a New York state of mind

View of Columbus Circle & Central Park South, Time Warner Center

For those of us lucky enough to live near Central Park it is no wonder the place holds a favored spot in our hearts. This natural haven is made even more magical by its being situated smack in the center of Manhattan Island. 

USS Maine Monument & gilded sculpture of Columbia Triumphant

It may also be because wonder | wander | women relocated far from our home island in the Philippines that other far flung islands call out to us. Though this may just be an added incentive on top of the lush greens that recall our tropical paradise. 

Bryant Park NYC

Around the world this week we celebrate Veteran's Day, Diwali, and 11/11/11. Whatever each occasion signifies for each individual wonder | wander | women are happy to celebrate them with you.

Bryant Park, Summer 2015

The end of October also marked the opening of the Bryant Park Winter Village. This New York City midtown winter wonderland includes The Rink, the holiday shops, the artists walks, Celsius, Le Carrousel, and more.

The latest bunch of photos we took was late this summer as we cut through the park on our way home.

NYC holiday season

New York! New York! Holiday season is here again. The Big Apple is dressed to her nines. All showy and sparkly in everything she's got to offer us all.

There’s so much to see and so much to do, it seems there is never a definite answer as to where exactly your time should be spent in this massive urban jungle of eye candy overload.

NYC staycation

On our first visit to New York City since lockdown in March 2020, we were enchanted by our stay at The Whitby Hotel in the heart of upper midtown Manhattan on West 56th Street at 5th Avenue. 

The Whitby Hotel façade

a detailed virtual tour of The Whitby by Kit Kemp

If ever one feels compelled to take a staycation this most definitely was both a sweet way to live it up. What better way to join in the celebration of Big Apple's grand reopening? 

the hotel reception entrance

the delicate glowing pots of Martha Freud

As it so boldly states on their website: The Whitby Hotel is a celebration of contemporary art and design. Just two blocks from Central Park and on the doorstep of some of New York's leading restaurants, galleries and museums, including MoMA.

Via 57 NYC

New York City is a favoured iconic destination for many. Bound to be featured in many a bucket list.

VIA 57 West

wonder | wander | women certainly count NYC among the top ten places close to our hearts.

spring on the water

This season has really been a rollercoaster! wonder | wander | women are dressing in layers and making sure that the cotton shirts and the fleece pants are available, because we never know how the weather will change from one day to the next. 

Postman's Park by the Postal Museum

Happy Birthday Mom!

Every July 12 wonder | wonder | women's Bhakti goes on a retreat for her birthday, to reflect and replenish for the coming year. This year is a big deal because she celebrates her 70th!

Matching Marimekko for London summers

Happy birthday Mom!! We've had so many fun adventures together, I wanted to post some pictures of us around the world. Like my memories, the pictures aren't chronological, but they paint a picture of our life together even when we live in separate countries.

woawomen NYC selfies

How many selfies can one take and keep up their entertainment value and originality?

Frick Museum, NYC

Who knows really? Yet Mahala and I are determined to test our limits now that we are reunited once again.

Day 1, Hudson Market on 57th & 11th

wonder | wander | women tearing up the NYC scenery and our phones to max this out as we optimize our time together.

on top of the world

Because my sister thought I was turning 60 we ended up booking my birthday dinner at Asiate - Mandarin Hotel's fine dining flagship restaurant in New York City - overlooking Central Park and Columbus Circle.

At times a mistake turns out to be the very best thing!

East Coast blizzard : 23 Jan 2016

After almost three months of the mildest winter in ages residents from the south to the northeast hunkered down indoors while a mammoth storm barreled across a large swath of the United States.

Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images

New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, issued a travel ban for New York City and Long Island, including all travel from New Jersey bridges and tunnels into and out of the city. 

finding new spaces

Unlike the tidy grids of New York, the streets of central London wander around oddly shaped properties, cross themselves, and split off in small paths that may lead to a dead end. Walkers in a hurry usually stick to their prepared routes or rely on map apps to keep from getting lost.

fresh voices in the art of stage design

The Wimbledon College of Arts is a member of the University of Arts London collective, which includes prestigious design schools like Central St. Martins and the London College of Fashion. Wimbledon College of Arts specialises in set and costume design for theatre and production, and its Graduate Showcase is on at venues around the city.

Doyeon Kim's design for Foucault's Heterotopia
at Kings Cross Station

wild wonders & noble beasts

Last week, we joined the world to celebrate International Museum Day under the theme Museums Uniting a Divided World. 

We proudly posted our hometown island's museum with a majestic artwork of a three-ton carabao at its entrance. The water buffalo is the national mammal of the Philippines. The shockingly sad reality today is the carabao is slowly disappearing from our country's agricultural landscape. 

BAO: the unbowed carabao at The Negros Museum

A new exhibition at the Philippine National Museum of Natural History located in a niche at the landing on the fifth level is a family of carabaos from Nueva Ecija that was especially prepared by the museum’s taxidermists and scientists. 

summer on the water

All year round the Kings Cross area is a huge tourist attraction, drawing sightseers from around the world.

St. Pancras station

But in spring and summer residents flock to the Regent's Canal near Granary Square.

There are shops, restaurants and bars, fountains and even the prestigious Central St. Martins of University of the Arts, London.

Christmas at Coal Drops Yard, London

Winter falls on London, with blistering winds, early sunsets, and grey days. But the city lights up everywhere for the holiday season, chasing away the chilly gloom with cheery decor, warm drinks, and of course the famous Christmas markets.

Coal Drops Yard, Kings Cross