I've been raving about my past weekend, and I haven't had the time to really get into the details about what we did. My cousin Mayel planned our itinerary based on what I wanted to see and experience in the city. I have been to NYC in 2008 and did a lot of touristy stuff already. This time, I wanted to see more bits and pieces of New York that wasn't usually highlighted in the guide books. It was an educational trip coz she gave trivia about the places we went to and I loved listening to her stories. She taught me how to use the subway (a very intimidating transportation system, if you ask me) and gave me a test just to make sure I was familiar and somehow comfortable with navigating through the complex and snakelike train lines.
Warning, this will be a long entry!
Subway mosaic
It was snowing that day and I didn't have any gloves. I was just clad in a shirt and a coat and I was so glad I brought my scarf. After taking pictures at the graffiti warehouse,we walked around and went inside a contemporary art gallery. It had beautiful and interesting paintings and multimedia art works, but there were some that were too abstract and strange that I didn't understand them. I may be too superficial or ignorant to consider a blob of paint on a white canvas as "art", but whatever. I didn't know if they allowed to take pictures, so I played it safe and kept my phone in my pocket. We were famished and decided to stop by this diner so we can thaw from the cold and discuss where to go next.
We went to Grand Central Station to just take photos. The place is busy as hell, but it definitely is "Grand". I wouldn't mind going there everyday if I had to commute to Manhattan. Glad I can now check it off my bucket list! We stayed at the Apple store there to check our emails and see if there are any tickets to this show that Ate Mayel wanted to go to. It was a spoken word poetry night called "Game Changers" held at the Harvey Theatre of Brooklyn Academy of Music. I was up for it coz I knew it was something that I have never experienced before, and anything that has music and dance in it is definitely something to see.
It was moving, it was powerful and it was absolutely entertaining. I particularly loved the performance of The Mighty Third Rail, a trio comprised of a vocalist/beat box extraordinaire, a funky bassist and a violinist. Their sound was so unique and fresh, organic even with the hip hop influenced beats. After that performance, I was so inspired to make art that had a voice and is more socially relevant. Being at BAM made me wish that I lived nearby so I could catch these types of performances whenever.
Shortly afterwards, we went to BAM cafe to watch this awesome soul funk band called blaKbüshe fronted by Shelley Nicole. She had a powerful and soulful voice, and her stage presence was so fierce. The crowd couldn't help but dance and sing to their tunes, and I specifically remember a line from her ultra feminist song "Stop Playing Politics with my Punani!" It was hilarious but it also sends a message about empowerment of women. My cousin knew a lot of people in the crowd and she introduced me to them. I was so amazed that there were so many artists, dancers, musicians in this community and I somehow wish I get to hang out with the same kind of circle in Manila.
The next day, we went back to Manhattan to meet up with my uncle, Tito Boyet. He's been living in New York for 10 years already and I wanted to see him and do some catching up. He chose this Brazilian steakhouse called Churrascaria Plataforma along West 49th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue. It was fancy! We were brought different kinds of meat--pork, beef, chicken, lamb and all sorts of cuts. Everything tasted wonderful and the meats were well-seasoned, the sides were fresh and complemented the main course.
Kamusta kayo, mga kabayan!
This is probably just 1/5 of what I ate. The meat was extraordinary!!!
The next and the main part of our day was our visit to the Met Museum. Ahhhhh so much history and so much art! It was overwhelming!
Awesome patterns at the Islamic Art Section
Amazing ceramic detail work! I want to bring them all home.
More beautiful and intricate ceramics at the American Art Section
Fantastic collection of Musical Instruments from all over the world
Face to face with Mary Cassat's work!
Sculptures here and there! I've never seen so many naked bodies in one place.
Obviously, I'm a fan of impressionism.
The time we had for The Met was too short. I only covered the second floor, but there were TONS more to see. I'm still glad that I got to go though. I think I will always go back to The Met when I visit to New York just to continue where I left off.
The museum closes at 5:30 so we had time before going to dinner. Ate Mayel and I hung out and goofed around in F.A.O. Schwartz toy store along Fifth Avenue.
Big Piano Check!
Swooning over the Batman Lego, check!
Smelling Lady Liberty Lego's kili kili, check!
Crazy photos with stuffed animals, check!
We were giggling like highschool girls, it was almost embarrassing. We had so much fun at FAO Schwartz, we stayed there til closing time. Finally, we capped the night off with dinner with our family.
Our other cousin Ate Nikki offered to host dinner at her place and it was nice to see my Titos and Titas there. I'm glad that despite being miles away from Manila, New York still somehow feels like home.
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