Trip number two of my summer world tour brought me to NYC for the weekend. I met up with Melissa, and her friend Lucas. After a slight miscalculation in subway stops which left me off in front of the Chelsea Hotel, I procured a taxi into Brooklyn and tried not to look too worried when the driver asked me how to get there. Lucas was cool enough to let us crash on his squeaky air mattress and periodically make fun of his hair. Some people are just awesome that way.


Having only one and a half days in town, I made the most of my trip. Mermaid parades were watched, lemon drop shots were consumed, boozy brunches attended, and many spontaneous, guerilla dance parties were held in the streets of Brooklyn. It was a whirlwind of super happy fantastic fun. But the good time couldn't last forever. With a heavy heart and teary eyes, I made my way back to JFK, where I would remain for the next seven hours as my flight was delayed over and over again due to inclement weather.


Being stranded at an American Airlines gate for the better part of a Sunday is not the hedonistic adventure one would imagine. And when the last chapter of my book had been read, I was forced to be creative in my ways to pass the time.

1. Ponder the bloated sense of entitlement displayed by the crusty middle-aged man who repeatedly cuts in front of me at the gate information desk.

2. Exchange snarky barbs with the crusty middle-aged man, when I point out that EVERYONE will miss their connecting flights and unleashing his vitriolic rantings onto the HELPFUL desk staff, won't make our plane fly through the TORNADO.

3. Read, re-read, and re-read an abandoned Us Weekly left on my seat. Apparently stars are just like us. They pump gas and pick up groceries. Difference is I'm not taking my groceries home to Jake Gyllenhaal.

4. Eat two bags of honey roasted cashews.

5. Unknowingly engage in a staring contest with the three year old boy sitting across from me. Lose miserably when I'm distracted by a man eating peanut butter cups.

6. Send a barage of bored text messages while fidgeting with my phone.
Number sent: 10 Responses: 1

7. Fall asleep on my suitcase; dream of taking groceries home to Jake Gyllenhaal.

La Vie en Angela

I can only imagine the agony I have put you all through by not posting on here for well over a month. Well my friends, rejoice and sing, for I have returned to you. After having spent the better part of the past four months hunched over my computer editing a documentary, I needed a slight break from the keyboard. So I sprinkled some holy water around my desk, broke free from the confines of my office/sunporch, and dragged my shrunken, sleep deprived body into the warm light of day.


To start, the lovely Tracy and I took a little sojourn to Paris and London where we ate an ungodly amount of cheese and chocolates and took countless pictures of winding streets and pretty buildings. While I didn't have a complete grasp on the French language, I had the important phrases down: "We would like two red wines", "Where is the bathroom" and "I'd like two nutella crepes please". Although my fears of being scoffed at by aloof Parisians were never fully realized, I will think twice before trying to pay for two pastries with a twenty euro bill,again.


Thankfully my grasp of the english language served me better in London, except for the half hour we spent trying to figure out what, exactly, a waistcoat was. Our heads swelled with pride as we mastered the Tube system then proceeded to look down our noses at other wide-eyed tourists who nervously fished their maps from their fanny packs and hesitantly exited the trains.

A complete travel blog is still to come, but for now....a few lessons learned:

1. Never sit under the Eiffel Tower with an open map. It's a neon invitation for sleezy Parisian bikers (in head to toe leather)to attempt to seduce you with offers of directions while placing their hand uncomfortably high on your thigh.

2. Always order the banana nutella crepe with creme- it is truly the food of the gods

3. The byzantine staircase leading up to the Sacre Coeur is well worth the exhausting effort- Montmarte from the top is beautiful

4. Westminster Abbey chocolate bars will not save your soul from eternal hellfire and damnation.

5. Walking around downtown London repeating the phrase "look kids it's Big Ben...Parliment" will never stop being funny..


6. If you lose your way, always follow the large groups of Asian tourists with cameras, chances are they will be hitting a landmark at some point.

7. Watching drunk Americans and drunk Brits play a woefully disorganized game of cricket is a pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Hyde Park.