Greetings everyone from fall in New York!
As the weather inclines towards winter coldness in New York while still allowing for the mere presence of sunlight, New Yorkers enjoy the not-so-hot but not-yet-so-cold-either season either by engaging in conventional fall festivities such as apple picking or by hitting Central Park for their daily dose of happiness!
Me and my friend, aiming on making the most out of the beautiful weather in NYC, chose the latter option and hit the subway for a visit to the ever magnificent Central Park.
Without an initial expectancy or motive, we found ourselves purchasing tickets for what appears to be a famously renowned permanent collection and special exhibitions spot: “The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Solomon R. Guggengeim Museum.”
The contemporary art museum with a notable design, located conveniently at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street in Upper East Side, was very crowded to the extent the line formed by visitors appeared as a further motive upon encouragement. Falling in love with the exterior of the unique building, we entered inside with high expectancies and the interior sure fulfilled our expectations as well.
Most of the artwork displayed inside happened to be thought-provoking with some exceptions being merely out of context or simply uninteresting. Some fulfilled the motto ‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’; others not so much. But each piece definitely had a story to tell and needless to mention, art is subjective.
What stood out to me the most out of all the pieces and collections the museum housed was Robert Mapplethorpe’s photography section. The controversial nature of his photographs was shadowed by the motive behind their capture and that made his artwork all the more powerful and admirable. His intention to make visible the most unseeable parts of those who are constantly kept under the shadow purposefully resonated in a contemporary context of interpretation.
After visiting all the floors and completing the gradually rising circular-shaped platform, we rewarded ourselves with a much needed coffee break at the heavily demanded Le Pain Quotidien located inside Central Park after a quick walk. Sipping my Pumpkin Spice Latte (with Oat Milk) facing the lake with lots of New Yorkers either chatting, picnicking, riding a bike, walking or running, I surprisingly felt even more inspired than I was at the modern art museum. The people of New York are so unique in not only in the way they dress or look but also in the way they behave that their real-life portrayal offers a considerably interesting vision of life.
Throughout the time we spent ‘drinking coffee’, the crowd did not settle for a less demand for even a single second, if anything, increasing numbers of people appeared. Once we inhaled enough oxygen for a week, we began walking towards the most luxurious streets on Fifth Avenue and did some mandatory window-shopping.
As we got hungry— hungry enough to deserve a cheat meal— we walked through the end of the LONG line of ‘Black Tap NYC’ which is a hit Instagram spot best-known for its house made extravagant burgers and handcrafted crazy milkshakes with more alternatives and certainly more ingredients than you could ever ask for.
After we saw the line, my friend insisted we leave because the approximate wait time was apparently a minimum of 1 hour. Upon my suggestion to wait for a while, we were almost instantaneously seated without having to wait even for 10 minutes because we were a party of two!
As soon as we got seated, the milkshakes with apparent overloads of excessive sugar visually beautified the overall atmosphere of the small but densely populated burger spot. We didn’t have much of a need to satisfy our sweet-tooth so we settled for dinner instead.
I ordered their Falafel Burger with a side of Sweet Potato Fries (they also have Vegan patties upon preference), and my friend opted for Chicken Wings with regular French Fries. Both of us really enjoyed the food and the atmosphere was very lively as everyone was so excited to indulge in their pleasurable food.
I was relieved to not have been the only one who took food pictures as everyone around me seemed to be capturing their burgers, milkshakes, or both, because they were too uniquely prepared not to.
Black Tap is about a 12-minute walk from Times Square so we decided to end the night by embracing our inner tourists by visiting the headquarter of lights and fun. The overcrowded population of Times Square is what makes it as remarkable but after a while it comes exhausting so we left before feeling like so. It implemented in our night just the ideal dose of entertainment and made it even more magical for me to become a New Yorker!
Best, Yaprak
Becoming A New Yorker 