Author Archives: myseastory

abc kitchen / new york

28 August 2012

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the same way i have a shopping list for whenever i go to new york, i also keep a list places to eat. i try to go to the spots i haven’t been to. abc kitchen was on the list.

it is conveniently located, close to our favourite shops on fifth avenue, near union square,  at the back of abc carpet.

we went for a quick lunch, and the menu, by jean georges, includes organic and the freshest local ingredients. the atmosphere is casual and happy.

we shared a few starters, our favorites were the crab toast with lemon aioli and the tuna sashimi marinated with ginger and mint.

i had a big kale craving so i had the kale salad with lemon, serranos and mint, for entree. it was delicious, but my mouth waters just as i think of the veggie burger i also tried. with minted yogurt and whole wheat pita, it was to die for.

lately, i’ve been trying to cut on sweets and desserts, but we couldn’t resist on sharing the salted caramel ice cream with candied peanuts and popcorn – a huge sin but so worth it!

next time, i will sure try their dinner menu.

abc kitchen contacts.

hello there

27 August 2012

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i’ve been super busy getting ready for our wedding… in less than three weeks, time is flying! i am spending a couple of weeks in the north of portugal, ticking the boxes on my to do list, but also enjoying this time of the year here.

we’re staying at our family house, in a small village called bertiandos, close to ponte de lima, in the north of portugal, it’s the eldest portuguese town. i have spent my vacations in this house since i was a baby, so getting married here means the world to me.

actually, one of the canoeists who won a silver medal at the olympics is from ponte de lima, and i met him the other day at the local nautical club. we are so proud.

and it feels so nice to be in the country side! hope you have a lovely week!

the nolitan / new york

23 August 2012

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during my long weekend in new york, a couple of weeks ago, i stayed at the nolitan. when visiting the city, i usually stay with family and friends, but this time my mum and sister were also meeting me for a few days.

i had spent endless nights looking for an affordable, well located hotel…until i realized there are no bargains in new york!

i found out about the hotel through b for bonnie, and read about it here. plus, the location is perfect – so we went for it, and i tell you, it was perfect for us!

we were meeting up in new york to buy my wedding dress (thanks for the lovely comments to my post, by the way :), and the hotel staff were extremely helpful dealing with pre ordered dresses, deliveries and returns!

the lobby is small but with so much personality, and so much going on. we had breakfast here every morning and loved seeing so much action going on – couples checking in, guests arriving from a bicycle ride, others taking their breakfast to the rooftop. oh, and i loved the installation by jennifer steinkamp, see the picture i posted on instagram – i coulnd’t stop staring!

exhausted after spending the days walking the city, it was great to come back to the hotel, fresh-up and go for dinner to one of the nearby restaurants – we went to pulqueria (delicious tacos in the middle of chinatown), ruby’s (best burguer and pumpkin salad), mottsu (perfect neighborhood sushi) and epistrophy (so many italian goodies).

see their website – the nolitan

his dive story / 37

22 August 2012

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Finally, the wreck on provo that I have been dying to dive since I moved here. Wreck diving is normally not on the tourist menu here in paradise as most tourists are happy enough doing 20m on the reef walls and seeing reef sharks…

The W.E. wreck is not your everyday type of dive due to its location (there is no mooring) and  strong currents. I happened to take last friday morning off and decided to go diving. The boat had 3 other experienced divers that morning and the sea was flat… Let’s do the wreck offered “Captain” Dave (owner of provo turtle divers) and the boat captain for that day was Art (original owner of the dive shop) took us there. I had such a rush to finally do a wreck dive! I had come from both Portugal and Malta where almost every other dive I did was a wreck dive…

The bow is around 30m and the stern 55m, I know, as I did the obligatory swim thru passed into the propeller. Woweee!! Had instant deco on my vr3.

It was a peacful dive, one I would love to spend more time next time. Prepare for a free ascent or bring your smb… Will bring my FAMI torch and penetrate!  Enjoy!

See my previous DIVE STORY posts! – James

turks and caicos beaches // long bay

21 August 2012

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every time i leave provo, i feel somewhat nostalgic… and on the day i leave i always go for a quick visit to the beach near home. but this time, for a change, i went to long bay beach.

we don’t usually go to long bay, we seem to forget it when deciding what beach to go to.

but when we have guests coming to visit i always take them there and they love it. the beach is gorgeous, it is almost always deserted and so easy to fall in love with.

here, the water is very shallow, it is sometimes windy, and perfect for kite surfers.

i love these palm trees on the beach too, don’t you? it makes it look so dreamy!