Let this story be framed by the fact that the trains were not running in my neighborhood and I had to trek 20 minutes to the next station! Also, this post might get a little long.
But let us begin Friday, where my dearest friends gathered at Rosa Mexicano to celebrate NappyNikki’s birthday. Rosa Mexicano has become one of my favorite places for Mexican food in the city because of the great food, atmosphere, and company! If you ever go, it is vitally important that you order the guacamole appetizer because they make it right in front of you and it tastes so fresh and spectacular! Ms. Nikki got some free ice cream drizzled with chocolate and caramel for her birthday surprise, and I was able to capture the moment.
That night we also wandered around Union Square and had some drinks at a bar nearby. We ended the night a bit early because we knew the trains weren’t running that late. While at the bar, I get a random text from my best friend back home, Alyssa, asking if I had plans Saturday. Strange question, but I went with it. I told her I made plans to go to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. She was asking because she wanted to go to a pop-up concert with Jamie Campbell Bower. The actor? Yes. So it sounded like fun, and of course I would love to see her, so I told her to let me know when plans solidified.
The next morning I’m getting ready to go to the Gardens when Alyssa texts me that she’s driving up (5 hours!) by herself since her friends couldn’t get off work (stupid Apple Blossom!). She left at 12:30, which gave me plenty of time to get to the Gardens and have a good afternoon. Except, instead of the trains not running just at night on the weekends, they are not running AT ALL. Majorly inconvenient. Every weekend in May. Oyyy.
So I walked 20 minutes to a different train station, which dropped me off at Prospect Park. I was late and I hate feeling late and making people wait for me, but I made it to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. The student discount made the ticket only $5!
Here’s some pictures of awesomeness:
I really loved being around all the flowers and colors of the Cherry Blossoms. The BBG Cherry Blossom Festival as actually the weekend before, but my friends (who had gone two weeks in a row) explained that the blossoms looked a lot more vivid and fluffy this week. Afterwards we all smelled so fragrant and it was nice compared to how the train/ other people did!
After the Cherry Blossoms, we went to visit Tatiana’s apartment and see her cat. I miss my cats from home so I made sure to give her cat plenty of attention! 🙂 We also had some milkshakes from Shake Shack and it was awesome.
It was soon time for me to head into the city and meet up with Alyssa. She arrived just before the concert started, so we were both able to freshen up. The pop-up concert was announced on Jamie Campbell Bower’s Twitter the night before that I would be at Union Square Park, so we waited, and as the crowd gathered, it began to sprinkle. Then he arrived.
The fan girls rushed over to meet him, jumping over barricades of shrubbery and low fences. He was mobbed and, Alyssa and I could tell, a little overwhelmed. The frustrating part was that many of the people were talking while he was singing or talking to the crowd and it made it difficult to hear. We were trying to be respectful of his music and his space, but these girls were in complete disregard.
Here’s a few pictures so you can get the idea:
He’s actually a pretty great musician if you ever get a chance to listen to his music. There were definitely over 100 people who surrounded him. In fact, he had originally planned to do a meet and greet after the concert, but he had to make a quick get away, where he crowd surfed (a bold choice, since he was probably groped…), then when he was put down he literally ran away, through the grass, onto the sidewalk where he was picked up by an SUV. All the while there are a screaming hoard of girls chasing after him and the car. It was a little scary, honestly.
After the crowd dispersed, we went to Heartland Brewery for some real food, since we both hadn’t really eaten properly all day. Last time Alyssa was in town we went there also, so now it’s become our go to place!
That night, it took an hour and a half to get back to my apartment from Manhattan because we had to take a shuttle bus half way through the journey. When we did get back, we stayed up watching YouTube videos and talking. It was really great to catch up on everything and have real conversations (Not that we don’t, but it’s not the same if it’s not in person). Alyssa is one of those friends where we don’t have to speak every day to know that we are still friends.
The next day, Alyssa said she was leaving before dark, so we woke up late and journeyed and hour and a half back to the city to go to the NYPL exhibit “The ABCs of It: Why Children’s Books Matter.” I had been once before, but I wanted to show Alyssa since she couldn’t see it the last time she was in New York. They have the original stuffed animals that inspired Winnie the Pooh, Alyssa’s favorite childhood books!
After the library, we hung out in Bryant park and talked some more. We also ended up trying to figure out the Snapchat update while we were sitting right next to each other. And we took some pictures to commemorate the weekend.
Soon after, I dropped her off at the PATH station. And made my journey home. When I got on the shuttle bus I was in the front, but not behind the white line. So when the door opened at the first stop, my foot got caught in it. When I in a panic told the driver, instead of apologizing and opening the door right away, he said, “you should be behind the white line” and I’m thinking “get my f#@*ing foot out of the door!” But I said, “Doesn’t look like there’s room.” And as he’s releasing my foot from the door he says dismissively that there is space in the back and I should get out and go there.
FINE.
Just another point to add to my list of why I hate buses: rudeness.
That kind of ruined the great mood I was in, but I made it home alright and later watched Game of Thrones (It’s going so off book, I’m loving and hating it at the same time!), then went to bed .
The weekend was a lot of fun. I like how full it was and how much I was able to do despite the train problems. If this were any other weekend, I might not have been willing to go out with the trains running as they did.
#Fantastic
Heather Allen 
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