Highlights of the Week:

My first Broadway Show: Once

AH! Breathtaking. Set in an Irish pub, Once was unlike anything I have ever seen before. The music was fantastic. I fell completely in love with the characters, especially the lead actor, Arthur Darvill. Every SINGLE time he opened his mouth to sing, I drifted to another place --a little closer to heaven. People are just talented. I, at times, forgot I was in a little box in the theatre, listening to these talented people sing and act.

The show had the bare minimum of cast members (who doubled as the orchestra), set/costume changes, and props. This simplicity set the tone of the play and fit perfectly with the musical's plot. Not to mention during the intermission, people were allowed to go on-stage to have a beer (yeah, for other people--they seemed to enjoy it) ... let's just say it's not hard to see why this show won best musical last year.

THE GREAT GATSBY PREMIER:

After work, a group of us decided we were "star hungry." We made our way over to the Lincoln Center to watch stars attending the Great Gatsby Premier walk down the red (it was actually black) carpet. After an hour of waiting and 20 false alarms, the stars finally arrived. We saw Leonardo DiCaprio and his co-stars, Florence and the Machine with her beautiful red, flaming hair, Jay-Z, Toby Maguire (Spider-Man), Martha Stewart, famous news anchors, and several stars from Vampire Diaries (never been a fan, so they looked like normal people to me). We had fun going crazy over these actors and actresses. Needless to say, I had the time of my life. Welcome to New York. 

EXPLORING THE CITY:

The cutest dessert place to eat I have eaten thus far on my journey is Rice to Riches, located in lower Manhattan. This place is a yogurt shop on ROIDS. The marketing is genius; the long line to order was the living proof.

yum.

Pick a flavor, I dare you.

The final product: 

one word: exotic. 

Even the spoons were neat. I couldn't stop marveling the whole time I was eating this yummy rice pudding. 

THE MET

My friend Whitney and I went to The Metropolitan Museum of Art for a few hours on Saturday. Talk about sensory overload. There are floors and endless rooms hosting artifacts, paintings and sculptures from all over the world. We only had time for the second floor--probably my favorite--where all the paintings are located. It is remarkable to see the paintings I have studied over the course of my academic career in real life!! Oh, how I love art. I will definitely be venturing that building a few more times while I'm here, too much to see in too little time -- story of my life:) 

TIMES SQUARE:

People. All I could think was, isn't this a school night? People here travel hard, eat hard, and play hard. It's so fun to be around all this energy. I definitely am building endurance to keep up -- walking has worn me out!

BROOKLYN BRIDGE:

After shopping on Canal Street for an hour or two *thank you mom for teaching me to haggle, we -- a few fellow students and I -- wandered our way down to Brooklyn Bridge and Wall Street to touch the famous bull.

The Brooklyn Bridge was crowded, with people walking, running and biking on a two-way wood plank. We went while the sun was setting (tho, I heard it was much more beautiful at night with the lights, so I will be back). It's a beautiful part of the city.

There were all of these locks hooked to the sides of the Brooklyn Bridge ... neat.

OCCUPY WALL STREET:

We wandered our way down to Wall Street. The closer we came to the Battery Park, the buildings got bigger and more expensive-looking. wow. However, we didn't stay long because the sun was setting and I was shaking like a leaf. Luckily, before we made our long trek home on the subway, we stopped to get a much needed hot chocolate from Starbucks. yum.

da bull.