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....

MyItchyFeet: Strasbourg, France in a day...

Alohaaaaa...

Setelah melihat-lihat dan ngubek-ngubek isi external hard disk, saya sadar kalau ada banyaaaaak sekali catatan perjalanan dan foto-foto yang belum pernah saya share di blog. Hmm..sebagian perjalanan memang dilakukan sebelum saya seriusan ngeblog hehehe.

Kok sayang bangeeet ya :)...Karena banyak cerita menarik yang saya dan keluarga alami selama menyusuri tempat-tempat yang baru tadi. Jadi, walaupun perjalanannya sudah beberapa waktu yang lalu, rasanya ngga dosa kan ya kalau saya berbagi ceritanya di sini :)? Siapa tahu bermanfaat untuk teman-teman yang akan mampir di kota-kota cantik yang pernah kali datangi tadi...

So, let's continue #MyItchyFeet story then...

This time, I have Strasbourg...

the red door...in front of the Chatedrale du Notre-Dame

Such a lovely city indeed..

Our family trip to EuropaPark (will definitely be shared on one dedicated posting :D) was continued to Strasbourg, France.

Awalnya kami memang berencana untuk main ke EuropaPark yang terletak di kota Rust, Jerman, dengan Bo. Saya pernah cerita kan kalau saya tuh theme-park junkie. Alias theme-park lover..or apalaah namanya. Intinya, demen bangeeet main ke taman permainan bertema yang biasanya hebooh abis ;). Nah salah satu taman bermain paling seru di dekat Jenewa adalah EuropaPark. Yah, walaupun Bo waktu itu usianya masih imut (dan Obi belum ada :p), tapi EuropePark punya banyak wahana permainan untuk anak-anak juga. Tapi yang pasti mama dan Bapak juga bisa seru-seruan hehehe. Dan yang tidak kalah serunya, kami bisa mampir di kota cantik di perbatasan Perancis - Jerman yang juga menjadi kota tempat Parlemen Eropa resmi berkantor.

Kami menempuh perjalanan dengan mobil. Jenewa - Rust, Jerman, tempat EuropaPark, kami tempuh dalam waktu 4 jam, kurang lebih sekitar 350 km dan melalui Basel serta Freibourg. Dari Rust menuju Strasbourg, perjalanan dengan menggunakan mobil tidak sampai satu jam, karena memang hanya 56 km. Dekat kan :).

So...Strasbourg...what do you have in mind when you hear about this city?
Or does it ring a bell?

I don't know why it takes some times to get me and Udi to visit Strasbourg while we were living in Geneve, Switzerland.
Romantically beautiful, this city can certainly boast its magnet ranging from UNESCO world heritage site to delicious spatziel which is sooo Alsatian. Yuuup, Strasbourg is the capital city of France in the Alsace Region. 

Wilayah ini terletak di bagian timur Perancis, yang berbatasan dengan Jerman. Tidak heran kalau kota-kota di daerah ini benar-benar menjadi contoh perpaduan unik antara budaya Perancis dan Jerman, termasuk untuk urusan makanan dan bahkan bahasa. Lucu rasanya mendengar orang-orang di sini berbahasa Perancis dengan aksen Jerman. Tapi justru ini yang membuat daerah ini menjadi  lain daripada yang lain.

Finishing our one crazy day at Europa Park, we stayed overnight in Strasbourg..not far from the famous Petite France. I will again share the lovely Petite France in another post :).

Well, no doubt we left the hotel early in the morning just to ensure we got enough time to visit all those interesting spots.
So, we started our day wandering around the Rhone, stopping here and there for more pics. 




Lucky enough, we got the parking spot right at the Notredame, under the shade of its magical tower :D. 

At the place de la Chatedrale, I can't stop wondering the shopisticated-yet-heavily-gothic Chatedral with lace-like concrete. 

Waktu pertama kali melihatnya, memang banyak yang tercengang. Begitu penuh dengan details yang rumit. Seperti melihat selembar renda, yang penuh dengan pola. Tapi kali ini dalam bentuk bangunan. 

Details from the church...stunning!

The chatedral was built from 1015 to 1439. They really took their time in building this masterpiece. And you can see it from the astonishing result. True labour of love. And since I'm not a building expert, but I guess it's a Gothic one.  

The Facade is filled with many sculpture. Starting from the tiny one, to the human-size one. All beautifully assembled to create a stunning building. 



We didn't get inside as it was closed during Easter. I knew we missed a lot, as the church has been very well famous for its facade, stained glass window, the monumental organ and the astronomical clock. 

What you can't miss is the red door. And you will see why...

sorry..it's me again :)

We took many pictures here :)...It was very captivating..

Bo and his poses..in front of the red door :)

Then we continued to explore the medieval square, being so absorbed in its ancient time. It's very classic and we loved it. A lot to see and to enjoy. Including the famous Kammerzell House or Maison Kammerzell, standing right on the corner...

Ooh, don't forget the street buskers ...who were ready to serenade for you :D...

posing in fron of the Kammerzell House...

From here, we walked to Musee Alsacien, 

heading to Petite France ....

otw to Petite France...

it was a sunny day indeed...

and had lunch in one of the restaurants by the river there..yummy yummy indeed..

lunch special...Alcasian menu..fresh pasta and turkey with special mushroom sauce..

in front of the maison des tanneurs....famous for its choucroute :)

Then we continued our journey and passed the famous Ponts Couvert and stopped to see the Mozart's organ at Saint Thomas Church. 

This church is indeed part of the historical monument of the city. 

St.Thomas Church originally founded by Irish monk, was built between 12th and 15th centuries. Quite old, rite...

The interior layout is a "Hall church", characterized by the equal height of nave and side-aisle. 

Come and take a look...

And I guess, the first reason why people come and visit this church is probably the classic organ once played by Mozart himself.  You wanna know how it looks like?

the famous Silbermann Organ...once played by Amadeus Mozart...

After exploring the organ, we went  shopping for some lovely souvenirs at rue de Merciers and visiting Palais Rohan...

cheers....

Pont de la Fonderie...

Then we had a wonderful tea time at the Jardin au fond and continued our little journey with little Bo to the European Quarter and Place de la Republique..

like mother, like son :)...

So..that's our itinerary in Strasbourg for a day :). A lot to see...
Worth another visit for sure...

Btw, all photos were taken by my hubby, Rudi Frakarsa :)

What do you think about this city? What do you like to see most?

Up above

Amidst never-ending meetings at the UN, I sneaked out to take some fresh air and some pictures around the UN headquarter.

The mistic view from the cold temperature never failed to wow me...

Join me on Skywatch Friday and enjoy the sky from different corners of the world...

The aftermath of #blizzardof2015

Yuhuuuu...

As promised here, I'm back with more photos from the aftermath of #blizzardof2015 here in NYC. 

Again, we were lucky that the storm was not rampaging our neighborhood.  But I heard that it took its furry to New England area. I hope everyone was fine...

So, with the storm just passed through,  we had snow everywhere. .. And who else would enjoy it? The kids and their mommies :).

Kalau sudah salju di mana mana begini, anak-anak yang paling heboh :). Meskipun saya sejatinya tidak ke kantor karena kerja dari rumah, tapi ngg tahan juga dengan bujukan Bo et Obi untuk main di luar menikmati salju :p.

smileeeee....

Well, the kids then put on their winter gear. The ski pants, jackets, gloves and beanies. It was still super cold outside. Although the sun was shining. I also made sure they drank their milk and ate first before going out. I just didn't want them to play in the snow with empty stomach and get sick afterwards.

Then, off we went to Astoria Park, just 2 blocks away...

It was already packed with people. We could even hear the kids' joyful scream from afar...

big grin on his face :)

Bo was happily bringing his snow slide. Ready to rumbleeee...

The whole park was turned into a giant snow slide :). Perfect for the kids...

Bo et Obi just directly jumped into their snow slide and slided down...

They even had a race..Bo against Bapak et Obi..

RFK bridge from under...

While mama busy taking pictures. ..and enjoying the serene surroundings..

astoria pool and the famous LIRR bridge...

Then...more fun started we when tried to make 'our picture' on the snow...well, you know..when you just slept on it and got your shape pasted on the snow...

It was truly a terrific day...a blessing in disguise for us :)...

Even Obi enjoyed sliding alone...and screamed on top of her lungs :p...

Well...the aftermath of # blizzardof2015 was fun indeed! 

Have you enjoyed playing out in the snow lately?