Sunday, June 14:
I went to the New York Public Library and walked around there for a few hours before sitting in Bryant Park, which is right behind the library, and reading. That I went with my roommates to the bar the Brazen Fox to watch the final episode of Game of Thrones. I had no idea who the characters were since I only saw a few episodes before that with them. When we left the bar it was pouring rain and we had to walk ten blocks to get back to our dorm.
New York Public Library
Bryant Park (I quickly moved to the shade because it was hot in the sun)
Monday, June 15–Thursday, June 18:
This was the last week of Magazines and on Tuesday I went with a group to Bon Appétit, which was really cool. We got to go up in the World Trade Center, where there offices are, and we got to see the test kitchen and try brioche waffles, which were amazing! Besides that this week was pretty typical with speakers and panels of people from all different magazines. This week we also were finishing up our final project of making our own magazine brand. On Thursday, we presented our magazines to three judges and my magazine was awarded "Best Presentation".
The test kitchen at Bon Appétit
Friday, June 19:
We had class and then in the evening my roommates, Giana and Elise, and I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, which didn't take as long as we expected. We couldn't get off the bridge though because it was fenced in and kept going down the middle of a street. Finally we got off and made our way to Brooklyn Bridge Park and we sat in the grass and watched the sun set over Manhattan. We could see the Statue of Liberty off in the distance, which was cool. Then we went to the popular restaurant Shake Shack and I got a chocolate ice cream, which was so delicious!
The Brooklyn Bridge
Looking back at Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge
Manhattan as the sun sets
Saturday, June 20:
This morning, Giana, Elise, and I had an HTML workshop, which was very basic and I still don't think I could make a website, but I guess it's useful information. After the class, we got bagels at Long Island Bagel Cafe since NY bagels are so popular and we hadn't had any yet. Then we walked the High Line, which was an old train track turned garden and walkway. It was a little cloudy and misting out but at least it wasn't hot and sunny since we were up outside. I didn't do much when I came home.
the original tracks on the High Line
Walking the High Line
The High Line with Mollie, me, Elise, and Giana
Sunday, June 21:
Today I made crêpes for my roommates and our friend Mollie. I had been putting my name into the lottery to win free tickets for Shakespeare in the Park to see the Tempest and today I finally won! I get two tickets to I brought Elise with me because she really wanted to go. Between breakfast and the play, I watched a sermon online from Harvest Bible Chapel. I also called my dad since it's Father's Day. We left for Central Park around 5:20pm and the show didn't start until 8pm, but I had to pick up my tickets by 7pm or else they would give them to someone else. So we had about an hour or two just to walk around the park. I got ice cream from a cart called Waffles and Dinges, which we pass by at school everyday (there are carts all around the city) and it always smells amazing. It was even more delicious than I could have ever expected. It rained right after we got our tickets and then the sun came out, so we thought we were good to go. The show started and there were several other SPI students sitting near us for the performance. Then half way through the second act it started to pouring rain and they had to stop the show. Elise and I continued to sit in our seats under our umbrellas while almost everyone around us left. After about half an hour, the rain stopped and they were able to finish the show. It was a wonderful performance. That was the one thing I really wanted to do while in New York and I'm so glad I was able to!
A castle in Central Park
Walking around Central Park
me and Elise
the set of the Tempest
Monday, June 22–Friday, June 26:
This week was the first week of books, which was really exciting. We had people Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Rodale Books, Oyster, Little Brown Books, Algonquin, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, St. Martin Press, etc. (large to small companies and different imprints from the companies) to talk to us about topics such as cover design, literary agents, bestsellers, starting an imprint, children's books, publishing, etc. This week was full of starting work on our final book project which is launching a book imprint with three titles. I am the art director so I design the covers for the three titles and help work on the catalogue. On Thursday, my roommates, our friend Addie, Mollie, and I went to New York City Center to see the musical A New Brain. It was short since it's only one act, but it was actually pretty funny for having a serious topic. After the show we went to Eataly and got gelato, which was amazing! I didn't do anything Friday night because all of my roommates had guests visiting so they were busy doing other things, so I just stayed in and relaxed and worked on making covers for my books.
The beautiful New York City Center
Saturday, June 27:
This morning I went to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) which was really cool. I went by myself for the same reason that I stayed in Friday night. The MoMa is also free for NYU students and since I have an NYU ID, I got in for free, which was a nice surprise. The Curley's were staying in a hotel just down the street and we planned on meeting up so I went to see them after going through the museum for a few hours. With the Curley's, I went to the 9/11 Memorial Museum, which was very sad and I can't imagine how awful it was for the people in the towers, their families, and the people of New York. The museum was in the basement so you almost feel the overwhelming fear of being stuck down in a dark space crowded with many others. The museum was filled with artifacts debris from the sites of the attack. It also had a small section on the attack at the Pentagon. The Curley's had a driver who took us around the city and showed us the main sights after we were done in the museum. We stopped at Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty in the distance, but closer than I had seen it at Brooklyn Bridge Park. We also stopped at the Federal Building, which has a statue of George Washington in front of it. It was kind of raining throughout the day so it was nice to be in the car most of the time. Then we went to a restaurant across from their hotel for dinner; it was kind of expensive but they insisted on paying. I had a chicken pot pie that was delicious and so much more food than I'd eaten in weeks. It was raining harder and windy when I left the restaurant and took the metro back to Gramercy. Holly made me text her when I got back to make sure I was safe even though I told her the subway is safe. I mean it's no more dangerous than the metro in Paris, which I've taken plenty of times by myself.
Some of the more famous works of art in the MoMa
van Gogh
Picasso
Monet
In the 9/11 Memorial Museum
No Day Shall Erase You From the Memory of Time
Vesey Street stair remnant
A piece of the antennae from the tower
the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park
Sunday, June 28:
Today I got up and went to the Metropolitan Museum in the morning because my former boss in Admissions gave me a pass to go to the Met and the Cloisters and Gardens, so I did that today. The Met is huge and I only saw about a third of it. But most importantly, I saw the 19th and 20th century art, which had a lot of Monet, Degas, Renoir, van Gogh, Pissarro, Seurat Manet, etc. After walking around the Met for a few hours, I took an hour long train ride up the the cloisters and gardens, which is right on the very top edge of the Manhattan island. The cloister and gardens were beautiful. I was there for a little more than an hour before taking the bus and train back down to Gramercy. When I got back I watched a sermon online since I hadn't done so in the morning.
the Metropolitan Museum
statues in the museum
The Dancer by Degas
Renoir painting
Me in the Met
Cloister and gardens
beautiful gardens
cloister
it was so beautiful
Monday, June 29–Thursday, July 2:
This was the second week of books and we had presentations on metadata, self-publishing, marketing, networking, direct to consumer, etc. This week was short because of the holiday. On Thursday, we went to different publishers; I went to Hachette Book Group, which was really cool and I liked the people there a lot. I could see myself working there. Then in the afternoon, we had a meeting with art directors to talk about our covers and the art director from HarperCollins, whom we met with, really liked the covers I had done. On Thursday, we just had independent bookstore visits and I went to Housing Works Book Cafe, which was really cool and they're mission is to help those with HIV/AIDS and try to eliminate AIDS from the world. In the afternoon we left to go to Mollie's lake house in Pawling. When we got to Pawling we went straight to the grocery store to buy food for the weekend. Then we went to her house, which is huge and beautiful. Seven of us went: my three roommates, me, Mollie, her roommate Greta, and her future roommate Rachel (they are living together after the program). We bought frozen pizza for dinner for Thursday night because we didn't want to do a lot of cooking since we were kind of tired. Then we watched the movie Clue, my favorite and Elise also loves it; Mollie had also seen it but everyone else hadn't even heard of it, which isn't surprising. Then we played poker with fake money.
Housing Works Book Cafe
Mollie's house in Pawling
the lake behind her house
we had to go down through the woods a little to get to the lake
Giana, me, Sam, Rachel, Greta, and Mollie
Friday, July 3:
Today we did a lot of sitting in the sun and reading because we are all book girls and we like just laying around and reading. We went swimming in the lake for a while and then lied in the sun some more to dry off. For lunch we made pasta and a homemade tomato sauce that was amazing! We had a late lunch so we didn't have dinner until about 8pm, which was tacos. We also made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. We watched Jurassic Park because someone hadn't seen it. I don't know that I had ever watched the whole thing all the way through before then.
lying in the sun reading
Saturday, July 4:
Happy Independence Day!! Today we slept in and I was the first one up so I just sat on the couch and read. Then in the afternoon Giana, Elise, and I went on a hike around the other lake which is down the street from the lake we swim in. It was drizzling a little, but we were in the woods so the trees protected us from the rain. It was a beautiful and fun walk. Everyone else stayed at the house to watch a movie. We wanted to be out in the nature while we still could be before returning to the city. Then the three of of returned to the house and went swimming in the lake behind the house. It was raining slightly but every once in a while the sun would peak out. After swimming, I took a shower and by the time I got out it was sunny and a little warmer out. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs for the 4th. We also had corn on the cob and barbecue chips for dinner. After dinner we played telephone/pictionary (or as I call it "caveman telephone"). Then we played poker after, which I'm getting better at, and then I went to bed.
Eating dinner in the screened in porch
From left to right: Me, Elise, Sam, Greta, Rachel, and Giana
Sunday, July 5:
Today we got up and cleaned up the house before leaving. We also sat outside in the sun and read for a little while because we had time. Then we took the train back to the city. When we got back I worked on laundry and watched a Harvest Bible Chapel sermon online. I made eggs and had a left over crêpe for dinner (I made crêpes Wednesday night and had one left over that I didn't eat before leaving for the weekend). Now I've been spending quite a bit of time writing this post and uploading pictures onto my laptop. Tomorrow is the start of the last week of classes. Then I fly back to Chicago on Saturday.
Wow I caught up on everything I've done! I'll try to post something one more time before returning to Chicago, but we'll see because I mostly just want to enjoy my last few days in the city and not spend all of my time on the computer.
Looks like you have had a fast but fun past 3 weeks! Enjoy your last few days in the city!
ReplyDeleteA whirlwind of memories and great experiences. So proud of you. See you Saturday
ReplyDelete