Back in October, I took a trip to NYC to visit two of my close friends from Zanzibar, Desiree and Erik. I arrived on Thursday, October 17, and stayed through Sunday, October 20. It was a great trip, a trip that went by way to fast!
I arrived bright and early on Thursday morning at La Guardia. I had plans to meet up with a good friend from the ICTR who was in NYC for a few weeks, working at the UN. He still lives in Arusha, but because of his position with the ICTR, he gets to travel quite a bit. And it just so happened that our paths crossed during my visit. I hadn't seen him since I left Arusha, and wasn't sure how long it would be till we met again, so I was happy to see and catch up with him. I met him at his friend's apartment where he had been staying for a few days. We loaded up his luggage and my bag, and went to a place called Sara Beth's for brunch. We had some pretty tasty omelets, muffins, and juice. His Aunt then picked us up to take us over to New Jersey. We went to his childhood home, and hung out for a little while. Then, we drove around his hometown in a sweet convertible (I'd never ridden in one before, so that was kind of exciting) for a while as he showed me his high school and other important places from his childhood. We then made our way to Newark so I could drop my bag off to Erik and take the train into the city to do some exploring and meet Desiree.
I cannot tell you how happy I was to see my pal Erik. He and I have remained close since our time in Zanzibar, and I'm constantly thankful for his friendship. We caught up for a few minutes before he put me on the train, promising to meet up with me later that evening after work. I took the train from Newark into the city, jumped off and wandering around (half knowing where I was/half being lost) until I stumbled into Times Square. I knew I wanted to see some of the "touristy" places while my friends were at work. I walked around for a few hours, visiting Times Square, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City.
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Radio City Music Hall
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I got a call from Desiree, telling me to head toward Chinatown to meet up with her for some drinks. We decided to do drinks in "Little Italy" then go a few blocks over into "Chinatown" to enjoy some delicious, authentic Chinese. Again, I was so happy to see Desiree again. We had traveled to Africa together twice, once as students and the second time as student assistants. We had not seen each other since leaving Africa. It was amazing to catch up with her, hear about what's been going on, including her amazing new job. We did drinks, then met Erik for Chinese.
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| So much Chinese. Such amazing Chinese. Nom Nom. |
We then headed toward Desiree's apartment which is located in a prime location, right across the street from Serendipity and a few blocks from Central Park. We decided to indulge just a little bit more, so we got some pie and frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity.
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| Frozen Hot Chocolate. Mind Blown. |
On Friday, I went exploring on my own. I walked for what seemed like miles and miles through Central Park. I went to the American Museum for Natural History to look at some dinosaur bones. I also checked out the special exhibit on whales which was pretty incredible. I also enjoyed some "Shake Shack" food, which was recommended by Desiree and Erik. I got a burger and fries, but no shake since we had indulged in too much chocolate and sugar the night before. Then, I wandering back through Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to look around. I went through the exhibits that contained paintings by artists I actually recognized, so I saw some Monet, Picasso, and Van Gogh. I also went through the armor and weapons exhibits. I really like Game of Thrones, so it was very Game of Thrones-ish, very cool.
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| The whole time I walked through this exhibit, I kept thinking about how I wanted to watch Jurassic Park again. Totally cool to see these. |
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| Armor Exhibit |
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| So pretty. |
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| Central Park in the Sunshine |
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| Atop the Met |
After exploring on my own, I met Desiree for some appetizers and cocktails at a bar in the East Village. She decided that I needed to go to a proper "cocktail" bar, so we indulged with some $12-$14 cocktails, which shocked me to say the least. Drinks are expensive in NYC, just in case you didn't know. But it was well worth the money. It provided a great atmosphere, and an an opportunity to catch up with Desiree again. We had some oysters (another first for me!) and a cheese plate. She also talked me into getting a smoked moonshine cocktail. They put a huge glass globe over it to hold the smoke on the moonshine, but it tastes so delicious. Erik arrived shortly after, as did our dear friend Colleen who was also on our Zanzibar trip. We left the bar and went to see Mike, Desiree's boyfriend, and his improv group perform at a local club. I had never been to an improv show, but it was really fun. I can't imagine how nerve-wracking it must be to make everything up on the spot, but that's a huge reason as to why it is so funny. Anyway, Mike was great, and it was fun to talk to everyone after the show for a bit. Definitely a cool hobby and talent. After the show, we ended up going to another bar, getting some tacos, then dancing on the "urban/hip hop" level of a club. All in all a completely fun, random night, but aren't those always the best nights?
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| Smoked Moonshine Cocktail |
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| Shenanigans in the back of a Taxi. Love these two. |
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Mike and his team improvising a song. Hilarious.
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On Saturday, we slept in late. Erik picked me up and we headed to Brooklyn. We decided to go to an event called Smorgasbord which is a big food festival type event. Local restaurants set up tents, and you can eat until you feel sick. We had mac and cheese, lobster rolls, ice cream, fried chicken, and donuts. We ate too much, but it was all amazing. I was also able to meet up with my cousin Allie, who lives in Brooklyn. She came and walked around with us, and also ate too much. We enjoyed some pretty spectacular ice cream cookie sandwiches. After eating, we went to the Brooklyn Flea Market and walked around for a bit. We got there right at the end, so we only stayed for about 45 minutes, but it was pretty amazing. If I had (1) unlimited money and (2) a way to transport things back home, I probably would have been in big trouble. After Brooklyn, we went back into the city. Desiree and I decided to get our nails done since we had time before Erik's birthday party celebration was to begin. In NYC, you can get a manicure for $10, so I was totally in. Erik had a birthday celebration at a bar, so that was the agenda for the evening. I got to see some more friends from Zanzibar so that was fun. And again, we ended the night dancing on the "urban" level of the nightclub.
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| In Brooklyn. Great view of the Manhattan. |
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| My lovely cousin, Allie. We were loving our sweet treats. |
Sunday was pretty low key. Again, we slept in. Erik stayed with Desiree and Mike as well, so there were four of us packed into a tiny little studio. We decided to go with them to the Jets/Patriots game. We made a quick stop to get the "best NYC bagels" ever, which were really amazing, then headed to the game. At the game, we got really lucky, and were able to move down next to Des and Mike in the lower part of the stadium. It was a beautiful day outside, and the Jets upset the Patriots, so it was a great way to end my time in NYC. After the game, we stopped for some quick pizza and then I was dropped off at the airport.
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| First NFL game ever. |
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| New York pizza, it lives up to the hype. |
All in all, it was a great weekend. I was so sad to see it end so quickly, as Des and Erik (and now Mike) are all such wonderful people to hang out with. I am hoping they get to come visit me in Kentucky in the spring. And I'm also hoping to make it back to NYC sooner rather than later since there is still so much to see.
