Today we went to Minnewaska State Park to enjoy the views of the peak Fall foliage.

If you're afraid of big waves, but still want to go to the beach and swim, you can always go to Lake Welch which has a man-made beach. More info about this lake is here and my photos from this trip are here.

I will be in Rio de Janeiro until August 29th.

Photos and Videos From The Trip

I am currently in Florida on vacation until July 3rd.
All Photo Albums

Key West Karaoke

My friends and I spent a weekend on a ski trip in Adironacks. We stayed in a charming chalet for two nights. The chalet had 3 levels and was able to fit 11 people. It had nice deck outside from which we could see the sunrise.

On the first day we went hiking on a trail close the chalet. It was my first time hiking in the snow. Going up the hill was kind of tricky since the feed would slide backwards in the slippery snow, but going down hill was a blast as we could just slide down holding on to the tree branches. Some parts of the hike was just like walking in the Winter wonderland.

At night we did exquisite home cooking. On Saturday we had French crepes for dessert and everyone had to try to flip it in the air. Here is the video of our efforts:

During the day some people went cross-country skiing and some went to the slopes of Gore Mountain. On Saturday the weather was crappy. It was warm and raining. It was like skiing in Spring. But on Sunday it was great, cooler and sunshine. The visibility was great.

All Photos

Today we escaped the hustle and bustle of New York by taking a day trip Upstate. Driving there was fun. Our resident expert on scenic routes James made us take a very nice scenic route, albeit going in a different direction of our destination. I was admiring the views so much that he had to yell STOP!!!!!! STOP!!!!!! STOP!!!!! as I was slamming the breaks heading straight into the congestion of cars at a traffic light which seemed to appear out of nowhere. The healthy eating apostle Joanna made James have mere 3 spoons of oat meal for breakfast which caused us to stop on the way.

Our first destination was Awosting Falls. As the picture here shows, we all made it there. It was just a short hike from the parking lot right outside the entrance to the Minnewaska State Park.

I finally tested the cool special waterfall effects of my camera. Compare this photo with this.

Then we drove to the other parking lot on top of the mountain next to Lake Minnewaska. We started on a hike along Castle Point Carriageway. The hike was a very easy one since we were walking along a road similar to the one in Central Park. But unlike the ones in Central Park, our road lead us to several spots which were especially enjoyed by our scenic expert. Sue and Joanna made the famous song by R. Kelly come into reality.

Joanna and I were planning to go Upstate for a while. We wanted to do see the Fall foliage, but with me going to Norway and other scheduling conflicts we only were able to do this today... which happened to be the exact same day when our friend Tim and his wife decided to stay at The Mohonk Mountain House. It is a Victorian castle built in 1869 which is one of America's oldest family-owned resorts. It is located just minutes away from Lake Minnewaska where we were hiking, so it was a great opportunity for us to visit this grand landmark of the Hudson Valley... for free. (Unless you are visiting someone who is staying there, the admission to the property on a weekend is $16 per person.)

After hiking for several hours, nothing beats coming inside a house and sit on the comfy chairs. We also got some free hot chocolate and cookies (not sure if we were supposed to eat that since we did not stay at the house, but no one checked) and chilled out in the rocking chairs on the veranda overlooking Lake Mohonk. Before it got really dark we walked around the surrounding areas along the shore of the lake. There were plenty of gazebos and rock formations. (Yes James, rock, not disco).

We took a tour of the house and saw several dining rooms, but ended up in a small private dining room of our own with self service right out of my backpack.

After catching on with the news and having heated discussions, we finally got ourselves together and headed out to New Paltz for some real dinner. I've been to plenty of White Tie affairs in New York City, but who would have known that this quaint town of New Paltz has them too!

All Photos

Related Links:

• Minnewaska State Park Preserve
• Lake Minnewaska Website
• Mohonk Mountain House

The last 5 days I spent in Bergen, Norway visiting my friend Marianne for her birthday. The birthday party was held at her brother's restaurant Macumba, located in the center of Bergen. There were more than 30 people at the party. There were multiple speeches including the speech by the Birthday Girl herself. Unfortunately all the speeches were in Norwegian and I had no clue what they were about with exception of the end of Marianne's speech when she introduced me to everybody and crowned me as the King - the Guest of Honor.

We also had a quiz of how well we knew Marianne. All guests divided in several teams and answered multiple-choice questions. My team happened to have one of her brothers who you would think would know her quite well, however we only got 7 points out of 10. The team with her mother got 10 points, but her mom claims that she did not contribute much to the answers.

After having dinner we were dancing until 4 AM. I plugged in my laptop to the DJ's mixer and provided some of the Salsa and Hustle music. Marianne and I did a Hustle demonstration which impressed everyone. They were all clapping to the beat as we were dancing. Hustle is not well known in Norway, so it was quite a spectacle!

Marianne and me and three more people visiting her from Oslo and Copenhagen came back to her apartment at almost 5 AM and sat around talking about how the party went and who hit on who etc... Marianne's living room was transformed to a kindergarten where the three guests and I were sleeping.

The next morning we had breakfast. Marianne's mom came with the gifts that she took from the party to her house and Marianne proceeded with the gift opening. Her birthday was actually on that morning.

After breakfast we went for a walk to Mount Floyen. The day was beautiful. We saw some great views of the city. Later we went to the Bryggen - the oldest part of the city.

At night we had Dinner at Marianne's parents' home. The entire family gathered for dinner which is a customary thing to do on Sunday nights in Norway. Everyone had an assigned seat. After I was impressing everyone with "you name it, I play it" piano playing.

On the next day while Marianne was working, Johannes and I went to the Bergen Aquarium. Johannes is Marianne's Norwegian friend who was her classmate when she studied in Academy Of Dramatic Arts in New York. He was living in the same building in New Jersey where Marianne and I used to live. It was cool to see him after 4 years. Here he is at Marianne's birthday party in 2001. The Bergen Aquarium must be quite famous in Norway because it actually has a domain name with the Norwegian word for aquarium: akvariet.com. It had quite an interesting collection of all kinds of sea creatures. In addition to them, it had some lizards and snakes. They also showed a 3-D move SOS Planet. It was very cool. The computer graphics was so realistic that if the animals did not have smiles and smirks on their faces, they would look totally real.

For the remainder of my visit, Marianne and I went dancing. On one day we went to a club that had a Salsa night. I have to say, the Salsa scene in Norway is very different than in New York. No where in New York you would see so many Caucasian people dance salsa. And the girls there are sooo cute! We did some video recording of us dancing with my camera. The next day we went to a dance studio where Marianne teaches Salsa. We reserved a room there to practice and videotape our dancing. I was amazed to see how many young people are taking salsa classes there!

It was great to be back in Bergen. Last time I was there was back in February 2003. Back then the city was covered with snow, but this time I could see what it looks like in the Fall with trees still having some leaves on. Here are some photos of Bergen that I took during this trip.

The link to all photos is here.

Today Kerrie and I went on a day trip one hour away from Manhattan to the Hudson Valley to see Kykuit, which has been the home of the four generations of the Rockefeller family. We wanted to take the Grand Tour of the estate at 1:45 PM, but even though we got there shortly after 1 PM, the tickets for that tour were all sold out. So I recommend making reservations in advance if you go on this tour. Instead we ended up taking a smaller tour of the house and the inner gardens.

Our tour was set to begin at 3:15PM, so we had some time to kill and drove to Lyndhust mansion which was about 5 miles away. Since we had limited time, we did not go inside it. But I, acting like a spy, took couple of pictures through the only open window on the ground level. Next to the mansion there were some very friendly statues and a well protected rose garden with rose bushes tall enough for me to smell with no effort.

After seeing Lyndhurst we headed back to Philipsburg Manor which is the visitors center for Kykuit tours. They had a gift shop which at the time of our visit featured plethora of halloween related merchandise. Kerrie indulged herself in shopping while I checked out the manor property. After crossing the bridge over a lake, I arrived at a water powered mill attached to a house with some grain processing equipment. On the grounds of the manor there were people dressed in the outfits of the 18th century colonial America showing how some of the tricks of the trade. Kids get a chance to milk a real cow.

At 3:15 sharp we were taken on a mini bus to our ultimate destination - Kykuit. It was just a 5 minute ride into the splendid estate of the Rockefellers. It consisted of vast golf course, gardens, and lawns and of course the main mansion pictured on this page. We tried to dress as if we own the place, but unfortunately they would not allow us to feel at home during the guided tour of the house. Most of the rooms were sectioned off with ropes and we could only walk around in a group together with the guide. Speaking of the guide, we were very lucky because our tour guide actually lived on the estate when she was a little girl. Her name is Laura Bunt. Her grandfather was John Davison Rockefeller's gardener and her father was one of the estate's carpenters. Her uncle was the chauffeur. She gave us plenty if inside stories about the Rockefeller family and her childhood spent on the estate.

At the entrance to the mansion there was a large fountain which is replica of some other famous fountain. There are two entrance gates to each side of the fountain.

The rooms on the main floor of the house were furnished in old fashioned classical style, but in the middle of it all there were several modern art pieces. Actually in the basement there is a huge collection of modern art which shows that the Rockefellers appreciated that art form.

Outside the house there was a vast garden of which we only covered the "inner" section. The garden also featured several modern art sculptures. Behind the house one could admire the splendid view of the Hudson Valley. In fact the word Kykuit comes from Dutch language and it means "lookout".

My Photos Lyndhurst Philipsburg Manor Kykuit

Related Links Lyndhurst Philipsburg Manor Kykuit

Allright!!! Finally in my mail box today I received the photos of Ludmila and I taken by a professional photographer at one of the dance events we went to in Brazil. Ludmila was nice enough to buy them from the photographer and send me a copy! Now I can't wait to see one of those photos on the front page of a Brazilian dance newspaper. This is what we were promised.

The individual photos taken at that event are here.

Now Ludmila, what about that photo that someone took of us playing the piano in the hotel hallway?

Here I am sitting at my office desk drinking my morning coffee just like I do every morning, except that just yesterday afternoon I was here. Taking the night flight from Brazil and arriving back to New York the next morning made it feel that I woke up from a dream! Just yesterday afternoon I was admiring the views of Buzios and now I am back at my desk in New York! Unbelievable!

Thanks to my friend Ludmila I was able to see so much of Brazil in the little time that I had after work and last weekend! There is a lot of stuff to post in my Rio Blog, but I am really tired now and will do it later.

For now enjoy the photos.

Today I am going back to Rio for another week. Check my Rio Journal for the posts from my trip. You can also use this shortcut URL for my Rio Journal for a year from now: rioraph.com

Cheers,
Rioraph

Click on the photo for my Rio de Janeiro journal. I'll update it on regular basis while I'm there.

Click on the collage for the report on my trip to Shenandoah Valley over the Memorial Day weekend.

I finally posted the review of my vacation in Puerto Rico.

I had a great time in hot and sunny Puerto Rico and I am back in cold and rainy New York. Unfortunately my luggage did not make it back. It got stuck at our connecting point - Philadelphia. My coworker was not surprised when I told her this. She quoted: "Luggage with US Air never makes it through Philadelphia". And yes, we were flying US Air. Here are some past news headlines to justify her quote:

• US Air's Luggage Lament
• Luggage problems continue to plague US Air passengers
• US Airways Officials Promise To Reunite Passengers With Luggage
• Fliers' anger may imperil US Airways

Well, I'll look at the bright side: they promised that the luggage will be delivered to my house on Wednesday, so I don't have to carry it myself.

The dark side is that my laptop charger was in the luggage, so I can't post the photos until I get it. But once I do there will be plenty of them on my site.

Leaving for Wyndham El Conquistador resort in Puerto Rico for 6 days! Update:For my trip report click here.

Well, even the good things have to come to an end at some point. Today was my last day in Florida. I had to catch a 3PM flight back to the cold New York. Actually Florida weather was not too cooperative with my vacation. It was raining during all but my first day there. But on the day after my departure, the forcast promised sunny skies.

Following breakfast, Joanna and I did something we forgot to do during the morning gift exchange, which is to fire the Christmas crackers. The funny thing was that we had 3 crackers and I won all three times. However the gifts inside were not meant for me: a lipstick case, earings and a bracelet. So I gave the first two to Joanna and the bracelet to her Mom.

I am very greatful to Joanna and her mom for letting me stay at their house during my stay in Florida. I really felt like at home! They even put a picture of a Russian church next to my bed!

Here are the photos taken just before my departure.

On Christmas morning I woke up at around 8:30 in the morning because I had to go pick up Kerrie to go to M. family for the Christmas brunch. But we still have not had a gift exchange at Joanna's mom's, so we had to do it before my departure. Stu made delicious breakfast of home fries and eggs. He said that he normally does not cook breakfast, so I felt special that morning. James and Joanna slept through it though, cause they are not early risers. In fact throughout most of the gift exchange procedure James looked like this. Since I had to head out to pick up Kerrie, I was the only one dressed up. Everyone else had their robes on, except for Stu who wakes up at 5 AM everyday.

The photos from the gift exchange are in the first 20 photos of this album.

After the presents opening at Joanna's mom's house, Kerrie and I went to the M. family for Christmas brunch. We got there a bit late after everyone has finished their food. Nevertheless Marge gave us some waffles with coffee/tee. Marge and I played on the piano 4-hands. She was reading the sheet music and I was playing along on the high section of the keyboard. It was fun, especially the Scott Joplin's Entertainer. Then, contrary to what we expected, Marge told us that the Christmas gift opening will happen after dinner, not after brunch because one of her daughters Joanne had to work during the day. So Kerrie and went to go visit her grandparents before coming back for dinner.

As you can see from the photo on the left, Kerrie managed to inherit many more genes from her grandfather than from her grandmother... Just kidding :), that's her grandparents' dog on the right and her granddad that she calles "Paw Paw" on the left. Kerrie got them quite a few gifts which she proudly presented as I was videotaping the the process on my digital camera capturing the witty comments from Paw Paw as they were opening the presents. One of the gifts actually was picked by me. It is a recent model of a DVD player that can play all kinds of DVD formats, so that Kerrie's grandparnets could watch the DVDs with the videos of her that I make for them. The first DVD we watched was Kerrie's Santa Baby performance. Their second DVD I made right on the spot using my laptop. It was the video of them opening their presents.

We also put Paw Paw through vigorous training on how to use the new DVD player using some of the DVDs that they had. We tested him by turning off the TV and the DVD player and having him exit the room and come back and try to push all the necessary buttons to be able to watch a DVD. Kerrie kept stopping me when I tried to give him hints on what to do. She said that he has to do everything himself because after we go back to New York they will be left to their own devices.

James and Sharath arrived later. James brought 3 quarts of ice cream. Inspired by them, Kerrie's grandma pulled out 3 more gallons from her fridge. So we sat around the dining table and proceeded to devour the ice cream.

This was my second time visiting Kerrie's grand parents. The first time was during my trip to Florida for the New Year's Eve. Back then James, Sharath and I took turns Swing dancing with Gran Gran. This year Kerrie insisted that we do the same. So I cued up one of the many Swing songs that stayed on my laptop from Kerrie's birthday party and started the chain dance with Gran Gran. Here is the video: James and Sharath took their turn as well. Then Kerrie convinced Paw Paw to dance with Gran Gran to the sounds of my accompaniment on the organ. Kerrie and I also demonstrated our dancing abilities dancing impromptu foxtrot. Here is the video:

Kerrie and I went to the Victorian Christmas Stroll held at the Henry B. Plant Museum which was located in the former Tampa Bay Hotel. We took Gavin and Alaina's boyfriend with us. This was the first time I had a child car seat in a car that I was driving. After spending some time trying to figure out how to attach the car seat, every one was happy to depart to the museum.

We strolled through the historic hallways and exhibit galleries and absorbed the atmosphere of another age. Object labels were kept to a minimum to help maintain a sense of time and place, but signage outside each room and near the Christmas trees revealed interesting historical notes. In one room they had a 20 minute video that talked about Henri B. Plant and the Tampa Bay Hotel that he founded. Kerrie had a Marylin Monroe moment.

Here are all of the photos taken there.