Today went by so quickly! Even though I woke up fairly early (before 8 am), there was so much to do.
First, opening the mail that had collected for me the past week, a little freelance work, vacuuming, and breaking down cardboard boxes kept me busy before the kids woke up. Next, it was off to the market to buy ingredients for dinner, then to the mall to find some black slacks for Koa. Who knew it could be so difficult! We went to five stores before finding a pair that fit and wasn’t crazy expensive.
By that time it was early afternoon and time to get cooking! Mariko was going to a potluck and requested I make barbacoa meat for tacos. It was fairly easy to make, and with the Instant Pot, it was fast too. I love that pressure cooker!
But before dinner, I went out driving with Bay. We need to really finish up and get him his license soon (hopefully before September). He has to finish some online classes, and we just need a few more hours of driving (and parallel parking) before he can take his driving test. So we are on a fast track to get it done. On the plus side, Bay is a really good driver, so I’m not too worried about him on the road.
After we returned home, it was taco time! The barbacoa meat was tender and yummy, but honestly, I’d take carnitas over barbacoa any day of the week.
In the evening, I had three large piles of laundry to fold, and that brings us up to the present. It’s 11:24 and I need to wrap this up.
Today is our last day in New York City, as we are flying home early tomorrow morning. For this final day, we stayed towards the end of Manhattan Island. Our first stop was the 9/11 Memorial and its reflecting pools. These memorials are quite impressive and somber, with the names of the people who lost their lives etched all along the edge.
We sat for quite a while near the memorial, I think partly because of the nature of the space, and also that we just needed a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. So after a quiet hour or so, we then headed to the top of One World Trade Center to the observation deck.
The elevator ride to the top is very interesting because the walls of the elevator are large screens which not only replicate the rising altitude but how the city changed all the way from its founding until the present day. It was an incredible show. Please check out this video, which will give you and idea.
As you might guess, the view from the top of One World Trade Center is stunning. But even though you are at the top of the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, both Bay and I agreed that the view from Top of the Rock was more impressive, mostly because you are outdoors. But I think the observation deck of One World Trade Center is a must see. With this trip, I’ve now been to the top of Rockefeller Center, The Empire State Building, One World Trade Center, and the original WTC.
Next, we visited the 9/11 Museum, which is below ground. You can see the original steel foundation beams and slurry wall and many tributes in the forms of murals and paintings, but the heart of the museum has to be the historical exhibits that chronicle the timeline of September 11, 2001. It was shocking to relive that day, and there were several times when I felt tears welling up.
There was one exhibit/film in particular that describes the timeline of Flight 93 which crashed in Pennsylvania after the passengers stormed the cockpit of the hijacked jet. It was heartbreaking to hear the voicemail messages of passengers to their loved ones and families… That was extremely difficult to hear. 😢
I have to admit that I was not really looking forward to visiting this museum, but I am very glad I did. When we exited the museum I gave Bay a little hug. 😥
After the museum, I really needed to get some caffeine so we searched The Oculus building for the Starbucks. Unfortunately, we didn’t find one, but the building itself is really cool:
Luckily there was a Starbucks on the way to Wall Street, so we had a short rest, I got my caffeine fix, we were ready to go. From the coffee shop, it was just a short walk to the Charging Bull statue. It was pretty cool, but I really enjoyed seeing the Fearless Girl. I wasn’t sure if it was a permanent sculpture or would be there, but it was! I admire what this statue stands for. Resiliency and the strength of the underdog, the less-privileged.
A couple blocks away are the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Hall National Memorial. It was cool to be in the same place where George Washington was sworn in as the first president. You can actually see the floor that he stood upon to receive the oath.
After Wall Street, we headed back to SoHo for last-minute gift-shopping and then to our last dinner in NYC. And it had to be… pizza! 😆🍕
One the way back to our Airbnb I snapped a photo of this wall-art. I like to think of it as Bay and I enjoying our travel together. 😀
Today Bay and I visited a couple amazing places, but before I get into that, I have to mention breakfast. 😀 We went to a cozy little restaurant down the block called Jack’s Wife Freda. Bay had the chicken sandwich with fries, and I got the Green Shakshuka. They were both yummy! A great start to the day.
Next, it was time to hop on the subway, but first we had to charge up our MetroCards. Our 7-day unlimited passes expired so now we have to be a little more thoughtful about our subway travels. At $2.75 per ride, it’s still a great deal since you just pay once and can get off on any stop.
The first major highlight of the day was the Museum of Modern Art, or MoMA. We immediately headed up to the 5th floor and were greeted with Brancusi’s amazing sculptures. I love Bird in Space and it was so neat to see two versions of it in the same room.
Soon after that, we were blown away by the collection of paintings from Picasso, Cézanne, de Chirico, Leger, etc. And while most of the people were enamored with Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, I was staring at one of my favorite paintings, I and the Village by Marc Chagall. I’ve loved that painting ever since high school so I was floored to see it in person.
The Monets also were amazing, especially Water Lillies. I could stare at those for hours.
I also enjoyed the Matisse paintings. Fantastic! Every time I saw one of the paintings that I studied about in Art History classes, it was like seeing a celebrity in person. Really fun!
And of course, the Van Gogh paintings were amazing. The Starry Night is wonderful, but I love Olive Trees even more. The brushwork is incredible!
I truly love many of the paintings in the MoMA collection, but then there are ones that I just don’t care for. Take this one, for instance:
One thing that really bothered me was that I saw people touching paintings, not once, but twice! I love looking at paintings close up to see the detail without a glass barrier, but they really need to guard those paintings that aren’t behind glass a little more closely. It sucks that people poke the paintings with their oily fingers. 😡
After MoMA, we headed uptown to Columbia to catch the campus information session and tour. The campus is impressive and because it’s in the city, it’s very attractive. I think it would be a dream school for many students… living and studying in Manhattan.
I’ve talked to a few parents whose kids are in college and they all said that campus visits are very important. One school might look perfect on paper (and from the brochure/website) but once you visit, you might realize it’s not for you. I’m thinking that this is kind of what Cornell is for Bay. But since it’s the #1 Architecture school in the country, that will have some sway. On the other hand, Bay loves the city, so Columbia is probably his favorite so far.
After the campus visit, we grabbed a quick dinner, then went to Times Square to buy a couple souvenir t-shirts (buy them from the street vendors, not inside the store) before heading back to our Airbnb in SoHo. It was getting late but we went for coffee at the nearby Starbucks and while Bay read his book, I worked on the blog. And I love this motto on the wall:
When we left the coffee shop we got to see the fire department in action. Not sure what was going on, but those sirens are LOUD!
Another long day, but again, a fun one! Our NYC trip is coming to a close soon, which is good because I am starting to miss home!
こんばんは。Today was yet another long but fun day. Actually, we didn’t have anything on the schedule that required us to be at a certain place at a certain time, so it was a nice, stress-free day.
We started late with a breakfast burrito and coffee at Dog Haus…
… then took the subway…
… and started our shopping at the MoMA Design Store. I bought a couple gifts, but I also found a rain-jacket on sale. It’s been rainy and I’ve seen so many people with their waterproof jackets so I thought it would be a good idea to get one too.
Our next stop was Uniqlo where they had some better rain-jackets and I was about to buy one but then I checked the weather forecast, and the rainy week doesn’t look as bad as it did earlier. So, not only didn’t I buy the Uniqlo jacket, but I returned the MoMA jacket as well. Since I live in Texas, I probably won’t need a rain jacket anyways.
Next up was the International Center of Photography Museum, which had a Henri Cartier-Bresson exhibit and an Elliot Erwitt exhibit. I thought both were great! They are two pillars of photography so to see collections of both of their works in one afternoon was fantastic.
In fact, I was so inspired by what I saw that I had to shoot a few more black and white photos today. 😀
Next, we went across the street to the New Museum to check out their contemporary art exhibits. Both Bay and I weren’t too impressed with the art on display, however. The installations were too experimental and not relatable, at least for us. I prefer traditional paintings over installations and mixed media works. Most of the art we saw today showed no indication of craft or skill, which really turns me off.
After that, we decided to check out the New York City Public Library. It was pretty cool to see, but it’s not really a place to browse the stacks. The librarian I talked to said that most of the books are not in the stacks but in the vaults, so patrons will request books and they will be brought to them for their research.
Still, there was a free exhibit highlighting the culture of the 60s in America which was an interesting mix of art and history.
After a quick ramen/udon dinner, we stopped by the Apple Store in Grand Central Station where Bay got to play with the Macbook Pro he wants to get. While he was doing that, I occupied myself with taking some long exposure photos of the crowds on the main floor. It was a lot of fun!
And to end our day, we walked a couple blocks from our Airbnb to Taiyaki NYC to get some ice cream and taiyaki. The most popular menu item is the Unicorn, so of course I had to try that. It was yummy! A great way to end another fun day in New York City. 🦄🍦
Today was another long day, starting in Ithaca and ending in Lower Manhattan, with the main stop in New Haven, Connecticut to visit Yale University. (Our first time in the state of Connecticut!) The 5-hour drive from Ithaca started off rainy but turned sunny and it was pretty nice, with plenty of interesting scenery, wide rivers, tree-covered mountains, and cute towns. But, it was super-long and pretty tiring.
We timed the drive well and reached New Haven and the Yale campus just in time for the campus tour at 2 pm. We were impressed with the University and the town, a lot more than Cornell/Ithaca. The campus seemed more tight-knit and cohesive, and the architecture was really cool. Reminded us of Hogwarts!
After the tour, we grabbed some food (I only had coffee, and Bay had only eaten some yogurt earlier). The tour guide recommended pizza, something New Haven is apparently known for, but the place he told us to go to wasn’t yet open for the dinner crowd. So we went to Yorkside Pizza, which turned out to be pretty good! Bay’s pizza was yummy, my sausage hoagie was huge (and just a half-order!), and the basket of fries was enough for four people. We were stuffed!
After the late lunch, it was time to hit the road again for a 1.5-hour drive back to Queens to drop off the car. Everything went without a hitch and we were left to find our way to lower Manhattan and our next Airbnb. It was a little bit of a trek to the station from the car rental facility, but luckily it was a single express train and we got to sit down all the way there. Whew!!!
After settling in at our apartment, we went to Muji for a bit of shopping where I bought some notebooks, sticky notes, and snacks. As you can see from the photo below, I used the SoHo stamp at the store to customize my notebook. I think it’s cool!