exploring Manhattan

Week 4 in NYC

11:15 PM

The second we got back from Utah, I made a drastic decision. I loved my long hair but when I get restless or stress level goes code RED, I usually change my hair. 

And I couldn't be happier with my new length and the lightness of my head!

We moved the table to the balcony for a nice view when we invited a few friends over for dinner on Tuesday night. It was really dark for pictures at dinner but the table outside made for a fabulous breakfast setting.

I went to get us tickets to a show in South Seaport and walked past this place on Fulton Street. The magic words to get me anywhere quickly are 'Argentine empanadas'. Of course, I had to try one! They advertised authenticity and I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I saved my cheese empanada for lunch.

I made my way uptown to Colombia University but got off one stop early on the subway to be able to walk by this iconic spot. Can't say I'm a particular fan of Seinfeld but I had to snap a picture anyway :)

It's easy to love this campus. It is gorgeous and you can smell the intellectual exchanges.
The Low Memorial Library on Colombia campus.
Love love love. 

I took a quick lunch break to try out the cheese empanada. Not quite what I expected. Tasty, but thicker than I am used to. If I find a place that makes argentine empanadas like nearly every man, woman or child I met in Buenos Aires can, I'll be a regular customer. And I'll shout it from the rooftops so that they stay in business! Not like the unfortunate place in Orem, Utah that I loved.

The inside of the Low Memorial Library

I love the ceilings of these old buildings (still the Low Museum)

I wandered west toward this fantastic structure.

There are not many buildings in Utah like this.


I stumbled upon this. I had no idea what it was so I did some investigating. Did you know that General Ulysses S. Grant's tomb overlooks the Hudson River? Neither did I.
I'll save everyone the history lesson. If you need a little help remembering why he was such a big deal, click here and here

Again, the CEILINGS.

President and General Grant and his wife, Julia.

Appottomax Link is just for a refresher or FYI if you didn't study US History. I have a dear friend who went to high school in Ghana so I would have to clue him in when historical references were made. No big deal.

East of Colombia and President Grant's tomb, you run into my most favorite park yet...and I've been to many of them now. Morningside Park.



Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Down to the subway. I don't think I ever took pictures of the subway in Argentina but I don't remember them looking at all like this.

Taylor's co-workers RAVED about this place. They would take precious lunch break minutes to come across the river to Manhattan (they train in the Jersey City office) for this burger. 
Needless to say, we were very excited to try it togeher. 

Looked pretty good, right? Those are sweet potatoes fries with cinnamon sugar, by the way. Taylor loved them. Me? Not such a big sweet potato fry fan usually so this did not float my boat. 
My burger, the Manly, was ginormous. Bacon and battered onions. 
Sad to say, we were not overly impressed. We were specifically told it was better than Shake Shack (I'm obsessed) and it really wasn't. It didn't blow me out of the water. Mine tasted like I was eating a ton of bacon. And I wish that it was as good as it sounds. Oh well. Nice try. 

We got front row tickets from TKTS. Lucky, right? ....except it said we were sitting in PONCHO area. What does that mean? Exactly how you're picturing it. We were so close to the paint and flying food and water that draped over our seat was a poncho for us to wear. 
It was my first Blue Man experience and I LOVED it! Hilarious, entertaining, smelly and thrilling. All in all, a great show. Even though the mashed banana smell made me a little nauseous. :)

Why didn't I ever know that ice cream trucks have awesome ice cream? Gotta get 'em while the getting is good! 
I love this part. Walking down the street, holding hands with Taylor, eating ice cream, and enjoying the summer night. It's the best.

One of my BEST friends is coming to visit. Keira and Suzette adventures to come!

British food

Week 3 in NYC

9:52 PM

This week was unlike any other. I was soooooo excited for the weekend that I couldn't think about anything else. 


This is what I do. I study maps of London. We have been working with 4 Corners relocation and searching the listing site Righttomove.co.uk hoping we can get a flat in as little time as possible once we get our feet on the ground over there. 
Taylor will have two weeks before he officially starts at the desk in London but during that time he will have to take some tests. So we would like to get into a flat before greater time commitments start. 
I will also be looking for a job. We need a hearth. It'll help give us a feeling of stability :)

Taylor needed to clean up before the wedding so we found a legit barbershop nearby. So great! 

These two... Faves. 

We went to an English dinner at Jones Foundry Grill. A genuine British menu except the day's shipment of cod was underpar so no fish and chips. I had the steak and kidney pie which was AMAZING. Everyone approved of their meal so I would definitely recommend it if you would like a taste of England. They even have chicken tikka masala on the menu! It was crowded and loud and terrible lighting (couldn't tell if I was eating a piece steak or kidney until it reached my mouth) but seemed authentic enough. 

I still haven't met a pizza I don't like in NYC. This place is just downstairs from our apartment and legit Italian men speaking loud in Italian and very in little English served this to me. 
I thought I liked pizza before. Utah pizza is nothing in comparison. This city is pizza heaven. 

Friday afternoon, Taylor left training just a couple hours early so we could make it to the airport in good time. We took the subway all the way here which was crowded but fine. It took over an hour but not bad for $5 transportation. 
This Shake Shack is ONE of TWO locations in the brand new terminal 4 of JFK. They are located with 15 gates of each other. This is the B37 location ;)
If I haven't posted enough about Shake Shack, it's because I have been understating it. I. LOVE. SHAKE. SHACK.  I would eat it for every meal if it wouldn't lead to me becoming as wide as I am tall. 
FYI: the airport Shake Shacks are the only locations to offer a breakfast menu! 

This is a little more random but good to know in big cities like New York, San Francisco and London. Über cab is a great alternative to yellow cabs. Comparable in price (as you can see from the ad) but it has a rating system. Similar to Yelp, you can rate your experience with your driver. However, the driver can rate you back. So be nice or they can refuse to take you. 
Rundown on how it works:
-you set up an account with a profile and your credit card
-you search for über cabs in the area (black car or regular)
-select a car/driver
-you can immediately see the driver's picture and make and model of the car they drive (all personal cars) and see how long it would take them to get to you (anywhere from 2 minutes and up depending on the city. Never had to wait more than 8 minutes--usually less than 5--here in NYC)
-request that they pick you up
-driver has 15 seconds to accept you or not. Driver can pass based on your rating ;)
-once the car is coming to you, you look out for the make and model. Jump in when you see it 
-tell the driver your destination. Duh
-once you arrive, you just hop out
Because your profile has a credit card on file, that card will be charged as soon as you get out and the driver hits the 'end trip' button on his über app. (There is a dispute button on your end if you think he drove off and kept charging you)
No exchange of cash or card to hold you up inside the car once you've gotten where you're going! Pretty nifty!

A bad photo of the city at night from the sky. On our way to Utah! Family filled weekend to be had. Last trip west before we land in London. 


Grand Central

Weekend Adventures with the boys

4:19 AM

Since Taylor and I got married (8 months ago today!), I seem to be greatly outnumbered by boys. It happens and mostly I'm fine with it EXCEPT when it means that I have to ride all the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the world.

Actually it wasn't all bad. Taylor, Nick, Jon and I went to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey and had a 'six flags day'. Because I didn't want to wait alone all day while Taylor, Nick, and Jon had all the fun, I had to ride the rides. All except Zoomanjaro, of course. No, thank you. 

This is what the subway stop looks like at 8am on a Saturday. On our way uptown to meet Nick at the George Washington bridge. 

View from the top of the Ferris wheel. I had never been on one before! Of all the rides, the boys were freaking out most about this one... pffft. Puh-lease. 

The superman ride. I had to do it for my brother Danny who is a real life superman. Pretty nifty ride that makes you feel like you're flying!

Instead of returning to Manhattan for the night, we drove up to Connecticut to attend the meetings held in New Canaan, (where Taylor lived in his most formative years). I have only been here once before but the people were as familiar as any back home in Utah. We will always love New Canaan.

Sunday was Nick's 22nd birthday! He forgot to tell anyone until about 5 minutes before he was headed to the airport so he didn't actually get out of the impromptu singing! Dinner in the Read's backyard was lovely. We're grateful for wonderful friends!

Train from New Canaan back to the city. I love love love Grand Central station. It's a beautiful place.

This is random but let me tell you something funny about Taylor. He is the easiest person for which I will ever make a sandwich. Probably. After growing up with my father and brothers who delight in elaborate sandwich creations, Taylor is a mystery. He eats his sandwiches completely dry. Doesn't like any condiments of any kind. I don't blame him for hating mayonnaise (any returned missionary from Argentina is likely to have the same aversion) but he won't even kiss me after I eat something that had mustard on it. 
It's ok. I kind of love it. It means making him a sandwich takes about 10 seconds. No complaints from the chef!

We got home (anywhere we sleep turns into 'home') and prepared for another crazy, wonderful week. 

For those interested, we have all of our belongings with us that we will take directly to London. We had a great stroke of luck and had dear family members able to check some bags for us so that we would only have to pay extra baggage fees once. Turns out to be quite more economic than international shipping! 

But for anyone looking into shipping abroad, make sure you don't forget about the USPS and options like media mail. We weighed and measured a couple of boxes for shipping our winter clothes at a later date and it turned out to cost just under $200 for a 50 lb box of our own measurements. There's a handy dandy link on the USPS website to help calculate the cost for you! 
We also tried FedEx which is not a bad choice. However, I have to clarify that we decided not to bring much more than our clothes, electronics and some kitchen tools. If you are shipping more or larger items such as furniture, you'll definitely have to look elsewhere. 

Posts will come more frequently now. Promise! Thanks for reading!

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