Vegas Weekend

This past weekend we went to Vegas for our annual trip to see Jimmy Buffet.    We went to the Neon Sign Boneyard and took a tour of all of the amazing signs.   It was so interesting to see the signs up close and hear about their histories.   The sky that day was a beautiful blue with wispy clouds that made for some wonderful pictures.  We left there and went to Hoffbrau House for lunch and met up with Bob and Shelly.   We had a delcious lunch and enjoyed the entertainment.   After we left there we went to Freemont Street.   We had never been and it was interesting to see some of the old neon signs still in use there.   Kristen and Andy went ziplining, which they enjoyed quite a bit.   Jimmy Buffet never disappoints.   The concert was full of great music, dancing around, on our part, and an overall great time.   After the concert we headed over to New York New York to our favorite place, Nine Fine Irishmen.   The house band, Sin E Rira, always keeps the place jumping with their lively music.   It's really fun to people watch and sing along with the band.    It was a long weekend with little sleep.   It was great hanging out with Bob, Shelly, Matt, Johanna, and Holden.     We will be ready to go again next year as soon as Jimmy announces his concerts in Vegas.

New York in Autumn

We recently went to New York for a few days.  One of the things we love to do is going on a walking tour by Foods of New York.   This year we went to the area known as Nolita (North of Little Italy).   Our guide, Amy, was very knowledgeable and made the tour very fun and interesting.    Our first stop was at The Little Cupcake Bakery.   We tasted a mini blackout cupcake that was so rich and decadent.  Our next stop was Emporio.   One of the chef's made a Roman style pizza as we watched.   It was so delicious and so few ingredients.   He used two types of mozzarella and parmigiana cheeses on the pizza crust.   After baking in the oven til the cheese melted, he added arugula, chopped cherry tomatoes, prociutto, and drizzled with olive oil.   Wow..so amazing.    The neighborhood was known as the site of the original St. Patrick's Cathedral, which is still there.   As a boy growing up on Elizabeth Street, Martin Scorcese would play in the cemetary of the church and is where he got his inspiration for The Gangs of New York movie.    Another favorite stop was Oxley Meats, where we had an assortment of cooked meats, ham, turkey, pork, brisket, corned beef, all cooked to perfection.   We went on a bike tour in Central Park that was really fun and informative.  The park was full of people enjoying the beautiful day.   One of our favorite spots was the Bethesda Fountain.     It was a wonderful trip and New York always leaves you wanting for more!