New York City, New York, United States of America

Alright, 8 days has gone by since Christina and I landed in New York and it's been a complete whirl-wind of subways, shopping, eating and touring.

We arrived late on Sunday night and immediately checked in to our hotel and went for a walk into the neighborhood. Our neighborhood being the theatre district and immediately next to Times Square. For me, this is my second trip to NYC and the first for Christina. So we decided to start (initiate) her off with Times Square. It was pure chaos but it was all the lights and noises you'd expect.

Day two was a complete photo barrage for both of us but started with a new tradition that was bagels for breakfast. Christina discovered a bagel shop that served the best and most (ridiculous) amounts of custom cream cheeses. After that we waddled over to the Hudson River and caught an around Manhattan cruise for some pictures. 300 pictures later (for me at least), it was well into the afternoon and we decided to head down to FiDi (Financial District) to see a riverside park and eventually make our way over to Brooklyn for some night photos of the skyline and Bridge.

Day three turned out as a semi-planned crap-shoot hoping for things to come through for us. We started out (after bagels) with the NBC Studio Tour which shortened our lifespan by an hour. (How spoiled are we that a tour of the Nightly News set, Football Night in America set and SNL set is a big disappointment). While we were getting in line for the studio tour we also picked up some stand-by tickets for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. As we waited for the designated time (to see if we were going to get in) we headed over to the Chrysler Building to see an observation deck that didn't exist. After walking away with our tail between our legs we wandered back through Grand Central, The New York City Library and Top of the Rock for some more photos. Then it was back to Rockefeller to see if we were getting into a show taping. After waiting for 30 minutes, we were informed that we were going to get to see the taping. This was quite exciting as I wanted to see the musical guest (Avett Brothers). After waiting some more within the bowels of NBC a young intern started picking young-looking people out of the lineup for some reason. When she got to us, she picked us too. We soon discovered that we were selected to be part of the 'Band Bench' which meant we would get to sit behind the band as they performed. So after getting listen to the Roots (the house band on Fallon) and seeing the entire show we were led onto the set, directly behind the band for their performance. In was surreal to sit back there and watch the show and see the audience staring at you, as well as getting to shake hands with the band members after. By the time the taping ended, we were floating and needed some dinner and laughs at our good fortune for getting to see the performance for free.

Day four after a few hours in the park we made our way back to Times Square to find ourselves some tickets to a show on Broadway. After many changes of heart we ended up with tickets to Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark which was notorious for its high-flying action and potential for danger. After seeing the show and the acrobatic staged fighting between characters, it was apparent that there could easily be a mixup that would cause someone to land on the audience. Anyways, the production was quite stunning even if the content was relatively fluffy.

Dave five was our relaxing day after a few hectic days around the city. We headed up to Central Park for a leisurely stroll to see some of the sights and stop for a beverage an the Loeb Boathouse. While their we took in some of the local street artists, shopping and took even more pictures. After this we dropped our bags and cameras off we headed down to Times Square to buy more show tickets. This time we went for a play called Grace featuring Paul Rudd and Ed Asner. This was a really good experience and interesting to see what actors do in between their movie projects. After the show it was time for an extremely late dinner and a midnight ride up the Empire State Building.

Day six was the first day Christina and I decided to split up. Our individual needs for shopping and photography meant that we needed some time apart. Christina headed for the shopping district near Union Square and I took off with my camera through Chinatown, townwards City Hall and eventually to Brooklyn. We met up in time to head over for some pre-show savoury pies (meat pies!!) then down to Radio City Music Hall for a Bon Iver concert. We had seen them together back in June but they were so good that we couldn't pass up an opportunity to see them again, especially at that venue. The show was as expected, amazing, and we were floating afterwards.

Day seven meant that we were starting to run out of things that we really needed to do and started in other things we decided to include in our itinerary. First stop for us was High Line Park, but before we even got there, we got distracted by a random market underneath the line. Our day was relatively short as we slept in (again) and I went running in the morning, plus our evening plans started early. We headed down to the East Village for a Stars concert at Webster Hall. Following that amazing show, we had free tickets to go see the same band play an after-show at a tiny (100 person) club. This was tons of fun with lots of random songs and laughs.

Day eight started, late, very late. The 3:30 bedtime the night before meant whatever we did that day was going to start in the afternoon. That first task was to catch a train out to the ocean and Coney Island (FYI, not an island). Definitely worth the effort to get our there as it was a combination of a boardwalk, amusement park, pier, beach and sadness that all made for some great photos. After that we tried to take the train to Williamsburg in Brooklyn but ended up on 3 trains and a bus to make it across the borough. Following that it was up to the Upper West side for one last dinner.

Day nine (wait, this was only supposed to be eight) has been brief and included boot shopping (Christina's addiction) and camera store shopping (my addiction). Now we're at the airport. Sad. Waiting for a flight to Toronto. It's been great.

Anyways, if you're looking for photos they will be coming in the next few days as there are several thousand to edit.

Thanks for reading.

Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Ok, I know the trend for my blog is for the title to represent my current location in the world. Unfortunately, I was consistently on the go the entire time I was in Montreal and had no chance to give you an update till now. 

Now, the weekend in Montreal was a decision that Christina and I made back in April when we discovered that Florence and the Machine would be playing. We had been searching for one of their tour stops that we could plan a summer trip around. Then a music festival, Osheaga, announced its lineup we knew where we'd be going. We had simply been hoping to see Florence and the Machine, and with Osheaga we could also see about another 100 bands. 

After a red-eye flight from Edmonton, a few hours of being stranded without a place to sleep, we headed down to Parc Jean-Drapeau. The park was an island in the middle of the St Lawrence River which made logistics a bit tricky as everyone needed to take the Metro to get in and out. With attendance topping out at 40,000 everyday it proved to be a challenge. 

None-the-less, we made it to the festival just fine and immediately began exploring the 5 stages to see as many bands as we could handle. The first day turned out to be the best in terms of weather despite the humidex approaching 40 degrees. Our first day lineup included Bombay Bicycle Club, The Jezabels, Of Monster and Men, Amadou & Miriam, Franz Ferdinand, The Weeknd, Florence + The Machine, and Sigur Ros. Our strategy for the day was really to see as much as we could before trying to get as close as possible for Florence. That plan worked to be perfection as we were within 15 people of the mainstage in a sea of 30,000 people. This made for an amazing show that literally made it hard for me breathe or sing. I managed to capture a few videos of the show on my phone. The last video includes a moment where the crowd was directed to stand still until notified and then jump up and down for as long as possible. I joined in with the crowd which causes the 'Blair Witch' style video but the bedlam still gives me goosebumps when I watch it.

Florence and the Machine - Lay Me Down


Florence and the Machine - Shake It Out


Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over


On day two we got a very late start to the day (probably because we didn't sleep the day before) and because the lineup was admittedly the weakest of any day. Plus the weather looked like it was going to be the hottest day by far. Temperatures topped out at 33 in nothing but sunshine (mixed in with high humidity). Our strategy for day two was a little more simple, stay in the shade and stay hydrated. We found a nice little spot under a tree on the mainstages and just rested there for a few hours. Eventually we wandered out to the side stages to catch a few other random acts. One of which was the Arkells who I had heard from multiple sources put on a great live show. And they absolutely did not disappoint. They were the surprise of the weekend for me. Not only were they great, but apparently the word had gotten around because the small Tree Stage they played was jam packed full of people. The rest of our lineup for the day included Calexico, Young the Giant, Plants and Animals Young Galaxy,  SBTRKT, Garbage and Feist. This list should have included Snoop Dogg who was the headliner on the Saturday, but after he was 30 minutes late and knowing the disaster the Metro would be afterwards we instead got an early start on the rest of our night. (The strategy worked, caught the first train out with no delay).

Day three had a great lineup of bands, but immediately we were wondering whether we'd be able to enjoy it. After seeing news of the evacuation of Lollapalooza the day before in Chicago, and knowing the forecast was for the same storms to hit Montreal, we knew it would be an interesting day. We came prepared with full rain (jackets, umbrella, numerous ziplock bags). Despite the 4-5 rainstorms that hit we saw everyone we had hoped to. We did get obliterated by rain a couple of times though. The first videos I have from the day are from Dan Mangan who has yet to disappoint with his live performances. The next set is from The Shins, which in the middle of their song Australia came the worst of the rain/wind storms. Somewhere in between, we even squeezed in a few songs from Bloc Party, where the crowd was completely nuts. And the night/weekend concluded (as all weekends should) with the Black Keys. The rest of day included Aloe Blacc, Passion Pit, Austra, James Vincent McMorrow, Tame Impala, Bloc Party, and Metric.

Dan Mangan - Sold


Dan Mangan - Row of Houses


Dan Mangan - Robots


The Shins - Caring is Creepy


The Shins - Australia


Bloc Party - Banquet


The Black Keys - Lonely Boy

So that summarizes the weekend. The last day we managed to get out an about in Montreal for some walking, shopping and (more) poutine. I've got plenty of photos as well, which you can see in this gallery.  That's it for the trip. Hoped you enjoy the videos.

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (2)

12 months, and over 11,000 photos, 4 countries, 6 states, 5 provinces, and 16 flights later 2011 is over. I never thought that this year would be anything less than a letdown of a year of traveling in 2010, but somehow it wasn't. I grew so much as a person, as a professional and I'm slowly turning into the person I always thought I could be. Only bodes well for 2012. To celebrate (albeit belatedly) this amazing year, here are my favorite photos of the year. Enjoy