A few years ago, I visited New York for the first time with my family, focusing mostly on the biggest attractions like the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and the Empire State Building. Since then, I have been to the state numerous times to visit my extended family members and, more recently, to see my brother who is attending college there. After spending two days with my brother, our family flew to New York City. Although the city was definitely not what I remembered it to be, the food, shops and monuments were still remarkable.
One of the most notable places we visited was the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We were particularly impressed by the exhibits in the Asian Art halls, which included pieces from Japan, Korea, China, India, Nepal, Tibet and other regions across Asia. I also enjoyed the Greek and Roman art very similar to the pieces I saw in Greece over the summer. The American and European art had more modern art in comparison and shared many similarities in styles of painting and sculpture, but the stained glass windows in the medieval exhibits stood out to me the most.
My family and I also spent a few days shopping and exploring the city in Soho. Although it was a little crowded, we could find almost every store that I wanted to visit along with a large range of small boutiques and cafés. One of my favorite boutiques, Muse + Grand, was a completely pink store that primarily sold cardigans, jewelry and hoodies. We also took night walks in Central Park and visited their ice skating rink, which was full of children of all ages. We anticipated that it would be extremely cold because we were going out during the night, but were surprised when the lowest the temperature dropped was to the high 30s. All we needed to stay warm were puffy jackets and sometimes a beanie. The only issue that the weather posed was a slight drizzle during one of our walks but the sky cleared up almost completely in an hour.
Despite the beauty of the Met and the bustling city life of Soho, food was something that made our trip to New York unique. The city offered diverse options, from ice cream shops that sold flavors like honeycomb to fusion restaurants that combined Japanese and French cuisines. My favorite restaurant was Avant Garden, which had some of the best tamales I had ever eaten despite being vegan. A small cafe called Mariebelle was the most memorable part of my trip, as it served different flavors of hot chocolate such as Aztec Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Milk Chocolate. They also offered assorted pastries, like small cakes and macarons, and the store in the front of the café offered a variety of chocolates, including chocolate carved into statues of dogs and monuments.
The only complaint I would have is that the city was much more crowded and dirtier than I remember as a younger visitor. . Despite that, my trip to New York was full of excitement and fun and I hope to be able to visit again soon.
