Anyway, on Friday the 13th, I began my semi-epic travel adventure which is only just ending now. I took a bus to NYC and then caught the train from Grand Central to Stamford, which ended up taking like 7 hours, but was a good 50 dollars cheaper than taking a train straight there, so since I am actually trying to be careful about what I spend, that was the better option. The somewhat annoyingly long trip was of course worth it, though, to see Alyssa and Dave and their super cute yuppie apartment in Connecticut! Alyssa and Dave are one of those couples that are so cute it just makes one happy to be in their presence. We made sweet potato gnocchi on Friday night, which were utterly delicious, and on Saturday they showed me the general cuteness of Connecticut. It is obviously pretty suburban, but there are some very cute streets and a lot of really high quality restaurants. Also, Connecticut has the greatest supermarket of ALL TIME. It is called Stew Leonards and it is actually hard to describe. It is utterly massive and has free samples of EVERYTHING. A lot of things are made right in front of you, from air popped rice cakes to popcorn to apple cider doughnuts. But the best part is definitely the animatronic animals and vegetables and dairy products that sing and dance as you make your way through the store. AMAZING. Seriously, we had the best time in this grocery store.
We also went to see 2012, which is the first movie I've seen in theaters for a really long time, and it was totally ridiculous but very entertaining a great rain to spend a rather drab and rainy afternoon. Then we went out to dinner at this place called Chocopologie which was obviously totally incredible. I am unabashedly passionate about my total addiction to chocolate, and the different truffles there were really fantastic and inventive. Their normal food was great too, but I mean, it was really all about the dessert. :) And also the company of course, which was wonderful. Alyssa and Dave were the first people to visit me in Boston so I was happy to be able to return the favor, and it's always wonderful to spend time with people who are so perfect for each other!
That Sunday, I took the train back to NYC, where I had brunch with Sasha and Irem, which was great. I love catching up with Duke people all over the city - it's so interesting to see where everyone is at six months after graduation. (You'd think I might feel bad/guilty that everyone else has been working super hard while I have been playing and traveling...and yet I do not at all. Oh well.) Also, the pure abundance of restaurants and excessiveness in general of the city never fails to bring a smile to my face and fill me with lots of energy. Then I spent the afternoon with Sam and went on a run with him because it was utterly gorgeous out (yay for winter not happening yet, by the way...that is totally awesome), and then we went to coffee with a friend from high school who I hadn't seen in ages so that was really fun, especially because the Washington Square area is impossibly full of cute coffee and tea places. Then I managed to have a quick dinner with Ian and Shea (soooo many people in NYC now, aahhh!) before I met up with Sam again and stole him away with me to go back to Boston!
For those of you who don't know, Sam and I have known each other since the age of three and talk pretty much every day, but getting to actually spend this much time with him in person is a special rarity. We have so much fun together but also each had our own things to do and other friends to see in the other's city, so that was great too. When we first came back to Boston on Sunday night I have to say I was embarassed for my city because it was literally completely deserted, and to a New Yorker, that is just a poor showing. But I was so happy that Sam ended up really loving the city. It was only after I came back from NYC that I realized just how different the two cities are. After being in the utter craziness and enormity that is New York, Boston seems tiny and tame. NYC is the cool, glitzy, popular kid; Boston is the more nerdy but earnest kid, with a charm that grows on you. :) (But I will not deny that New York is the cooler city, of course.) I took him to some of the touristy places and Mike's Pastry of course, and also cooked for him.
The craziest thing we did in Boston, though, was go to see this show called Sleep No More. It is done by this British theater company and basically combines the story of Macbeth with Hitchcock-like techniques to form a interactive (and totally creepy/terrifying) theater experience. It took place in a four story abandoned schoolhouse that we were free to roam around. Everyone had to put on a creepy white mask and you weren't allowed to talk. None of the actors talked either; they just expressed themselves through dance. The idea was that you could explore all the rooms of the house (all of which were elaborately done - insanely good sets!) and then follow whichever characters interested you. Unfortunately, because I do not have the theater experience that Sam does, I ended up not following any of the main characters and thus had a rather boring experience compared to Sam's...haha. Still, it was utterly amazing and unlike anything I have ever seen before - so crazy and cool!
Okay this is getting super long, so the second part of this post, which is trip to NYC part two, I will put up later!
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