A Destinational Fit

This is the place. Whenever I need to convince visiting friends that there is a lot more to New York city than the flashy lights of Times Square at night and the skyscraping heights of the Empire State Building, I take them here, right on the water front of Riverside Park.
When my mom drove my brother and I to the city when we were kids, I would always see the water front part of the park, as it borders the Westside Highway. When I moved to 98th and Broadway last year I was determined to find it, although every time I embarked, I ended up in the dead-end of the 96th st highway exit. At that area, the only way under the highway was with a car and it was going away from the River. I didn’t find the real entrance until a few months later and only by chance. As you enter the park on 96st, take a right when you see the children’s park, walk up the slope onto the main pathway, continue a few hundred feet and you’ll see a small sloping downward path to your left. If you see the recreational parks to your left while walking on the main path, you’ve gone too far.
I took my friend there a few weeks ago so he could run while I do some reading for school. What astounds me every time is that there is no fence guarding you from the rocks by the waterside. You can walk right on them, which I did. I enjoy being close to water, something I took advantage of in Italy when I was running. Across the water is New Jersey, and when you’re not seeing the state through it’s notorious TV show, it’s actually a pretty sight.
Runners, bikers, dog-walkers and friends were enjoying the park that day, though not so many as to make it congested. The talk and laughter joined the easy melody of the river’s water. I set up shop on a grassy bank by the path with a towel and laid my books down. After lying down a bit and taking in the breeze, my friend went off for a run and I was left with my public relations textbook. As it grew dark and I couldn’t read anymore, I didn’t mind. The sunset that day was spectacular That is the picture I’ve included hope you like it.
When my friend came back, I had given up trying to read using the flashlight app on my Droid. His verdict on the park? It’s even a more beautiful run than Central Park’s reservoir.

In May, I came back from Italy, to a new internship in the city, and lived at home… quite broke. But I did it. I made a dream come true, and I studied abroad. I realized, settling into the job during first few weeks, I no longer wistfully stared out the window, wondering what else was out there. I had a satisfying taste of it. An appetizer to the world. And for now, I could focus on forging my own path in an exciting new industry.

I didn’t write. There was no immediate traveling, because of work and lack of money. I wondered what to do with this blog. I didn’t want it to just sit… but that’s what ended up happening for a few months.

I realized though, as the days past, that this blog is essentially about exploration, which does not have to confined to new lands or cultures, but the exploration of one’s own homeland. Doing new things, looking over the essentials with new eyes, finding new meaning. In the “About” section, I wanted to find a place to call home, but while New York is still my home, I want to enjoy it, and you can be a part of it, for readers who know the city streets like a taxi driver to those who are just visiting. And of course, if new travels arise, I’ll include those too, because I’m generally never full after just an appetizer.

It’s a new outlook, a new direction, and I hope you’ll enjoy the journey.

The Italian countryside… yes it is just what you see in pictures or what the image is when the word “Tuscany” comes to mind. The fields and pastures in the lows of the valleys, with clusters of little puffy white sheep and the old brick farms. On the rollings hills and mountains beyond lie the little villages, each red-roofed house taller than the one before as the eyes gaze upwards, with the occasional castle at the peak. Some of these hills are accessed by bridges held up by arches with long legs. Others, it’s a spiral road, weaving through the building, back and forth, as if made by a giant sea side crab. On the hills untouched, the numbers trees provide the hillside with shade, so dense that even the leafless branches still provide cover. Even though spring has yet to arrive, there is still so much green, making the whole picture outside the window of my Rome-bound train so beautiful. And every time we exit a tunnel, the journey provides a new scene. One of my favorites is a soft hilltop, lined at the very top with one one row of trees, with all the greenery alive at the top of the branches, and they are spaced so that in between each trunk, you can see the dark gray of the mountain far in the distance. They are majestic, these mountains, some even capped with snow. I’m glad we took the slow train to Rome; it gave me the view, a look at the Italian countryside I could have only imagined before.

Paris is beautiful. The buildings are beautiful and I really enjoy the city itself. It was nice to get out of the small town of Florence and be in a big city. I could definitely see myself living here if I didn’t have such a dislike for the language, :P. Maybe it’ll be the next language I could try and learn after Portuguese.
I really was such a little girl when I finally saw the tower. Hehe, I jumped ans skipped around and laughed to myself, thinking “wow, I can’t believe I’m actually here.” I ended up seeing the tower again at night with the girls, and for five minutes it sparkled as if a million cameramen were situated all over the tower and flashing pictures of the city at night. It was the girls’ turn to be giddy this time, while I just stood there and smiled, taking it all in. To top it off, Danielle sang a Paris-themed song while it sparkled.
It’s incredible how the more I see and the more do, my personal “To-Do” List just gets longer. I really disliked the idea of the French and Paris, until I came here and the city stole my breath away. And my childhood dream of seeing Europe is slowly but finally coming true. In a way it makes me more ambitious, not only to see and experience more of the world, but like if I can travel to different countries on my own, there shouldn’t be any challenge I can’t handle, can’t overcome. Traveling, in a way, gives me a lot of confidence in myself for the everyday. And New York won’t be the only city I know, which is really neat. Also, I feel like I want to do more for myself, as in have an incredible career, hopefully something I enjoy that pays well enough to allow me to do this again, because I want to come back here, and see even more of Europe, and see Brazil, and Africa, hehe, and so many other places. I really do hope that many of the trips I take in the future will be with you.

It’s the day before I leave for my weekend trip to Paris. I have so many things to do before I get on that bus to the airport in Pisa, that my head is in kind of a whirlwind. It’s not only packing (which on its own, I need to run a few errands before I can begin), but getting a few papers done for tomorrow morning classes, and finalizing my resume and creating a cover letter for a fellowship position I would like to apply to for when I get back to New York. I just got a mug of chocolate milk to help settle my thoughts and I shall prioritize my tasks for today.

Because you see, it’s not like this is just a short weekend visit to Florida to visit friends. That was easy. It took me all of 20min to throw the minimal amount of things into a duffel and then just hop onto a plane. No, this is different. This is Paris. I’ve never been to Paris before, and I don’t want to make the same mistake I did during the weekend trip to Venice. Don’t get me wrong, Venice was great, but of the two days I went, the first was spent just trying to get my bearings and the second day I did very little walking on my aching feet (rain boots are not the shoe of choice when doing a lot of walking, dancing, or getting lost). I feel like I missed a lot of the beautiful landmarks because I didn’t know what they were or where to look for them. So now with Paris, I don’t want to make the same mistake.

And Paris… well I feel like Paris, especially for those who have never been, is one of those cities where you just dreamily tilt your head to one side, gaze your eyes upwards, and let out a soft whispered sigh, “Paris.” From afar, the city is one of enchantment, global commerce, dreams, high fashion, and of fabled love. And I don’t want to overlook any of the wonders it may hold.

Am I excited? Yes of course, but at the moment it’s more of a muted anticipation, focused more on the preparation than on the trip at hand. I’ll leave the excitement for when I get my first glimpse of the Paris sights from my airplane window, and squirm in my seat with glee!

Just to say first off, Happy Valentine’s Day! Lots of love to the people who come to read this blog and enjoy my antics of traveling and being in Florence. I also send my love across the ocean to the states and other countries who are home to my family and friends. And to those to don’t have a sweetie of their own, cherish and love the ones you’re with and your Valentine’s Day will just as wonderful, which is exactly what my roommate, Danielle, and I did.

We had our first Italian dinner out of the apartment at a restaurant on our block. Interestingly enough, while I was looking at the menu posted on the glass window, the gentleman smoking outside told us that the restaurant was serving a free glass of wine too. I was already sold on the pasta with seafood dish, but the free wine convinced Danielle. When we walked in, the gentleman outside called to the waiter about the wine and they brought it to us as we sat down. Though, after a little observation, we realized that we were the only ones with the glasses of red wine.

And the wine was delicious. I had a little sip just to taste, and then handed the rest of the glass to Danielle once she was done with hers. I will soon devote another post to my state of health, but at the moment, I’m still on high blood pressure medication, and don’t want alcohol to mix with the medication, so yes, my wine I handed over to Danielle. The food was also delicious too. We both sampled each other’s dish, pasta with seafood and hers was spinach and ricotta tortellini with veggies. Dessert was great too. I have no idea what mine was to be completely honest and it doesn’t help that I don’t remember the name, but it jiggled like jello but it was white and opaque and covered in chocolate syrup. Danielle had a slice of soft creamy cake with a light crust sandwiching it together, with powered sugar to top it off. Overall, dinner was quite good.

What we both didn’t understand was the service. The waiters never once stopped at our table to ask us how our meal was, or when we were done with the main dish, they didn’t come by to offer us dessert, we had to ask for the menu to look at our choices. It was odd. Danielle and I had to kind of chase after them for service. This is my first time to a sit-down restaurant in Italy, so I’m not really sure if it’s typical of all restaurants, or just this one. I’ll find out soon though, and let you know!