New York: Day 5

My last day in this wonderful city.

As per usual, Mara and I got going late morning.  We were surprised with this view upon exiting her dorm - apparently, it had snowed overnight.

Everything was covered in this light layer of snow - so, as a California girl whose only winter in New York three years ago was a relatively mild one, I was gawking and snapping photos everywhere we went.  Everything looked so enchanted and magical.  It was, obviously, quite cold, but I didn't care because everything was so beautiful.

We went to Pie for lunch, crossing off the last food-related item on my to-do-in-New-York list.  Pie is a thin-crust pay-by-the-pound pizza place on 4th Avenue, just south of Union Square, and during freshman year we came for lunch every Friday.  We got to know the owner quite well, and he came in and saw us and recognized me and Mara!  I couldn't believe he remembered me - he noticed I'd chopped off my hair, remembered meeting my parents, and came in with a, "hey, it's just like old times, the gang is back!" (It was just me, Mara, and Joel who were able to come, but back then it had been our entire floor).  His name is Jeff, and he used to tell us many stories, such as being a small child living in Miles Davis's building and seeing him on the elevator.  It was the first time I'd gotten to see Joel, and he wound up being the only one of the three guys from our friends I ever got the chance to see while I was out there this trip.  Mara's boyfriend Zach was there too but Jeff didn't know him.

Pizza selections at Pie

My lunch

L-R Me, Joel, Mara, Zach

After Pie, Joel left, and Mara, Zach and I went up to the Met, where I'd planned to spend a lot of time with the things I'm learning in my ancient art history class this semester.  However, like I mentioned in the previous entry, the Met is large, intimidating, and crowded with tourists, and I got overwhelmed with the extensiveness of the exhibits - just the Egypt wings alone would have taken an entire weekend.  I only managed to find a couple things my professor had told me to find.  What I was most excited about - the Ancient Near East - was completely closed off, and so most of my artifact scavenger-hunt missions were foiled.   We went through some of the paintings and admired some Monet and Van Gogh, then found this chinese garden that's apparently difficult to locate, so at least I saw something new before I wanted to leave.  That museum is way to big to enjoy casually.  Fortunately, it is pay-as-you-wish, so I had again only given $2 entry and didn't feel like it was a big waste of money.

A view inside the Temple of Dendur, housed inside the Met

One of many, many rooms of Greek vases

Roman mosaic from Lod, Israel - Mara, who just spent a semester in Tel Aviv, has stood in the spot this was taken from.

All I could see of the Ancient Near East exhibit, which was closed off.

Haystacks - Monet

Mara and I in the Met's Chinese Garden

Upon leaving the Met, there was a cupcake cart parked strategically outside the front steps, and we fell to temptation and bought some.  I got a "whooziwhatsit" which had caramel and other deliciousness in it, and also a mocha coffee.

Brilliantly located cupcake cart

Cupcake and a mocha on a cold winter's day - brilliant.

We decided to walk through Central Park for a bit, since I was so enchanted with the snow covering everything.  I'll let the pictures do the talking for that.

Bridge, snow, and an Egyptian obelisk outside the Met (just to the right out of the shot).

Mara and I in Central Park.

Mara and Zach walking through the park.

The Conservatory Water, with Alice in Wonderland at the far end of the frozen pond.

Hans Christian Anderson statue by the Conservatory Water

Snow.

After a nice walk through the park, we got on the subway, and said goodbye to Zach (he had a different stop) before getting back to Mara's.  I finished getting things together, and she walked me to the subway I needed to take the airport, and we said goodbye.

A note about transportation to/from JFK: I always take the subway/airtrain combo.  The Airtrain connects all the terminals to the Sutphin Blvd. subway station, which services the J and E trains.  Each Airtrain ride is $5, and from there you figure out your subway fare (single fare is $2.25 now, but there are unlimited cards for set amounts of time as well).  This is far and away the best way in and out of Manhattan, provided you don't have too much luggage (getting on/off subways and through turnstyles being the major consideration).  Taxis run up to $80, with tax and tip and everything included, so if you are a single traveller it's obvious which is the better option.

So, I got on the subway and took the long ride on the J train to JFK airport.  The terminal was closed and I had to go around a sketchy back way to a different terminal, and my bag was enormously heavy (after getting inside I put all my coats in my bag since I was no longer going to be in New York weather), and my gate was a great distance away, so I was pretty miserable by the time I got to the gate, but I made my flight with plenty of time.

I was so sad to leave, but I had such a wonderful visit.  I'm going to be looking into the faculty and various music schools over the next while, because I'd forgotten how much I missed living in the city until this trip, and that seems like the most likely way I'll get to go back for at least 2 years (a potential Master's program).

Anyway, thank you all for reading.  If I don't update on a random Los Angeles adventure before, I will be back to this March 31, when my school's wind ensemble goes on a trip up the California coast.

P.S.  I took far more photos than I've been posting on this blog.  To see all photos from this New York trip, visit my Flickr album.

New York: Day 4

Today was still cold, but at least it was sunny and not fake-snowing.

I had a more laid-back day today, but I still loved every single second of it.  I yet again slept in (getting responsibilities done beforehand + not being a first-time tourist makes for a VERY relaxing vacation), waking up at 10 and not getting out until after noon.

I left Mara's at 12:30 to go to the Upper West Side, where Manhattan School of Music is located just north of Columbia University, at 122nd street.  There, I met Isaac for a very pleasant breakfast/lunch in the italian place under his apartment building called Pisticci.  It had a nice brunch menu, with pastas and omelettes, but I opted for the simple nutella and bananas on bread (when I see the word "nutella" all other words become muted and I can't focus on much else), and he got a very cheesy and tempting-looking pasta.

It was so wonderful to catch up, reminisce about old experiences and people we used to know, learn a little more about our lives now... when we finally wrapped it up so he could go practice and I could go up to the Cloisters, I was in such positive spirits I was walking up Broadway with a huge smile on my face, and it had to be noticeable to the everyday stoic-faced New Yorkers I passed because they gave me slightly prolonged glances (a few milliseconds more than normal).

There is something about hanging out at a bar in New York on a Saturday night with a group of girlfriends, drinking a hard cider and watching your middle school friend's band kick serious butt, catching up with that friend over a nice lunch the next day, while taking yourself all over Manhattan by yourself like you belong there, to really have it hit home that you've grown up.

After lunch, I went up to the Cloisters (calling Mara on the way because I'd forgotten to actually check how to get there besides "due north") at 190th street.  The Cloisters is an extension of the Metropolitan Museum of Art far uptown, dedicated solely to medieval and gothic art, with architecture directly taken from many 13th-century abbeys and other such buildings.  In order to get to them, after getting out of the subway at 190th street, you have to walk through Fort Tryon Park.

Fort Tryon Park is probably the most beautiful place in Manhattan, a fact I was not aware of because I never made it up there while I lived here.  My walk through the park was absolutely breathtaking... tree-lined paths along cobblestone walls, on a hill overlooking the Hudson River just north of the George Washington Bridge, snow still on the ground around the leafless trees... there is no way I can describe how beautiful that walk was.  I will show you some pictures, but they do a laughably small amount of justice... the chill in the air, the smell of cold and snow and nature in the middle of such a vibrant city... there is just no way.

View of the Hudson from Fort Tryon Park

The Hudson, with George Washington Bridge in the background

The Cloisters from the top of the large hill in Fort Tryon Park.

Looking back at the hill that afforded incredible panoramas, but nothing my amateur little camera could capture.

I made it to the Cloisters with about an hour to spare before closing.  I would have liked more time, but because the museum is pay-as-you-wish, I wasn't worried about getting my money's worth (I payed $2). The Cloisters did not let me down on my beauty high - all old stone archways, wood doors, priceless works of art intricately carved out of ivory, inlaid with gold, stained glass windows perfectly preserved - I stayed until the museum workers started closing down the museum systematically and shoed the stragglers from room to room... I was the last person in the museum.

Room with medieval stained glass and effigies

Some of the gardens - closed in winter.

Book of Hours depicting days of the week and seasons of the calendar through pictures and lettering systems

All intricately carved from ivory

A saint's bones were once kept in here to see and retain their power.

I emerged to find myself bathed in the light of my favorite time of day, the time just before sunset when everything glows with that golden light.  I didn't take any pictures of this time through the park because I wanted to feel it and experience it, rather than frantically try to capture its intangible essence.

I know I've gone on and on about hardly anything in this entry, but this was the experience I had today.  Very meaningful moments amidst a bustling, busy city that can sometimes force someone to overlook such things.  This is the beauty of New York City - that you can discover new restaurants and shops and dash about to and fro along the many many streets and neighborhoods, and get worn out, and then go to a place like Fort Tryon park and immerse yourself in beauty and culture and be in an entirely different world.

If you ever go to New York, even though it isn't on the "must-see" list, you MUST take an afternoon for Fort Tryon and the Cloisters.  It promises to be a much more rewarding experience than museum-hopping in the busy tourist area around southern Central Park.

After getting back downtown, I relaxed my weary feet at Mara's for a couple hours, then headed out to Indian food with what was supposed to be "the whole group."  None of the boys could make it, however, so it wound up just being all my NYU girlfriends, which was still fantastic.  We went to Panna II Garden, one of three connected Indian restaurants on 1st Avenue between 5th and 6th streets.  It is tiny, you are bustled in and out so they have an incredibly high yield of business, but it is cute and festive and delicious and perfect for a bunch of college kids - though we each ordered our own food, you could easily order one less dish than the amount of people in your party and be set.  I had a spinach/cheese dish that came with rice, and ordered a side of naan (amazing Indian bread) and a mango Lassi (a cold sweet drink).  It was all very delicious.

The outside of the restaurant(s)

The tiny interior of the restaurant

My dinner

The girls: L-R Dani, Emily, Me, Brittany, Roomie, Mara

I said goodbye to everyone except Mara for the last time on my trip, then went back to the Little Cupcake Bakery for dessert and coffee.  I got an oreo cheesecake and a nutella cappuchino, Mara got a cookie dough cupcake, and we brought it back to her room.  The cheesecake was incredible - creamy, melt-in-your-mouth, worth-every-single-penny-and-then-some.  I will be dreaming about this cheesecake for months.

That was the end of my day.  Tomorrow is my last day in New York, then I fly home late in the evening.  I am so sad to leave - this trip has rekindled my love for this city, and given me aspirations to perhaps be able to go to a high-tier music school here for an advanced degree (the pinnacle of which would be a doctorate at Julliard - it's OK to dream big).

We shall see.