walking around montreal

a few photos from around montreal, quebec this past weekend

new york city in the fall, part two

On our second day in NYC, we decided to grab some breakfast in Williamsburg. We took the train down to Bedford Avenue and looked for a place to eat. I might have wanted to go to Allswell again, but alas, it wasn't open yet when we got there and we were too hungry to wait. After wandering around for what seemed like forever we found Bakeri, and oh my gosh am I glad we did. I couldn't have loved a place more. We got what seemed like the only table in the place and I enjoyed a cappuccino and a raspberry pistachio muffin (seriously the BEST muffin I have ever had in my entire life). Water came in an antique glass whiskey jar. So cute. So so so cute. It was pricey, as most independent cafes are, but it was so worth it.



Afterwards we headed to SoHo, where we just wandered and shopped. It was lovely and I was too busy checking out all the shops to take any pictures. We eventually got hungry again and took the train across the river to Grimaldi's, under the Brooklyn Bridge. We met some guys at Grimaldi's and ended up walking back to the financial district across the Brooklyn Bridge with them. We split up at the other end, but it was a nice walk.



Sarah and I had tickets to the 9/11 Memorial so we went and picked those up and after a marathon session at Century 21 we made our way over to the Memorial. It was lovely. I don't think it could have been any more well done. The long lines and security sucked but it moved quickly enough... and was fairly understandable given the location. Tickets are free, they just have to be reserved in advance.



We then headed back to the hostel to freshen up before heading to the East Village to watch the American foreign policy debate (yay for election season) in a bar. It was surprisingly hard to find a bar that was airing the debate, but we managed it and even got seats. Afterwards we met up with the guys from Grimaldi's again and had a couple drinks.

All in all, another fantastic day in New York City.

new york city in the fall, part one

This year I had the crazy good fortune of being able to visit New York City (my current favourite place in the world) not once, but twice. Another friend wanted to go, and I was already planning on visiting her in Ottawa anyways and for only a couple hundred dollars more, I kind of figured, why not? It was a  completely different experience visiting in the fall. Mostly, I could walk all day without my face melting off (and I'm not talking about make up). The milder, breezier weather was definitely more enjoyable. I'm so glad I got to go twice though, and experience both seasons, and with different friends. Completely different experiences but just as memorable.







We flew in to LaGuardia airport and landed around 11am. Having been to both Newark and LaGuardia now (but still not JFK), I'll say that LaGuardia is easier to get to/from (it's a bus away from a subway line... no elevators though so I don't recommend more than a carry-on) but Newark is a lot nicer and has way more food options. We went straight to our hostel in Williamsburg (and gosh is that subway system annoying sometimes. we had to take the train to Manhattan and then transfer at Union Station to get to the L line and cross the river again to get to Williamsburg) and checked in, freshened up, and headed back out into the city. We decided to leave Brooklyn for another day and went straight for Manhattan. After a long day of travel (I took the redeye from Edmonton to Toronto, slept in the Toronto airport for 3 hours and then met Sarah there for our flight to NYC...) I wanted nothing but Shake Shack. Sarah obliged me (especially after hearing me rave about it the entire flight) and we headed down to Maddison Square. In front of us, as we got out of the subway station, was a giant Forever 21. So of course we hit that up first. Then we got some Shack Stacks and split some fries and a drink. At this point it was getting late (maybe 4 or 5) and we had to be at the Upright Citizen's Brigade Theatre for about 6:30pm. So we decided to stay in Manhattan and wander. We walked down to the Doughnut Plant (another favourite...) and split a Pumpkin doughnut and then wandered into Chelsea and down south into the Village for as long as we could before we felt we should head back. It was at this point I realized we were next to the High Line so we took the stairs up and then headed back north on the High Line. It was a beautiful walk to do as the sunset, and a perfect one to do on the first day in that beautiful city. We got off on the last exit and then headed towards the UCBT to stand in line for our show (we had tickets but wanted good seats. Asssscat 300, btw). It was pretty good (maybe would have been better had I not been awake for something like 36 hours at that point) and we headed back to the hostel pretty content with our day.





This time we stayed in the Moore Hostel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for the first few days. I actually really liked it. We stayed in a mixed shared room and had no issues with creepy roommates or anything like that. It was pretty easy to get to (5 minute walk from the L line), the staff was nice and friendly, and it was decently clean. My only qualms was the location, to an extent. While it was light it, it was perfect and fine. When it got dark out (and you got lost...), all of those graffitied walls and barbed wire fences in the neighbourhood started to look kind of scary. No issues though, so I'm sure it was fine. And yes, Williamsburg was about as hipster as you can imagine. We even saw a mobile vintage clothing trailer...

five things you should probably do in nyc

I really just can't get enough of NYC. Anyways, one last post before I start going further back in time and recounting my European exploits of last summer. I would like to reiterate that this is just based on my experience of being in the city for 6 days, but these are the five things that I would actually recommend doing.

1. EAT AT SHAKE SHACK. Yes, yes, I know that caps lock makes it look like I'm yelling at you. But you know what? I am. Eat at Shake Shack, for the love. Get the Shack Stack. Maybe get two. Your life might just be complete afterwards. Also, like previously said, the original in Maddison Square Park is probably preferable, given that you're next to the Flatiron.

2. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Maybe it's just so you can say you did it. I don't know. But it's a lovely walk and you feel amazing looking behind (or in front) of you and seeing Manhattan. It's really special.

3. Go up to the Top of the Rock. Not overrated at all. Well, maybe if you go at 3pm on a Saturday you might not enjoy it that much (i am assuming that there are huge lines at 3pm on a saturday? but i really don't know..). So go early. Lets say early on a weekday for good measure. But go. The views are unreal. Oh, but don't go on a foggy or rainy day (i've heard) because you don't get those amazing views.

4. Explore Chinatown. Go into a shop and haggle for that I Love NYC shirt from an old Chinese lady. Trust me. You'll feel like you've really experienced the city.

5. Ride the subways. The subways aren't scary. We didn't actually take any cabs, but we did take the shuttle van and that WAS scary. Seriously. The subways are made out to be evil and sketchy by television and movies but in reality we didn't have any issues whatsoever, even late at night. I mean, I would recommend being cautious but that's sort of common sense anywhere when your travelling. 

nyc, day six (june 23, 2012)

[ central park, upper west side ]

We had to leave for the airport around 2pm on our last day so we decided to take it easy and soak in as much sunshine as we could before we embarked on another 8+ hour day of travelling.

We took the subway up to the upper west side and went into central park. We wandered the park for awhile. What I found the most fascinating about central park was just looking at the juxtaposition of the greenery next to the skyscrapers. I couldn't get enough pictures of it, either. Also, interestingly, you really notice the grandness of the city more from the park. Walking down the streets you don't realize just how high all the buildings are. Being in the park, away from the buildings, you really notice it.

After wandering we found a nice grassy/rock area (i don't love laying in the grass...) and read for a while, tanning. It was actually really nice and the perfect morning. All I could think about was how much I would just LOVE to live there and be able to lay on a rock reading a book in the summer heat whenever I wanted. With a view of NYC in the background, you know? It's just not the same here.

Once we got really hot and started to get hungry, we decided to head back into the upper west side for a last lunch in the city. We sort of had a location in mind but either we couldn't find it or it didn't look appealing once we got there (i don't remember which). Ultimately we found a small cuban place on (i believe) Amsterdam Ave where we shared a salad and a quesadilla. I wish I knew what it was called (note to self for future trips to ALWAYS take pictures of the places where I eat) because it was actually really good. And at $29 for 2 people, it wasn't a bad price.

Anyways, at around 1pm we started to head back to our hotel because our airport shuttle would get there around 2pm. We changed and then lounged around for a bit before heading back to Newark. The flights were all okay and on time and we got home weary around midnight.

Bailey kept joking that she didn't think I was going to come on the plane back with her, and you know what? She could have been right. If I had the guts to just pack up and move somewhere, without a plan or anything, that place would by NYC. Although, I guess, they might not like the whole me not being an American citizen thing. Oh well. One of these days I'll figure that kink out.

Until next time, New York. (also, I guess 'next time' won't be far away since another friend and I are going in October. so excited!)

daily costs: cuban food: $29 

nyc, day five (june 22, 2012)

[ Grand Central, United Nations, Times Square, MoMa ]

On the fifth day, we took the subway uptown and got off at Rockefeller Station again, to walk to Grand Central. Yes, you can take the subway straight to Grand Central but on the line we were it was easier to just walk from the outside than to transfer lines. So that is what we did. We didn't really explore the depths of Grand Central at all. We just walked into the main building and took some pictures and people watched. It was beautiful but quite busy, as you would imagine. The lighting was also pretty bad so my pictures didn't really turn out.

Afterwards we walked over the United Nations.

While Bailey and I are both very interested in politics and the united nations as an organization, neither of us really enjoyed the tour. I'm not sure if it was because if it was because our tour guide was pretty annoying or if it was just because all the information was quite 'dumbed down'. Either way, neither of us really thought it was worth going to.  Although, for $11 and a couple hours of our time, it was the end of the world. Keep in mind, however, that to get in you have to go through airport-esque security and get rid of all liquids. So don't buy a water bottle right before going; get some inside.

Afterwards we meandered back towards the theatre district. We went back past Rockefeller, Radio City Music Hall and moved on towards Times Square. We also spent quite a bit of time looking for someplace to eat, without much success. We ended up getting McDonald's off of Times Square. Not what we had in mind, but we were pretty hungry and gave up looking for a more unique affordable option in that area. Times Square was quite busy (as expected) so we pretty much just checked it out, took a couple pictures and got the heck out of there. Not, however, before being accosted by a man trying to sell us 'cheap' tickets to a comedy show that night. Somehow (i'm still not 100% sure how it happened) we ended up buying the tickets. Luckily it was only around $20 each.

We then headed back to the hotel to freshen up a bit before we set off to see the MoMa (museum of modern art). Friday's the museum is free from 4-8pm and we took advantage of that. We were both glad that we did since we both both insanely tired and didn't really enjoy it that much. As far as museums go, it was pretty cool and fun to check out. I enjoyed seeing some of the paintings from my art history textbook in real life.

Afterwards we headed to the aforementioned comedy show. We did double check that the venue was legit (according to google), just in case. It was at Dangerfield's, a dive on the Upper East Side (anyone familiar with the city can see the irony in that I am sure). The show was alright, it was basically improv. However, on top of the $20/person entry charge (same price at the door, fyi. so don't bother with the times square tix) there is a 2 drink minimum. And the drinks are expensive. Beers are $9 each. And they add gratuity on that. Not highly recommended, overall.

Again, we took the subway back afterwards. It was late but we actually felt quite safe. The NYC subway isn't nearly as sketch as it's made out to be.

other recommendations: don't buy tickets for anything from people in times square. duh.

daily costs: cupcake at sprinkles (VERY recommended): $3.50 / dinner (at some awful Italian place near dangerfields): $25 / dangerfields tickets: $20 each / un tour: $11 each

nyc, day four (june 21, 2012)

[ Brooklyn Bridge, Williamsburg ]

Day four was the day of air-conditioning hopping. While we didn't want to just laze around in our hotel (that didn't have air conditioning anyways), we also did not want to be outside.

We learnt this very quickly.

By walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

I actually had 'walk across the Brooklyn Bridge' on a list of things I wanted to accomplish this year. I just haphazardly put it in there with no real thoughts of it actually coming to pass. But it did, and I was glad I did it. We had a little bit of trouble finding the way onto the bridge (we went Manhattan-Brooklyn), but we eventually found it and got to see city hall in the process.

The bridge was lovely and hot and I sweat a lot. I think that just about sums it up.

Once we reached the other side, we hunted down a subway station. It was surprisingly difficult (I guess there aren't any stations by the bridge). Also, we originally intended to go to Grimaldi's but were so hot and lost and it was still morning and so we decided against it. Not the worst idea ever. I would still like to go someday but that definitely was not the day.

We eventually found a subway station and made our way to the Brooklyn Museum. Bailey wanted to see The Dinner Party (a feminist art exhibit by Judy Chicago). When we got there, however, it was closed, so we headed to the Brooklyn library to cool off and use their free wifi while we waited for it to open. (okay, so we actually just wandered and happened to run into the library. convenient)

After the museum, we hopped back onto the subway to go to Williamsburg. The subways in Brooklyn are a little dumb (or we couldn't quite figure them out) and we ended up having to subway all the way back to Manhattan to switch lines to get to Williamsburg. It only took maybe a half hour but it seemed forever. At least the subway trains have air conditioning.

In Williamsburg, we decided to stop for lunch. We happened upon a cafe/restaurant called Allswell, and it was AMAZING. The food and drinks were fantastic and the cafe itself had a really wonderful feel to it. There were different wallpapers everywhere with beautiful designs, all the tables and chairs were wooden and slightly different from each other and the bar was a fantastic wooden thing. If I were to ever open a cafe of my own, I would like it to resemble Allswell. Also, the menu rotates daily and is written on a chalkboard in the restaurant. How awesome is that?

Afterwards we headed to Beacon's Closet, which, if you love thrifting, is amazing. So much designer for so little. I got a lovely lace shirt (that happened to be American Apparel) for $8 and some floral Zara pants for $15. Yes, I realize those aren't 'real' designer, but I swear it was there. I just didn't get any.

Once we had finished thrifting our hearts out, we were pretty hungry again. Once again we ate on Bedford Avenue, this time at a Polish restaurant. I'm not sure what it was called, but we had some delicious Weisbier, Polish perogies, and some sort of Polish fruit filled dumpling dessert.

We then headed back to the hostel, where we freshened up and relaxed for a couple hours.

Later that night we went to the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater (only a few blocks from our hostel) and saw some awesome $5 comedy. It wasn't too fantastic that night (I've heard that Asssscat 3000 is the show to see... apparently SNL people actually do improv there!) but it was still nice to get out at night. If you do go, dress casual. It's a little rundown and just about everybody grabs a beer.

daily costs: brooklyn museum: $10 / upright citizens brigade theatre: $5 

nyc, day three (june 20, 2012)

[ Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Central Park, Lower East Side, Hudson River ]

Day three was quite possibly the hottest day we were there (have I mentioned that there was a heat wave and the daily temp + humidity was around 40 degrees celsius each day? because it was, and it sucked).

Regardless, we forced ourselves back down into those painfully hot subway tunnels (and into the wonderfully air conditioned subway) towards the Upper West Side.

We had originally intended to get real NYC bagels at some cafe in Bailey's guidebook but ultimately couldn't find the place (we found the address but there was nothing there so I assume it closed?). After wandering a few blocks and not finding anywhere else that looked super appealing, we decided to get street bagels and eat on a bench. NYC bagels really are different (they don't toast them? what?), but what really got me was the cream cheese. It was slathered on an inch thick and tasted... different. Not my favourite, but whatever. Worth the $1.50 to try.

We also (originally when making NYC plans) had planned to buy lunch in the UWS and then picnic in Central Park, but due to the heat we decided that any food would expire pretty quickly. I'm convinced that even bread would have melted in that heat.

So, we ended up just wandering around the UWS, south, until we hit Lincoln Centre. And then we wandered east along the bottom of central park, and went up and around to the Upper East Side. 

I had always wanted to try a macaron and had discovered that I could get a real Laduree macaron in NYC (the only place outside of Paris). So we made it our goal to find Laduree. And it was hard. Mostly because I had no idea where it was, except in the Upper East Side. And it was hot. But we found it! We got 4 and shared them: Rose, Blackcurrant Violet, Pistachio, and Green Apple. And we enjoyed them in that order (rose being the best, green apple being the worst). Also, I now love macarons. Surprise, surprise.

Afterwards, we headed into the park. We actually intended to spend the afternoon in the park, but between the heat and my feeling a bit sick (probably from the heat) we didn't spend too long and opted to instead spend the morning of our last day in the park. Since we were pretty hot, we wanted something cold to drink, and some air conditioning to drink it in. We had both heard of Serendipity 3 and their famous frozen hot chocolate and decided to check it out. We got there before it opened and ended up shopping for a bit, and then by the time we got back (5 min after it had opened) there was already a 30 min line up. So get there early and stay! There was a minimum amount per person, so despite the fact that we had already intended to split the $9 frozen hot chocolate, we had to get something else. We ended up splitting a sandwich, and it was beyond delicious. Maybe the best sandwich ever. But a half a sandwich and half a frozen hot chocolate is plenty. Trust me. Afterwards we pretty much just went back to the hostel, where we rested for a couple hours.

At this point we were at square one (the hostel) and it was dinner time and since we didn't know of any good places to eat, nearby, we decided to go back out into the city. So we ended up taking the subway back downtown to the Lower East Side where we grabbed some Souvlaki GR. It's technically a food truck, but there is a sit-in portion right next to the truck, so we went inside to eat. There was nobody else there so it seemed kind of strange (and it was a sketchy area) but I'm sure we were just there at a weird time and the food was quite good (I loved my SGR Pita Souvlaki and we split some Greek Fries). Afterwards, I decided that ice cream was in order and we managed to find Big Gay Ice Cream (we had spotted it on the first day but it was closed). I had heard good things about it and wanted to try it out. It definitely hit the spot and was delicious, although I devoured it pretty quickly since it was melting at an alarming rate. I got the Salty Pimp and while it was good, if I were to go again I would get the Mermaid like Bailey did. It tasted just like a Key Lime Pie and was in a cup (so it didn't melt all over you).

Afterwards, we headed back to the hostel. We grabbed some San Pellegrino and sat by the Hudson River watching the sail boats float by. It was pure magic.

daily costs: street bagel: $1.50 / laduree (4 macarons): $11 / serendipity (for 2): $25 / souvlaki gr (for 2): $20 / big gay ice cream: $5