New Haven, Connecticut, in a day...

I have shared some photos previously on our visit to the Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut..
But not the story of browsing around this beautiful city ... yet :)

Ceritanya waktu libur long weekend yang lalu, kami sekeluarga pengen banget jalan-jalan ke tempat yang agak jauh. Tapi ternyata jadwal padat merayap karena ada Dian Pelangi, Barli Asmara, Asri Welas et Zaskia Sungkar Open Trunk Show (ngg mau rugi dong aaah :) ) dan cuaca bener-bener drop sampai minus 16. Coba ya sodara-sodara, badan biasa kegerahan begini dikasih minus dua digit yah merinding ajaaa judulnya :).

But the show must go on...
Saya harus tetap liat show, dan harus teteup jalan-jalan #halaaaah plus membuat anak-anak dan sumai tetap happy #banyakamattugasnyaaa
Namanya juga pemilik #kakigatal alias #MyItchyFeet :)
Jadi sebagai hasil compromised dengan my darling hubby plus Bo et Obi, kami menikmati museum di hari Sabtu, nonton show di hari Minggu, dan jalan ke New Haven di hari Senin..
Tuh kaaan...penuh aja kaan jadwalnya :).

While accommodating the kids' preferences, we finally decided to go to the museum on Saturday, enjoy the #OpenTrunkShow of Indonesian 4 designers on Sunday, and visit New Haven on Monday. Busy weekend indeed...

And as I said so many times (too often, perhaps), even as the weather was not very friendly, we managed to travel to New Haven on that cold day. We originally wanted to visit Mystic, but as the temperature there was even colder. We also considered visiting Mark Twain house near the area. But we finally decided to enjoy new Haven only, 1.5 hours drive from New York.

So, first destination, Yale University.
No need for further introduction...this beautiful campus stands against the time and elegantly feast our eyes. Well, after spending some times in Europe a couple years go, coming down here is like a deja vu..

look at all those details..

Gothic style architectures..
Intricate details on the doors and windows

Elegant archway here and there...
Big, spacious square ...

Me like it ;)

It was cold, but it's utterly beautiful..
The snow made everything looks so white, clean, and somehow "fluffy" :)

The kids truly enjoy the snow...until we realized how cold it was...way to cold..

Then we desperately tried to keep ourselves warm :). We originally wanted t see the Art Gallery here but since it was a holiday, the place was closed.

So, Bo et Obi chose the burger corner right in front of the square and we were saved from the fierce wind. After one big cheesy burger, mushroom for me, fries and hot chocolates, we were ready to continue our journey. 

This time, continued our drive around the area...exploring the famous port, heading to the lighthouse. But because of the snow, the road there was closed as well. But we enjoyed driving around the lovely neighborhood. 

Then we stopped in the Fort Hale Park just to see the sea was freezing. 
Yuuup...totally freezing. 
At first we just noticed that the birds were resting on the ground...which happened to be the frozen surface of the sea...
You can imagine how cold it was...

My hands were totally frozen, to..but I couldn't resist to take more pictures...
Winter is always eerily beautiful...

eerily beautiful...the charm of deep, cold winter...

Well, it was a lovely day indeed, although it was minus 16 degree Celcius :)

Then we just headed back to NYC as it was way too cold to explore the city again. But for sure I will definitely be back here...

What do you think of New Haven?

Visiting Yale University, New Haven

It was super cold that day..
But we have set our heart on visiting the charming Olde-England city, New Haven in Connecticut.

First stop, Yale University :).
Lemme first share the clear blue sky we enjoyed there, then come back with the complete story :)

one corner of this old Uni..

on the church square...

cheeeers...

Join us on Skywatch Friday and enjoy the astonishing sky in different corners of the world

NYC these days...

overlooking the Queensboro Bridge and East River..

NYC has been very cold lately...

Well, I know, I know..it's winter :). It's the season...
And snowy days can be very beautiful most of the time :).

But still, it's just too cold for me... 
My hubby and I just try to recall our days in Geneve, Switzerland but we somehow couldn't remember those super cold days down there. Well, of course NYC is not Geneve! What are you trying to do, Indah :)...

So, .... Layers and layers of warm clothes, winter boots, hot drinks, tolak angin, shovels...
Those are the things that are so close to our hearts these days...



And as I'm commuting on daily basis, things can be tricky most of the times :)..
Super careful walk on slippery ice, dodging the pool of cold, dirty melted snow, delayed metros and buses...
Just have to focus on the street, stop taking pictures and put my smartphones in my pocket :)

But again, I'm impressed.. 
This city is quite ready for the worsening weather. Remember my story on #blizzardof2015? I just have to keep my self updated all the time and we should be fine.

Don't get me wrong ...I'm not complaining :). I'm just sharing my thoughts and daily pics...

Let's see how NYC look these days...

Here are from Astoria...

Astoria Park..

right in front of my house..

traffic in the tunnel..

slowly driving to Bo's school...I was on the driver's seat..

our morning ritual...

In Manhattan....

soggy snow everywhere..messy :(..

The Rose garden, at the UN...

due to the snow, some services were suspended, including the garbage..

super cold bench...

watch out for the snow...and ice...

my frozen water...left in the car..

one clean corner in Manhattan :)

Well, it was not that bad though..compared to other states :). 

So, let's embrace the cold and enjoy winter, shall we....

Surviving #blizzardof2015

Pheeeww ...

We survived the #blizzardof2015 !

Alhamdulillaaaaah ...

Last Sunday, we were bombarded by warnings that the potentially dangerous blizzard in NYC. Not just a blizzard. But the third most powerful one recorded in the history of NYC. 

Introducing...Juno.

the pic is taken from here

We were like...wooow... this is practically our first year in NYC and look what we have in the store. A blizzard is coming. Judging form my friends' stories about previous years (remember Sandy and her friends?), this can be serious.

The good thing is, we have all the warnings and steps to follow in order to make sure we are in good hands when the blizzard is really coming. So, on Sunday, we stocked up all the food and water, plus batteries and candles just in case we would have blackouts. Yes, it was that bad...For the sure the supermarkets and groceries were packed with people getting ready. 

But on Monday, life went on...
The office was still open, so was the school.
So I still dropped Bo to his school and took my subway to the Office. 
The forecast said that it would get worst at noon...so I guess that was why everything was quite normal in the morning.

Monday grim sky...

arriving at Manhattan...already showered with snow...

Well, as a matter of fact, we even co-hosted a High-level event with the Sweden Mission at the UN with the presence of Sweden Foreign Minister, H.E. Margot Wallstorm. The event was scheduled at 12.30 to 3 pm. Carl, my colleague from Sweden, and I were a bit nervous, as we wanted to have high attendance in this event but couldn't help but notice the worsening weather.

FM of Sweden giving an opening remarks..

But alhamdulillaaah... The event was quite a success. Many Permanent Representatives came and the interactive dialogue was very engaging. We were happy..

On the way to the UN, before storm started.

But in the middle of the event, the security told us that the UN building would be closed at 2.30 and the UN would be close as well on the following day. 

I said wuhuuu... another holiday!

But my excitement evaporated soon...as I had to think about how to go home. 

My hubby had frantically called me several time and whatsapped me as well..saying that I better got home soon before it was too late! At that time, the public transports were still running, but with less schedule. And who knew what would happen if we got stuck in the tunnels! Knock on woods...I hope it won't happen to me...

So I went back to the office after the event was concluded and I simply couldn't see things! Luckily, I went back to the office with my DPR and even for a four blocs ride, it took some times because of the heavy snow. The office had organized cars to take us home, but they left already at 3 pm. And I just finished the meeting...

Long story short, I managed to get a lift again from my DPR and along the way, the car was practically 'dancing' ,- or perhaps skating is more appropriate.. - on the snow. I saw a taxi in front of us working really hard to keep it moving forward, instead of sliding to the right. 

At 7 pm,  I arrived safely at home...

That evening we all went to sleep earlier...maybe because were too excited waiting for the storm :). 

At around 8pm, the NY Governor had imposed travel ban as well. So starting 11pm Monday, no cars were allowed to be on the street, except the emergency ones. If you were out with your car, you would be fined!

the alert...

And the storm just passed...not really as damaging as has been predicted. What a relief!

These are the photos taken on Tuesday, the following day...

at 10 am on Tuesday...some cleaning has been done obviously :)

He woke us up with the machine :)

our jeep...not pretty much buried under the snow :)

our car :)

the street in front of my house..

it won't be complete without a selfie, rite ")

Well, again...we were happy that the Juno was not that horrible. 
Some handy tips, especially to newbie like us, when facing with this situation:

1. Get yourself updated
Listen to the news, monitor social media like twitter and facebook. I managed to get the updates to make sure my family and I can travel safely from school and work. Some times, a 10-minute difference will give you a way different story as well. Watch out for information about public transport if you are commuting like me and for travel ban if you drive. You can also subscribe to some of those websites and services which give you alerts.

2. Follow the instructions.
Well, you never know what will happen, so better be prepared than sorry...We follow the steps being informed to us in the warning information.Those include stocking up the food, getting extra flashlights and candles, preparing warm clothes, medicines,  and et cetera. It really helps.

3. Recharge, recharge, recharge
If the lights go out and we get power outage, then the last thing you need is cellphones without batteries. At least we can ensure the phone is on for further communication with friends and families. Recharge while we still can and have power bank handy for extra back-ups.

4. Stay warm
Stay inside. Keep yourselves warm. For us, it's very important because we're not yet used to the cold. Luckily the heaters were still on at that time...but it something goes wrong, warm clothes and plenty of socks (at least for me :) ) should help.

I know, this projected epic storm was somehow anticlimax. 
But, halooo...we don't need more storms down here, it's already cold enough :). 
Our days are basically filled with below zero temperatures, snowy days, and freezing wind. So, less blizzard, the better.

But you know what, the kids were having soooo much fun in the aftermath :). 

look who's having fuuuun here :)

Lemme get back with more photos on that :).

Have you experienced a blizzard as well?