Alas, my darlings, I made my way to New York and the first thing I saw was a man peeing in the Subway. I saw him leaning over and he was homeless so I thought, “ oh he is just catching his breath.” FALSE. About 5 seconds later I heard water sounds so I look over and homie is peeing. LOL. To make matters worse, the first meal I had was Popeyes. I am not saying Popeyes is trash or anything. I just have this rule which is to only eat locally when I am somewhere new. The reason for breaking this rule is that I got to New York pretty late and not much else was open. Moving forward, after that me, my sister and my uncle made our way over to the Airbnb that my uncle gracefully paid for and it was nice but one problem..the lock didn’t work. It didn’t lock period. My sister slept with her pepper spray in her hand. This will be important later on. That was the first night in New York.

Day One In New York!

My first day in New York was good. Me and my sister (Vanessa) were supposed to start the day off early but we both overslept, so we started the day off a little late and it was rough. You see, I thought I could wear boots with a heel for the whole day. Gravity, Jesus, and New York all said no. When I tell you that my feet were in pain and every step I took I wanted to cry. I’m not lying. You may think, “Soms, you’re being dramatic, etc”. Yeah, no…my feet hurt so bad that after breakfast we agreed to go buy me some new kicks.

We had breakfast at Dough in Brooklyn. We both got tea and shared a doughnut. I believe we got the passion fruit doughnut which was delicious. If you are ever in town, this is your warning that it’s not a sit-down and eat kind of place, it’s more of  a grab and go. So straight after breakfast, my feet were so in pain that we took an Uber to a shopping area where I bought myself some sensible shoes. Thank you Adidas for providing me with such a shoes plus these new shoes elevated my outfit for that day.

Next on our agenda was the Brooklyn Bridge. We walked there from the shopping center.  It took a little while to get there but it was worth it. My sister got some good pictures of me featuring the bridge and I got some of her. I kept taking off my glasses and Vanessa asked me why to which to I answered: “ I look better with then off”. I took off my glasses for the picture below..and I forgot to pick them up after taking that picture. LOL. The pictures before I gave my glasses to my sister but this one was supposed to be quick so I just put them down and now I’m down one a pair of glasses. Regardless we got the shot so it’s okay! Also, I had another pair at home so I wasn’t freaking out that bad.

Next, we met to the Oculus( world trade center) which is all white building inside and out. I got some shots of Vanessa and I didn’t get any of myself because I was a little upset about “losing” my glasses. Also Instagram was down and since I am a daily Instagram user, I didn’t know how to react.

I could tell this annoyed my sister, which we later talked about during lunch at Zona Tribeca over a beautiful meal. After lunch we went to Washington Square Park. Our uncle warned us that there isn’t much action at that location but I just wanted to get a picture. Following that we headed over to the Flatiron Building, which was my favorite building that I saw this entire trip. It reminded me of the hotel from the show, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. 

 

 

After the Flatiron Building, I got some gelato with a shot of espresso at LavAzza and we headed to a play! It was called Operating Systems. It was about women and the struggles they face in keeping their positions when their bosses are predators. My sister and I ended the night at ALL vegan restaurant called Ja Ja Ja. Y’all at first I thought, it was just vegan-friendly as in, there would also be food for meat lovers. WRONG. It was okay through, my sister is now a vegetarian so she was loving it. She ordered a chorizo burrito and to her, it was so good she thought there was meat in it. Me, on the other hand, felt like throwing up in the middle of my meal. I had a Guac burger and the patty was made of pinto beans, beets, and quinoa. It looked good but to me, the way it tasted was not good.

Ja Ja Ja had a great atmosphere and the people around us really seemed to enjoy their meal. There was this guy that sat to our left that was just going in with his meals. That was not a typo, homie ordered so much food! Later we found out that his company was paying for his food so that why he ate so much and he also let us know what he really did enjoy this place. Later that night, I ordered a dessert, before you think I have money, I just want to say that I was on vacation so I of course I had to get dessert! I ordered flan. I  sent it back. It was not delicious. I had three bites. The first one was to taste, the second was to taste it again and third was to confirm my dislike for it. We paid our bill and went home after that which ended my first day in New York!

 

Day Two In The Big Apple

My second day was my favorite day! You guys it was legit a perfect day! Unlike the first day, Vanessa and I started the day off fairly early (8 AM) with breakfast at Locanda Verde and it was so lovely! Y’all have to visit this place if you’re ever in the city. Lol, look at me referring to New York as the city, as if I am a local. Hahaha, I’m cute, moving forward. The portions were great and filling plus the customer service was great. 10/10 highly recommend! 

From breakfast, we headed to the Upper East side for me to claim my throne at the MET steps! It was sunny and warm outside unlike the first day.Lastly, the cherry on top for our MET visit was that I was able to get some pictures with no one in the background…it was perfect. Fun fact: I love the show Gossip Girl and the MET steps are where Queen B would sit and no one was allowed to sit a step(s) above her. It was this huge thing so going to this location was so cool to me.

Then Vanessa and I actually went into the MET but didn’t go too far into the museum. Instead, we went for a stroll in Central Park which turned into us biking through central park.

When I tell y’all that I felt like I was in a romantic comedy, I’m not lying. Let me paint you a picture of what I saw in my head: me riding down 5th avenue on my bike while looking up at the skyscrapers, the park, the people, breathing in the fresh air and BOOM! I was so distracted I crashed into my love interest’s arms, and what follows is us falling in love and living happily ever after. Romantic right?!

Well, maybe the last part didn’t happen but the view I described was the truth though! Central Park is beautiful, I loved how there were people playing instruments in the tunnels, and I heard one particular guy playing the sax and oh my goodness. Beautiful. There were people having picnics, others taking pictures, ETC. It was great.

After that, we headed to Tiffany’s and Co. I wanted to go and my sister went because she loves me. I really do like Tiffany’s so I couldn’t come to New York and not go to it. It took forever and a day to find it but I didn’t care! I got to try on some diamonds, and look into the little cafe that they opened up on the third floor. It’s called The Blue Box Cafe, I wanted to sit down and live my best “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” life but this place is booked 30 days out and no one cancels. Yeah, I know disappointing but there is always next time!

After I got my diamond fix, we were headed to get lunch but got distracted by Tommy Hilfiger. We wanted to support Zendaya because she just dropped a line with them but we didn’t find anything we liked. Although we couldn’t find anything we liked, it didn’t stop us from playing dress up plus their super kind staff made it even more enjoyable. I also met an upcoming rapper so go check him out! His IG name is MarciMar and his SoundCloud link is in his bio! Okay, we spent like one or two hours in this store (it has three floors) and 30 mins of it was spent with me and Vanessa having a little photo shoot with this pink wall we found!

The rest was talking to the people that worked there and trying on clothes! After all of that, we went to Serendipity 3 for dinner. The best spaghetti and meatballs I have ever had, and my sister had some veggies, I think it was potato wedges. And for dessert, she had this HUGE ice cream sundae that she didn’t finish because it was just that big. However she enjoyed what she had! Next time I am in town, I will try their frozen hot chocolate! It’s a city favorite!

Later that night we walked around the city and the buildings are just as pretty in the night time as they were in the day time. To end the day we found our selves at a Comedy Club! Sadly, I couldn’t record anyone so I don’t have proof that the people that performed made me laugh but take my word for it. I was laughing the whole night. We were supposed to go to SOHO after the comedy club but we were exhausted and my plane was leaving early in the morning so we called it a night, therefore, concluding my last day in New York.

Who did I fly with and where did I stay?

I flew with American Airplanes and that was nice. I thought I was going to lose my hearing on the flight back because the ear popping was so painful I was so close to crying. Other than that the flight and flight attendants were lovely. Also, my tickets were pretty cheap. I stayed at an Airbnb in Brooklyn and it was okay but not the best. My door didn’t lock which lead to a pair of shoes being stolen. What is annoying is that I feel like I know who stole them too.

On my second day, I was admiring myself in the mirror in the common hallway and this girl was coming out of the bathroom so I asked for her advice on what shoes to wear. The Timbs my friend let me borrow and the Adidas I had bought the first day I was there. She chose the white Adidas, later that night when I was packing I discovered that the Timberlands were nowhere to be found. I was so upset. Also, later on that day my uncle found out that all the suits he had with him in his room were stolen too.

It was my first Airbnb experience and the worst. I don’t know the name of the Airbnb because my uncle is the one who booked it for us but the location is 299 Sumpter St, Brooklyn, NY 11233, USA. Do not stay there, your stuff will get stolen. Plus besides for a huge mirror in the room, and a small couch, it wasn’t decorated. Homie came through with some super warm blankets but would I stay there again? No.  

Well, my darlings, that was my time in New York, very short lived but I will be returning sometime soon. There is still so much I want to see! That was also my last Spring Break ever and it was a great one!  I am so grateful that God had this in store for me and I can’t wait for the next time I get to go somewhere new.

Until the next time my darlings!

-SOMS