it’s been waiting for you // part vii

ohmygod, do you remember THIS? okay, if you were following me during the summer, you’d know i was (painfully) recapping my weeks spent in new york city. i drafted up this post waaaaay back in early august but didn’t get a chance to upload the pictures, as i was being lazy and procrastinated on editing them. then completely forgot about it. and now it’s almost the end of september. HAH! it’s officially autumn, but where i live (southern california) it’s still 90ºF. this is my final goodbye to summer in hopes the cold weather will come. ENJOYYYYY!

it’s my last weekend here, thus the last post has come. i’ve (technically) spent two months in the city and it’s become home for me. but in a few days, i’ll be flying to my real home and i feel… nostalgic and sad and somewhat relieved. coming here, i was afraid i would plateau and stumble without my parents there for me – like i did three years ago. to my own surprise, i could take care of myself just fine and even grew a little in the process (metaphorically). i had a taste of what i’m capable of, which is something that couldn’t have happened back home. i hope that in a year or two, i’ll be able to come back to this city and truly make it home. new york, i’m waiting for you. i hope you’re waiting for me too.

(you can read all the previous posts in this series HERE!)

saturday, august 8

evelyn and i had planned to try photoshooting again this morning, but ended up oversleeping (shocker). we ended up taking some photos in front of our apartment instead of going to where we originally planned because it was due to be too crowded. not too bad except that evelyn’s camera went wonky – again. we’ll have to make one more try tomorrow.

after going back inside and cleaning up, we went to american apparel to check out their clothing. couldn’t find anything worth buying, so we moved on with our day. i did, however, find a nice paperback copy of harry potter and the sorcer’s stone on a table outside for only $3! i had to buy it. we ate a late lunch at nanoosh, a mediterranean restaurant near our apartment. the food was surprisingly good and it was disappointing how we’d discovered it just as i was leaving. next time i’ll know!

we were planning on staying at the nyu library for the rest of the day and guess what? I ACTUALLY GOT IN. it was such a relief to walk through those doors without security stopping me – from entering a library. it was such a nice improvement from last time. i ended up blogging the whole time and we ate ramen for dinner with nakjun aka oppa aka the person who we ate dim sum with? and also went to the library with last time? yeah, HIM.

sunday, august 9

it’s my last full day in new york, so obviously, we left the city. bright and early (actually, attempted at bright and early but failed yet again), evelyn and i ventured to the bronx. neither of us had been there and we kinda got lost along the way, but we managed to get to our destination: the new york botanical gardens. we got there an hour after doors opened, which wasn’t too bad since it was still fairly empty. in fact, as the day continued, it stayed empty. if you want to unplug (as my introverted self LOVES), this is the place to go. the day was mostly filled with: exploring the gardens, random photoshooting, and playing with evelyn’s new camera.

LOOK AT HOW GREEN IT IS! also, that building was actually the library (that i didn’t get a chance to explore). ISN’T IT BEAUTIFUL?! look at evelyn and i being oh-so-adorable. my sister also has more pictures about the trip on her blog. p.s. sorry all these ballet photoshoot pictures are me doing the same pose; it just so happen that the nicest picture is an arabesque i swear i can do more stuff. *defends self by doing some more dance-y stuff to show i’m actually a dancer*

after much walking and acquiring a few bug bites, we decided to head back – this time with the metro north. in the morning, we took the 2 train all the way up and transferred to a bus but that was when we got (kinda) lost. the metro north will take us directly to grand central, which is a tourist-y place i’ve never been to. the simple task of taking the train left me starry eyed because WOW PLUSH SEATS AND SUPER FAST. grand central station is also beautiful, but evelyn was like “ehhhhh” because her former work office building was in the station.

we ate lunch in grand central at… shake shack! i haven’t had any of their burgers all summer because i’ve been trying to eat healthier but it’s the last weekend.. YOLO. (also my quest to eat healthier kinda failed when i went to all those ice cream shops. shhhhhh.)

after doing minor exploring of the area, we decided to go to yet another tourist spot: top of the rock at the rockfeller center. (we’re doing all the things today) we reeeeaaally wanted a picture of the sunset, but ended up getting there around an hour early. not too bad, right? WRONG. we clearly underestimated the amount of tourists since we’ve been avoiding those areas as best as we could. secondly, we underestimated the temperature. it was FREEZING up there. well, at least i was because it hardly ever gets below 60°F in los angeles. in the end, the sunset was extremely disappointing. you couldn’t even tell the sun set because there were clouds everywhere! normally, i love clouds in a sunset because it leaves a pink reflection but nope. nothing. all in all, it was a bad experience. my favorite part was probably people watching the tourists. anyway, would you look at that beautiful sunset? you could totally tell, right? (EXTREME SARCASM OVER HERE.)

for dinner, we decided to go to a vegan asian resraurant called franchia. we each ordered an avocado bibimbap in a stone pot. although it was really good, i expected it to be a little better. i think it had to do with the music playing in the background – i think it was supposed to calm you down, but it made me sleepy and annoyed – and the fact that we were both exhausted from our day.

monday, august 10

i’m leaving today, but i haven’t left yet! i was planning on making one last morning run in central park, but i ended up oversleeping. (HAH! EVERY. SINGLE. MORNING.) my morning consisted of packing, packing, and packing. i was convinced i couldn’t fit everything since i bought so many books during my stay. i ended up borrowing one of evelyn’s smaller suitcases as a carry on and dedicated it to books. #bookwormproblems. i went out to eat one last acai bowl from juice generation, then continued to pack.

i decided to take one last class at steps on broadway before i leave, this time with one of my favorite teachers: ms. kunikova. i wasn’t able to take any of her classes in the past weeks because she only taught in the mornings from monday to thursday, which meant i was taking classes at ABT. it was great because she actually remembered me! i hadn’t taken her classes since last april or years before that, so i was really surprised (and happy). also, there was a girl from my class at ABT there as well! it all made me feel even more nostalgic. all-in-all, it was a wonderful class.

i quickly went home and decided to make a few last minute stops before i depart the city. the first place i hurried to was chalait. i passed it before, but it always seemed to be closed at the time. everything about this café screamed ARTSY, so i really wanted to make my way back here. almost everything is matcha related, which i LOVE. i ordered an avocado toast and a matcha latte. it was delish, and definitely worth the trek. also, ARTSY!

next stop was three lives & co bookstore! i wanted to visit one last indie bookstore before i leave and i heard many great things about this store. it’s quaint and cozy, with a large selection of fiction and new york based books. i couldn’t find many YA novels, but i didn’t really mind. i was mostly just browsing and photographing.

my last stop: dominique ansel’s kitchen. my friend ana has instagramed their ice cream too many times, so i decided to have a taste. unfortunately, the ice cream she was talking about is only served on weekends. i ordered a slab of vanilla bean ice cream instead. it was kind of disappointing for a few reasons 1/ IT’S HUGE 2/ i didn’t really have time to sit back and relax, so i tried shoving it down my throat which was not a good idea, 3/ it’s a bit too strong in flavor for my taste buds. *sigh* i want to come back the next time i’m in the city, and i’ll make sure it’s on the weekend.

i ventured back, grabbed my stuff, and was on my way to the airport! i’m really sad to go, but like i said earlier, i’m coming back. peace out, new york! (please wait for me because i’m desperately waiting for you xox)

IT’S SERIOUSLY OVER NOW. all that angst! you could see my sorrow in the grudge-y goodbye pictures. are you sad? are you reaaaaally sad? or do you not care at all because you haven’t read the previous posts in the series? in which case, you should probably go read the previous posts in the series to clear up your confusion.

xxx, xandra