So it seems like the more I worked on setting up my new blog and other social media, the less time I had to actually write posts. Sorry for that, will try to better (though I can add that when my personal social media advisor, i.e. my friend Anna, reduced the target I set for post per week from four to three. So although it is probably more realistic, there is apparently little hope for me improving!)

Admittedly, not much has happened anyway in this period. At least not that much that is worth blogging about. I have worked a lot and prepared for the holidays. To really get into the spirit, Anna and I decided to take the bus up to New York last weekend, to see the Christmas decorations, buy Christmas gifts, and go ice-skating in Central Park. It was a wonderful weekend! Unfortunately, it was a little too warm for us to be in ice-skating mood (it hit 17 °C, i.e. over 70 °F our last day) but we did see the Christmas tree at the Rockefeller Center and all the Christmas decorations on 5^th Avenue (my favorite were definitely inside Saks and at Bryant Park and the New York City Library), we went to no less than three Christmas markets (at Columbus Circle, Bryant Park, and Union Square), took a walk in Central Park, and had long lunches and dinners. Perfect New York weekend in other words! Since my favorite Brooklynite wasn’t in town this time, we stayed on Manhattan this time, which meant that I got to try a bunch of new restaurants and bars. Worth mentioning were:

– The Bar Room (Upper East Side) – low-key, bistro style with comfy environment and good food, and with gorgeous art deco interiors. We went there for lunch, which was perfect!

– Perla (Greenwich Village) – Italian inspired restaurant with good food and nice atmosphere! I had amazing fettuccine with black trumpet mushrooms.

– Acme (East Village) – New American food with Nordic influences and also with kind of a bistro-style interior but less art deco and more functionalistic from what I remember. We ordered a bunch of small, tapas-like dishes to share and they were all delicious!

– Little Branch (West Village) – Speak Easy with an almost hidden entrance and with a very small bar. Only a few people are let in at the time and the bartenders really take the time to provide you with the perfect cocktail.

– Café Kava (Hells Kitchen) – a coffee shop close to our hotel that turned out to have the best muffins I’ve had so far in the U.S. They actually tasted like they had been in a real oven for a while. My favorite? Pear and pecan! And the people who worked there were very nice!

Actually, in all these places, the people who worked there were really nice and friendly, which makes such a difference. We stayed at the Yotel in Hells Kitchen, and although nice for the price, I think it targeted a younger audience. Perhaps most interesting was their bathroom set-up which didn’t include a proper door. A little odd! But other than that, the room was quite nice and at least we had a good view of the city from the 15^th floor. And as always, I wish I could have stayed longer than the three days we were there.

// The view from our hotel room // Central Park in snow // The Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center // Tiffany & Co. // The Christmas market at Columbus Circle // Christmas decorations outside a private townhouse on the Upper East Side //  Acme //