New York Minute

Ever since I can remember, I always wanted to visit New York City. Just the way it’s portrayed in film and television, I knew I wanted to find the meaning of a ‘New York state of mind.’ Before I decided to study abroad, I told myself my graduation present would be two weeks in New York so I could explore all of it. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to visit this magical city without the $500+ entry fee. Though I was only there for two days, I thought it was the perfect sneak peek into a [hopefully] near-future adventure.

I landed at LaGuardia about 11pm Thursday night and went straight to my cousin’s apartment in Harlem. I followed the ways of New Yorkers and grabbed some food from a bodega–that’s conveniently right downstairs–before calling it a night.
Friday morning was pretty slow. Surprisingly, nothing really opens early except coffee shops and major tourist attractions. Given that Harlem would be my playground for a couple of hours, I walked around my cousin’s neighborhood to grab some photos. I did pop into a little coffee shop called Manhattanville Coffee Shop to grab a hot cocoa–very good and very cheap.
Fast forward to the afternoon. After wasting what felt like an hour navigating the 42nd St Port Authority Station, I finally met up with my friend Jane at Shake Shack to get the day started. We started by hitting the infamous Times Square.
We made our way through the highlights of the inner city with the Empire State Building, the Flatiron and Madison Square Garden. The Empire State Building is virtually invisible when you’re right on it because it’s so tall and the Flatiron didn’t give the optical illusion I thought it would from photos. Another Mona Lisa moment.

I ended the night reuniting with more childhood friends, Aashna and Raveena, in Brooklyn. It’s crazy that we’ve all known each other for 12 years and still keep in contact. Unfortunately we didn’t get a picture together, but it was definitely the biggest highlight of the day.
Saturday was spent in complete leisure: a walk through Central Park and on The High Line. The sun was out and I was finally properly dressed for the weather. Jane and I took some time to explore outside of the Times Square and ventured over to Chelsea and the Meatpacking District.  I can’t get enough of the gems of the city. While most of the infrastructure appears homogenous when you’re in the heart of Manhattan, you can stumble upon the most random and beautiful views.
Our last activity together was exploring The Museum at FIT where they had a History of Denim exhibition and a special exhibition of Fairy Tale Fashion. I plan to share those pictures in a future blog post, but it was the perfect way to spend a Saturday if you ask me.

That’s a wrap on my two-day excursion in New York! I obviously didn’t hit every tourist attraction and didn’t even scratch the museum surface, but like I said, this was just a sneak peek. 🙂 I want to thank my cousin, Bryson, and friends, Jane, Aashna and Raveena, for making my first trip to New York City so special! ❤

“There is something in the New York air that makes sleep useless.”
– Simone de Beauvoir

xx, AE