In a magical city, where time runs as fast as the people who walk on the streets. In a secret place on a street of Brooklyn everything stop for a moment. There is nothing more important that the love confession from one to another. Neither the time, nor the business of this magical place can stop the occasion to celebrate eternal love. We were just witnesses of the seal of love that was passing to another level. Love that will continue to evolve in many ways, in a corner, in a secret place of that magical city, anywhere and everywhere…
Its been almost 2 weeks since I haven’t had the time to sit and write anything of my travels stories, but I realize that everything I do is a travel story. My own travel story because life is a journey. Being a full-time employee, a full-time mom/taxi driver/chef/ everything else, a volunteer writer and director of the theater department of my church, a future wife ( in 16 days!!)fill my days of situations, encounters, joy, stress, happiness, sadness and many other feelings that travel could bring to our life.
Running against a deadline, lately my time has been compromise to my iPad, my imagination and Christmas. Every little space of time that I have on my working day I write a sentence or two. Listening to the songs over and over again to be sure my imagination grasp the essence of the message we want to send through that script.
Every year for Christmas I collaborate with the Performance Art Ministry of my church for the Christmas presentation. They pick the general idea and the songs, I write the script and put everything together with the actors. The results will be a Christmas musical where we will have dancers, musicians, singers, actors all together in a stage celebrating Christmas. Promoting the Good News!
Finally I finished the script two days ago and soon we will start the rehearsals, but first this next weekend we are going to a wedding in New York. I am pretty sure that some stories will come from that little trip.
After that the 17 of October 2014 Jorge and me (with my kids) will launch our new journey in life together. A life committed to each other. New projects will come, more stories to tell…
The 19 of October we will leave to Genoa for a 10 days cruise in the Mediterranean, so you know of what I am going to be writing in the next few months!!! 🙂
Riding our bikes while listening to birds singing beautiful, coordinated melodies. I can smell the strawberries from the Strawberry field from the distance. We parked our bikes and pick some of the berries… We continue our bike ride, the fresh wind caress my face and hair. Where ever I looked, people are smiling and they look as happy as we are. The sun is shining with glory but not too hot, so our day looks clear and perfect. Families all together playing on the park, a couple having a romantic picnic over the green, emerald grass. The sound of the city disappears with the distraction of nature, the smell of flowers, the glowing pond and lakes… The Castle enchanted the moment, feeling like I was in another era. Perfection is all around us. The shade of the millions of trees is comfortable and the bike track is so smooth and flat that…^&^##$%^&(*&(*&*&^ WAKE UP!!!!!
That was just my day dreaming adventure of what I tought it was going to be biking in Central Park. Now the real story went a little bit different…
I been in Central Park before, about 3 times, but only to the area between the W 59th St. and Bethesda fountain and The Loeb Central Park Boathouse (The Lake).
So, I was guilty of dreaming unrealistic dreams about my next visit to Central Park. Specially…. Number 1, I wanted to see the whole park and number 2, I want to take a tour bike… I thought it was going to be easier to bike, that to walk around so much. The park is huge and there was a lot that I wanted to see and learn about it… besides I love biking (but far from being a professional).
OK!Check this out. First, we got late to the bike tour, so instead we rented the bicycles for 4 hours (it was included with the NY passes that we bought)Central Park Sightseeing Bike Tours & Rentals
Second, there are no strawberries on the Strawberry Field!(This was so funny to me because I thought that I never visited the Strawberry Field before,I thought it was called like that literally because had strawberries. But I did visited before, but didn’t know that the John Lennon Memorial was the Strawberry Field.) O____o
Third, Central Park is Not Flat! I did not know that the park has hills… You know, up and down hills!! I love biking but I do it more recreational not as an exercise event. I am not used to ride going up hills! Did I mention that Orlando is flat! So, if you are not in good shape or at least you are not used to ride bicycle up hills you will have a tremendous work out.
After getting our bikes, I was designated to be the “tour guide” because I had the list of things to see. After studying the map, and get a little lost we found the bike lane. For my disappointment the bike lane runs along a street that goes around the outer part of the park. The park doesn’t have a bike trail through the park where the trees, ponds, lakes, castle and all the pretty scenery is. For us to be able to see anything in our list we supposed to leave the bike lane and walk our bikes through the interior part of the park, is prohibited to ride bicycles on the walking path. Another little detail, we were not able to leave the bicycles unattended because we didn’t get the locks that were provided for us… We tought we were not going to need them. Oops!
We started and there it came the first hill, without breath we decide to take our first break.
Later continuing our bike ride our speed was almost none, many bikers continuously went by passing us. Our second stop was by the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, by the 5th Ave. It was my first time seen this pretty sight. Jay stayed guarding the bikes while we went to see the reservoir. Remember, we left the locks… we thought we were not going to need them… Hmmmm we were wrong!
As we continued, more hills came along followed by tiredness, sweat, thirst, back pain, leg pain, and all the complaints, and pain list that you can imagine. The fun part was every time we went down the hill… Weeeeeeee! I loved it! The wind, the speed, it was awesome until… the next hill. My son Jay was having a blast, he loved the challenge. He is in great shape and exercise almost every day, so for him was just one more day of exercise. He had to stop many times to wait for us. Jorge and my mom were on a tandem (2 person bike) so when my mom couldn´t do it any more she walk and Jorge kept going on the bike but at Snail speed. My daughter Jadzia and me, we invented a new technic… it’s called riding & walking bike technic. Walk your bike up hill and ride it down hill as simple as that. It was the only way for us to do it. I know! I know!! Its terrible!!
For some reason none of us wanted to stop to see anything, we wanted to finish. We didn’t stop anymore,there were not pretty, inspiring sights, just the street and people passing by us.
At the end we laugh at ourselves and had fun with our funny experience. My mom felt pretty good with herself after riding a bike now that she is 66 years old and haven’t ride a bicycle for a long time. Something I can tell you for sure the “Biking in Central Park” bucket list item is checked mark and have a DONE! in bold letters on the side. 😉
Reality hit me, my expectation of riding a bike in Central Park were different of what we lived, but still I loved the fact that we had own story to tell. It was a great experience because as a family we created memories, we had bonding time and our own unique travel story. Travel is about been real and enjoy the experience no matter if is not a Cinderella setting. Travel with family is about having a great attitude, is about making the decision of enjoying and embracing life with happiness.
Have you ever had a similar experience? Where your expectation were too high? Share your story with me!
Never imagine that we could have so much fun in a wax museum! Madame Tussauds in New York is a fun place to go. Here you can get in character yourself and pretend meeting the famous. Some of them look so real! The good thing is that Madame Taussauds are in many other cities besides NY. It is incredible that I went all the way to NY city to have this way of fun, but now I found out that even they are opening one Madame Taussauds in Orlando, early 2015.
So let’s get started and have play time with the wax! Here you will see some of the famous that my family and I met. You too can have an experience like this. Check out the locations at their website www.madametussauds.com
In the mind time,come have fun with us!
I can’t believe she is with both of them!!!!!
I think they have a problem…. LOL
I guess he is famous! 🙂
My mommy and me drooling… LOL
Can we sing Purple Rain?
Traffic in NY!!!
My boys with Jennifer! -_____-
Oh Jay!!!
What in the world!!
To finish here is a video of my famous meeting with Steven Spielberg!!!!
Standing in a long line, waiting for our turn to get to the ride for the skies. The anxious wait to the top of the world is over once you are in the sky shuttle that will take you there in less than a minute. We all get in the magic box like sardines, shoulders touching with each other, we look around, estrangers eyes meet in the small space and for less than a minute we breathe the same compact air until we reach the 67th floor. The 67th to the 70th floor is like a big rock on top of a tall mountain. But in NY City is called Top of The Rock at the Rockefeller Center.
Once you are liberated from the claustrophobic space, you are free to roll through three floors and enjoy the electric view of NY City at night. From one of the side of the building you will see a rectangular nature spot surrounded by lights, Central Park!
From other side of the building you can enjoy the multicolored top of the Empire State Building. It’s funny to think that while we are taking pictures of the Empire State Building and we can only see lights and the shape of the building, at the same time there are people over there taking pictures of the Rockefeller Center but they can’t see us. Haha!
I know this because two days later we were even in a higher position! We were at the Empire State Building 86th floor observatory deck.
The process of getting to the top of the world it was a little different in both places, we purchased the NY Pass, and with the pass both buildings were included. The entrance at the Rockefeller Center was smoothly compared to the Empire State Building. In The Rock you make the line to purchase a ticket, but instead you show your pass and they give you a especific time to come back, that way you don’t have to make a huge line. In the Empire State you make the huge line first, then you show your passes.
In the Empire State Building we also did the NY Skydride that is on the second floor. We did it because it was also included on the NY Pass, and we didn’t know what exactly was. Honestly I do not recommend that you lose money and time doing that “ride”. I don’t know if I am spoiled by Disney World but the supposed ride is a 30 minutes virtual tour simulator of a helicopter tour through NY, and in my opinion is ridiculous.
Once you get in the magic box that takes you to the skies,the experience is as claustrophobic as the Rockefeller, thanks God it only last for a few seconds. Once you are up there you are free as a bird… well almost 🙂
Pepsi-Cola sign in QueensChrysler Building
Feel with me the loud, always moving city from above! Check the video below…
TravelmyStories 