we headed to Manhattan for three days. Our friend Shanti lives on the Upper West Side and was planning to be with her fiance, Rakesh, in Chicago, so she offered us her place while she was gone. We managed to have a lot of fun on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we had a great dinner at The Spotted Pig in the West Village. On Sunday, we visited MOMA, and caught a Broadway show that night (Avenue Q). We followed it up with a late dinner at a place called 5Ninth, which is located in a cute brownstone in the Meatpacking District. The very old exposed brick and woodbeam ceilings made us feel like we were in our own house.
We were so thankful to Shanti for letting us take over her place, but from the time we arrived, we immediately realized how sad we were to miss her. So we called Shanti, rearranged our plans, and stayed an extra day in NYC. We gave Shanti the excuse she was looking for to move up her flight to early Monday morning (since Rakesh was working anyway). When she got in, we caught up with her and then grabbed lunch at a fantastic and tiny Thai spot in her neighborhood called Land. Then we strolled across Central Park
(even though it was very cold!) to the Guggenheim (left). We couldn't stop telling Shanti how floored we were that the Guggenheim, Met, and everything else is a short walk across the park for her! We were so envious! The Guggenheim was packed (since it was a cold holiday weekend), but its current exhibit, Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso, was incredible, so it was worth the crowds. Later that night, we had a great Japanese/sushi dinner at Geisha (right). When we came home, we discovered that Brian's face was bright red with a rash. Apparently, he is allergic to something, but we don't know what! (We suspect it was the skate I ordered, because we don't think he has had it before.) He was fine, though.
On Tuesday, we grabbed some NY bagels and got on the road, after realizing our CD player had been stolen out of car overnight. It didn't affect our mood, though, as we headed toward Vermont for skiing until Saturday. 
We stayed at a very nice little inn, The Green Mountain Inn, in Stowe, Vermont. Stowe is a stunningly beautiful and peaceful town, and as usual, we were in awe of the beauty of northern New England.
We enjoyed three solid days of skiing at the Stowe resort. The first two days featured perfect powder and sunny ski conditions; we had a wonderful time. The third day was freezing. By the afternoon, it was (we are told) about -40 with the wind chill at the summit. It certainly felt
like it. We skied with full face masks, neck warmers, hoods up, about five layers of clothing, and warmer packets stuffed in our gloves and boots. (Yes, that's Sherry below, right!) Nevertheless, at the summit, we still could not feel our fingertips. By afternoon, the snow was 
pretty icy, the wind was blowing the snow so hard in front of us that at times it was difficult to see how to ski, and several lifts were shut down due to the gusts. By two o'clock or so a significant number of skiiers had given up. But we didn't, and we had a really great time despite the weather! (At least there were no lift lines by then-- ha!)We also were impressed by how many lovely restaurants that the little town of Stowe boasts. We enjoyed good food at the Rusty Nail (voted Best Ski Bar in the Country by Men's Journal and has good food to
boot), Piecasso (a great pizza place), Swisspot (you all know how we love fondue), and Norma's (amazing food and a great view).On Saturday, we headed home. On a sad note, we were very upset to learn that morning from Sherry's sister, Stacy, that Sherry's dad had been in a serious car accident on Thursday night. As some of you know, he already has been very ill. On Thursday, he was involved in an accident in which his truck rolled down the side of a cliff. He is in serious condition and we are awaiting more information on his status. We are worried and are hoping and praying he pulls through okay.
Well, that is our update. Brian is entering two months of trauma rotation tomorrow. This evening, we ran into an attending and his wife at KnowFat, and the attending informed Sherry that she would "not be seeing Brian for the next eight weeks." (Really-- that's what he said.) UGH. Well, at least we had a great vacation together. For more pictures, click here.
