Throwback Thursday: A roadtrip through the South Island of New Zealand

Last week I posted pictures of the road trip on the North Island so of course this week I had to showcase the south island of New Zealand! I enjoyed the landscapes a lot more while driving down to Queenstown and the landscapes changed a lot more as we continued our drive.

The south featured more mountainous landscapes and more roads bending around high hills. Don't be like us and get stuck in a ditch because we wanted to stop for a photo!

Monta Ramen : Las Vegas

I honestly think this is the best place so far that has my favorite ramen soup base so far. Wherever I go, I always try to order the tonkatsu broth and luckily for me, this place specializes is in it! The first day we went on our trip, we wanted to go to this ramen place and within 30 minutes of them opening, they already had a 1 hour wait!

On our last day there, we arrived 10 minutes before they opened and were the first in line to sit down. I ordered their daily special which was the Tonkatsu with black garlic oil and it was amazing. The broth is very thick and it was filled with pork flavor. It was very creamy but not too oily where you would feel disgusting after a big bowl of ramen.

Unboxing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Welcome Package!

Yay!! In two weeks I will be flying to Florida to Universal studios to visit the Wizarding world of Harry Potter and more! We are spending 4 days there and I am super excited. When we booked our vacation, we were told to expect a welcome package and I have been checking for it everyday the USPS comes to my door.

Last Friday, it finally came and I got to open it by myself hahaha!!! It came with a stuffed owl, welcome letter, and our tickets for our trip for the four days =). I can't wait to go and you know I will be posting about it =)

Throwback Thursday: Road tripping through the North Island of New Zealand

Whenever someone asks me how they should travel within New Zealand, I always tell them they have to drive and if they can, drive themselves. The roads are empty and there are plenty of lookout points where you can stop and enjoy the view as you go from one town to another.

The North Island is filled with rolling green hills, livestock, and trees that lined up perfectly. If you were on a tour bus, you would be angry that you couldn't stop to get a nice picture of the scenery! We stopped several times and because the roads were empty, we were never late to our destination. 

Whenever I revisit these photos I always want to go back because in my mind, New Zealand is synonymous with adventure.

Photography: When it rains in NYC

I absolutely love it when it rains or snows in NYC. The colors of the city come out differently and at night, the streets light up from the wet ground. People walk or run fast to get to their destination while trying to stay as dry as possible!

I prefer that it does not rain EVER but if it had to, then I don't mind being outside taking photos =). I still prefer snow over rain though, what do you guys think? Which do you prefer if you had to walk outside for lunch or to take the train home after work?

Throwback Thursday: Wellington, New Zealand

For those that are fans of the Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit, they would know that Wellington is where the movies were filmed. The second day we were there, we headed to Mount Victoria  to get an overview of the city before we returned the rental car. It's a very popular place to go to since it gives panoramic views and we can confirm this because for as long as we were there, there were tons of tour buses that came and left the mountain top.

After leaving, we walked around the city before everything closed. Being from New York City, I always forget that other cities might not stay open past 5pm and stores were limited after that time!

Photography: Long Exposures

I have always been asked how I shoot my long exposures at night or what the right settings are. Most of my photos that I have taken in the last nine years have been trial and error and getting to learn how my camera processes light.

This one is currently hanging in my bedroom wall on canvas!

I absolutely love talking about photography and teaching people what I have learned but in the end, all cameras are different! In order for you to take long exposures, you would definitely have to know how to use the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to get the affect you want.

I personally love long exposures where the lights have a 'star' affect and the water is smooth. For those photos, I always shoot with a small aperture, long shutter speed (30 secs or more), and the lowest ISO possible. Since I have used my cameras for so long, it takes me one or two photos before I get the right one for my liking!

Some of my favorite long exposures that I have taken over the years are in this blog post =). Have a look!

I had this printed on Metallic photo paper and it's so beautiful

Soba ya : East Village

Wow! Long time no food review! I'm a bit hungry today so why not look at pictures of yummy food?

I went to Soba-ya with my husband awhile back and never got around to writing up a post about it. We were looking for a random place to find food while we wait for our dog to be ready for pickup after her surgery. It was a cold day so noodles  and hot soup was appropriate. We arrived at Soba-ya pretty early, around 6pm and there wasn't a line thankfully since we were both hungry.

My husband ordered the Tempura Udon which was very tasty but in my opinion a very small portion. I remember looking at the dish when it first came out and thinking it would not fill me up. Maybe I was starving but it did look small to me!

I ordered the Curry Pork Katsu udon which was very filling and not too salty at all. This was a special for that season so you wouldn't find this there everyday. The pork was very juicy and not overcooked and the curry had nice spice flavoring.

For dessert we both shared a Green Tea creme brûlée which was a bit underwhelming. I didn't find it anything special but if you like green tea and custard, try it out!

Throwback Thursday: Halifax, Nova Scotia

A few months ago I went on a cruise to Canada with my family and one of the ports were Halifax, Nova Scotia. From the ship, we walked around for a few hours stopping at the Citadel and shopped at the waterfront near where our ship was docked.

The day turned out to be a really nice day with temperatures hitting around the 80 degree mark. The sun was out and it was not too humid to be exploring a new city.

Central Park south

As I sit here and write this, it is snowing in NYC and temperatures are going to drop down to the single digits in two days. I'm going to take it back just a few months to October where it was about 40 degrees and we thought it was too cold!

Back in October, I had the opportunity to be in an apartment that had an amazing view of Central Park and I still can't get over it. Growing up, I have always wanted to have a view like this but of course that is not realistic for me ;). I wonder how it is looking like now that it is snowing a bit and all of the trees are bare?

Throwback Thursday: Happy new year everyone!

Today's throwback is going to be for the entire year of 2014! Last year was an amazing year and even though it does not compare to the events of 2013, it is still something to be proud of. I am excited that this blog has gotten so far since I started it and the one year anniversary is coming up in two months!

I would like to thank all my readers for making 2014 a very exciting year for me and for continuing to support this blog by coming here and reading all of my posts. All of the photos below are from my Instagram and it is a good representation of how my photography on that outlet has grown too!

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