new york: travel diary

“the universe is in your bones, the stars in your soul; its never really the end”

how incredible and amazing was this trip? i can’t even fathom or explain it but here’s a go at it: the happy. all of the happy. the getting lost in the subway, the going to the grocery store in the middle of the night sitting on the roof eating cereal nights. the random hole in the wall cafes that bring out the best of laughs in all of us. the heartfelt conversations on the metro. the feeling and certainty that everything has changed but everything is okay. and the beauty of change. of knowing that this time its okay to let go of people and things.

i believe some travel experiences just shape and impact you in ways that you don’t even understand yourself. i strive to keep going places until i can say i’ve found myself. or at the very least to keep expanding and learning and believing.

here’s a random thought: life is sometimes, between all the monotony, failed dreams, unspoken apologies, problems and trials and terrible people, so very beautiful. Lets enjoy the little tiny pieces of uncomparable happiness. this trip was one of those little crazy pieces of life you’re not sure are real. Hope you guys enjoy this little diary i put together.

Día Uno (Aug. 30th)

we took a red-eye flight from phoenix and got to newark at around 9 am. soo tired but so ready for the day (nothing a little makeup can’t fix amiright?). we then made our way to wallkill, new york, a little more than 2 hours away from newark- definitely a nice, quiet part of upstate new york. we made it to wallkill bethel, and wooooow. i had been here before in the winter but summer suits wallkill beautifully. we had a quick lunch, met some really cool people and then headed for our tour!

a few highlights:

me and alons in the lobby and then in the printing press (look how tiny we are!!!)

a bit more from the printing press. let me just say that it’s incredible coming to wallkill and seeing everyone at work at the presses. it seems like such a difference since last year when i was there, everything is visibly more advanced and more accessible for everyone.

we met people from (surprise!) arizona, california, and i believe germany.

and this is one of my favorite pictures. i have an identical picture from last year but this is one of my favorite views in wallkill because out of these rolls we get our information, we get our publications.

after the press, we headed outside! to the prettiest lake view.

then we took a little extra tour of the farms, the shoe shop, the cemetery, and a few parks around bethel.

part two: warwick, new york. we then drove about an hour to warwick, ny and arrived at warwick bethel. this is what we were most mosttttt excited about. warwick bethel: breathtaking, simply breathtakingly beautiful. i encourage anyone who wants to go to plan and see this beautiful place, this beautiful house that we have been given so lovingly.

we arrived at warwick at around 6 for our tour with a good friend who took us on this tour (thank you!). the environment here is gorgeous. that’s the only way to describe it because i was sick, tired, and running on 2 hours of sleep but i enjoyed this so much.

we went straight to the self-guided tours and exhibits which i won’t give too much away of because it’s something everyone should see for themselves. here are some snapshots of our evening:

1: the ‘ Bible and the Divine Name’ exhibit that used to be in Brooklyn. listening to the self-guided tour.

2: the best mural i’ve seen. so many tears and good feelings for what is to come. this was part of the tour ‘ A People for Jehovah’s Name’.

3: the really really cool elevator that pau so kindly pointed out.

we got to see the photo drama of the creation, which i hadn’t seen in brooklyn so i was very very excited to finally see it.

after leaving warwick (crying might i add) we headed to brooklyn bethel, where we had the privilege of staying in the towers building on clark street.

this is how we ended the night, with beaming hearts and so much gratitude.

Dia Dos (August 31st)and hello brooklyn! we started the day admiring our view for the next few days, now in actual daylight.

this day we slept in so naturally we went to have brunch, and after wandering the streets of brooklyn for a while we found a cafe. so good. soo good.

we had brunch at 61 Local. the best vegan tacos in the world no matter what anyone says ever. it was a little on the pricier side (just fyi) but so worth it. and everyone working there was very nice, which is always a plus!

i had some mushroom tacos, my sister had the avocado toast, and alons had tacos as well. overall 10/10.

after brunch we went for a walk in brooklyn heights, pineapple street anyone?

next: brooklyn bridge park and brooklyn bridge. lots of walking (duh), we ate mangoes, and we heard ‘get out of the bike lane’ one too many times, anyone else?

A: no matter the hardships, the losses, the unfortunate fact that our lives are far from perfect..this trip with you was a reminder that the true friends are the ones that never left no matter the circumstances, the ones that stayed through all the heartbreaks and mental breakdowns. the ones you can quite literally call at 4 am only to hear them tell you that they won’t leave, not like the others. and i believe you a, i have since i met you. no matter what anyone has to say about our friendship.

and my sweet little sister. i love you beyond comparison pau. even if we fight, i plan on taking you to as many places as i can at least until we run out of ideas. never stop being yourself. never let anyone tell you you can’t achieve something because i am so certain that you can.

now back to our day. even though it’s now closed, we went to visit brooklyn bethel at least from the outside.

sometime during the day, we found ourselves in the famous park from the “Brooklyn” movie, which is a must watch if you haven’t seen it yet. it’s honestly one of the most beautiful movies i’ve seen. and so was this park, which sadly i don’t even know the name of…..

anyways we somehow found ourselves super lost on the metro because nobody told us we shouldn’t take the R train. but after getting on and off what seemed like a hundred times, we made it to the staten island ferry.

we went to staten island, danced to taylor swift, found a random rooftop, and also looked for pretzels which we found but didn’t buy for obvious reasons…..

we made our way back to brooklyn, stayed far away from the R train and got home to eat cereal and peaches. we practically lived off cereal and peaches that week which isn’t as bad as you may think.

Dia Tres (September 1st) 

i feel like im talking too much so heres what we did on day 3: we went to the MET, the met steps because gg (of course), we met up with janys (!!!), me and janys had been wanting to meet for a really long time. her feed is amazing, she is the sweetest, and she took us to the MOMA museum and freemans alley that day. thanks to her and her friends for the fun-filled day. we can’t wait to come back and hang out with you guys in long island!

the architecture and design at the met is beautiful. its never-ending and i wish we had hours upon hours to explore every bit of it.

1: egyptian jewelry exhibit

2 & 4: the famous met window overlooking central park

3: actual egyptian pyramid inside the met

as you guys can tell, we started the night serious, and ended it laughing and with the biggest smiles.

we also went to MOMA as i mentioned before. claude monet and contemporary art were quite the addition to the night.

we ended the night at freemans. once again i am soo so thankful for this day. we made the most beautiful frienships ever.

Dia Cuatro (September 2nd)

CONEY ISLAND!

can you tell we were happy to be heading here?

we had breakfast at a bagel place that had amazing vegan cream cheese i wanted to bring all of it home…..all of it. we also went to brooklyn roasting company, possibly the coolest coffee shop i’ve ever been to.

and also the street! the famous brooklyn bridge street. it was pretty cold this day, hence the tights and jackets lol, or maybe its just because we live in the blazing heat in az, either way i promise it was cold.

later this day, after buying one too many things and going on the ferris wheel the surprisingly rocks itself back and forth and was very scary no matter what pau says, we met up with my beautiful rosemary. i stayed with her last time i was in ny and i could not wait to see her!

we went to the 9/11 memorial and little italy, china town, the oculus, and then to chelsea market.

we went back to brooklyn, me and a were feeling blue and we bought cereal and went up to the roof of towers to eat and just talk about life. for that night everything felt alright. i don’t have pictures of it, we all know the best nights usually don’t. but everything felt amazing and bittersweet, and nostalgic because we would never be in that moment again. we would never be 20, on the roof of towers in new york talking about everything wrong, but also everything good. nothing has ever lived up to that night ever since.

Dia Cinco (September 3rd)

we woke up early and left brooklyn to meet up at rose’s hall for meeting, we walked and took the metro which was a little crazy because it started pouringggggg. we got to the meeting soaked but we got there, and we bought a clear umbrella (cute & convenient).

p.s: we were wearing tennis shoes because dumb us forgot to bring flats so we changed into heels at the meeting.

we went back to brooklyn early, said our goodbyes to rose, and went and did laundry which somehow called for cute pictures…..or alondra calling life alert, at least we got good pictures out of it?

after we were done eating and putting all our things away we went to grand central to relive some key gossip girl moments. S and lonely boy didn’t stand a chance…

we ended up going to hoboken this day, in new jersey. but to be completely honest all i left with was someones metro card and hidden goodbyes and lots of nostalgia, no further explaining can be done on this particular night.

Dia Seis (September 4th)first stop: jajaja nyc- a completely vegan mexican restaurant. anyone looking or vegan options in ny should most definitely try this, its not even weird fake mexican food like chipotle, this was actually good lol.

speaking of food we had so much shake shack that i didn’t take pictures of any of it but shake shack is a must. fyi: if you’re vegan go for the garden dog with normal fries.

we went to central park, to the bethesda fountain where chuck and blair got married so of course we had to go.

we headed to the empire for some final views of this city of dreams before our last day ended.

we ended our last night at times square. we saved the most alive part of nyc for last. and yes me and alons wore matching glitter shirts (judge us, we really don’t care)

to say we loved nyc is an understatement. new york has always been a one of a kind city in my eyes. also for anyone wanting to get from brooklyn to newark or vice versa, you can take the NJ transit line there and whatever train has a little airplane next to it will take you straight there. just make sure to leave 3-4 hours before your departure because public transportation is not the most reliable at times.

if you made it this far, congrats guys because i know how much i talk. i hope whoever reads this enjoys it and our pictures.

much love, as always.

v.