Here is a list of places we visited on the second day in NY:
The Brooklyn Bridge. It was a long walk. The bridge looked so vintage. Wow!
Staten Island Ferry and Statue of Liberty. We got free rides back and forth on a boat ship. We saw the Statue of Liberty from a far. We did not get to explore the island and I wished we could have.
Wall Street. The New York Stock Exchange building was impressive. Wow! It was a street for stock exchange.
Charging Bull. The charging bull statue was also at Wall Street. I was not so fond of taking a photo with it, so I decided not to, and I was fine with it.
9/11 Memorial. There were two huge water fountain or waterfalls in place of the two tall building in memory of those who died on the 9/11 bombing of the twin towers.
New York Public Library. It was closed and just took a picture outside for posterity sake. Yay!
Grand Central Terminal. It was big. So huge! So vintage! Wow! So grand!
Time Square. meh :( rainy :( cold :( I have to say it is a Divisoria of New York. In the Philippines, we have a shopping district called Divisoria and it is somewhere in Manila.
The foods we tried:
Churros. They were cold already. It cost me $5 to buy 3 pieces of Churros. I had been curios how a churros would taste like and finally got to try it at the Brooklyn Bridge.
Nathan's Chili-dog. Cheesy and meaty hotdog in a bun. Yum!
Mcdonald's. Fastfood for y'all! hehe We wanted Jollibee, but could not get into the closed parameter around Time Square because of the ball drop. So we just settled for Mcdonald's that day.
Starbucks. Yey! Chocolate chip creme frappe hehe
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ~Matthew 6:19-20
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New York is one of the many top destinations of most of the Filipinos I know. Like everyone wants to mark it check on their bucket list. I was not prepared of what was in store for me in New York, yet I was so looking forward to what it could offer. I had this impression that NY was an amazing and magical place, maybe like Disneyland or Universal Studio. That's the kind of expectations that I had even though I was aware that NY was not a theme park.
I never thought that New York would be a state I so badly wanted to go and I am not saying that I just forced myself to go there. I was in for it more to experience and had a say that I got to visit one of the most famous cities in the world.
My NY experience was okay. I was glad I got to visit the place but it would not be something that I would be so keen to visit it again. We did a lot of walking and for me it was a form of exercise so I was fond of it. My friends and I heard from one of the people who were passing the Ray's Pizza place that in New York you never stop walking and I definitely agree with whoever said that. We did thousands and thousands of steps on the first day. Our feet got sore from walking.
These are the places we visited and truly in New York we never stop walking:
The Central Park Manhattan. Wooooooooow!
The Mall and Literary Walk. Wow!
Shakespeare Garden. It was closed and under renovation.
The Belverde Castle. We just saw it from a far.
The Bow Bridge. The floor of the bridge is made out of wood.
Alice in Wonderland Statue. It is made out of wood, I think. The children seemed to enjoy the statue as they climbed on it.
Fifth Avenue. It is where the luxury stores are and some of the historical landmarks. It looked so classy.
Roosevelt Island Tramway. We had a view of the city, bridge, and river as we rode the tramway. We need a two-way ticket to go back where we came from. The price ticket per ride was three and twenty five cents US dollars. The view was magnificent.
St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was huge and we saw a number of few Filipinos.
The Rink at the Rockefeller Center. We did not do the skating, but we saw the huge tall Christmas tree. There was a luxury chocolate store too nearby and the price was a little expensive and beyond my budget at that moment.
Broadway. Only one of us had the budget to watch a broadway. I was not that one. Maybe, next time I would be able to watch a broadway musical. God willing.
Foods we tried:
Hotdog in a Bun. At Central Park, tasted like New York!
Gongcha. Pearl Milk Tea with Coconut Jelly. Favorite!
Ray's Hawaiian Pizza. Yum! Tasted like island experience.
Chinese Restaurant. We were craving for rice and satisfied it at a Chinese Resto for our lunch. It was okay and pricey.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
New Jersey was not I expected it to be. It looked like a setting of an apocalypse movie and I did wonder if some of the end-of-the-world films I watched were actually shot there. It was not as vibrant as I anticipated it would be, probably because we visited during winter. As I landed on Newark International Airport late at night, I realized it was a humble airport. I had to ride a train to leave the airport just to bring me to another train station. I thought the places I saw seem old and experienced. I could sense the mark left by humans who used or maybe abused the place. The New Jersey Transit reminded me of the Philippine National Railroad I used to ride on when I was taking my master's and doctor's degree at PUP Santa Mesa, it felt nostalgic.
New Jersey was our entry point to our main goal, New York. With my friends, we did not do much exploration in New Jersey. We stayed in a hotel located in NJ throughout our trip. It was only on the last day that we decided to see at least one tourist attraction from our entry point.
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park
On the last day of our New Jersey X New York trip, we visited one of the historical parks in New Jersey. That visit gave me more joy than any exploration we made in the famous city of New York. I tend to enjoy more. of the nature rather than man-made attraction. Thought the temperature was below freezing point, it did not hinder me to enjoy the magnificent sight of the falls. There is always something relaxing and calming with water, but waterfalls have that relaxing and exciting effect on me.
I also got to see a statue of Hamilton where the Paterson Great Falls were and I only have a vague idea about him. The statue looked poetic and diplomatic, so I thought he must be involved to something literary or like politics. He must be a writer, that was my thought.
Athens Coffee Shop
You are not wrong. The coffee shop sounded Greek, but we were still somewhere in New Jersey. We decided to have our lunch, and for me it was more like a brunch, my breakfast and lunch. I ordered a regular American breakfast, pancakes and sunny side up eggs with coconut cream iced coffee. It was a sumptuos amount of breakfast and lunch that I badly needed to get me through the travel going back to Austin.
Newark International Airport
It was mid afternoon when we decided to head to the airport. Newark Internationa Airport appeared more bright and new in the broad day light. I judged to soon when I said it was old and not so vibrant, it was a nice airport I must say. We were comfortable waiting for flight back to the different states we all came from.
I am glad I got to experience New Jersey even as a side trip. I have another state marked check on my bucket list. Thank You, LORD!
Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the powerand the glory and the majesty and the splendor,for everything in heaven and earth is yours.Yours, Lord, is the kingdom;you are exalted as head over all.
Hi everyone. It has been four months since I posted something here on my blog. It has been lots of super busy days and lots of challenges and difficulties, but with lots of happy days too. Everything is a lot! Praise the Lord for the good days and bad days!
2024 is more meaningful, exciting, colorful, and challenging at the same time.
My second year of teaching here in th US has been more challenging and hard to the point of giving up and questioning my ability and all those years of experience I gained back in the Philippines. It feels more like I am back to zero. I guess that is how it is. Teaching in the US introduced a different environment, culture, and diverse set of colleagues and students. I just do the best I could as a teacher. I always pray to God to give strength, endurance, patience and wisdom to survive every school day, every class period,levery encounter with my colleagues and students. I surrender every single day to God and cry to Him for help.
At the age of 34, I have my first boyfriend. It was a long waiting season for me. I had always wonder what it was like to have someone special, aside from my family of course. My friends had their boyfriend and my sister and they eventually got married. I am genuinely happy for them, always been, yet there was a part of me that persistently wonder what it would be like to have a boyfriend or get married.
We started dating January of 2024 and it was a nerve-wracking but exciting new chapter of my life. This dating season in my life was one of the many things I prayed for. Everything that I have and I don't have is an answered prayered. Then, here came a lot of overthinking when the dating gets going.
I always tell God if it is not from Him and not for me, please take it away from me. I know it is going to be a hard process. Letting go is always a difficult job to do. So far He wants me to be in this season.
This year has been good to me and my family. I thank God for being with us as we went through arduos challenges and joyful moments in our lives. It has been an overwhelming year for me, but thank You God.
It is what it is. All is well. Whatever will be will be.
Every moment is a gift from above. Treasure them more. Every person we meet is purposefully placed in our lives. Show them kindness and love. It is written that every good and perfect gift is from above, and yes it is.
Merry Christmas and a happy new yeary'all!
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. -James 1:17 NIV
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