Kona tiki hotel from ali'i drive. They

Kona tiki hotel from ali'i drive. They have a beautiful view of the sunset and a very funky vibe.

Day 2 - morning Run on Ali'i' Drive

On my morning run on Ali'i' drive, where the marathon of the Iron Man Triathalon takes place. There are many runners and walkers along this strip at all times of the day, but especially in the morning, before it gets hot.
Here is one of the many churches you come across along the shoreline. What a beautiful setting.


A front view of the pretty little church.



Longhorns couldn't care less about all the runners and walkers going by.
Beautiful colored ironwork gate along Ali'i' Drive.




Close-up of metal work on gate. Fish amongst the coral and seaweed.

Sunset over saltwater pool day 1

Sunset over saltwater pool day 1

Rio Friday Part 3 - Pao d Azucar

The tram ride to the top of URca.

(More photos to come for this post.)

MAJOR sale

Is this funny to anyone else, or just me? 

Jcondo, here we come . . .in 18 months

18 months from now, Summer 2007, if all goes well, LocalTourist will move into a condo on floor 32 of Jcondo in Dumbo, Brooklyn. Of course, a lot can happen in 18 months. Here is a view of the construction site, taken from the window of the sales office on Front street, just across the street. That's the Manhattan Bridge on the right in the photo.


Close up of the pit.




A view from above the Manhattan Bridge, from the official jcondominium web site, taken from a construction crane. This is approximately the same orientation as the majority of windows in our corner condo, though it will be about 20 stories higher. It looks out toward the Financial district, East River, Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges, and the New York harbor.

Interior design and materials for Jcondo

Since it will be roughly 18 months until our unit is ready, LocalTourist took some photos to stare at repeatedly during the long months of waiting to come.

Highly styled kitchen "set" at the sales office of jcondo. The sales office is in a fantastic old brick warehouse on Jay and Front Streets, directly across from the construction site that is "J" condominium.
Under cabinet microwave, and underneath it, a thing they tell me you can use to prepare food for eating.
Dishwasher and sink, grass not included.
The Master bath has high visibility glass walls, "all the better to see you with, my dear".
Double sinks 'cause you can never have too many people in the bathroom at one time.
White marble with grey veins, prrrrreeetty.
Super deep tub in Master bath.

Guest bathroom.
Hanging fixtures that will be used in new condo. Ceiling will be flush, since it is a new building.


Last but not least, real hardwood floors (sample butted up against wall), instead of the more common Pergo (main floor).

downpayment on Jcondo

No, this is not a marketing photo. This is a marketing mock-up of the the kitchen that will be in LocalTourist's new unit in Jcondo, in Dumbo. More to follow.

Rio Friday Part 2 - Copacabana Palace

A night view of the magnificent Copacabana Palace on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.
Copa in the daylight.




Plaque noting the Copa's architect.

The famous Copacabana pool, where the fabulous hang out.





This is the second building of the hotel, back behind the pool on the left side of the building. It has amazing balconies overlooking the pool.






There are a few small shops in the lobby of the Copa. There are also display windows for other shops, one of which you see here. I fell in love with this image of Pao de Acucar, Urca, and Botofogo (the two hills, or "morros", and the area in front of the bay) in the display window.




close-up of art work

Springtime in Winter

Started my afternoon run today just in time to catch the sunset from the Brooklyn Bridge. It was 60 degrees!

That's the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in the shadows to the right.

Beautiful view of a tree under the Brooklyn Bridge silhouetted in the fading sunset, with the lights of the Financial District just starting to flicker. This photo was taken from Brooklyn Bridge Park . . .

which is actually under the Manhattan Bridge.

100 Broadway at Wall street

On a cold and windy winter day like today, the best place to be is in a bookstore. Here are some interior photos from the Borders bookstore on Broadway, in the Financial District. It's such a surprise to walk in and see the beautiful columns and detail work on the ceiling of what was originally called the American Surety Company Building. It was built between 1894-1896, and designed by Architect Bruce Price.

(click on the title for more historical and architectural information on this building)



Here is a view of the Mezzanine level. It is a treat when they use buildings like this for some useful purpose that also allows the general public in to interact with them on a regular basis.






A close-up view of the amazing ceiling, which is very well-maintained. It makes you forget what you came into the bookstore for.

Name the Architect

Anyone know what is going up here? It is at 18th st. and 11th Ave., better know as West Side Highway, right across from Chelsea Piers. I believe it is being built by a media mogul, just can't remember who.

Delightfully Alice-in-Wonderland-like structure.

Happy Rio Friday! Part 1

One of the great things about Copacabana beach is that you don't have to bring much with you out to the beach. There are vendors who trudge up and down the shoreline carrying all manner of food and accessories to make your sunning time complete.

In addition to food and drink, the two most practical vending items are sunblock/suntan lotion, and sunglasses. The glasses this vendor is carrying around are relatively inexpensive, so if you forgot yours, or more likely, lost them in a wash machine of a wave that caught you unaware as you turned beachward to watch some beautiful bodies go by, one of these is just the ticket. There is a big enough variety to ensure that you find the perfect pair to suit your style.




If you look closely in the center left of this picture, under the umbrellas walking away from the photographer, is a vendor who literally drags a very heavy looking cooler, with attached rope, through the thick sand. On a crowded day, there is barely room for him to weave between the towels, chairs and umbrellas. What a tough way to go.
Here is another very useful vendor. He is carrying a full-size cooler on his back, plus a large bag of assorted drinks in his hands. He sells Skol, the beer here, and guarana (a type of caffeine) drinks, as well as Diet Coke. It is easy to get diet or low-calorie items here, because most of the locals are very "physique" conscious.



Now this is service! This guy with the clever umbrella sunshield carries around all the fixin's to mix up a few different drinks, including the ubiquitous and powerful caipirinhas. He will set up his little bar and mix one up pronto at your chairside complete with ice, which he is carrying in the cooler on his back.



Another made to order delicacy - grilled queijo! This is a long thick slab of cheese on a stick ( a lot of beach food comes "on-a-stick") . The guy sets up his little oven and grills the cheese for you right at your beach chair. You can see a stick peeking out of the grill if you look closely. Mmmm!


Camarones (large shrimp) on-a-stick, served up on a silver platter . . . in 90 degree heat. I am sure many people have eaten these and lived to tell about it, but this idea seems to me to be the most likely item on the beach to cause illness or death. Your decision.



In the non-food beach vending sector, sarongs are the most popular. There is a different sarong/pareo vendor coming by every couple minutes. Most have quite similar merchandise, but if you look carefully out of the corner of your eye (so as not to let him know you might be interested and commit yourself to 5-10 minutes of his best sales pitch) you will occasionally find an interesting one you have not yet seen. This becomes harder the more time you spend out on the beach.
Very ambitious jewelry vendor here. He has a little bit of every kind of jewelry sold in Rio on that huge board.
This vendor is selling woven rope and bead jewelry. He was happy to give a demonstration on how to wrap into a bracelet around the wrist.

This beach vendor gets my vote for least practical item to buy on the beach. Where are you going to hang it from?

Sunset on the Hudson

Here is one of the reasons I love to run along the Hudson River waterfront. Now that its winter, the sun is setting so early I sometimes catch a sunset while finishing my daytime run. These photos were taken from the running path on the waterfront in the beautiful park-like area that is Battery Park City. On the far left of the photos, you can see a tiny dark spire, which is actually the Statue of Liberty. Cameraphone photo, so no zoom. Click on photo to enlarge.