Four days before leaving NYC, I was finally able to purchase a new camera. I’ve been wanting one for so long, and I did a lot of research on which one to buy. In the end, I realized that the SONY Alpha A5100 was the best fit for my needs & I’m so happy with my decision. Once I brought it back home and charged it, I went around the city and started filming. Sadly, I wasn’t able to get that much footage before I had to leave. I was very busy packing and trying to enjoy those last moments with my friends. But in my opinion, I think there was just enough to put together a little travel vlog to share with everyone my last taste of NYC.
What you can expect in the video: me walking around the city, my roommates & I getting ready to go out & pre-drinking, all of us out at night feat. Empire State building & the Flatiron building, me visiting the MET, Tania & I grabbing some Shake Shack, my last stroll in the city at night, and some footage from the airport/plane.
I’ve also posted some pictures I took along with the videos, below.
During the eleven months I lived in New York, I never got to do many tourist-y things. At first, I was too busy trying to find a place to live. Then, school was keeping me so busy that all I wanted to do when I had free time, was stay at home and be lazy. But thankfully, after I finished school I had a whole week to visit museums & such before leaving the big apple.In this post I’m gonna share with you my experience at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the many pictures I took there.
I don’t enjoy doing things like this alone, so I dragged my roommate Tania along. We got there a bit later than anticipated, so there wasn’t much time, but we made it work. We looked at the museum’s map and chose the exhibits we wanted to make sure we got to see. To my surprise, it was hauntingly empty – but it gave me the opportunity to photograph most of the art without others being in the way (which is very rare). Because I had heard so many great things and people hyped up this museum so much, I definitely had high expectations. From the moment I left home, and until we left, I was making comparisons to the Louvre in my head the whole time. And by the end, I realized that unfortunately not even the MET comes close to being as amazing and breath taking as the Louvre is. But that’s just my personal, humble opinion. To me, it seemed like most of those incredibly large rooms didn’t have enough things to fill them up, so they felt empty. On the other hand, the areas that were completely full, seemed to be so at random; it was a little bit confusing. It’s also worth it to mention that, this museum is an actual maze. We probably got lost every 10 minutes, and I don’t consider myself to be a person with a lack of orientation at all. But despite all those things, it’s still an iconic place & a New York landmark definitely worth a visit. You can spend more than a day there trying to see all the amazing art and exhibits they have!
*For all the photos from the MET, click on the link below.
I usually reserve my weekends for doing a whole lot of laying in my bed or on the couch, and doing homework. I never do anything beside that. But after going to school every weekday for 6 hours, I feel like I deserve that time for staying in and avoiding the crazy busy city on Saturdays and Sundays; so I don’t feel too guilty about it.
This past weekend was a bit different though, due to the fact that I was super sick, and felt like if I didn’t go outside and felt the sun on my skin for a couple hours, I would’ve gone bat crazy. So, I dragged my roommate with me around the city, while I finally got to see some attractions I haven’t been to yet in NYC.
Our first stop was Grand Central Terminal. There, we saw two couples taking their engagement photos, and one bride and groom doing their wedding photoshoot. Aside from that, it was just filled with people who either looked super lost or were taking photos of every inch of the place, just like us.
Next place we went to was the Flatiron Building, but we took a couple little detours on the way to explore some more. The building itself was a tad underwhelming in my honest opinion. I remember seeing it and asking my roommate “Is that it?” with a very unsatisfied tone. It’s been hyped up so much that I expected a lot more than I should have. It’s just a veeeeeeery narrow building. Eataly was just down the block, and since we’ve both heard great things about it we thought it’d be worth it to check it out next! There was SO much Italian and European food and dishes prepared, as well as little restaurants inside the market, it was quite overwhelming at first. It was absolutely packed and very hard to get around, so we didn’t even bother trying to purchase anything. After we took a couple pictures we went on to our next stop on the list.
The High Line was just as busy as the rest of the city – everyone was definitely taking advantage of the last ‘hot and sunny’ weekend of the year. The whole concept for The High Line is very unique and I’m glad I went, but I’m not sure I would go again if it’s not during the summer when all the flowers have bloomed.
To see all the photos I took during this lovely and sunny Saturday around NYC, click on “keep reading” below. Here is a preview:
As I get ready to leave New York and move on to the next adventure, I will slowly start sharing more photographs that I’ve taken over the past months of the city.
The first pictures I want everyone to see are the ones I took the day I went to the Empire State building and the beautiful sunset that I got to see from up there. It was a super busy day, and the line-ups were frustratingly long. But it’s definitely worth the wait and something that anyone who goes to NYC has to experience at least once. Due to construction the highest floor which is 102th, was closed. So we had to settle for the 86th floor, but of course, it was still incredible! The best decision that I made during my tourist days in NYC was without a doubt to go to the Empire State building during the day, but stay until after the sunset. That way you can see both of best worlds – you get to see the city transform. As more and more lights were being lit up inside the buildings around you, you really start to feel the city become alive.
*Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera with me, so all the photos were taken on my iPhone 5. Which means the quality isn’t the best, but still worth a peek, I promise!
MAYRA POPA 