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  • Tag: nyc

    • NYC summer

      Posted at 8:36 am by jasminedesirees, on August 15, 2016

      I was back in NYC in June for work for a few days, and it was my first time in the city in the summer. It was definitely hot and humid (my hair wasn’t impressed) but it was perfect for my agenda, which was work, run in the park and drink at as many rooftop bars as possible.

      I flew in on a Saturday afternoon, and met up with some friends on the upper west side for Mexican food, Magnolia’s, and all the rooftop wine. The view of the park was amazing.

      new york city

      new york city

      Sunday I wandered around, did some shopping,and watched the Pride parade. It was really neat to be there in person, and everyone was having such a great time. It was so hot though, and for some reason I was wearing jeans, so I eventually had to escape into the nearest air conditioned Zara.

      new york city

      On Monday I finally got to try By Chloe, after hearing about it for almost a year. Everything on the menu is organic and vegan. I tried the Quinoa Taco salad, and it was really delicious. We also got one of the enormous chocolate chip cookies and some sweet potato fries, the beet ketchup was really good also, and such a pretty colour. After work we went to a much needed yoga class, and then I walked most of the way back to my hotel.

      new york city

      One of my favourite things to do in the city is just wander around, there is always something going on, and I love people watching and seeing all of the restaurants, shops and galleries.

      new york city

      new york city

      Tuesday was my last night in town, and we really wanted to find a good rooftop bar. We tried a couple near the office, but all of them were so packed that we ended up wandering around and found ourselves at a German Beer Hall drinking enormous beers, at enormous tables, with enormous pretzels, watching groups of people do shot-skis, while listening to Polka music. It was really random, but really fun.

      new york city

      new york city

      new york city

      After we left the beer hall, we made one last ditch effort to get on a rooftop, and found ourselves at Salvation Taco. The rooftop was crowded, but we managed to snag a table, some chips and salsa, and some delicious margaritas. The view from the rooftop was gorgeous, and I loved the decor.

      new york city

      new york city

      new york city

      Writing this post has kind of made me sad, I’m starting Grad School in two days (!) so tomorrow is my last day at my current job. I’m going to miss everyone I’ve worked with for the last couple of years, and I don’t know when I’ll be making it back to NYC, so I’m really glad my last trip was such a great one.

      new york city

      Posted in New York, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged New York, nyc, pride, roof tops, summer, travel
    • brooklyn

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on June 14, 2016

      brooklyn bridge

      A few pictures from my last trip to NYC. I was finally able to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, about half way through the day of eating all the things/ walking all the miles, and it was pretty wonderful.

      brooklyn bridge

      DSC_8700

      brooklyn bridge

      It’s something I wanted to do on both my previous trips, but the first time we basically ran out of time, and the second time, it was pouring, and I got distracted by shopping.

      Nothing was going to stop me this time, even though it was realllllly cold out, and I was dressed inappropriately for the weather, as per usual.

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      There were kind of a lot of people there at the beginning, but not everyone walked all the way across, so it kind of thinned out towards the middle.

      I was trying to get to DUMBO (Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass) area, as instructed by a few of my co-workers who live in Brooklyn, but I didn’t know when exactly to get off the bridge so I’m pretty sure I walked an extra mile and a half, just for fun.

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      DUMBO was cool, I liked all the graffiti, there are some cool shops, and a glass merry-go-round and the waterfront was gorgeous. It poured rain almost my whole trip, and it was grey and freezing when I walked across the bridge, but just as I was getting down to the waterfront, the sky came out and I got an amazing view of the NYC skyline.

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      I came across the most adorable restaurant called The River Cafe, it was all covered with ivy, with its own little potting shed right beside it, right on the river. I almost decided to eat there, but it seemed like a pretty nice place, and I looked a bit crazy after spending most of the day walking in the wind and rain, so I decided against it.

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      Lucky for me, because I found paradise around the corner in the form of Juliana’s pizza (I’m pretty sure heaven is just being in a cozy restaurant beside a pizza oven with a glass of red wine on a frosty day) but I would love to go back and check out The River Cafe next time I’m in town.

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      I might be going soon, in the next couple weeks actually, and it’ll probably be my last trip for a while since I start grad school in August. I’m trying to make a list of things I want to do while I’m there, but so far all I have is to see the Book of Mormon, and to drink at a rooftop bar, and I think I’d be pretty satisfied if those are the only things I accomplished.

      brooklyn bridge

      brooklyn bridge

      Posted in New York, travel, USA | 0 Comments | Tagged Brooklyn, brooklyn bridge, New York, nyc, travel
    • eat all the things- nyc edition

      Posted at 8:36 am by jasminedesirees, on April 25, 2016

      My trip to NY last month was basically just a blur of meetings and rain, it was pretty miserable the whole time I was there. But luckily I had a whole Saturday with decent weather to kill before I flew home, and I knew exactly how I wanted to spend it.

      I had gotten recommendations from everyone at work for the best places to eat (read: best desserts) in the city, and also done some reading up myself, and had a solid plan to visit as many of the places as I could.

      eating in nyc

      I started first thing in the morning at Levain. It was pretty cold out so early in the morning, but it was only about 5 blocks from my hotel, so I decided to walk.

      Levain was voted best cookies in the city by almost everyone I talked to and everything I read. It’s a tiny little basement bakery with a tiny sign and a bright blue door. It’s at the very edge of a residential street leading to the park, so if you didn’t know it was there (or see the long line out the door) you would probably walk right by it.

      eating in nyc

      I got a walnut chocolate chip cookie, which is supposed to be the best kind, and a cappuccino, and grabbed one of about 3 stools in the corner to enjoy it. The cookie was really delicious, it was also about half the size of my face so eating it first thing in the morning was probably not the smartest idea, I felt sick almost immediately. I do wish they had a chocolate chip cookie without walnuts, I don’t even like walnuts, but I still thought the cookie was amazing, so that should give you some idea of how good it was.

      IMG_20160324_103643

      After my cookie, I walked all the way back through Central Park clutching my cappuccino for warmth, and hopped on the subway to head to SoHo for the next stop on my list. I always think I am an expert at getting around on the subway, and most of the time I can get around fine, but just when you think you know where you are going there is construction, or a track change, or a train that only goes to a certain place from 7-9 pm every third Wednesday of the month.

      eating in nyc

      I eventually made it to SoHo. I had to get off 3 stops early, but I didn’t really mind. It’s such a neat area, and there are soooo many amazing stores. I didn’t go in any of them because I knew I would buy all the things and I didn’t want to carry a bunch of bags around with me for the rest of the day.

      eating in nyc

      My next stop was Dominique Ansel, because I really wanted to try their shot class chocolate chip cookie filled with milk. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize they don’t start serving it until 3:00 pm, and I was there at about 9:00 am. The vast array of gorgeous pastries and desserts kept me from feeling too disappointed, and eventually I decided to get a cronut (oh yeah, they also invented the cronut) and an egg sandwich since I was still feeling kind of sick from my cookie sugar rush earlier.

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      The cronut was just OK for me, I loved the actual pastry, but one of my least favourite things on the planet is a surprise filling, and there were layers of surprise raspberry filling inside the cronut. It was a little bit tart, so it paired really well with the super sweet icing on top. Objectively, I could see why people like the flavour combination, but surprise filling is the devil’s handiwork, I’m almost sure of it. The egg sandwich on the other hand, was absolutely delicious. I barely even like egg sandwiches, and it was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever had.

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      After Dominque Ansel, I walked around SoHo some more, wandered through Little Italy, then set out for the Brooklyn Bridge. I must have walked 20 miles in total so I really didn’t feel bad about eating everything that entered my field of vision. Walking across the bridge was really cool, and something I’d wanted to do since my first trip to NYC, but it was really cold out that day. By the time I got across the bridge and wandered around the Dumbo area and the waterfront,  I was frozen and starving.

      eating in nyc

      I set off in search of sustenance, and came around a corner to see two restaurants with lines of people waiting in the cold to get in. I looked them both up on line, they were Juliana’s pizza and Grimaldi pizza. Apparently the owners of Grimaldi, which is a very famous NY pizza place, sold Grimaldi years ago, but didn’t like the way the new owner was doing things, so they opened up a new restaurant called Juliana’s to compete with them. It was a battle of the pizzas, and that is something I can always get behind.

      eating in nyc

      I ended up picking Juliana’s and ordering a glass of wine and a margherita pizza. They had a sit up bar to the pizza chefs, so I got to sit up there, eat my amazing pizza and watch them work. I was absolutely frozen when I got in there, so sitting right beside the wood fired oven with a glass of red wine was probably pretty close to what heaven is going to be like. I was so comfortable I almost fell asleep.

      And that is the story of how I ate my way around NY for one day. There are also a few other snaps, including my first ever ramen experience at Ippudo. It was a two hour wait, so we killed time with tequila shots at a bar around the corner, and we didn’t end up getting in to eat until 10:30. They did have vegetarian ramen, which was awesome, but hands down the best part was that you could order another ball of noodles for your soup for only $2. What a time to be alive.

      There are still tons of places that are on my list including almost every single place listed out in here, so I’ll have to start planning my next trip soon.

      DSC_8701

      Posted in food, New York, travel, USA | 1 Comment | Tagged bakeries, cookies, dominique ansel, food, levain, nyc
    • randomness in NYC

      Posted at 8:00 am by jasminedesirees, on April 1, 2016

      A few random pictures from my trip to NYC in February. I was there for work, and it absolutely poured for most of the time I was able to run in the park a few mornings, which was heavenly as always.

      I didn’t stay for the weekend this time, instead I took the latest flight home on Saturday so I would still have some time to creep around.

      NYC

      NYC

      NYC

      I wanted to see a play on Friday night, I’ve been dying to see The Book of Mormon for years, but the only ticket I could find was standing, with a partially obstructed view for $100. I passed, but apparently I’m just going to have to suck it up and spend the money if I ever want to see it. They came to SF a couple of years ago and it was $800 a ticket, so $150 next time I’m in NYC probably isn’t terrible.

      NYC

      DSC_8663

      NYC width=

      I spent all of Saturday creeping (read: walking) all over the city, including a trip to Brooklyn, and eating ALL OF THE THINGS. It was the best day ever, but more to come on that. At the end of the best day ever, I still had some more time to kill before my flight so I decided to head to the Museum of Natural History, because I’ve wanted to go there for years.

      NYC

      NYC

      NYC

      I didn’t realize they had a new exhibit on dinosaurs opening that day, so I was truly shocked to see a line that went on for 3 city blocks. I decided to skip it, and instead, I cut across the park and went to the Met.

      What people (including me) don’t realize about the Met is that there isn’t actually a ticket price, it’s a donation. I didn’t get it until the cashier asked me for the 5th time if I was sure I really wanted to pay $25. I’m sure I couldn’t have looked stupider as I pointed to the sign and stammered inarticulately at her, but in the end I just ended up paying the full price so that the interaction could be over. Money well spent.

      NYC

      NYC

      NYC

      Being at the Met in person was amazing, I went from room to room taking in all of the pieces, and so many of them I had seen prints of before, which did absolutely no justice to the real thing. Some of my favourites were the Vigee Le Brun exhibit, she painted images of Marie Antoinette and her children (I’ve probably read every single book ever written on Marie Antoinette, it’s a problem) and the Monet paintings.

      NYC

      20160227_145642

      My mom bought me an enormous waterlilies print when I was in high school, and it was so big it took up almost the whole wall of our bathroom. It didn’t really go with anything else in our house, but it was love at first sight and I begged until she gave in.

      Snapchat-2613591984288585910

      Even just writing this post has me excited for my next trip. Truly love this city.

      Snapchat-2045280166128492190

      Posted in art, exploring, New York, travel, USA | 2 Comments | Tagged Central Park, exploring, monet, New York, nyc, renoir, the met, travel
    • rainy days in nyc

      Posted at 6:33 am by jasminedesirees, on February 25, 2016

      I’ve been in NYC since early Tuesday morning and it’s been absolutely pissing rain ever since.

      I said that to my boss once and he said it was crass, but I think maybe it’s a very common thing that Canadians say that Americans don’t.

      I woke up to sunshine this morning so I dove out of bed to go for a run in Central Park. I’m having the best day already and it’s only 9 am.

      image

      Posted in New York, travel | 1 Comment | Tagged Central Park, nyc, running
    • twenty eight

      Posted at 10:12 am by jasminedesirees, on March 16, 2015

      Yesterday was my birthday, I spent a great weekend exploring the San Diego area, sleeping on the beach, and eating cupcakes. I was thinking back over the past year, and how amazing it’s been, so I wanted to take a little time to reminisce, and share some of my favourite experiences.

      diving flores indonesia

      March 2014- On my birthday last year, we were on a trip to visit New York City for the first time, and it was everything I’d been dreaming of. It was kind of one of those spontaneous trips where you’re not sure if it’s really necessary, but you could do it, so we did, and I’m so, so glad. We also visited Niagara Falls, and got one of my friends married off in Toronto.

      April 2014- Last April, my sister came out to visit me in San Francisco for the first time, and we had the best weekend ever. We took a last minute road trip down to L.A. to spend a few days with my family. I don’t get to see them as often as I’d like, so driving down to meet up with them was kind of a no-brainer, even though we had to change a flight we already had booked, and rent a car in order to get there. We also went out to Phoenix for the weekend for the first time, not realizing then that we’d be moving out there in less than a year.

      May 2014- In May, we were well on our way to finalizing plans for our trip. We were spending as much time with family and friends as possible, and really enjoying our last few weeks of living in California, including a lovely day in Capitola.

      June 2014- In June, we spent a few days visiting my family in Montana, and then took off for Thailand, mid-month. I loved visiting Bangkok, the Floating Market and the White Temple.

      July 2014- In July, we moved down to the islands of Thailand, including Phi Phi and Railay, and then spent a couple of weeks in Cambodia, visiting Angkor. Ta Prohm was my favourite place in the world. We also spent a few days in Singapore, and visited the Cloud Forest, and the Supertrees.

      August 2014- In early August we finished up our last few days in Indonesia, including the most amazing time diving in Flores and trekking with Komodo dragons. Then we finally landed in Australia, hung out in Sydney for a few days, then started our road trip up to Cairns, and also, this happened.

      September 2014- In September we were still creeping around Australia. We visited Whitehaven, spent a few weeks working on a farm, and then a few more weeks hanging out in Byron Bay, and hiking to the lighthouse every day. This is still the most amazing graffiti I’ve ever seen.

      October 2014- In October, we made the decision that as much as we loved Australia, it was too expensive for us, so we headed back to Indonesia, to relax on the Gili’s, hike Batur, trek Rinjani, visit the beach of my dreams, and creep around in Kuta Lombok, and South Kuta.

      November 2014- In November we took a spontaneous trip to the Philippines (posts coming this week!) and eventually, made our way back to California.

      December 2014- In December, we spent as much time as we could with our friends and family in California, then packed up our stuff and moved to Phoenix.

      January 2015- In January, we spent a blissful week in Montana, made a quick trip up to Canada to experience the -40 weather and load up on ketchup chips, and then headed back to start life in Arizona.

      February 2015- In February, we finally got our furniture and got actually moved in to our new place, and then got to start exploring our new state with trips to Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe Bend, and the Grand Canyon.

      Posted in exploring, life, travel | 2 Comments | Tagged Australia, birthday, Cambodia, exploring, Indonesia, life, nyc, Phoenix, Singapore, Thailand, travel
    • central park

      Posted at 9:41 pm by jasminedesirees, on March 17, 2014

      We flew into NYC at 5:30 am last Friday. After a few hours of creeping around trying to figure out where we were supposed to be going, we found our hotel in Midtown, dropped off our bags, and set out to explore the city. The very first place we stopped was Central Park.

      It was a gorgeous day,  apparently it had been cold for weeks before we got there, so the park was full of people running, walking and playing hockey. It was amazing to see the huge, beautiful park surrounded on all sides by towering skyscrapers. We climbed up on top of one of the big boulders and just sat there people watching and sunning ourselves like lizards.

      One of the things I liked most about New York was how easy it was to get around everywhere, either on the subway or just walking. We walked about 10 miles a day every day we were in the city. If I lived there, I would have legs of steel.

      We visited Central Park several times on our trip, and just spent hours walking through and looking at all of the sites, including the Belvedere castle which I thought was in my imagination since we walked all over the park and couldn’t find it, but we eventually made it there on our last stroll.

      There were lots of great things about our time in New York, but those first few hours in Central Park were definitely one of my favourite things. It reminded me so much of spring time in Canada, when you finally feel the sun on your face after months of bitter cold, and even though there is still snow on the ground you can finally feel the end in site. Everything smells fresh and clean, and you just want to go play outside.

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      Posted in exploring, New York, travel, USA | 2 Comments | Tagged Alice in Wonderland, belvedere castle, Central Park, exploring, hockey, life, nyc, travel
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