Boston – Warren (Day 28): Via New York

We had a leisurely breakfast and check-out the next morning. Both of us were headed to the bus station, my friend bound for New York to meet friends of his (mutual friends, actually), and myself bound for my relatives’ home eventually, though I was also travelling through the city.

The bus ride back ended up being somewhat longer than the bus ride north, due to traffic. It was properly dinner time when I finally arrived in the city.

Between leaving the bus and catching the train to New Jersey, I caught dinner at Five Guys somewhere near Penn Station.

The burger and the peanut oil fries were both richly memorable.

In New Jersey, my aunt picked me up from the train station.

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This will be my last day-numbered post in this series on Winter 2013. I did stay a couple of weeks more with my relatives, over Christmas and New Year’s Day, and perhaps more from those days will make it up here, but, by and large, what follows is quality time with family and friends, with the time in between taken at a really leisurely pace under all-too-agreeable (can one feel too warm and well-fed over Christmas?) living conditions – all in all, I felt, the best way I might’ve spent the holidays.

I left for the start of winter term at school a couple of days into 2014.

New York (Days 24 – 25): Crossings

I took the train from Warren to Manhattan. In New York, I stayed with yet another J, also a good friend, and, furthermore, my erstwhile partner in trombone-playing.

One way in which my visit to New York stood out from my previous excursions was in the number of Singaporeans I met, including both friends from (and through) ACS and USP. Part of the reason for the number of coincidental meetings was that it was the end of the exam period for the students at NYU, and other institutions not running on the quarter system (fall term, winter term, spring term, and summer break) like Carleton. Though travelling alone certainly has its unique charms, after the preceding few weeks of it, I was quite energized to see everyone. Also, from the time of my arriving in Minnesota, it’d been a few months since I’d met so many Singaporeans together.

In addition to meeting people around town or in J’s apartment (quite the center of activity, it was), mostly I remember experiencing the buzz of the city. I mainly stayed between the Village and Times Square (where we tried and failed at the ticket lottery for Wicked) over the two days I was in town. J had been working at the campus news outfit over the past year (and quite evidently having a great time at it), and so I got to see some of that as well.

I was also introduced to Shake Shack burgers, Washington Square, and Strand Books, a.k.a. as the best bookstore in the world (or, at least, in my experience).

And finally a picture of a New York City street-junction, for that city-feeling I remember from the time spent navigating the street grid between stops, but which I can’t otherwise describe.