I’m not sure if I had such an amazing trip because of my amazing host, Sydney, or if it was because the trip came at perfect time. I had an amazing time in NYC and visiting the art museums that the city had to offer. I tried some of the yummiest restaurants and had the best doughnuts.
The idea of the trip all began while laying in bed with one of my best friends, Morgan. We started to talk about all the places we wanted to travel. She was just starting school, so it was going to be a while before she could travel. She told me that she has always wanted to go to NYC. And there an idea was born. When I learned that Sydney was moving the NYC. I told Sydney that the first New Year’s that I was 21, I was going to fly out there and see her for the week. Morgan was so mad that I stole her idea, and was going to go without her. Little did we both know that we would be going together.
My best friend and cousin Morgan passed away in a car accident October 23rd 2015. We talked everyday. She would always send me a snapchat when she had to wake up early or when we had a giant nasty pimple. We both said the biggest strain in our relationship was that I was morning person and she was more a afternoon person. We are a couple of months apart and since I can remember we have considered each other friends. It hasn’t fully hit me what her being gone means. I’m really sad sometimes and other times I’m fine. I remember the first time I really laughed after she passed away and I felt bad. I felt bad that I was happy even though she couldn’t laugh anymore. One of Morgan’s biggest passions was traveling. She loved to go somewhere; anywhere actually, she just wanted to go. I now travel for her every time I go somewhere. She is constantly near me and I can feel her every time I get 20,000+ feet into the sky. This trip was exactly what I needed to help me heal and understand what life without her meant.We had so many plans to travel together when we got older, but now instead of only a few vacations together she’ll be joining me for every single one.
Her song will continue to be sung as long as we keep singing it.
I was specifically staying in the Brooklyn area. We managed to squeeze me into a tiny apartment with only enough extra space for a blowup air mattress. I thought my friend was joking when she said explained the size of her apartment. I will say that even though the apartment was small, the exposed brick in her apartment and in many other buildings was beautiful.
On New Year’s Day we traveled to time square. and it was CRAZY. There was a cage more or less that held probably 1,000+ people all shoulder to shoulder. The people had been there since 5:30am and were outside all day long just to be able to be in Time Square to see the ball drop. People sat on the floor gathered around food waiting for the night to begin. A police guarded the entrance and I’m not incredibly sure, but I don’t think they could could leave. Either way being in Time Square during lunch time was about all the excitement I could handle. We then went to eat and sat at Bryant Park near by. Later that night Sydney, her boyfriend, and I went to a party at one of her friend’s house. It was an interesting party filled with humans of New York. We had a blast and came home just in time to find Sydney’s roommate puking in the bathroom. After we were able to empty our bladder, we went to bed and woke up the next more ready for adventure.
My friend Sydney is a graduate student in NYC, so she had all the free tickets to art museums. I was able to see my favorite van Gogh painting, Wheatfield and Cypress Tree as well as the “Starry Night” in person. After going to the Vincent van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, I have seen all my favorite paintings by him. This doesn’t mean that I’m done exploring museums with his paintings, but I’ve seen lots of great paintings in the last year by him.
We went to the Whitney, MET, Cloisters, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Frick. Out of all of them the Cloisters was my favorite. The walk to the Cloisters is what really made it stand apart from everything else. There was a beautiful garden, that in the winter months still looked wonderful. The entire museum had an atmosphere that made you feel as if you were in the Medieval era. I told myself that next time I go back to NYC, it is going to be anytime but the winter. There are so many beautiful gardens that I didn’t get to see in full bloom.
Although I don’t have any pictures of the delicious food we tried but we gave just about anything a shot. We had Jamaican, French, fresh doughnuts, authentic tacos, and tons of coffee and treats. One of my favorites was a place call Clementine and it had the best breakfast and treats.
Riding the subway was such an experience. After about the second time of riding I told Sydney, “This really isn’t so bad once you get a seat.” She replied, “You learn quick.” The hustle and bustle of trying to make trains and dealing with trains going out of service was a pain but at the same time gave Sydney and I plenty of time to talk. You have no cellphone service for the most part and are usually riding for at least half an hour. One of the best features of the subway is that you never have to worry about a sober driver. When we went out on New Year’s that wasn’t a problem at all.
Overall, fantastic trip. I am so excited that I was able to go and enjoy the city with one of my friends. It was nice to live out Morgan’s dream of going to NYC as well.
