Adventure in Seoul|Getting Lost in Hongdae 홍대!

VICTORIA HERE with a story I originally posted on my Tumblr, hotmilkblacktea. Getting lost in a foreign country is an experience I shouldn't keep from you guys and this is certainly a memory I never want to forget. As travelers, we should expect this to happen at least once! After getting lost, ironically, I felt like I knew how to navigate myself around Seoul comfortably.

Horror Story | Course Registration at Yonsei

VICTORIA HERE with a briefing on registering for courses at Yonsei University. Before I dive in on the whole situation, I must point out this post is a combination of my own stupidity as well as the inefficiency of Yonsei's course registration process. Most people did not have the same struggles or make the same mistakes as I did. That being said, this is all completely based upon my own opinion and experience!

Back Home | A Day with Dog

TIA HERE with a break post--a little in-between look at my two week relaxing period between New York City and Copenhagen, Denmark. For most of this "real summer break," I sat around, sickly and pitiful, because I got my wisdom teeth removed and felt a little off for about a week. Note to anyone who might be getting their wisdom teeth removed: when you think you're good and healed, still give yourself a few more days of babying yourself, because you might hurt yourself again like I did and really regret it!

A Final Salute to NYC

street art, spotted in the city

TIA HERE with a final post about my summer in NYC. It's been almost a month since I left and I have now been in Copenhagen for two weeks, but I thought it was necessary for me to write some concluding remarks about the city that had occupied my life for two months of the summer.

PR Explained | What is an Audio News Release?

TIA HERE with some more insight into the PR world. This is all general information, but based on my experiences interning at a PR company. If you want to read more about my internship experiences, check out this post on the day in the life of a NYC intern, this post on SMTs, and the rest of the blog, of course.

Grabbing Brunch at Lafayette

the front door of lafayette

TIA HERE with some photos from when I first came to NYC and got brunch at a restaurant called Lafayette (obviously located on Lafayette St.) with my dad. The place is alright--beautiful aesthetic with beautiful people in sunglasses at every table, but slightly overpriced. It's definitely a restaurant to go to if you're looking for a fancy brunch with your cool, well-dressed friends with money. The waiters rock adorable suspenders and look just as classy as the people eating. I don't have a strong enough opinion of the place to offer a review, but I thought I would still throw up some photos I took of the place. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?

A Foodie Day with Grandma

TIA HERE with the dish on some of the dishes and restaurants I visited in NYC while my grandma was in town. While we did not eat at all of these places, we explored them with passion. First, we went to see Eataly, which is like an enormous, Italian-inspired market-meets-restaurant. It's incredible! Like a maze of food, it takes you from gelato to bread to meat to seafood with swirling aisles of shelves and tables--it's overwhelming, tightly-packed, and a delicious must see. We didn't get anything because we weren't hungry at the time, just visiting to see Eataly in all its glory. However, we did ogle other people's meals as we wandered by, and I filmed a lot of the store to give you guys a visual (see video above!).

Review | The Little Owl

TIA HERE with a little review on a little restaurant called The Little Owl. My often-mentioned friend Winnie Yelped the place and she, me, and my other friend Thelonia met up there. From the outside, I was already smitten. How could I not be? It looks so charming and nice!

Review | Desserts and Discoveries

TIA HERE with the scoop on where to get a nice scoop of ice cream, a cup of crème brûlée, or some macarons. Of course, there are tons of places in the city where you can get incredible desserts, but I thought I'd offer my two cents on some of the places I stumbled across. These are, by no means, famous New York City dessert locations, but if you're looking for somewhere well-known, there are already a thousand lists all across the internet. Instead, I hope to offer a little peek at some places you may wander past on the street and not know much about. It's a very specific list of three different places I tried out while in the city, and will hopefully give you a taste of the vast variety of dessert places that may not be on any must-see lists, but are just as worthy of a try.

Exploring Williamsburg [Brooklyn]

TIA HERE with a little taste of Brooklyn. On a sunny summer weekend, my dear friend Winnie and I trekked off to Brooklyn—one of the boroughs of NYC, just across the bridge from Manhattan. We decided on Williamsburg (well, Winnie decided because she did all the research!) to seek out some of the amazing graffiti that the area is well known for. Along the way, we made some cafe stops to fight off the heat, passed an art exhibit with an incredible line, and stumbled across Smorgasburg, a weekly Brooklyn food and flea market. Ever heard of a ramen burger? That's where you go to get one—if you're willing to brave the three hour long line (alas, we were not).

Review | Bedford Baking Studio

TIA HERE with the scoop on a little Brooklyn bakery called Bedford Baking Studio. I stumbled across the place while wandering Williamsburg in the hot summer month of July, and I stopped in mostly for a drink and something to eat, but also because it looked so darn cute. Although I didn't glean this information at the time, I now know that BBS is a family-run, Turkish bakery-meets-coffee-shop. When I was there, like always, I went for the cheaper menu items.

Review | Korean Pizza @ Hongdae's Dark Plant

VICTORIA HERE with deets on one the most popular pizza spots in Seoul! First I must warn you, Korean pizza is nothing like the pizza you know and love (well if you come from a Western country at least). Koreans have taken the greasy salty delight and turned it into a sweet and sugary delicacy. Even Western franchises in Korea such as Pizza Hut and Dominos have altered their usual menu to suit the locals. A typical pizza in Korea contains sweeter ingredients ranging from corn to sweet potatoes. It is a common realization between foreigners here that most Western foods (chips, bread, it goes on) are adapted into a sweeter counterpart that may be a little awkward to adjust to (because it really is weird to be honest). Though this is common, your normal pepperoni and cheese option is still available but when in Korea I suggest trying out your new options!

A Day in the Life | Interning in NYC

TIA HERE with the lowdown on what it's like to be a summer intern in the City of New York. To give some background, I'm doing two internships--one that is three days a week and the other that is two days a week, both spanning in total from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday--basically a full time job. Both places are on the same street, coincidentally, so it takes me 35 minutes to commute (read: walk) each morning. My hope with this post is to give you the layout of my day and week, so if you are considering an internship in NYC, you'll have an idea of what that might entail.

10 Things NYC Taught Me

TIA HERE with a list that I've compiled based on my own personal experiences this summer. While some of these things may not have to do with NYC directly, they are all things I learned these past few months, interning and living in NYC for the first time in my life. Hopefully, you'll be able to glean some worldly and lifelong knowledge from this (insert pained groan) listicle.

Welcome to Duo Diaries!

TIA HERE with our very first post! This will be a little intro-of-sorts about us (the authors and creators). Check out the video above for the basics, and read below for more!