Hi y’all, I’ve decided to write again even if things haven’t exactly smoothed over yet in the personal situation department. I’m slowly getting there. I know for sure I owe you guys an NY post blast. And I’ve been fixing the photos :) Then yes, the giveaway winner will be announced shortly. I still don’t quite have it in me to be elaborate and blog to the utmost detail but the photos, ohhh these photos have so much to show and so much to say that I’m delighted to share them with you.
I stayed with my cousin KC who went out of her way to have me experience what I haven’t yet in this rich and robust city (a city truly charged by caffeine lol), she was so sweet and accommodating and I have so much to thank her for, thanks Cuzzo, truly, from the bottom of my heart. I’ll try and put captions where possible :). Click more to jump to the truckload of photos :).
In West Village in front of “Carrie Bradshaw’s” SATC apartment (the front door someone is taking a photo of in the background).
The lovely Aesop branch at Bleecker St., West Village, and three stores down was a cute MAC Cosmetics boutique. We stayed in there quite awhile because it smelled soooo good…
Lovely seafood lunch at Mary’s, West Village. Those oysters totally killed it…
Our friend Ecker with us in Williamsburg
CONEY ISLAND got a makeover after it was ravaged by hurricane Sandy, it’s about an hour’s drive from the main city. Unfortunately, the main attraction parks weren’t open for my birthday but the boardwalk always is
and we ate at Nathan’s! Can’t wait to come back here when everything’s open!
Funnily enough, we look like the next photo lol…
Because my front shot of Lady Liberty looked like stock photography I’ve decided to show you guys her back (um…Julia, seriously).
TRIBECCA
SUSHI SAMBA NYC!! Soooooooo good…best fusion food I’ve ever tried that actually comes together… (Brazilian/Japanese)
Our guy friends from Victory Church NYC, Abe, Barrett, and Clarence who surprised me at the MET Museum while I was taking a photo of a painting (way too obliviously lol) with a group send-off sort of, on my last day. We all went for a fun walk in Central Park, and the cherry blossoms were almost in full bloom! I enjoyed my last dinner with them at Barkogi, a Korean restaurant.
I don’t have a super clear photo but I also got to watch a Broadway Play starring James Franco, Chris O’ Dowd and Leighton Meester called Of Mice and Men which I had prebooked online in Manila. My days in the Big Apple flew by way too quickly. I was based in Manhattan but got to go to Williamsburg, Jersey, and Coney Island is part of Brooklyn. I remember sitting in the airport shuttle upon arriving in NYC and telling God “Please slow down time while I’m here…I know right now, I’ve just arrived and before I know it I’ll be back home writing about how I felt when I first arrived…” Haha! Almost 2 weeks in New York is not enough to experience even a quarter of all it has to offer, but I had to return because of important work projects I had commitments to. In New York, the attractions, the food, the events, the sights, the people, memorials…it’s just really grand and I agree spring to summer is the best time to be there. My impression of it before I arrived was it being big, brash, and formidable…but as the days floated by I realized how richly layered the culture turned out to be, how cramped but beautifully laid out the city is, and how easy it is to get around and explore on foot, by bus, or by subway. Alas, by the time I had comfortably figured my way around the time to say goodbye came way too soon which is why I was quite mellow on my last day and was really happily surprised my cousin and our friends from Victory church did a mini-send off for me. New York, it’s been grand, but you haven’t seen the last of me, you most certainly haven’t!