BROOKLYN´S INDUSTRY CITY DISTILLERY

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The industry city distillery is an experimental distillery located in Brooklyn that claims to pursue better craft spirits through science. The crafted product is a beet sugar vodka that becomes entirely created in New York City, from the distillery process till the hand made labeling, packaging and distribution. Every Saturday at 3PM you can join the one-hour tour through the distillery and learn about how the vodka is crafted.

The tour was very interesting and lined out why the two entrepreneurs consider themselves as being experimental and also revolutionary in term of for example energy saving during the distilling process. You can listen how the immobilized cell bioreactor fermentation system works and ask many questions. At the end you will get a drink that you can choose from the menu. Snipping your cocktail you have a very nice view on the Skyline of New York´s financial district. All in all it is a great tour.

Cost: $5.50

Website: http://drinkicd.com/#top

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Visit the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Vanderbilt´s Marble House

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The school organized a trip to the home of 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Vanderbilt Mansion Historic Site, historically known as Hyde Park- Vanderbilt Mansion National Park. The Park encompasses over 200 acres of the original estate which was home to prominent New Yorkers for nearly two centuries. Both sites were amazing in itself.

The FDR estate is much more unpretentious that the Vanderbilt Mansion. Nevertheless it is definitely worth and very interesting to take the tour and see how the young Franklin D. Roosevelt lived, where he studied and later had official meetings. Moreover it is interesting to see the modifications that where made to make him live comfortable during the time he had to spent in a wheelchair, when being stricken with poliomyelitis. Roosevelt fought to regain the use of his legs and succeeded. The Presidential Museum is very modern and uses different types of media to inform and entertain its visitors. It allows to gain a comprehensive knowledge about Franklin D. Roosevelt and also about his wife Eleanor that was politically very active.

The Vanderbilt Mansion is only 30 minutes away and is one of the smallest residences that belonged to the Vanderbilt´s. It was a summer house where Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt regularly lived in. The interior is amazing and consists of more than 500,000 cubic feet of marble. When it was completed, Mr. Vanderbilt presented  the house to his wife as a 39th birthday present. since 2006 the Marble House is a National Historic Landmark and open to the public.

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More information:

FDR House: http://www.nps.gov/hofr/index.htm

Marble House: http://www.newportmansions.org/explore/marble-house

Walk walk walk

We have now finally moved to the big city that we all have dreamt about! There is so much to do and so little time, so yesterday me and Frida decided to talk a long walk almost thru entire Manhattan.

We started in our area, 108th and Broadway, upper west side, which is a beautiful area with a lot of food markets, restaurants, lovely buildings and cozy coffee shops. Only 10 minutes away you can walk into Central Park. Central Park this time a year is amazing, the leaves are still on the trees and are all yellow, red and orange! We walked all the way thru the Park, and stepped by some of the mandatory things you need to se.

  • The boathouse. Most of us girls knows this place from Sex and the City. It’s a cozy restaurant overlooking one of the smaller lakes, quit pricey thou. Other than that you can also rent a boat and take a romantic paddle.
  • Alice in Wonderland statue. East side at 75th St, enter at Fifth Ave and 76th St (right next to the boathouse). Next to the statue theirs a small pond where you can rent a small motorizing sailing boat that you can drive from the side.
  • The Great Lawn Softball Field is great in the warmer months when there are games on. But this time a year it’s good to just pass by and watch people.
  • The bow bridge
  • Horse carriage
  • Walk around the big lake
  • Listen to all the talented people performing in Central Park

This is just a handful of all the thing you can do in Central Park. But I recommend all the IIB students to take yourselves to central park right now! Before the leaves start to fall.

After Central Park we walked all the way down to Soho. It was a long walk but I promise its worth all the pain you’re going to feel in your feet. To just stroll around is the best way to discover New York, walk down district by district!

I wish all of my IIB students, and other fellow readers a great Halloween, be safe and take care!

Tourists in New York

IMG_7856In a couple of weeks, we are not going to be tourists in New York City anymore. We will live for at least two months there, which means that we will start to behave as proper New Yorkers. For that reason, Einar and I decided to go to the city to be proper tourists while we can. It was a great day, as we decided to go to some of the main landmarks, where we saw some of the best views of New York.

First, we decided to go to the Empire State Building. There were many lines to get to the 88th floor, but the view was worth the wait. It was amazing, as you can see the whole city and its surroundings. The only bad thing about it was that I was freezing. Being at the top of one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world means that there will be a lot of wind, so if you are planning to go there, take a jacket with you.

After the Empire State, we went to the 9/11 Memorial, which was astonishing and emotional. Aesthetically, the memorial is very pleasing and beautiful. Nevertheless, thinking about the events that happened there makes you have mixed feelings about it.

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After spending some time at the 9/11 Memorial, we went to Wall Street. Some of us are going to work there, and some of us also want to get there with our own companies. Therefore, we decided that it was a good idea to start to get to know such an important place for us.

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The next stop was taking a ferry to go around the Hudson and see the Statue of Liberty. Again, the wind and the lines were an issue, but it was totally worth it. Looking at New York City from afar is spectacular, especially if there is a chance to say hi to the Statue of Liberty.

After having some dinner at one of my favorite fast food restaurants, Wasabi, we went to Times Square. It was our first time at Times Square by night. Besides all the lights, I was surprised by how it is possible to see people from all over the world, doing all kind of things, in one single place.

Without doubt, it was a great day. New York City is huge, and the best way to start to know the city is to start with its main landmarks!

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I love Meatpacking District

Last Saturday , I went to NYC for the third weekend in a row since we came to New Paltz. My plan was to stay in New York during the day and then take my wonderful Trailsway bus back at 11:30 .

I walked all afternoon, tried to lose myself in the beauty of Manhattan buildings. (I have a Lonely Planet , but really , I’ve never used it). I can not get used to the height of these buildings. Usually, I feel really small when I see the world from my 1.60 cm. These buildings may be huge but I feel alive, like I’m in my own world and while a bit like an ant.

Anyway, in the evening I met some Italian friends for a happy hour at The Standard ( view from the rooftop is really awesome ) and to eat a real Italian pizza al Luzzo ‘s in the East Village ( Roberto Benigni , the actor of La vita è bella was unreasonable beside me).

In fact, when the clock struck 11:20 , I did’n’t felt like to leave the city , it was ” too early ” . I decided to miss the bus and fall in the vibrant feeling of the New York nightlife . We went to a bar in the Meatpacking District , this area is something amazing . In the end I came back to the Super 8 on Sunday afternoon.

Below is a selfie, made ​​at the motel at 05:17

” New York, New York, so good they named it twice ”

me after club

me after club

#no filters 🙂