Janine's Little World

Match in Table Tennis + German Delicatessen

11 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment

by Janine in general

So Dermot and me finally decided to go to this bar where it is mainly about playing table tennis! Loved it and I beat Dermot’s ass! We went down to 23rd street on 7th September.

On Friday we went to a different area this time. It was still Manhattan but we have never been there before. There was this suggested German restaurant in the New York tour guide that my mum gave me so we thought we try it out. Probably it wasn’t a good idea that we went on a Friday as it was quite packed but I still enjoyed the food!

Der Biergarten

The Menu VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Dermot’s food (Rheinischer Sauerbraten mit Knoedeln und Rotkraut)

My meal ( Bratwurscht mit Sauerkraut und Stampfkartoffeln)

Now these are all my adventures so far!   It was a lot to catch up on! Enjoy reading!

Sightseeing Number 2

11 Sep 2011 2 Comments

by Janine in general

Sorry for not updating for a while. Been busy doing sightseeing and stuff like that.

We survived the hurricane anyways. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Of course the coastal areas were flooded but in our area was nothing at all. It was raining a lot and windy but that’s it.

Since my last update we have done a lot of sightseeing. I show you some photos below.

We went to Madame Tussauds last Friday. (2nd September 2011)

Robert Pattinson + Me

Captain Sparrow + Me

Me as president

Statue Of Liberty

John Bon Jovi + Me

The Beatles

It was great. We spent about 2 1/2 hours in there. Nearly at the end we could experience a 4D Cinema which included side effects like winds, snow and stuff. It was for the movie “Happy Feet”.

The day after (3rd September 2010) we went to Times Square again to have another look around. Went into ToysRUs then. I know big kids. lol

ToysRUs VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

On the Sunday (4th September) we went to see one of Dermot’s aunt who lives over here in America. We had lunch there and then went to a BBQ party with them. It was good fun. Their house is in the middle of nowhere in the woods. lol All of these house are built from wood… Really weird! Anyway I enjoyed the day out.

Next day (5th September) we went to Times Square… YES AGAIN! It was planned to go to Nintendo World and the Disney Store. Dermot bought a few t-shirts in the Disney store. I did too but my one is a bit too tight so I will bring my one back one of these days or exchange it for something else.
Around the corner was the Rockefeller Restaurant so we sat down there and had some food. It was delicious but it was expensive too.
The Disney Store wasn’t that good to be honest. I expected more from it.

We spotted the M&M Store after which was amazing! Sooo many M&Ms in these different colours.

Ireland and Germany mixed M&Ms

M&M Statue Of Liberty

US Open 2011

03 Sep 2011 Leave a Comment

by Janine in general

Dermot bought tickets to the US Open. He loves his tennis! And he decided to bring me too. Nice of him isn’t it?

So on the 31st August 2011 we went to Flushing Meadows by subway and had a look around first. They had these practicing hall where you can play tennis, table tennis, practice your serve and many other things.

Dermot practiced his serve first. See below.

As far as I can remember he hit 86 which is great as most people only hit under 80.

After the serving we went to play a bit of tennis and then table tennis.

11am was the first game. This day was boiling hot and our seats were at the very top of the stadium. So we didn’t last long there. Maybe for an hour and that was it.

We walked around for a bit and found Court 13 which had seats in the shade. We watched 2 matches from there. We did miss the Andy Murray match in the main stadium but it was just ridiculously warm.

After the 2 matches we went to the main stadium and sat down on the grass to watch the final minutes of the Andy Murray game. Of course he won.

We went home after that. It must have been around 5 or 6pm. Great day out.

The Mental weather

27 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment

by Janine in general

Thought I am going to drop in a quick update for you.

New Yorks weather is going mental lately. Not that it started off with a heatwave late July/ early August, we also had an earthquake a few days ago. It was a 30 second one but still weird. Never experienced one before. At the time I was sitting in the apartment on the couch when the TV, mirror and couch started checking. I looked outside and everything looked normal so I didn’t think that it could be an earthquake. I did google it though if earthquakes are common in NY which they were not.
Late in the day it was said on the news that there was an earthquake in NY and some people have been evacuated from their buildings just in case. This is very rare as the last earthquake in New York was 100 years ago.

That is still not enough… this weekend we are experiencing a hurricane. How exciting. lol It is going to be one of the biggest ones apparently. The subway will come to a standstill tomorrow noon and you can’t go anywhere. Luckily we have shops plus shopping center right in front of the door but news told to buy all essentials. There is going to be flooding but only near the coastal areas and people have been evacuated. We don’t have to leave as we are more in the middle. We will still see the hurricane though. I might post photos if they turn out good. The hurricane Irene is going to hit NY Sunday.

First Week in New York PLUS Impression

21 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment

by Janine in general

It’s Thursday 25th August 2011 and I am already 10 days in New York. Time flies doesn’t it?

When I arrived a week ago on a Tuesday (15th August) Dermot collected me from the airport with flowers. Cute I know. The flight was really smooth and it didn’t feel like flying for 7 hours. There was a lot of entertainment and food onboard. I watched 3 movies and played some games and the time flew.
The pre clearance at Dublin airport was a bit silly but of course I understand it needs to be done for security reasons. They let me in the country anyways. haha
After I landed in New York and had trouble finding the baggage claim area I made it into the arrival hall with Dermi collecting me. He didn’t see me as I came in a different so I surprised him for once. We took a taxi to the apartment then. That day it was really warm and they used to have hotter days before that!

Arrived in the apartment and already cleaned and moved a few things around to make it look at home. lol We had to buy a few bit and pieces the next day but that is to be expected all the time. That day I was too tired from the trip to go anywhere so I went to bed at around 6pm New Yorker time which is 11pm Irish time. I slept about 12 hours which was great.

Wednesday 17th August  was my first day at work in the office. I spent the day learning the product. The coming days were easy enough with testing the product etc.

The first weekend Dermot and me went to do sightseeing.

World Trade Center being built again

World Financial Center inside

Me in New York

Statue of Liberty

Staten Island

Impressions:

• Can’t complain about the weather as it is always really warm! It starts getting cooler though which is good as sometimes it can be too hot especially in the subway,
• The food is a bit different over here. I noticed they have a lot of meals that contain egg. Not a fan of it but I like my Applebees restaurant and since a few days alos the Irish pub down the road. They serve lovely Shepherds Pie!
• Public Transport is brilliant!
• Clothes shopping etc is very cheap but what does annoy me as when they display the price tag on the clothes it doesn’t include the taxes for whatever reason. Which means when you go up to the till they charge you even more. I probably will have to get used to it.
• Shops near the apartment would be nicer than carrying it 20mins down the road.

Apart from all that it is actually nice over here. We have a lovely apartment so can’t complain about that either!

Sea, Sun & Waves

16 Aug 2011 Leave a Comment

by Janine in general

Long time no see.

I’ve been busy the last few weeks and never even got the time to update you with my latest trips. I am going to do this right now.

So like I mentioned in my last post I have been to Germany to visit my mum and then we went to Spain for a weeks holiday.

2nd August we took the train to the airport. We arrived in the hotel around 9pm as our plane from Madrid to Almeria was delayed. We were starving as Madrid airport terminal must have been only billed recently. No food anywhere. So it was even more delightful to be able to eat as much as we want in the hotel.

Our hotel ( If you look closer you can see 2 orange towels and 1 yellow one which was our room )

hotel from the seaside.

Me having dinner one of the nights.

During this holiday we basically just relaxed and let the days go by without worrying about anything. I enjoyed it a lot. The hotel we used to go to still looks the same.

Me on our balcony

At the beach one evening

enjoying Pina Colada in the hotel bar

At the pool.

Biggest fun was the last 2 – 3 days. It was a lot windier and the waves in the Mediterranean Sea were high. So the last few days we spent the afternoons mostly there jumping over them or getting flushed away by them.

9th August it was time to fly home again. Funny thing was on the flight up to Madrid there was a passenger on board who actually wanted to fly to Barcelona. lol Luckily the air crew counted everyone and noticed someone needs to be on the other plane that was leaving at the same time on the way to Barcelona.
Landing at 10.30pm in Berlin we got picked up by our taxi driver and went home with a stop at Mc Donalds to eat a Cheeseburger ( well 2 in that case )

The days after I visited my granny one last time before I went back to Ireland, did a bit of garden work so my mum didn’t have to do everything.

12th August I had to be up early. By early I mean 4.30am. Had to get the train at 5.34am. A lot of waiting at the airport, train station in Dublin, I finally got home at 6.30pm. Fluffy and Missy were already waiting and Bailey came along later.

First Days of my Holidays

30 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment

by Janine in general

Little update on my visit in Germany.

Tuesday 26th July:

I arrived in Germany that day in the morning around 10.30am. I stayed in a hotel at dublin airport the night before as my flight was early in the morning the next day.

After a little delay on the German train because the train driver decided to arrive late for work I made the train to Waren and arrive at my mums house around 3pm. It was lovely and warm outside… That changed the days after though.

Wednesday 27th July:

The next day we went shopping. Bought my Hello Kitty socks as usual and a few little bits and pieces.

Today is Saturday and it has been raining since nearly 2 days. It is like autumn. You can’t go anywhere really. But it is good to relax in front of the tele too as I am not getting German channels everyday.

A few days ago my mum and me took down a big tree as it was stealing us the lovely sun. Some work that was but it is done. She couldn’t have done it on her own. I have to do a few more little things before I leave in 2 weeks.

Tuesday coming we are going to Spain for a week. Looking forward to that. Finally getting a bit more tan.

Meanwhile Dermi in New York has been dieing the last 2 weeks since he got there. He was in pain with his poor tooth. Since yesterday it has got better as he got a root canal treatment done. I hope he is all happy again when I arrive in 2 weeks time.

That was my little update. More to follow!

Packing, Weighing, New (York) City

17 Jul 2011 2 Comments

by Janine in general

This week Dermot and me have been busy cleaning the house. He is going to New York tomorrow morning and leaving me behind. lol Don’t worry I am joining him shortly after that.

So yesterday we have been busy bees packing his suitcases. So far so good. First suitcase is packed with all his clothes plus tennis racket. Doesn’t weight more than 20kg which you are allow on Aer Lingus flights.
Second suitcase we are still waiting on clothes to dry, Will have to check when I finished writing this blog. Apart from that everything is set. I am going to drive Dermot down to Dublin this afternoon so he doesn’t have to carry all his suitcase on the train or bus. Too nice I am! The fact that it is only like a 2 hours and 15mins drive it is easy enough and I can drive back after no problem. I could be staying over but I’ve got work in the morning. booo
Originally it was planned to go to Germany tomorrow morning but plans had to be changed as realised it was too long. So basically I am going to work the week now and the Monday after and then I am heading to Germany on Tuesday in a weeks time. Should be good fun. At least away from this depressing weather!!! lol

In August then I’ll be heading to New York myself. Wonder what that will be like… 7 hours on a plane. Never have been on a plane that long. Longest was probably 4h 30mins. That is going to be a nice experience. Dermot will collect me from JFK airport. I probably get lost. lol

On my own this week so… need to find something to do. But looking outside right now there is nothing you can do really. It is so shitty outside! Doesn’t look like summer at all. More like autumn!

Anyways that was a small little update what is going to happen in the next couple of weeks. Not looking forward to work but at least I am getting paid!

Blog you all soon again, either from Germany or NY or in between in case something exciting might happen.

Quiet house

09 Jul 2011 Leave a Comment

by Janine in general

I had the ad up in the shops only for about a week and a lady rang me on Thursday about it. She would be interested in one of the kittens.

So in the evening time she came over and had a look at them. She decided to take the one with the black spot on the nose. She collected it this afternoon. I am glad he got a nice home.

Another guy on boards.ie who lives in Sligo was interested in one of the kittens as well. He came over this afternoon (before the other was given away) with his 5 year old niece. She liked the black one.
In the end he decided to take the 2 of them.  

Missy seems to be very sad at the moment I think. She is wandering around the house meowing looking for the other 3. Poor thing. But it is good that she still has one kitten remaining so she won’t be lonely and can play mammy still.