazing for morning tea, pinics, lunch with dinner, or for any occasion really. They are a great lunchbox addition as they have no nasty additives and the kids love them. I like mine with fancy cheese and ham or else with jam and a little dollop of greek yoghurt (which is a great alternative to cream)

Ingredients

1.5 cups almond milk or any milk you prefer

4 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup or maple syrup

4 cups whole wheat flour or any flour you prefer

1 packet yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Instructions

First place the coconut oil, honey and syrup in a saucepan on low heat until the mixture is lukewarm.

Next mix the flour, yeast, salt and fennel seeds in a large bowl until well combined. 

Slowly add the milk mixture into the flour mix. Depending on the flour used you may not need to use all of the milk mixture. Using your hands, mix until the dough is smooth and elastic. If it is too wet and sticks to your hands simply add a little flour at a time until the right consistency is reached. 

Once you are happy with the consistency place the mixture in a large bowl greased with coconut oil and cover. Allow the mixture to double in size which will take approximate an hour. 

Now you can preheat the oven to 220C. Divide the mixture into about 8-12 pieces. Shape each piece like a bread bun and place into a greased bread pan or deep tray. Grease the side of each roll with a little coconut oil using a brush before placing one next to it. Fit rolls tightly into tray.

Allow rolls to grow in pan for approximately 15mins. Brush the top of the rolls with a little milk and place in oven. Allow breads to brown for approximately 30-45 mins. 

Lychee Beef Stir Fry

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I love it when you get a good idea and you just know it is going to work. Sometimes I get these little stokes of creativity and I just HAVE to do them.

This is what happened with this recipe. I was looking through the pantry cupboard and saw a can of lychees that I had bought at the Asian supermarket in Philly with my sister. I had a can just like this one in Sydney that I had purchased on impulse but never gotten around to using. I was always hopeful about it though. I guess that is what compelled me to buy a can to replace that one I had to give away when I came to the USA.

So there it was sitting in my cupboard minding its own business when I spotted it and suddenly BAM! I had an idea. Now it's happened to me before that I come up with what I think is a great idea except that when I tell someone about it, it turns out that it is already a 'thing'. An idea is no good if it's already spread around this internet thingy. So I got smart about it and googled it. Can you believe that there was nothing like it! This did deter me momentarily as I wondered why no one else had done it or at least shared it, maybe the flavours wouldn't work together? But then I just knew it would be delicious and so that is how this recipe came to be. 

So here it is for you to enjoy!

Recipe: Lychee Beef Stir Fry

Ingredients

250 grams beef mince

6-8 small shallots

2 garlic cloves

1 yellow capsicum (any colour is ok, this is what I had in the fridge ;-)

1 can of baby corn, fresh is good too

1/2 a can of lychees, drained. If fresh peel and de-seeded.

1/2 - 1 tablespoon of ginger

1 small fresh chilli (optional)

1 lime
1 small bunch of coriander, leaves only, chopped

1 tablespoon of oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Salt 

Method

Wash and finely dice the shallots, discarding the roots and the top floppy green part.

Peel the garlic discarding the tops and ends, and slice finely.

Wash and finely dice the capsicum, discarding the tops, seeds and white pith.

                               

Open the canned baby corn,discard liquid, rinse and chop into bite sized pieces. 

                  

 

 Open the canned lychee, separate and keep the liquid (it's delicious and can be used in many recipes) and put aside the reaming of the fruit for future use. Shred lychees using a knife or your hands.

Peel and finely slice the ginger.

Finely slice the chili

 In a large fry pan or wok heat the oil. Once heated add the capsicum and allow to softened, about 1-2 minutes. Then stir in the half the shallots, garlic, ginger allow to soften and steam for approx 1 minute.

                 

    

At this point, add the minced beef. Break up and stir fry the meat.

Add the cumin and some salt and mix well

 Once the meat had browned add the corn and the lychee, cook until softened 

 Squeeze half a lime over the dish.

Serve each plate topped with the chopped coriander and a small lime wedge and some chopped shallots.

Enjoy on its own for a light lunch or with rice as a heartier meal at dinner. 

Baltimore Day 2

My second day in Baltimore was a day of complete and unexpected fun. It stated at about 9am when we checked out of our Hotel and drove about a block to Towson Hot Bagels. The google review gave it a 4.7 out of 5 and they were not wrong!

When we first walked into the store we were followed by a carload of Baltimore cops, Tim and I both agreed that was a good sign when it comes to dough goods. We went up to the front counter a little intimidated by the myriad of options on the menu. I chose the first thing that jumped at me: the lox and cream cheese on black poppy seed. As you can see from the pics, they loaded it up! As my sister says, they put enough topping for a week's worth of sandwiches hehe

When we eat out, Tim loves to get recommendations from the staff, if there is a house speciality etc. The waiter said you cannot go pass the bagel with the lot, but he was just talking about the seed toppings. Then he asked for he wanted inside the bagel. Again Tim asked for a recommendation which was bacon and eggs. When Tim tried it he said it was "the breakfast food of champions".

After breakfast I dropped Tim off at the Baltimore Research building and I was just a short drive away from my main event, the Hampton National Historic Site. And lucky it was a short drive really, because I am still not used to driving in the USA.. Anyway, I had been wanting to visit a historic house on my travels to the Hudson Valley and also in Frederiksburg, Washington but for one reason or another I had not been able to, so I was very pleased when I realised I could go to Hampton.

As it turned out I arrived at precisely the right time. They were having one of their scheduled free tours of the house just as I got there and I thought *Winning*!

The house is set up so that each room tells the story of a different generation of the Ridgely's. Starting with the first Ridgely master in the Parlour which is set up as it was when he lived there. He had the house commissioned, in the Georgian style of the time, so the house is mainly symmetrical or open book styled. As you can see from the photos it looks the same from the front as from the back.

Then we went down to my favourite room: the kitchen. It was considered a very modern kitchen for the time. It had an early days conceptual oven and stove and was set up with pretend food that I am sure my mum would have secretly wanted to play with if she was there with me (she has a thing for pretend food!). Personally, I loved the simplicity of it, and would love something in a similar vein, just with an updated stove.

Next was the very opulent dinning room. It had imported French wallpaper depicting scenes from the Champs Elysees and was set up for a Christmas Dinner. It was arranged as it was when the second master Ridgely lived there. I thought it was amazing that 95% of the furniture/ carpets/ wallpaper etc are original Ridgely pieces. The others are genuine antiques from the era to represent what would have been there. They have done a great job with restoring the house and decorating it.






Following this we went through the entryway and stopped to admire some of the art. There is a reproduction of the painting of Eliza Ridgely "Lady with a Harp" on display where it once hung. The original was sold to the National Art Gallery some time ago. There were many beautiful portraits of the family members throughout the house. I loved the lady above the antique chairs (shown on the left). Her son went on to become the ambassador to Italy and was one of the main authors of the treaty of Versailles. They also dressed him up as a little girl in him portrait, so there you go :-)



From there we moved onto the extremely opulent drawing room. This room did not really attract me as the others did, but it does serve to reflect the changing fashion and the changing times. It was very avant garde, and connoting gaudiness in my humble opinion but luckily the rest of the house was not preserved in this fashion.

We then made our way upstairs and peeked into the master bedroom which has a much more reserved country mannor feel. The house was originally built as the summer home of the Ridgely's and you certainly got that impression here.

Next to this was another lovely room, mainly used as a guest bedroom. I especially loved the vintage bedspread and the little knick-knacks besides it, as well as the monogrammed throw blanket and Turkish rug. And what about that darling ridding coat.

Then came a very sweet Bedroom, set up from when it had belonged to a little girl called Didey Ridgely. They had it set up with period dolls and even Didey's original books on the study. It was very charming. Maybe it was sweet because our guide spoke about her like a grandfather would of his grandchild and it made her seem more real than the other figures.

Finally the tour ended in the family Lounge room. It was also decorated for Christmas and was very lively. It was definitely alive with colour.

Once the tour was completed, our lovely guide explained that the house grounds and "home farm" were also open to the public. People normally walk around and explore but due to inclement weather probably today was not the day for it. Well I did not agree with him at all. I was there for about 4 hours walking exploring and taking photos.  The home farm was also by far my favourite part of the excursion. I very much enjoyed their interactive displays. There was a box which included the items of clothing slaves received. The women received one dress, petticoat, bonnet and shoes every six months. The men received trousers, a shirt, a coat and shoes every six months. And that is it, that is what they wore everyday. It is one thing to be told these things and another to feel the clothing in your hands. Especially on a cold winters day, standing in a tiny cabin that was the home to who knows how many slaves? That just impacts you a lot more than a history book ever could.

As I say I did a lot of exploring and took a LOT of photos. At one point I was walking up the hill from home farm to the Main House and it is a majestic view and I was reminded of when Elizabeth Bennet sees Pemberly for the first time. I guess Tim was just so glad that I did this excursion without him hehe. 

But the last thing I want to share is the ice house. Being so fabulously wealthy the Ridgely's could afford to have a special ice room on the grounds. Personally I love exploring underground caves so I thought it was a great little find that they don't tell you about but is just ad hoc exploration ground. Those stairs are steep and with the melting snow from the day before it was wet, which made it very realistic. 

So after a little more exploring I was getting very hungry. I had thought that I would go to a Japanese restaurant since there were quite a few in town, but actually I have to confess I went back to the amazing Vietnamese Pho from the day before. It was a freezing cold day, how could I choose sushi over delishious hot broth?! I love adding some chili paste to give it a smooth but pronouced kick ;-)

After lunch I had just enough time for a quick stop before going to pick up Tim from his work. Across the road from Pho Dat Thanh was a shop that had caught my eye the day before. It's called 10 Car: Clothing 4 the tragically hip. It was such an amazing place. Probably the only best thrift store I have been to so far except for Armstrongs Vintage Emporium in Edinburgh. Well worth a visit if you are in the area :-) 

So after a little browse but sadly no purchases I collected Tim and we embarked on our 3 hour return drive to Cherry Hill. We were only stopping by though because we were then straight off to New York city. But that is a story for another post. Thank you for making it this far in my adventures. I would love to hear of any comments or question from you!

Baltimore Day 1

Tim was sent on a bit of a last minute conference to Baltimore this Thursday and I decided to go along for the ride. 

First we were both a bit bummed since we had tickets to see the Ice Hockey match of the Philadelphia Flyers vs. the New Jersey Devils which we would miss out on. That would have been the perfect first hockey match since we are here between NJ and Philly! We did managed to sell the tickets though, so that became less of a worry and there is always next time. What can ya do?

So on the thursday morning we woke up and had some yummy/healthy/low GI oatmeal and were off to a good start to our day. Then low and behold it started to snow! When you are setting out on a roadtrip it's one of those times that the pretty snow can be a bit of a hindrance. Tim is a trooper though, and we got there without any major troubles or delays. 

Initially Tim was not selling the whole roadtrip to me by saying "Baltimore is a s@#&hole and you probably won't have anything to do there..." I was a bit surprised by his bleak outlook, especially since he has never even been to Baltimore, and was sure that he was wrong. Then I found out that we were not actually going to Baltimore city but to Towson (which I had never heard of). I was a little thrown but undeterred. I was very excited to just be getting out of the house really. When we arrived we realised that we were in a university town, which we loved! 

We stayed at the Towson University Marriott Conference Hotel which is just very lovely. It was under renovation but that did not affect our stay at all. The apartment is very spacious and has a comfy vibe to it. And the best part is probably the location. I was within walking distance to Towson Town Center Mall, heaps of great places to eat and lots, lots more.

In fact once we arrived it was about 2:30pm and the oatmeal had just about given out, we were starving! The good news is there was an awesome Vietnamese restaurant right near us called Pho Dat Thanh. Anyone who knows Tim and I, knows of our deep love and respect for Vietnamese food. It is in our opinion the best Lunch/Dinner/Breakfast/Hangover/Party/Snack/Diet/Indulgence food you can get! It's our go-to meal back in Sydney basically. So, I ordered a very delicious lunch special of Lemongrass Chicken on Rice which was just perfectly cooked and juicy. Tim had the Special Pho (surprise, surprise) which had tendon as well as beef balls and brisket which he just adored. We asked them to bring us some chili paste which they forgot about - as we were so hungry we kind of did too and just ate it without the chili and really that was no big problem. Then the bill came and it was $18.00 including the tip!! Can I get an I love Towson anyone! That was just the beginning and we were off to a great start :-)

At that point, Tim had to run off for his afternoon conference which was starting in 10mins. He made it with no problems by the way, and I was off on a shopping exploration adventure. 

I won't go into in too much detail but a good 4 hours passed before I could hardly feel my feet and decided to trek back through the snow to the hotel. On my way back in the darkness and the limited vision caused by my furry hood and scarf wrapped over my face for warmth I somehow managed to spot an Arts shop called Plaza Artist Materials & Picture Framing. I was so happy! I had just decided to get back into watercolour painting and had been on the lookout for an art supply store. Since I am travelling at the moment I also just wanted some cheap beginners stuff rather than top of the line. I managed to get a 24 colour palette, three brushes and a 12 page watercolour book for $19, again what a steal. Tim was dully impressed when I showed him and asked me to go back the next day to buy him some brushes too! So on that high I made it back to the hotel but was too worn out to go to drinks with Tim's colleagues. Instead I just enjoyed relaxing in the warm room and getting an early night.