Winter Walks

This is well overdue, but I just uploaded some pictures from a walk in the Botanical Garden this December. Serene as they are, I'm still not nostalgic for winter.

The ZOO

Unbelievably, I haven't been to the Bronx zoo in... well, it's been so long that I don't remember the last time I went to the Bronx zoo. My parents discredited it when I was young (the exhibits were too big to actually see the animals) and I haven't been back since. To their credit, the zoo is illogically set up and absurdly expensive, both of which I learned during my visit there today (entry to many exhibits requires a "special ticket" aka extra fee, even when admission to the general zoo is free). But it wasn't all bad. Free admission Wednesdays might feature shorter hours and limited displays, but the faces of the tigers alone made the trip worthwhile.

Golden

This is my best friend, Elena, and our moms enjoying drinks at the bar.

This is me having the best twenty-first birthday I could have asked for.

These are the folks that made it happen!

Thanks, mom and dad, for giving me an awesome, surprise 21st! I'm one lucky (21-year-old) girl.

A Bronx Day

c/o naica.com 
Nothing helps me love college more than visits from friends. This past Wednesday, my best friend from home visited and we had a "Bronx day." What might that entail, you ask? Well, start with mofongo for dinner (that's the fried plantain ball of deliciousness above) then follow it with a day at the New York Botanical Garden orchid show, and finish off with an afternoon of fresh meats, cheeses and bread from Arthur Ave.

photos by me

Yes, we're foodies. The Bronx loves us that way.

High Bridge and Soul Food

Alas, I haven't had time to write precisely because I've been doing cool things. Like taking a twelve mile walk with my roommate through the Bronx and Harlem that culminated in super cheap Soul Food at Jacob's.

c/o googleimages

What's that? Not classy enough, you say? Well, when I have collard greens, roasted turkey, yams, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, bbq ribs, banana pudding and iced tea in front of me, I simply don't care about class.

I also didn't care about class as I moseyed home and took in awesome Bronx/Upper Manhattan sights. Such as the Croton Aqueduct, which distributed water in order to make the construction of New York City possible in the early 1800s. We also saw the super cool (but unfortunately closed) High Bridge and Highbridge tower. Our fingers are crossed that the tower and bridge will be open to pedestrians soon!

c/o googleimages

Yes, I am now in (intense) pain. But a weekend well-spent is always worth it.

Spring Fever and a Woman from St. Lucia

Walking to St. Martin of Tours on Friday, I found myself behind a woman carrying grocery bags. When I got closer behind her, she turned around, I smiled, and she laughed out loud. "I wanted to make sure that it wasn't anyone coming up behind me at night," she said.
We walked down the street together talking about church and the Bronx and Lenten services. She told me that she is from St. Lucia and that she came to the Bronx some time ago. As I'm learning, this is the epitome of what the Bronx is: people from different places coming together to call one place theirs.

The next morning, the neighborhood couldn't have been more friendly- or more crowded. Everyone (and their siblings and parents and children) came out to celebrate the first sunny day of what is now -hopefully- spring. Mr. Softee trucks and street ball and loud music accompanied pedestrians with jackets open, sun-brushed cheeks and babies in strollers. I have yet to spend a summer in the Bronx, but I'm told that it is, in every sense, spectacular. Summer is the time when this city, its residents and its rich culture, come to life. After a long, drab winter, this kind of change could not feel more welcome or more monumental.

We Got Hit, Baby, One More Time

When I wrote my last post, it was raining in the Bronx. That rain turned to snow. Then to sleet, then to hail, and back to snow again. It came down for thirty-six hours straight. Here is the aftermath: