July 6, 2009

NYC recap part 1: 5 reasons to love the SOLO trip!~

I'm back and still super excited and amazed by how much I enjoyed this SOLO trip in NYC. It's my 5th time there and it's far away the most enjoyable one!!! Okay... go to straight why this trip was a real BLAST!

1. I found two new hobbies: cycling and photography. I did a Brooklyn bridge biking tour organized by central park biking tour and I can't believe how difference experience is to get around the city with a bike than walking. When you walk, you enjoy the side walk, stores and people; when you bike, you focus on the overview of the streets, the broad picture. oh... man! NYC is so beautiful. That leads to my second new hobbies, photography... I took so many pics of the buildings and wish I took a photography course before, but it's never too late, I'm thinking about taking one soon. I'll write a post with pics that I've took and you guys can give me your opinions.

2. A real foodie experience: traveling alone made so simple for a foodie who wants to try new food and new/exotic restaurant. I walked 30 blocks just for lunch and didn't have to convince anyone.

3. My first blog meet up experience: yeah~ I met the funny, warm, caring, positive and creative famous Sarah!!! We did what we loved (eat and a lot!) and have a great chat. I enjoyed so much her company!!! She was also really nice to offer me to join her and her friends to watch the fireworks after our lunch and had a real blast!!! Sarah, thank you so much!!! I'm so glad we finally met!

4. More open mind to meet new people: you guys probably had some experience on that. when you travel alone, you're just more open minded to meet new people. I consider myself not good at this but this time I felt I was more friendly and more accessible to meet new people and it was a great experience.

5. Conquer the fear. A solo trip can scare a lot of people including me, not in term of security but in term of being alone. We're so afraid of loneliness, especially among a crowd that the idea of being in a city that you know no one is frightening. But actually it's much less frightening than we imagine. The hardest part is to decide to do it than actually doing it. I'm so glad that I did and I'm sure more solo trips will come in the future.

Okay. Enough talking. Let's do the recap.
Friday: before I left I had this great combo for breakfast: oat bran & cauliflower topped with kamut berries and Parmesan cheese.I arrived NYC around 1pm, checked in the hotel which was near time square (so convenient) and walked 30 blocks to the famous Candle Cafe for a late lunchI had gazpacho as appetizerand paradise casserole as entree. It has a layer of quinoa, a layer of black bean and a layer of sweet potato. It was delicious!!!!! I finished them all!!! My first expansion!!!!!Afternoon was spent on walking around 5th Av taking pics. And then I went to Yoga for People for a hot yoga class (recommended by Sarah). It was a great class and so cheap! Only $5!
After the class I walked around Time Square, enjoyed a little the craziness there and went to hotel. I was too tired to eat out so I just bought a salad in chipotle.
Saturday: I wanted fresh baked bread for breakfast so I went to Amy's Kitchen which was about 10 blocks away from the hotel. Unfortunately it was closed. The great thing about NYC is that you can always find alternatives. I went to a place called The Food Emporium and bought a fresh baguette.And then I had the 3.5 hours Brooklyn bridge biking tour. We stopped many times and the guide explained the history of the place and I had time to take pics :)
Late lunch with Sarah was in Korean town, the place is called hangawi, Katie from CCV also reviewed it. The place is really nice, with all the small details that made it a really Asian place.
We had to change our shoes
Tables are the traditional korean/japanese low tables or tatami
I ordered the house special, with two appetizer, an entree and a dessert
Entree 1: sweet pumpkin porridge
Appetizer two: vermicelli noodles (made with sweet potato, Sarah's fav) with veggies.
the entree: the traditional Korean one pot dish that has rice, veggies, seaweed and mushrooms with a hot sauce. I loveeeeeeee this!!!!
it comes with two korean pickles
The dessert of a sweet cinnamon drink with pine nuts and apples
A pic of me and Sarah after the great meal
Okay. this is the part 1, I need to do it in two parts, otherwise this will be even longer than it already is. Stay tuned to part 2 with more foodie adventures with Sarah, fireworks and raw food! :)

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just found your blog and I love it! You eat so many interesting things.
xox

Mara @ What's For Dinner? said...

I'm so glad you're having a great trip!! I've missed your posts!

Anonymous said...

coco, i feel honored that i got to be a part of your first solo trip :-) i'm so impressed still at all you were able to accomplish!

Anonymous said...

Ohmigosh Coco we *just* missed each other :( :(
I am going into the city soon... it would've been so awesome to have gotten to see you!

Thanks for the shout-out; isn't Hangawi amazing?!

Looking forward to Part 2 :)

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Wonderful new hobbies, food, and experiences!!

Krista said...

Sounds like you had a blast! I love the idea of a 3 hour bike tour. What a great way to see a new city!

Emily said...

Looks like you had an amazing trip! I think it's so brave and adventurous of you to go to NYC on your own. I think the bike trip would be a really interesting way to see the city.

Gina; The Candid RD said...

Great pics!! Can't wait to see more :) You are such an amazing person for going to NYC by yourself and still managing to take advantage of all it has to offer, without being intimidated. Good for you!

Janetha @ meals + moves said...

coco! i love that you went to the NYC on a whim and had SO much fun. this post looks great, love the photos. and how fun to go eat with sarah! her blog is awesome. look forward to hearing more about your adventures!

Unknown said...

LOVELy! so excited for your trip, and makes me think i should try solo!

Jasmine @ Eat Move Write said...

The pumpkin porridge looks divine! Looks like a really fun trip!

Maggie said...

Sounds awesome! I didn't get to see fireworks this weekend so I'm excited to hear about yours!

Mrs. LC said...

It looks like you had so much fun! I'm glad it was such a wonderful, opening (and sounds like empowering?) trip!

Alison Can Read said...

Great time! I love the idea of a biking tour in NY. So great that you got to meet up w/Tales of Expansion

ChickPea said...

Wow, that casserole at Candle certainly looks like it lives up to its name! That picture of the crusty baguette makes me want to take a bite!

erin (sarah's friend) said...

it was so nice to meet you! i'm glad you had fun and got to enjoy the city. and we really enjoyed hanging out!

Anonymous said...

What an awesome trip! So exciting that you met with Sarah too. And the biking tour sounds like sooo much fun!

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