Since we watch television via satellite we also have a setop-box in our living room. For more information about this see the following post (The TopField box we had in use was not a very stylish and good product. It got warm better to say really hot during operation and sometimes the picture froze and a reboot was necessary. There for it would be a good solution if we could have a television with a so-called DVB-S2 Tuner integrated which could also handle the CA-Module to encrypt the signal.

So that limited our choice a bit. For the size we had the limitation that it needed to fit on the TV-Closet which meant that it should not be wider then 125 cm. So with all that information in hand I started watching the possibilities and after the Consumer Electronics Show in January I had my wish list completed. The TV should have integrated Wireless LAN, 46″, LED-TV, DVB-S2 Tuner and important it should fit in our living room.

That left over 2 possibilities for us either the Samsung 46ES8090 or the Sony 46HX855. If it was just for the features the Samsung had one this battle but when we both checked out the Samsung in a store it looked cheap and the new ‘stylish’ stand wasn’t as nice as it looked at the pictures. So we decided to wait for the Sony and after reading reviews and seeing more pictures the Sony got our favor but we wanted to see it before we decide. The Sony was officially launched at the 10th of May so we needed to wait.

Samsung 46ES8090

Sony Bravia 46HX855

The Saturday after it was out we went to our local MediaMarkt which had one in the box but they didn’t want to show it, too bad for them since I probably would have ordered it right away. So later that day we decided to visit another MediaMarkt and on our way there we saw a Expert-TeVi which is a smaller electronics shop. We entered the store 2 minutes before closing and we saw, decided and bought the Sony for a great price.

After coming home I started to set up the TV and in less than 60 minutes I mounted the sound bar, cabled everything and setup everything. I was surpassed since I thought the satellite programming would take some time. But although it is a German Television it’s possible to set it to the Dutch regional settings which enables the FastScan functionality which CanalDigitaal uses. This sets the channels automagically in the right order. So setting up was easier than I imagined.

The days after I’ve played more with the SmartTV options and I know it aren’t the most important things on a TV but it’s just nice to control your TV with your iPhone or iPad, surf on the web and see tweets related to the program you are watching scrolling on your screen.

I was also able to reduce from 4 remote controls in the old situation (JVC, Samsung Home-Theather, TopField and AppleTV) to only one (Sony) in this new setup. I always hated the multiple controls but with HDMI-CEC this isn’t necessary anymore. Also I found out that we are able to use HbbTV. HbbTV stands for Hybrid Broadband Broadcast TV and combines a Digital TV connection with a Broadband Internet connections. It enables the use of watching special content and the quality is better than I expected on such a big screen.

So far we are both happy with the TV and we already start watching some of our Blu-Ray discs again because the image quality is a couple of times better than that what we had on our former TV. The shift from HD-Ready to FullHD really makes a difference. I hope we can enjoy watching movies on this TV at least as long as we did on the JVC, that’s should be somewhat like 6 years.

The first thing I did was comparing the specifications which are important for us as hobby-photographers. We use the camera for both point and shoot and real photo-shooting during our trips which means that we might look into different features as usual. The things I looked into was the Sensor size, the image processor, the LCD-screen, Auto Focus, ISO sensitivity, the body, video capturing, live-view and the capturing presets. And off course the price for the body in respect to the features and specifications.

From the 3 cameras it seemed like it was a real close call between the cameras. Some real nice features like the variangle LCD-Screen, more presets for point and shoot and the lower weight of the body where not present in the 7D. Therefor the 7D seems to be a body which is more suitable for the semi-professional photographer which we are not. Knowing that including the higher price for the body which was about € 1275 (amazon.de) made it a simple choice, the 7D would not be it for us.

That left over the two bodies and as can be seen in the comparison below the difference in features and specification between the two are minimalistic. We decided to look at the bodies at electronic stores and we weren’t sure if the handling of the 60D was better due to the bigger size or made it more difficult due to the significant weight difference. So all this made us compare the prices. The EOS 60D was available for a price of €899 (amazon.de) and the EOS 600D for €559. This huge price difference made us choose the 600D instead of the 60D.

Sensor:
EOS 600D: 18,0 Megapixel, 22,3 mm x 14,9 mm CMOS
EOS 60D: 18,0 Megapixel, 22,3 mm x 14,9 mm CMOS
EOS 7D: 18,0 Megapixel, 22,3 mm x 14,9 mm CMOS

Image processor:
EOS 600D: DIGIC 4
EOS 60D: DIGIC 4
EOS 7D: Dual “DIGIC 4″

LCD-Screen:
EOS 600D: 3″, 1.040.000 dots, Variangle with Live View
EOS 60D: 3″, 1.040.000 dots, Variangle with Live View
EOS 7D:3″, 920.000 dots with Live View

Auto Focus:
EOS 600D: 9 ‘cross-type’ AF-points (f/2.8 in the center)
EOS 60D: 9 ‘cross-type’ AF-points (f/2.8 in the center)
EOS 7D: 9 ‘cross-type’ AF-points (f/2.8 in the center) + Micro Adjustment

ISO-Sensitivity:
EOS 600D: AUTO (100-6400), 100-6400
EOS 60D: AUTO (100-3200), 100-6400 (in 1 and 1/3 stops)
EOS 7D: AUTO (100-3200), 100-6400 (in 1 and 1/3 stops)

Body:
EOS 600D: Steel & Polycarbonate with fiber (570 gram)
EOS 60D: Alloy & Polycarbonate with fiber (755 gram)
EOS 7D: Magnesium (820 gram)

Video capturing:
EOS 600D: Full HD, 1080p
EOS 60D: Full HD, 1080p
EOS 7D: Full HD, 1080p

Capturing presets:
EOS 600D: 14 presets, 9 auto
EOS 60D: 14 presets, 9 auto
EOS 7D: 7 presets, 2 auto

We haven’t made a lot of pictures with the camera yet but we tried it in difficult light conditions. Compared to our 400D the 600D is much better. We can now make pictures without flash due better sensitivity of the processor. Here you can definitely see what 5 years of innovations can mean for electronics.

So far we are really happy with the camera and we can’t wait to take outside for lots of pictures.

For our last trip to New York City I’ve created the photo-book last friday and it got delivered today. Okay, UPS was here already on Wednesday but we where not at home. As usual its great quality. I like the hardcover books better but for the price difference this books might be a better offer. Probably I like the other books better because they hold more pictures…

By clicking the picture below you can download a pdf-version of our newest photo-book. But please be aware that the size of the PDF is about 80 MB. There for I would suggest not to download it on a Mobile Connection but only on a regular internet connection at home.

I still need to do some catching up since the photo-books from our first Orlando trip back in 2008 and the Berlin trip from last year are not finished yet.

The flight towards the United States goes from Nürnberg to Los Angeles with a stopover in Amsterdam. The total travel time takes 14 hours and 40 minutes. We will fly there with a Boeing 747-400.

Boeing 747-400

Flying back to Europe takes us even shorter with 13 hours and 30 minutes. But we do not fly with KLM but with Air France with a stopover in Paris. The long-haul flight will be in a Airbus 380-800. The biggest passenger airplane in the world. This will be Danielle’s first time in this huge plane and we will be sitting upstairs.

Airbus A380-800

Of course this trip is not about the flights but nice flights for low prices make the vacant ion better. at this moment we are planning the things we want to do. The next thing we will book would probably be the rental car. And we still have enough tim since the trip starts 6 months from now.

After packing most of our stuff in the suitcases (Danielle) and me writing the blog from yesterday we decided to go out for something to eat. We ended up eating a sub at a local Subway for and at a local Starbucks for a frappuccino. After breakfast/lunch we went back to the hotel room to pack the last items in the suitcases and the carry-on bags. I got the task to guess the weight of the suitcases and I guessed it would be just about right.

After packing the car we left the hotel in the direction of J.F. Kennedy Airport. Without looking at the navigation system how we would be directed we left in the direction of New York City. Soon found out that the drive was a very exciting one over the George Washington Bridge. Danielle told me that it was great to look around, I paid more attention to the traffic since it was busy on the road.

Soon we arrived at National Car Rental to return our Full-size SUV and everything was fine. Too bad we only got to drive this car for a couple days. I can imagine driving this car in one of our next USA trips for a longer period.

For the rental car facility we took the AirTrain to Terminal 1 where the Lufthansa check-inn is located. Danielle was not so sure about the suitcases but as I guessed earlier today we had one suitcase from 21,8 kilogram and the other one was 22,6 kilogram. It’s allowed to have 23 kilogram heavy suitcases. We went directly to the security line and waited near a power outlet to board our flight to Munich. The flight took of 10 minutes earlier then expected and due to the strong back wind the flight time was only 6:56 hours instead of the 8:15 on our flight plans. We landed in Munich at 6:40.

Due to the early arrival we could enjoy a breakfast at the Munich Airport and we were also sure that our suitcases would be on the same flight to Nürnberg. At 8:50 our flight took of and at 9:08 we both woke up from the rough landing on the runway. Since we woke up so abrupt we directly grabbed our coats and luggage jumped in the bus to the baggage claim and at the moment we walked in the suitcases arrived.

And as always at airports the officers from customs are really active if a flight arrives. But this time we were lucky again. They picked the man walking behind us for a check. We were happy and we rushed through the doors to get a ticket for the U-Bahn and the train. At 10:45 we arrived at home.

Danielle unpacked and I started checking my 200+ business mails. We were both directly back into reality. The next evenings I will spend uploading additional pictures to our Flickr account and Facebook.

Thanks for reading and commenting on our blog. It was a pleasure to read the comments every morning.

After arriving there we took the express bus to Central Park which took us about 40 minutes and we got of the bus at the entrance of the park. In the park we walked in uptown direction towards the turtlepond. From there we walked towards the Belvedere Castle.

We were lucky that we had Gina with us as guide so we got to see the nice spots. We saw a lot of nice places like the Bethesda fountain, the boathouse, the Shakespeare theatre and a lot of squirrels.

I was willing to find a geocache in the USA during this trip to drop the “Around the World” travel bug. And what would be a better place for a travel if then one which would like to travel around the world then the Central Park where lots of foreigners try to find a geocache. It took us a minute or 10-15 to find it due to juggles around but I found it in the end.

After the geocache we visit the strawberry fields and the imagine sign which is a memorial to John Lennon who lived a cross the street. And there we had some luck as the self declared major of strawberry field was just talking about the area.

The hike made us feel hungry and there was a nice dinning place in 72nd street called Dallas BBQ. This was a place Gina recommended us to go in the beginning of the week but we didn’t had the time to do so. The place had some awesome food for really great prices for the Manhattan area. Glenn, Gina and Danielle went for a half chicken and a Texas size piña colada. I picked the beef baby back ribs with a Texas size beer. And as you can see it tasted great.

Then we went to the Apple store where Danielle got a pink bumper for her iPhone. The store was crowed and there was a line for the elevator. I can imagine that this is the best selling store in the world.

We picked a metro to the area where Little Italy is for a dessert. We went to the Ferrara Bakery which is an Italian American bakery which is said to be the first place in the USA to server espresso and was established back in 1892. On the way there we got to see a live breakdancing session I the metro.

Glenn found out that his cousin was working at the firehouse that night and suggested to pay him a visit. He is working on the Ladder 5 which is a fire station near to the Freedom Tower. It was the station where former major of New York City made a phone call to president Bush on 9/11. For us this was a unique opportunity to visit a firehouse. It was really packed and with equipment and firefighters.

From the fire station we went back to our car at Staten Island by Metro, Ferry and train. On the train we needed to wait very long at a certain station without a real reason. All of a sudden 2 men came I to the train told an older man to get out which he did. The two men were undercover policemen and arrested the man. At the time we came back at the car we said goodbye to Glenn and Gina for the last time this trip. And we went back to the hotel.

The day which started without having a plan ended up to be one of the days we have seen the most of the city. Thanks Glenn and Gina for taking the time to show us a bit more of New York we had a blast.

This morning we had breakfast at the hotel restaurant together with all the guest and the newly weds which stayed a night in the hotel after the party. It seemed like the party continued for another couple hours. We got to learn some more sign language and showed some party pictures!

After breakfast we said goodbye to the families and friends of Glenn and Gina and we left the hotel to go to Woodbury Common. This is said to be the largest outlet mall in the world with 220 different shops. And we still wanted to do some shopping. After driving 45 minutes we arrived there and it seemed really busy. The shops are much larger them the shops we’ve seen in any other outlet we’ve been to.

We’ve spend over 4 hours and we still have the feeling there was more to shop. We bought a lot of stuff at Tommy Hilfiger, glasses at Michael Kors and had a great deal on 7 for All Mankind jeans. After the shopping we went back to the hotel since we planned to have dinner together with Glenn, Gina, Ian and Maxx in Hoboken, New York.

Gina took Glenn to a pizza place a couple weeks ago and Glenn sensed us the picture via WhatsApp. We both told him we want to get such a gigantic pizza slice too. And so we did. It was a really busy neighborhood which was caused by the celebration of St. Patrick’s day. This is celebrate 2 weeks early here to not have a conflict with the party’s in New York City at the official date. The pizza was delicious and the slice where about 50 cm. long. We took a normal size pizza with the 3 of us and we were lucky since it was enough food. A normal size pizza is the size of a family pizza in Germany.

We had a blast this evening and we had some laughs for which my stomachs still hurts! I can only say:

“Talk to the hand, please”

Thanks for taking us there Gina and Glenn, Ian and Maxx thanks for the fun we had together!

Since we still wake up early due to the jet-lag we had some time left today. Danielle thought that shopping would be a great way to spend the morning and we went to Woodbridge Centre. She wanted to buy slipper as an exchange for the black heels she had brought with her. But first we needed a breakfast and we ended up at the Starbucks. Danielle found a nice pair of slippers which fitted perfectly to her dress.

After successful shopping we went back to the hotel to change from jeans to dress/suit. After changing we packed the suitcases in our car and went towards the church in Staten Island. The church is new and looks great. It is the most beautiful church I’ve ever seen.

The wedding mass was nice and somewhat different them we are used to from in the Netherlands. There was a live singer and the participants are participating more. The priest even made some jokes. After somewhat over a hour the mass was over and it was time to congratulate the newly weds. Then we needed to rush to the hotel to be on time on the party location which was in the Venetian in Garfield New Jersey.

There was a lot of traffic on the road but in roundabout 45 minutes we arrived at the Holliday Inn. And we were just in time for the latest shuttle towards the The Vemetian which meant we could both drink some alcohol! When we arrived we both were blown away. Such a nice location. In between the other 240 guests we soon found a table with Richy and Denise (the people we celebrate thanksgiving with in 2009). The food served at the cocktail party was delicious, they were serving a huge amount number of really big shrimps. Rumors go that there is no shrimp left in the oceans near New York City.I also had a short look at the location and made some pictures with my iPhone.

Soon the 2nd part was starting and we were sitting on table number 20. With other friends from Glenn. The dining room was even more beautiful then the other areas of the location. The food served was very tastedful and contained Sushi, Burgers, Chinese style food, Italian food and probably lost more but it was too much to try everything. You all know I’m a big eater and I’ve seen some food coming together but this topped everything. And the things I tried were really delicious.

And where there is dinner there is also a dessert. And I didn’t make any pictures of this part since I was blown away. It seemed to be even more then the main course. There were a white chocolate fountain, milk chocolate fountain, wafer makers, popcorn machine, cotton candy, cocktail glasses with different kinds of pudding, chocolate mouse, cake, fruit covered in chocolate, fruit. Can you remember the picture of the strawberry we had at Magic Kingdom in 2009, the one bigger then a golf-bal? Today I should have brought a honk-bal because the strawberry were bigger and more tasteful.

And in between the eating there was a lot of dancing going on. And yes there was some alcohol too. They actually had some interesting beers like Guinness and Corona! There were cocktails and shots without limits. And the following guy, Sully “took one for the team”

I think this picture says it all. We had an awesome experience and if they ask us to come to the party again we would definitely do it! The two families and the friends of both Glenn and Gina are great we’ve met a lot of nice and interesting people.

And the. A couple readers asked after pictures from the dress. I would first try to describe it. Gina was the shining star of the day. Her dress was American made and that was something you could see by all the shining stones on the dress.

And then there was also the groom.

Glenn, Gina it was a pleasure to be part of this wonderful day. We can’t thank you enough for inviting us. I’m looking forward to the anniversary party’s already! Thanks for making us part of the beginning of your future together.

After replacing we checked out and went downstairs to get a taxi. This taxi should bring us to the rental car facility from Newark Airport. It was an interesting adventure explaining this to a driver who could barely speak English. But we ended up on the right place. At National we were Rey lucky since we got a nice upgrade offer and we upgraded to a Fullsize SUV. We got a GMC Yukon which was fresh and almost brand new. Everything seemed to be fine and at 10:45 we left and drove to Jersey Gardens, an outlet Mall.

In Jersey Gardens we had a nice lunch in the food court. It was very easy and in most stores we where the only customers. Except at Tommy Hilfiger there it was busier. We succeed in the store and Danielle bought a whole new outfit for the wedding rehearsal which takes place tonight.

After shopping at Jersey Gardens we drove to Woodbridge and this was very close to our hotel in Ranway. On the way to the mall it became clear that there was a problem with the Yukon, the mirror wasn’t working properly. After a Starbucks I bought a pair of shoes for tonight and we left the Mall. Due to the problem with the mirror we went to the nearest National Car rental office. After 20 minutes they suggested us to take a smaller car or to drive back to National to get a new car. After a couple minutes everything was done and we left with a black Chevrolet Yukon.

After this car issues we went straight to the hotel. The indigo hotel is very nice and seems to be verily new. It has hotel rooms with very high ceilings and with a very modern interior.

After changing our clothes we went for the rehearsal in the church. It was nice to see how that works. After the rehearsal we went with about 40 people to Nove an italian bistro in Staten Island. We had a very nice dinner and got to met some amazing people.

We really look forward to tomorrow.

We went for Sister Act and we were lucky since they had tickets available with 50% off. So the decision was easy and we ended up with 2 tickets for seats in the middle of Row 17 in the Orchestra. The show takes place at 14:00 at the Broadway Theatre just 4 blocks away from our hotel. After getting the tickets we did some shopping at Times Square and we waited for Yves to get home from work so he could make a print screen from us on the webcam on Times Square.

After the picture it started to rain and we decided to walk through the M&M’s World to Pier 88. During our walk we saw some firetrucks passing a couple blocks away from us. I was disappointed since it seemed like I missed a nice photo opportunity. Just a couple minutes later the road was blocked by at least 5 fire trucks including a Ladder. We watched this scene but it seemed like nothing was wrong in the end and the firemen left the scene soon.

At Pier 88 the Disney Fantasy Cruise ship is docked for the Christening Ceremony. We wanted to make some close up pictures but there was a lot of security and it was very difficult to come close. But in the end we got some pictures from the parking deck of Pier 90. Unfortunately the rain make the pictures less nice.

After visiting the Manhattan Cruise Terminal we went back towards the hotel and after a lunch we dropped our stuff in the hotel room before we walked to the theatre for Sister Act. the show was really good and the music and atmosphere were both great.

After the show we continued with shopping. We walked in the direction of 5th Ave and visit Michael Kors, Saks 5th Avenue, Abercombie & Fitch, Hollister and we ended the afternoon with diner at T.G.I. Friday. Danielle went for a Cajun Shrimp & Chicken pasta and I had a Jack Daniel’s Burger. We decided to not have a dessert and instead go to the Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes. Today Danielle picked the Red Velvet cupcake with whipped vanilla cream topping and 4 different colors (purple, yellow, green and blue).

We walked back to Times Square where Danielle bought a nice sweater from American Eagle Outfitters with 15% off because of a Foursquare check-inn. And we went back to the Disney Store since Danielle had seen a very fluffy plush Dumbo which she wanted to adopt.

After the Disney Store visit we went back to the hotel for our last night in Manhattan. Tomorrow we move to the Indigo in Rahway just north from Staten Island where we have the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner tomorrow evening.