First of all, my apologies for being MIA for the last two days. Funny story, while I was in New York this weekend with my best friend from home, she accidentally took my laptop charger back to school with her and I didn't get a chance to charge my laptop until last night! Anyways, aside from that, we had the best weekend together. Caro is one of my best, best friends from high school and I could not have been more excited to see her and spend a few days together in my favorite city!!
This weekend worked our perfectly to get together because we were both free, and an added bonus was that it was just after exams for me so I didn't have to worry about coming back to a heavy workload. In fact, I usually have five classes on Friday and one of my afternoon classes was cancelled this time, so I was able to leave Bethlehem a little early and meet Caro in NYC around four.
The bus from Bethlehem dropped me off in the same spot as Caro's bus dropped her off and I got in a little before her so I popped into Dean and Deluca across the street to admire all of their pretty sweet treats while I waited for her. When she arrived we trekked through Times Square a little bit before making our way up to my aunt's place on the Upper East Side where we stayed for the weekend.
I got in around 4:30 and Caro closer to 5 so by the time we made it through the crazy Friday evening Manhattan traffic we were definitely ready for dinner.
We went around the corner to the Penrose where we split a fish taco loaded with avocado, Caro had the grilled cheese and tomato soup, and I had the mac and cheese! So, so good. The taco was definitely the winner for me. Fun fact: avocado's are my favorite things, and since I never ever get to eat them at school I always over-indulge on them whenever I have the chance to. The whole restaurant was really cute and fit the vibe we were feeling... a little dark, kind of small, but busy and buzzing just like the city!
The rest of our Friday evening was spent watching movies and just hanging out since we had the apartment to ourselves. We were both exhausted and wanted to make the most of our day on Saturday, so we were in bed pretty early.
Saturday morning we got acai bowls around the corner at Juice Generation and then walked down quite a few blocks until we stopped to eat them and grab coffee at Shakespeare and Co, a really quaint bookstore and coffee shop. Seriously the yummiest way to start off your day on a healthy note!
Following breakfast we just spent the majority of our day shopping and wandering around the city. Of course, no trip to NYC is complete without a stop at Bloomingdale's, the Plaza, avocado toast, and Central Park, all of which we were able to pack in.
We got avocado toast for lunch in Midtown at Little Collins, which was seriously incredible. I was so beyond full after even just half my slice but couldn't not finish it, because it was incredible. Oh, how I missed avo toast!!
After our lunch break we continued our exploration downtown where we passed a crazy big protest going on outside the Trump tower. The whole weekend was non-stop sirens and protests because of the election, and it was really interesting to be there when it was actually going on. As much as I wish there could continue to be a peaceful transition of power, I understand how influential and controversial this election is and I am only going to continue to trust in God and pray that things don't become too out-of-hand.
After we made it more downtown we wound up at Bryant Park and stopped for a coffee break. We hung out there because it was bustling with people ice skating and enjoying the pop-up markets and shops, which was just a really cute ambience to get into the holiday spirit. We sat at the cafe which was designed by Crate and Barrel, so it was obviously had the coolest interior design. Eventually we hopped in a cab and went back uptown to meet my aunt for dinner!
My aunt was out of town on Friday night, as I mentioned that we had the place all to ourselves, but she returned Saturday afternoon and took Caro and I to dinner with one of her girlfriends at Sarabeth's Saturday night. Because I'm an avocado addict, as I claimed before, I couldn't just not order the avocado toast... two in one day can't be that bad, can it?! I don't care, no regrets at all. The burrata on the side just made it so delicious I wouldn't have enjoyed anything else more!!
After dinner the four of us (me, Caro, my aunt and her friend) went back to my aunt's to hang out for a little bit before going out Saturday night. We had a ton of fun and just enjoyed the city!
Sunday morning Caro's bus left at 11:30 so we slept in until 10 before grabbing coffee and splitting a ricotta, avocado, and egg white croissant sandwich a la The Petite Shell, which was super yummy. I then went with her to drop her off at the bus station and say my goodbye's!! It was so weird being all alone in the city for a little bit, but I made my way back uptown for fun lunch plans with Amy Stone.
Amy and I met for lunch at Pizza Beach on the Upper East Side which was just as delicious as it was fun and beachy and a really quaint restaurant. Amy and I wound up spending the whole afternoon together just walking around, popping into shops, exploring the park a little bit, and just hanging out! She is seriously the best and such a great mentor. I loved getting to see her again and spend a few hours together with someone who I truly look up to.
I ended up taking an 8:30 train back to school Sunday night and returned to my dorm around 11.
Overall, it was an incredibly full weekend packed with people I love and missed and whom I'm so, so glad I got to see even if just for 48 hours!
xoxo
