Not even a week into 2017, and I was already off on my next adventure. Granted, I had already been to New York before, but this time I had an inside guide - my sister!
On our first day, by the time Marijke and I got to her apartment, it was almost dark, and museums were about to close. We decided it would be best to go grocery shopping and rest up for the next day, which started with me realizing I would be unable to use my camera all day. I had forgotten to put the battery in... How did I forget that?? Well, I've usually just kept the battery in the camera, like most people probably do, but the instruction manual for my new one says not to do that. So, because I want to take good care of this camera, I put the battery somewhere else, and since I'm not used to having to grab it, I forgot it. I still managed to used my phone for a few shots though.
I spent the morning at Marijke's favorite coffee/study spot, The Hungarian, while she was busy doing some things on campus. Then we met up for something I was looking forward to - bagels. I can't remember the name of the place, but it was small, and had a mound of cream cheese that looked like a cloud. It's pretty hard to top fresh bagels.
After we headed downtown to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, and then headed over to MoMA, where we spent two and a half hours wondering how certain pieces were art, and agreeing with the statements made by others (see this painting). We also made sure to swing by van Gogh's Starry Night, and marvel at its swirls while dodging people taking selfies.
Next, it was time for Colbert. Yes, we went to see The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, bless that man. We got there early to make sure we got good seats, but what we didn't know was that how they described the process on the tickets was not how it happened. We had planned on getting our wrist bands then going to get some food before the show, but once we were there we couldn't leave, or we'd loose our spot in line (which was ridiculously close to the front). By the time we were let inside of the theatre, we were both shivering and trying to regain feeling in our toes.
The show itself was pretty much what you see on TV, but with a bit more standing and cheering. Even though we went on Thursday, we saw the Friday show, which was fine, until we found out that one of the guests, Charlie Rose, did his interview earlier in the day, because he had to attend his birthday party during our taping. A bit of a bummer, but I watched it online later anyways. And if you're wondering, yes, our faces did appear on national television - watch this clip and see if you can spot us at the beginning and end!
On our first day, by the time Marijke and I got to her apartment, it was almost dark, and museums were about to close. We decided it would be best to go grocery shopping and rest up for the next day, which started with me realizing I would be unable to use my camera all day. I had forgotten to put the battery in... How did I forget that?? Well, I've usually just kept the battery in the camera, like most people probably do, but the instruction manual for my new one says not to do that. So, because I want to take good care of this camera, I put the battery somewhere else, and since I'm not used to having to grab it, I forgot it. I still managed to used my phone for a few shots though.
| Children's Statue Garden outside of St. John's |
After we headed downtown to see the Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center, and then headed over to MoMA, where we spent two and a half hours wondering how certain pieces were art, and agreeing with the statements made by others (see this painting). We also made sure to swing by van Gogh's Starry Night, and marvel at its swirls while dodging people taking selfies.
Next, it was time for Colbert. Yes, we went to see The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, bless that man. We got there early to make sure we got good seats, but what we didn't know was that how they described the process on the tickets was not how it happened. We had planned on getting our wrist bands then going to get some food before the show, but once we were there we couldn't leave, or we'd loose our spot in line (which was ridiculously close to the front). By the time we were let inside of the theatre, we were both shivering and trying to regain feeling in our toes.
The show itself was pretty much what you see on TV, but with a bit more standing and cheering. Even though we went on Thursday, we saw the Friday show, which was fine, until we found out that one of the guests, Charlie Rose, did his interview earlier in the day, because he had to attend his birthday party during our taping. A bit of a bummer, but I watched it online later anyways. And if you're wondering, yes, our faces did appear on national television - watch this clip and see if you can spot us at the beginning and end!
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| After the show! |
We started off Friday with another bagel for me! Apparently this place boils them in honey-water. I can't honestly say if I could taste it, but it sure was delicious. Then we walked around the East Village and Washington Square park, and saw some puppies in a window! Needless to say, we almost left with all of them. The original plan was to go to Chelsea Market for lunch, but nothing struck our fancy, so we went back up to Harlem for a soul food buffet instead. And for dinner we trekked out to Queens for Nepali, which was my cuisine request for the trip. I was excited to see proper momo (dumplings, not pictured) again!
Saturday was scheduled to be a doughnut crawl (much better than a bar crawl in my eyes). There were like 4 or 5 specialty places Marijke had found that do insane doughnuts. Unfortunately, I was quite under the weather, so that adventure had to be cancelled. We still managed to make it to the cronut shop though! I'm glad we had ours pre-ordered, because, while they are delicious, I don't know if I'd wait more than 15 minutes to get one.
Saturday was scheduled to be a doughnut crawl (much better than a bar crawl in my eyes). There were like 4 or 5 specialty places Marijke had found that do insane doughnuts. Unfortunately, I was quite under the weather, so that adventure had to be cancelled. We still managed to make it to the cronut shop though! I'm glad we had ours pre-ordered, because, while they are delicious, I don't know if I'd wait more than 15 minutes to get one.
Sunday was my last in the city/country. I wanted to see the Columbia campus. When we got there, I took out my camera, and this time I had forgotten the memory card. I had taken out it to send the cronut pictures to Marijke, and left it in my computer... I can't catch a break with this thing. Then we headed to Levain Bakery, famous for their giant cookies, and ducked inside a cafe to enjoy it with a cup of coffee and warm up a bit. It was love at first bite on my end. We then meandered through Central Park, so I could get my fix of snow before heading back to Barcelona. In my opinion, the cold was worth it.
Then it was time to pack and head to the airport. Google told us that it would take about an hour and a half to get to JFK. What Google forgot to tell us was that the train it recommended was out of service. It took two and a half hours, and for most of that I was stressed, worried that I was going to hit a massive line at security and miss my flight. In the end, I got to the gate a few minutes after boarding was scheduled to start only to find that my flight was, yup, delayed. Now, delays are never fun, but can be dealt with. This one made me panic that I was going to miss my connecting flight in Paris. When I landed in Paris that seemed inevitable. The passport control line was at a standstill with only two windows open for a full flight of people trying to make their-now-tight connections. I had been in the line for a while before I was able to check my flight's status online. WHY Charles de Gaulle Airport? Why do you have monitors in that area that don't show anything but the airport's logo and not information people may find useful?? Turned out that it was delayed half an hour. Time to breathe, right? No. There were two flights boarding from the same gate and approximately the same time, and there were just too many people for me to deal with. Anyways, I got back to my place Barcelona fine in the end, promptly unpacked, showered, and slept for 10+ hours.
Even though the trip was not what was expected, I still had a good time seeing New York from a non-tourist angle. Let's hope doughnuts stay in vogue and my sister finds a job there so I can finally do that doughnut crawl!!
(*Some pics were taken by Marijke with her phone, since I couldn't manage to be a functional photographer half of the days)
Then it was time to pack and head to the airport. Google told us that it would take about an hour and a half to get to JFK. What Google forgot to tell us was that the train it recommended was out of service. It took two and a half hours, and for most of that I was stressed, worried that I was going to hit a massive line at security and miss my flight. In the end, I got to the gate a few minutes after boarding was scheduled to start only to find that my flight was, yup, delayed. Now, delays are never fun, but can be dealt with. This one made me panic that I was going to miss my connecting flight in Paris. When I landed in Paris that seemed inevitable. The passport control line was at a standstill with only two windows open for a full flight of people trying to make their-now-tight connections. I had been in the line for a while before I was able to check my flight's status online. WHY Charles de Gaulle Airport? Why do you have monitors in that area that don't show anything but the airport's logo and not information people may find useful?? Turned out that it was delayed half an hour. Time to breathe, right? No. There were two flights boarding from the same gate and approximately the same time, and there were just too many people for me to deal with. Anyways, I got back to my place Barcelona fine in the end, promptly unpacked, showered, and slept for 10+ hours.
Even though the trip was not what was expected, I still had a good time seeing New York from a non-tourist angle. Let's hope doughnuts stay in vogue and my sister finds a job there so I can finally do that doughnut crawl!!
(*Some pics were taken by Marijke with her phone, since I couldn't manage to be a functional photographer half of the days)
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