Thursday, March 20, 2014

Estela

It took me a minute to locate the restaurant. The restaurant entrance is hidden up a flight of stairs on the "first floor" level (in terms of brownstones). The layout of the place was long and narrow with an isle down the middle. The bar was jam packed already at 7:40pm on a Thursday evening and the all the tables were reserved already. We just grabbed the first 2 bar seats that opened up.





I ordered a citricy egg-white cocktail - Governer's fizz and N had a Sherry. A deviation from the regular beer or red wine we usually order maybe because the restaurant had a yuppie feel to it. I wasn't wow'ed by the drinks but it was a interesting solid choice.


Overall rating was 6 / 10




Sunday, March 16, 2014

NYRR Five-Borough Series: NYC Half


This is the second time I won the lottery to run this race but it's the first time I was able to run in it! My lower back was in a bad condition 4 years ago when I first tried to run in it. And this time my left ankle was still recovering from a bad sprain that happened 6 months ago. I wasn't sure if my ankle was health enough for me to run 13.1 miles so I was giving my spot to my friend, Wilson. Due to fate, Wilson decided not to run it and I didn't want the spot to go to waste so I decided to go for a try.

Following the recovery of my ankle, I've only been picking up running again slowly. The longest distance I've done post-injury was ~6 miles with around 10min/mile pace but I finished relatively comfortable. I decided that I will run only at a comfortable or slightly slower than comfortable pace and that's what I did. 

On race day, it was felt pretty crazy. I think it was some 20,000 runners signed up for the race. All flooded into central park where the starting line was. They had a full airport TSA grade security check point but the number of runners was probably overwhelming that they had to abandon the security check for people to start the race on time.

We started off running a loop of central park which is 6 miles and went down 7 avenue passing Time Square. Running thru Time Square was the most amazing stretch of the race. We ran down the traffic free streets with all the spectators cheering on the side, the bright lights on the buildings beaming, energetic bands blasting music. It's just a very different Time Square from the traffic jammed and tourist packed block.

I kept a pretty stable 10min/mile pace thru out mile 11. Then my energy level must started to plummet. The last 2 miles was the toughest 2 miles I've ever ran in my life. However, after coming out of the Battery Park underpass with the sunlight hitting your face and the cheering crowd roaring. I was able to sustain myself for 3 more minutes to pass the finish line!!

This is one of the best experiences in New York and I highly recommend everyone in New York to do it at least once. Overall experience: 10/10


Another thing worth mentioning is that the app for the race was pretty amazing! N was able to track my progress in the comfort of home on her iPad :)










Friday, March 7, 2014

Flamenco Festival 2014


Friday: Gala Flamenca: Antonio Canales, Carlos Rodríguez, Karime Amaya, Jesús Carmona

One of the greatest flamenco masters, Antonio Canales, will be joined by Carlos Rodríguez, known for his bold mix of contemporary dance and traditional flamenco; the riveting Karime Amaya, who has earned praise following in the footsteps of her great-aunt, the legendary Carmen Amaya; and the young sensation hailed as the future of flamenco, Jesús Carmona.

Saturday: Ballet Flamenco Eva Yerbabuena: 'AY!' and 'Lluvia'

Enthralling audiences with her explosive footwork, graceful movement, and innovative choreography for more than 15 years, but mostly appreciated for her duende, the soulfulness and emotional depth that is the hallmark of great flamenco dancers.

The Flamenco Festival is a series of flamenco or flamenco influenced performances including dancing, instrumental performance, and singing. This is the 16th year of the festival (if memory serves me correct) and this year in New York the series goes on for around two weeks.  We went to two performances at New York City Center on Friday and Saturday evening.

A little background on flamenco: This is type of folk performance art that originated from southern Spain with traditional Gypsy roots. It is a combination of dancing, singing, guitar playing, and handclapping.

The Friday performance was more what I expected - fancy and mind blowing footwork. They also had a improv jam session at the end which was very original and energetic. The Saturday performance gave me the impression that it was interpretive modern dance (whatever that means) incorporating flashes of flamenco footwork and accompanied by flamenco guitar and singing.

Reference: http://www.spainculture.us/city/new-york/flamenco-festival-2014/