First weekend in NYC - shopped around for deals in the new year, had a brunch at bryant park, picked up some books and on the way back, met an interesting person on the Path train, who quickly became an acquaintance.
Second weekend in Seattle - The goal was to meet my friend(s) and spend some quality time with them. The walking tours of Seattle were great and are well described in another blog on Seattle.
Third weekend in the Bay area - long weekend. I got to catch up with my high school buddy in San Jose area, his other buddies in Mountain View, and then an undergrad acquaintance in Stanford. On top of this, I got to explore San Francisco further. The details on this visit to Bay area is here.
Last weekend - firm's QSM at Sheraton; later followed by an evening at Divine Bar in UWS, a fun dinner at Le Colonial in UES, and finally, some shaking-a-leg at Azza Lounge.
More details on the last weekend:
Sheraton doesn't have anything distinct from a hotels perspective for the mid-Manhattan area. The whole day we spent there was a good relief for me as I got to make some interesting observations and I got to network some more.
The promoters of Divine Bar West claims to be one of the city's most unique places. However, putting some ruby red lightings, orange walls, zebra barstools, and a rooftop may make it unique but all these inclusions do not make the place creative. The finger food (such as the Milano bruschetta) was good and the ambience was relaxing. However, those are basic requirements for making of a good lounges and do not make the lounges extra-ordinary. It's a great place for birthday dinner.
Le Colonial, an upscale authentic Vietnamese din, surprised me with fine dining at relatively affordable prices. The table had a champagne connoisseur, who ordered the 1996 vintage Brut - a champagne which is crisp and dry with a fine persistent sparkle. Apparently, Le Colonial is a chain in the major cities in the major US cities of NYC, Chicago, and SF (they covered all their bases - lol!)
We went into Azza with great expectations due to referral from the Le Colonial manager. We got a free entry. However, the place was relatively low key that night - a Friday night in a slowing down economy!
On Sat, the day began late and later, caught up with few friends in the neighborhood and later extended way past in the night almost till the morning. On Sunday, the day started late again - but caught up with friends at the La Maison Du Chocolat place at Rockefeller Center with some acquaintances for a quite Sunday evening after the skating rink in Central Park.
All in all, the new year has begun well. I am not sure if a similar momentum will continue in the direction of pure hedonism as the efforts will now be focussed in the direction of pursuits for a larger cause.
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