concrete jungle.

Brooklyn Bridge view from the Manhattan Bridge

If you go to New York, stay for at least a week. Even a week's not enough time to explore everything this city has to offer! After visiting New York for 4 days, I feel like I've cheated on Houston. I fell in love with NYC as soon as I got there (minus the cab driver that took us to Brooklyn). Bobby and I stayed at our friends, Alec and Jelly's apartment in Bushwick, Brooklyn and took over their living room futon and bean bag. We were treated daily to wonderful eats and hot tea with honey. Alec and Jamie showed us how they lived in this busy city and helped us navigate the subway system. This couple is amazing and I had the opportunity to get to know them better than I did when they were here in Houston. They were kind enough to spend the entire day (12+ hours everyday moving all around Brooklyn and Manhattan) to show us where they loved to eat and shop. We also got to spend time with Brian Collins, Emily and Alex, and Lily. Because food was a major highlight for this trip, I need to list everything I ate the past 4 days:

• Pan-fried pork and chive dumplings, peking duck sesame pancake, and iced milk tea from Vanessa's Dumplings (Chinatown, lower east side)
• Grasshopper pie at Momofuku Milk Bar (East Village)
• Lamb gyro at some Halal cart (somewhere on 52nd and 6th near the MOMA)
• Hot dogs and papaya shake at Papaya Dog
• Shack Burger (note to self: get the shack stack next time with the fried portabella mushroom stuffed with cheese) , french fries, and frozen custard concrete w/ strawberries, caramel, and poppy seeds at Shake Shack (Flatiron)
• BBQ (short ribs, brisket, pork belly, and beans) at Fette Sau (Williamsburg in Brooklyn)
• Peking Duck at Ping's (Chinatown)
• Cinnamon Spice Mocha and vanilla crème brûlée at Fabiane's Cafe & Pastry Shop (Williamsburg in Brooklyn)
• Pepperoni pizza at Luigi's Pizzeria (Fort Greene in Brooklyn)
• Chai Latte (one of the most amazing and creamiest chai lattes I have ever had) at Pillow Cafe (Clinton Hill in Brooklyn)

Bobby with Papaya Dog

It was amazing because I literally ate all day, but after all the walking, I still got hungry at bedtime.

And of course, I can't forget the amazing shopping I did in SOHO. My most memorable shopping experiences were at Uniqlo ($15 for a good pair of jeans!) and Topshop (splurged $90 for an adorable one-shoulder lilac dress). Other noteworthy things we did while we were in NYC were: Tim Burton exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art, danced to Talib Kweli at the Brooklyn Bowl, walked around Central Park and Highline Park, and ate Jamie's irish soda bread muffins. All those things they say about New York were half true and half wrong. The people there don't suck. They apologized every time they bumped into me and customer service was still above and beyond. It was busy, fast-paced, and there was hardly any grass.

Me in Times Square

Emily


Alec, Jamie, Brian


Jamie at Shake Shack


Bobby & Alec on the L train

Brian at B&H

I plan on visiting several times in the future and spending a lot of time with Alec, Jamie, Brian, Lily, and Emily every time I'm there. Without these folks, especially Alec and Jamie who sheltered us the whole time, our trip wouldn't have nearly been as fulfilling and exciting. New York, you have been awesome to me with your tax-free shopping, delicious food, and well-dressed people. I can't wait to visit you again!