new york new york :: part 11 :: our final day

[[ a few pictures from the terminal are from flickr. creative commons search. ]]

friday :: (7/8) :: day 8

We got up in the morning feeling a little bit somber since it was our last day. It was weird packing everything back up into our bags after just getting used to our temporary living situation. We got ready for the day, double checked the room, brought our things downstairs, and checked out of The Manhatten Club Hotel. The lobby was packed with new guests, so perhaps it was not such a bad thing to be heading out. We paid the concierge to hold our bags for us, and headed out into the morning. This was by far the earliest we had made it out of the room the entire trip.

One of my goals this time around was to eat at a real Jewish deli, and I had my heart set on a bagel and lox for breakfast. Leah had told us about a place called Barney Greengrass to check out, so we headed that way first. This was the perfect little old man deli. We walked in to a little deli area with so much salmon, pastrami, and home made pickles it was insane. Oh, and sturgeon... I guess this place is famous for the stuff. Turning the corner we noticed a small seating area, and made our way to a table. Our server was quick and had the accent, he definitely seemed to be in place. I ordered an onion bagel with cream cheese and lox which came with a pickle. It was really good, but really salty. I do not know how you could eat the whole thing yourself! This place definitely hit the spot though.

[[ outside. rabbi mints. coffee. interior. breakfast. brownstones. ]]

Since we were not meeting Leah until lunch time, we walked back up along side the park to the American Museum of Natural History, for some air conditioning and to kill some time. (We passed tons of beautiful Brownstones along the way).

After we left the museum it was time to meet Leah, so we made our way down to the subway and headed over towards NYU where she was meeting us. The scene over there was definitely a lot different with many more college aged people dressed extremely casually. I cannot imagine going to an undergrad school there, it would have been such a different experience. We found Leah and headed in to Ippudo, which is a little Japanese ramen place where they make everything from scratch. Oh. My. God. It was delicious!!! Plus, the restaurant itself was adorable and I loved all of the decor. We shared some noodle dishes, some steamed sticky buns, and a variety of sides. I was so full and happy when we left. The setting was pretty dark though, so sadly I did not get great pictures of the decor. But, I can assure you it was pretty sweet. 

[[ wall of plates. napkin. kanji. samuri. making the ramen. bathroom sign. rice paper wall. ]]

Leah had been pretty insistent throughout the trip that we should go see Grand Central Terminal before heading home, so we decided that now would be a good time to do that. She was right, that place is amazing.. It is so much more than just a train station with all of its architectural detailing and hidden treasures, like The Campbell Apartment bar (which I really wish we could have gone in for a drink, but they have a strict dress policy that Pat was in complete contrast with). Aparentely this used to actually be someones apartment in the early 1900s? and has now been converted. Since we were denied entry, we made our way to the underground restaurant The Oyster Bar for a farewell drink. This is the oldest restaurant in the station according to Wikipedia, which would explain why there was a bathroom attendant in the not so fancy womens bathroom. That was a weird experience... I am washing my hands minding my own business and all of the sudden this woman is squirting soap in my hands for me. Um, thanks? And then she brings me a paper towel. I guess you are supposed to tip them, but one, I did not have any cash at all, and two, I would really rather get my own soap. Seriously odd. Anyway, we just sat at the bar and talked for a while watching business men come in from work. 

I was really sad to leave Leah, because I knew that meant we were actually leaving for good this time. Plus, I always miss her when she goes away, now I do not get to see her until Christmas. :( I know she was sad too because she kept texting me not to leave! Silly sister.

[[ grand central loveliness. the oyster bar. our last subway ride. ring. the cab ride out of the city. ]]

It had been threatening rain all day long, so by the time we left the station and reached our hotel to grab our things and a cab, it was pouring! That sort of made it easier to part with the city... so maybe I am thankful for it? We were lucky enough to spot an airport shuttle van and rode that to our terminal. The cab driver was really nice but a CRAZY driver. I thought we were going to hit someone several times. Fast forward through the craziness that is checking in and airport security, and we were playing the waiting game. Our plane was twice delayed before we even got to board it, giving us plenty of time to find snacks and magazines. Also while we waited I called my mom and told her the engagement news, to which she responded "It's about time!" (Towards me, not Pat who would have done it years ago if he had it his way). At that point is was time to make it "Facebook official", so the relationship status was changed from "in a relationship with Patrick Matthis" to "engaged to Patrick Matthis". So weird! That triggered an explosion of texts, posts, and phone calls, which is exactly why I had wanted to wait until the end of the trip to do it. I am thankful Pat allowed me to do so. (By the way thank you Facebook for picking the most ridiculous series of couple pictures to put together, just wow, we are awesome). 

Finally the plane boarded... but through a series of unfortunate events there was no take off for not one, not two, but three more hours. By that time all plesantries had worn off and I was ready to get home already! After a long, sleepless, uncomfortable flight, we touched down in PDX around 3 in the morning. We were both WAY too exhausted to make it the extra hour and a half to Corvallis, so we settled for my moms vacant house in Tigard for the "night". We were finally in bed around 4. 

At noon we woke up, showered, grabbed our things and headed home. The official end of our first New York Adventure together. The first of many I hope!

[[ online announcement. silly faces on the plane. ]]

**(it is not quite over yet, i have some extras to post tomorrow followed by a quick little summary/wrap up of events. friday will conclude new york month)**

new york new york :: part 10american museum of natural history

The rest of our final day will be posted tomorrow, but I wanted to start with our short trip to the American Museum of Natural History.

In the morning me and Pat grabbed breakfast and then decided to kill some time by visiting the museum until we met up with Leah for lunch. It was packed inside with families waiting in line, but we found an automated ticket printer and got inside quickly. I guess you have to be more intuitive to gain fast access? I have to say, I was not very impressed... First, the building was under construction, so the architecture was not exposed at all taking away from the potential grandgure of the place. Second, it was crowded and extremely difficult to navigate (we got lost and found it impossible to find a bathroom, which were by the way the most disgusting i have possibly ever used aside from campgrounds and some rest stops). Third, for the same price as The Met, it seems like a bit of a rip off, though I suppose if you have little kids it would be a better alternative, as the exhibits are more artificial, and in some cases interactive. We decided to focus on the dinosaur bones since that is not something either of us have ever experienced before and had an interest in, so we made our way to said exhibit. (Oh, there were also special exhibits that you needed to pay more to see, so our viewing options were very limited).

Seeing a T-rex skeleton up close and personal was pretty amazing though, so I could not complain too much. The variety of species was pretty extensive, so we snapped some pictures for about an hour and a half while making our way through dino history. We wandered around in a few more sections, mostly because we got lost on our way out... but decided that we had seen all we came to, and went on our merry way.

[[ all photos taken by me and pat at the american museum of natural history, nyc. ]]

new york new york :: part 9

wednesday night :: (7/6) :: day 6
After the surprise proposal, me and Pat finally made our way down from the castle and out of the park. We made a few phone calls along the way back to the hotel, but not too many just yet. I did have to assure my little sister that I said yes, because me and Leah have had an ongoing joke that I was not allowed to get married until she did, and obviously Meagan took that to heart. We got back to the hotel, showered, changed, and headed out to meet Leah and Adil for some celebratory champagne and dinner. It was so surreal wearing the ring all night. It felt so odd to have something on that finger for once. I was afraid I was going to loose it.

We toasted with champagne at the rooftop restaurant slash tropical getaway 230 Fifth. The view of the Empire State Building was great and the atmosphere was really fun and high energy. We decided to make our way elsewhere for dinner to ensure larger portions, and after much deliberation we ended up at a little place Adil frequents for some seafood, pasta, and wine. It was a super low key night with just the four of us and it was not too long before we made it back to our hotel, changed in to our robes and just relaxed for once.

[[ i look really funny in these pictures... also, there is a leopard. ]]

thursday :: (7/7) :: day 7
We did not really have any finite plans for the day time since we were going to the Yankee game at night in the Bronx, so we were more or less playing it by ear. First we made our way back to Soho so that I could do some shopping street vendor style. Successful by the way. I also wanted to find a shoe store I went to last time in Greenwich Village, so we had a little adventure making our way over there. I did not leave with any shoes, but after visiting BookMarc, which is a bookstore owned by Marc Jacobs... I left with a necklace for myself and a little something silly for Guenther that has yet to be revealed. It was hot as hell Thursday (the worst day I think the entire trip) and we were super hungry, so we made our way to Madison Square Park to eat at a burger place I was dying to get Pat to, called The Shake Shack. So good. I got the Second City Bird Dog, basically a chicken apple sausage with all the fixin's (onion, pickle, tomato, mustard... i do not even know what else). It was delicious. I also got a chocolate shake to wash it down. Pat got a strawberry shake and the Shack Burger. The line was insane, as always, so it took a while, but I personally think it was well worth it, and once Pat had food in front of him his grumpy subsided.

[[ shake shack for lunch. ]]

Nice and full, we headed back to the hotel to change and get ready for the baseball game! Pat was so excited. He even bought a new hat and t-shirt to wear before we left Portland. Me, not so much, but I did have navy stripes on white... good enough.



thursday night - yankee game
The trip to the stadium was by far the worst experience I had the entire duration of the trip, and that included a random chick on a bike screaming at me... like an actual scream "roar" because I may or may not have been in her way. We got down to the subway, which was just sweltering due to the heat throughout the day. Our train required us to make our way to the bottom floor of the station, and with every stairwell it felt like we were descending in to the depths of hell. After waiting around for twenty minutes attempting to find a breeze, train one comes by. It is packed to the brim, and I am not exaggerating when I say that not a single person could fit aboard. This turned out to be a common theme as we watched three trains come and go without any success of entering. At one point, the large older man standing near us attempted to force himself on, only to be shoved off right as the doors were closing. I might have felt sorry for him, had he not attempted to blame me for his shoving. Really guy? You weigh at least 250 pounds, it's not me. Finally after close to an hour, another train came to a stop, the doors opened, I grabbed Pat's arm, forced my way in front of said mean old man, and got inside. Thus began the 30 minute or so trip on a packed train in which everyone was sweaty and touching. Not ideal. When we finally stopped outside of the stadium I was so excited to get outside, but was sorely disapointed when I discovered that the air was just as hot and still as inside the train.

Eventually we made our way inside the stadium, promptly grabbed oversized beers, took our seats, and all was well. They were pretty great seats by the way, worth the hefty price tag I am sure. Pat was super excited the entire time! His grandpa is a big Yankees fan, and he grew up playing baseball and watching Yankee games, so this was a big thing for him. Not much more to say about it. Huge stadium... packed with tons of people... good seats... overpriced, but refreshingly cold beers... cotton candy... happy boyfriend... good night.

[[ finally made it to the stadium. hello. the game. posing. kiss. babe ruth nameplate. silly faces on the subway ride home. ]]

We were going to make our way out to a speakeasy style bar I REALLY wanted to go to, but after the game and the commute back we were done. We opted for a night in instead. Next time.

new york new york :: part 8 :: the proposal

[[ title photo credit to stig nygaard from flickr (creative commons). the rest, as always, are mine. ]]

This is a special post, I am sure you will soon discover why. 

After a morning full of exploring various NYC landmarks and a museum, me and Pat headed back in to the park to try and find Belvedere Castle. I had heard about the castle before coming back to New York, and really wanted to find it this time around. (They certainly do not make it easy to discover with hardly any signs along the way and a fairly significant uphill climb). Thanks to smart phones and Pat's keen navigation skills we soon found ourselves wandering in the correct direction. 


It was really hot outside and I was tired and lagging behind a bit, but to my surprise Pat was trekking ahead as if he was on an important mission. I choose to take it slow and capture some pictures on the way up instead of rushing ahead as well. After climbing several flights of stairs with no clear indication that we were going the right way, there was a small clearing with a sign marked "Belvedere Castle". Finally. We turned the corner to reveal a little castle situated on the top of a hill with a beautiful view of the park, Turtle Pond, and the city. There were some people around, but not many, as the castle was closed for the day. This was nice because I was able to capture some uninterrupted photos, though it was a little bit of a bummer we could not venture inside. 

After ten minutes or so I turned my attention back to ice cream and suggested we make our way down the hill. Pat however wanted to stop to take a rest, so we set out to find a bench or something. Around the corner by the tower there were some unoccupied stairs, so we settled down for a break. I, hungry and impatient, pulled a leftover croissant from my purse and broke off two pieces, offering one to Pat. To my surprise he said no, which I thought was a bit odd since he is always hungry, but I did not have enough time to consider my confusion because what happened next changed everything...


All of the sudden Pat leaned in and said "I have to ask you a question" my response came in the form of a puzzled look. The next few things happened very quickly.


Pat stumbled back and got down on one knee and out of nowhere he had a small grey box in his hand that I immediately recognized as a jewelry box. I placed my hands over my mouth in complete shock and the box opened to reveal a ring as he clearly spoke four little words... "Will you marry me?"I was caught off guard, but I immediately shot up and said "Yes!", giving him a huge hug and kiss. A part of me has always known that I would say yes no matter what or when. 


Anyone who knows me, I mean really knows me, will have no trouble understanding that as excited as I was, I had to collect myself for a moment because marriage has long been something that has completely paralyzed me with fear. This has nothing at all to do with Pat, it is just me. We sat on the steps for a few more minutes as people kept walking by and stopping right next to us and all I wanted to do was be alone with him. Finally I stood up and suggested that we climb over the railing and sit on the rocks overlooking the pond because there no one could see us. After a little bit of hesitation, he agreed and we settled in to our own little world. Once on the other side of the railing it felt like we were all alone and could speak freely. I immediately felt my fears melt away, and began telling Pat everything I have known for a long time, but been to afraid to admit out loud.  


Finally I said "Will you please do it again? I am ready now..." to which he responded "Are you serious?! Don't you know how hard it was to do it the first time??!!" AND because I have the best man EVER he spoke some beautiful words, put the ring on my finger, and it was settled, we were officially engaged! We sat in that spot overlooking the pond for what must have been two entire hours just enjoying each others company, crying (yes, I cried), and taking some pictures. 

Pat revealed to me how he had been planning this for over a month and working with my family to get it together in time. The diamond he used to propose was from his mom and dads engagement ring (they are since divorced like my parents, who's diamond I also have, set in a pendant). He had driven up to Portland a few weeks prior to meet with my dad and ask his permission, which I will forever be impressed with. My dad had the ring set simply in a band, my brother picked it up, and it was my friend Megan who brought it to us right as we were leaving for the airport, which explains all of the seemingly aimless rushing around we did! Of course my sister who lives in NYC knew everything about it already, and her friend even sneakily asked me a few days earlier what I would do if Pat proposed. I thought nothing of it at all and responded "If Pat proposed to me tomorrow, I would say yes." I cannot believe I never even suspected anything. It was not "tomorrow" but three days after that conversation in the beer garden that this happened. 


We are not setting a date yet, and have no plans to do so for the next year at least. It seems only fitting since we have been together for so long already (we just celebrated our sixth year). First order of business is figuring out what kind of rings we want. Pat was smart enough to know that I would want a say in what type of engagement band I will be wearing for the rest of my life, so we are going to pick them out/design them together. I have no idea what I want as of now... The only thing I have decided is that I want to mimic the rectangular cut of the diamond I am currently wearing (emerald cut, I suppose), because it will be more sentimental, and I like the way it looks on my finger. In the mean time I am wearing the ring from the proposal, but eventually the diamond will be turned in to something like my parents ring has been and can be passed down. 

Someday within the next few years I will be Mrs. Matthis... weird! I have no doubts in my mind that Patrick James Matthis is the only man for me. (cheesy but I don't care). I love you babe, so much it's ridiculous. Thank you for ensuring that my trip to NY will be one of the most memorable trips of my life. I can think of no other person that I would rather share all of my adventures with. 

...smile...