New York City: Making Hot Chocolate in a Cauldron and Oscar Wilde Restaurant

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Welcome to the New York City section of my blog, also known as my “Amateur Learns Aperture” series, where I go outside my apartment to find things to photograph in order to learn how to use my camera.

When searching for things to do in NYC, I found THIS fun day hot chocolate experience.  You get to use a magic wand, you get to add all delicious things to your hot chocolate, and you get festive toppings from a locked treasure chest?  Say no more!

You cannot book for just one person so I booked for two.  This also means I paid for two.  I don’t know why, but when asked where my guest was, I lied and said she missed her flight.  No idea who “she” is or why I felt the need to lie, but such is the life of a solo traveler.

The venue is actually a bar in front and the magic happens in the back.  The bar looks like so much fun.

The bartenders were dressed like warlocks.

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New York City: Chanoyu for Everyone: Tea Time at the Table Review

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Ever since I began my “Amateur Learns Aperture” series, I find myself scouring the internet for cool things to do, where I can practice taking photos.  I am now a Course Horse addict and I cannot stop going to courses and classes in New York City, I recently signed up for a tea ceremony course, which you can see more information about HERE.

This was a fun night out. I wish I had brought my camera because the space was gorgeous.

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New York City Tourism: Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, Sunset Park, Oculus, Domino Effect and Field of Light

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Hello it is me again, playing the role of Amateur Learning Aperture, taking my camera outside to do New York City touristy things while learning how to use my camera.  Only this time I am taking a step backwards as I bought THIS new mirrorless camera that has so many features I don’t know how to use yet.

I want to say again and forever that taking photography classes has greatly improved my mental health.  I am currently taking one on composition and I genuinely like the people in my class.  I will be sad to say goodbye to them next week and hope they pop up in future classes.  I also love when we show our homework.  This particular set of people really go out to find the most iconic things to photograph in New York City.  I keep adding to my list of places to photograph, inspired by them.

Since I last posted, I first took a trip to watch sunset at Verrazzano Narrows Bridge and then took a separate trip to watch sunset at Sunset Park.  For both of these outings, I was using THIS lens that I rented.   It was amazing with low light.  But I couldn’t zoom out as much as I would have liked at Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, nor could I zoom in as much as I would like at Sunset Park.  This would have been obvious to any seasoned photographer.  But I am still an amateur and I am learning by making mistakes.

Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, my last photoshoot with my DSLR:

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New York City: AKC Meet the Breeds and Travel Show YAY

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Before I left for vacation back in December, I was going strong with my excitement for my New York City series.  Going out and about, doing things, practicing photos with my camera.  Feeling a bit sad that the list of things I wanted to do was longer than the time I had before leaving for vacation.

Now I am back and making plans of things to do and see. I began feeling that without Christmas type of stuff, NYC is kind of boring to me.

I don’t know if it is because I am home and mopey that I am finding myself already bored without having left my apartment one time.  Or if it is because outside of “ooh pretty” I just don’t care for the things that are available to me.  Tourist attractions are not my thing.  I am just far less excited to continue getting out of my apartment and behind a camera.  I am much more interested in booking travel to places that are not NYC.

I started going nuts and booking excursions for my Alaska cruise, but that is not until May.

I need to find things to do to keep up my mental health.  I don’t know that I want to keep going  to cute restaurants.  Sure it is fun but my brain is screaming “Eat out once a week or take a lay down flight to China, you can only pick one!”

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Las Vegas Trip Report: Sam’s Town and Ultimate X

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Continuining the Las Vegas trip report that started HERE.  Between these 2 posts was a National Park tour, and I will post about that eventually as well!

Returning to Horseshow from the tour, I had to pack and move hotels.  I am normally a light packer but for this trip, I packed too much.  Because I started out on a cruise to the Bahamas.  Then needed warm clothes for National Parks.  Then for Vegas, the Bahamas clothes were too summery and the National Park clothes were too wintery. I did not want to go home between the cruise and the flight to Vegas to change out wardrobes so I just overpacked.

For this first tour I am took, you cannot bring luggage.  You can only bring a backpack or duffel bag.  No problem.  I will just keep my shit at Horseshoe wihle I am gone and bring just what I need with me for the tour.

I thought I was smart. I packed everything I needed for the first tour in one packing cube.  So I should have simply taken it out, put it in my backpack and been done with it.

But when I opened the door when arriving back at Horseshoe, I was stunned to see SO MUCH STUFF all over the god damned room.  What the hell did I even do here?  Why is every single thing I have ever owned in my life in this room?  And all over the room?  Wasn’t I awake for only maybe an hour in total in this room before I left?  When did I even have the time to make this mess?

I make an agreement with myself.  I can repack in two parts.  First part, the annoying stuff.  You know, breaking down the camera and putting it in my backpack.  Repacking the toiletries so they are ALL together.

Then I can go smoke and gamble and come back and do the rest.  Which is exactly what I did.

I lost $200 on Dancing Drums but I am not mad about it.

Back to the room to finish packing.  Then off to Sam’s Town.

Much like I am weaning myself off business class flights, I vowed to also wean myself off Uber/Lyft.  So I have to take the bus to Sam’s Town.  But do I really?  Let me just look.  Fuck a Lyft is only $17, I am doing it.

I love the Sam’s Town atrium, most especially at Christmas.

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Epic (Not All) Las Vegas Trip Report: Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Beyond

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It is that time again.  Las Vegas at Christmas time.  Although it was not supposed to be. I am supposed to be in the Middle East.  But war.

I never posted my last trip report so you do not know this but back in May, when I was in Vegas, I got sick of Vegas.  I mean I got SICK of Vegas. It just felt increasingly dumb to gamble.  I wasn’t having fun and I didn’t want to be there anymore.

I had another trip booked for July and cancelled that while still in Las Vegas. I thought this was finally it.  But then here I am with time off and nowhere to go because my planned trip to the Middle East was off.  But I don’t want to spend the trip in Vegas.  But Vegas is easy.  But I don’t WANT TO GO THERE.

I priced some other destinations that were quite expensive as I was now not booking far in advance.

I also really hate my job. Perhaps if I had spent a week or two checking on things, I could have done better.  But because I hate my job, I absolutely must have all trips booked NOW because having trips booked NOW is how I stop myself from screaming FUCK YOU I QUIT.

So I decided to use Las Vegas as a base to see other cool stuff.  This way I get to take advantage of my comps, but this is not an actual Las Vegas trip.  It is a trip where I am using Las Vegas as a base to see other cool stuff.

I’ll write more about that cool stuff as it happens.

Booking this trip was so difficult.  I had to keep telling myself this is not a Vegas trip.  Yes, you do want to stay in this hotel but guess what?  YOU CAN’T.  Because this trip is not about Vegas. It is about using Vegas as a base.

I am also going to be burning a lot of my comps on this trip and I am fine with that too.  I do want to keep Boyd in tact because I love Boyd.  Cosmopolitan too, but since they are now owned by MLife, they may break up with me after I burn MLlife on this trip.  Oh well.

I arrived in Vegas, fresh off a cruise to the Bahamas that was plagued by weather issues.  I didn’t care about all that.  I didn’t want to go to the Bahamas.  I just went because it was a $100 cruise and I had time to kill.

Then off to Vegas!  I rarely arrive in daylight so I took a million photos as we were approaching Las Vegas.

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New York City Staycation

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Hello from my New York City Staycation!  If you have been following along, I have been doing a bunch of touristy stuff lately to give me opportunities to practice using my camera.

This staycation came from me having a cruise out of Manhattan and finding it easier to just spend a couple of nights in a hotel rather than get to the cruise terminal from Bensonhurst.

I booked the New Yorker Hotel using Wyndham points.  This hotel is near Penn Station . When booking it, I thought I would enjoy just walking between my hotel and 53rd Street, which is a walk I took a million times back when I lived on Long Island and would travel to Manhattan to go see bands at The Ritz and Roseland.  I waned to see if the parking garage near The Ritz was still there.  We used to buy 40s and drink up there before shows.  We also used to drink up there while waiting for Saturday Night Live to end, and the celebrities would begin pouring out.  I also used to drink up there when I was dating a guy from New Jersey.  We would meet halfway between his home and mine, at Penn Station and go drink on top of the parking garage.  Classy.

But as I began looking into things to do, I realized my dreams of possibly visiting a parking garage roof was really not how I wanted to spend my staycation so I made actual non-pathetic plans.

On Friday night, I checked into the hotel.  I am Diamond with Wyndham. This is my second stay at this hotel and second upgrade to an actual suite and also unsolicited late check out.  This is great because my checkout time isn’t until three so I can board the cruise after my room is ready at 1:30.

I took some absolutely horrible room photos that I don’t want to share, but the room is pretty much the same one I had HERE.

Some new room view photos:

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New York City: Brooklyn Bridge Park and Dyker Heights Christmas Lights

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Welcome to volume four of my “Amateur Learns Aperture” series where I take my camera out for fun things so I can learn how to use her.  This week I visited Brooklyn Bridge Park and the Dyker Heights Christmas lights in….Dyker Heights, Brooklyn.

I am never in NYC at Christmastime.  Now that I am scouring the internet for places to take my camera, I am finding so many things that I want to practice photography on.  So many of them are holiday themed.  I don’t have enough time to visit them all before I leave for vacation and they will be gone when I get back.  Will 2024 be a year of my life where I actualy (gasp!) want to be home for the holidays?  Want to be OUTSIDE in NYC for the holidays?  Want to go where the tourists go oh noes!

What is this post about?  Oh yes.  NYC. Outside.  Tourism. Amatuer photography.

I learned how to do light painting in photography class!
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Turtuk, Ladakh, India Tourism

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Turtuk, India!  Continuing where I last left off writing about my trip around Ladakh.  The first half of the day, including Nubra Valley and Bactrian camels is HERE.

We arrived in Turtuk late afternoon.  We stopped at this cute restaurant for what I called dinner but my driver called lunch.

Then it was time to find a hotel.  My driver didn’t really speak English but somehow magically understood me when I said I wanted an attached bathroom.

He brings me to a place I don’t believe is a hotel.  It looks like a construction site.  It doesn’t look open.  He tells me to wait and he goes in and reports back that they have a room with a private bathroom but it is not inside the room.  I say no, less because of the unattached bathroom and more because are you sure this place is even open?!

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Christmas in New York City: Winter Wonderland at Pier 15

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Welcome to volume three of “Amateur Learns Aperture” where I take advantage of living in New York City to get outside while learning to use my camera.  Tonight, I brought my camera out to dinner at Winter Wonderland at Pier 15 in the Financial District.

I have to say, I picked the perfect time of year to begin this project as New York is really pretty at this time of year.  I have so many things to choose from and the pressure to see it all before I leave for vacation in three weeks, really inspires me to get out of my apartment.  This has been wonderful for my mental health.

Back to the topic here – as the title says, Winter Wonderland is located at Pier 15 down in the Financial District.  It is a bunch of glass (plastic) houses with a Christmas theme, complete with a view of the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.

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