Central Park Chillin' | NYC Adventure

VICTORIA HERE to show you how to perfectly enjoy a solo day on your own in NYC. If you're anything like me, you get super anxious when you spend everyday indoors sulking over the fact you have no friends in the huge and busy city you've suddenly found yourself in... Well, maybe not that particular. BUT, I'm sure everyone gets the feeling sometimes that they have to get out every once in a while to feel sane! Over the summer, I only worked four days a week at my internship so I had Fridays completely to myself. I was determined to spend each and every one of those Fridays doing something new to familiarize myself with the city and to become more used to spending quality time alone. I spent my first adventure on a mission to find Central Park.

DoubleBooked | AFTER DARK vs. KAFKA ON THE SHORE

THE DUO HERE, with something new for you! Introducing, DoubleBooked: a novel collaboration comparing our latest reads, lit-erally. Each month (hopefully), in an effort to read more, we will be reviewing two trending titles so you know what to check out next.

Top 15 of TWENTY FIFTEEN (so far) + Playlist | a kpop roundup

VICTORIA HERE supplying you with my top Korean pop hits from the first half of 2k15! Though I do not consider myself an obsessed kpop fangirl, I do definitely stay up to date on the latest releases and there are a lot of great ones this year so far! This list is based on my own personal preferences rather than how popular each song actually was on the charts. Even so, I think kpop newbies and extreme fans alike can enjoy these songs and I encourage you to take the time out to listen! You might just find your new summer jam~

15. Taemin - Danger
SHINee's youngest member, Taemin, is all grown up in his solo debut. Danger is not too far a cry from a typical SHINee song which, of course, means it is a great pop track. Check out the MV (linked in the title) to awe at Taemin's Michael Jackson-esque dance moves (and his spectacular style)!

Lunch in East Village & Free Friday @ MoMA | A Day with the Duo

VICTORIA HERE to take you on another adventure with me around NYC! This time with TIA as I tagged along to get lunch and later hit up the Museum of Modern Art with her and her friend who is also interning in the city. We met up in East Village for lunch and ended up going for sliders at Mark Burger.

MARK BURGER | 33 St Marks Pl, New York, NY 10003

Mark Burger is a dimly lit restaurant that serves up a specialized menu featuring exclusively mini burgers (a.k.a sliders) along with fries and an insane assortment of shakes.

The best thing about this place is that the sliders are surprisingly cheap and they blast all of those hiphop hits you loved in middle school! You can get a regular slider for just $2.50 or go my route and get the double bacon slider for $5.50. No matter what you choose, these little cuties are actually pretty filling and I couldn't take anymore after just one slider, cheese fries, and a mocha shake, of course.

After lunch, we had time to kill until Free Friday at MoMA started at 4PM. We resolved to walk back to our dorm in Chelsea but after losing track of our route multiple times decided to just chill in Washington Square Park until it was time to head to the museum.

Here are some random snaps from the day:

Entrance to MoMA | 11 W 53rd St, New York, NY 10019

Since we probably walked around for an hour and a half lost around West Village, we were kinda beat once we got to MoMA. Heads up for people planning to taking advantage of Uniqlo's Free Friday Nights: I suggest getting there around 5:30-6PM unless you want to wait in a line that wraps around the block! 

UNIQLO FREE FRIDAYS | MoMA is free to all every Friday from 4-8PM

We ended up only exploring about two floors of the museum. Tia's phone was dying and we lost track of her friend and I was super tired - it just wasn't looking good. But I definitely enjoyed checking out the Andy Warhol pieces and all of the people crowded around each one taking photos that they will probably never look at again!

I already had seen the music exhibit the last time I was there, but I also particularly liked it the second time around. It was so cool to see vintage record players and, particularly, the ones I was obsessed with in high school on display. To think about how differently people in the past enjoyed their favorite albums is pretty interesting. I just have to consult Youtube, but music was a lot more concrete and physical in those days and probably not as easily accessible...

After roaming around a bit, we came upon this window overlooking the garden with a great view of that typical NYC architecture. We got a few tourist-y shots in front of it and headed down to the garden before we ventured back home. 

Until next time,

V.

Arriving in NYC | Diary

VICTORIA HERE to fill you in on what I've been up to recently! This summer I will be working at a social media marketing and pr agency in New York City called Socialfly as a social media intern. Super excited to learn more about marketing and develop those professional skillz. I am a complete NYC newbie so I hope you guys stay tuned to witness me take on this new opportunity!

Monday | morning: I spent night Sunday waiting for the 4am Shortline bus to NYC. As I was about to get on the bus, a girl asked me to help her mom out who couldn't speak English and was already sitting on the bus alone. Fortunately, her mother was Korean and I was able to speak with her and help her buy a ticket. I definitely am way better at understanding the language than speaking it myself so though I was able to listen well to her stories about her children and visiting America, my replies were quite short but I tried my best! She praised my Korean skills and became more comfortable with me (gave me gum and an apple when I woke up from my nap lol) which is all I could ask for. After we got off of the bus, I helped her get a taxi to JFK airport and was very satisfied that I could put my Korean to good use even after having left Seoul.  

Monday | evening: After the five hour bus ride I was finally at Port Authority and took a short Uber ride to my summer housing at FIT where I met Tia in our shared apartment. We unpacked our things, were treated to lunch by Tia's mom, and took a train to Chinatown where we bought the most beautiful mangoes ever.
Tuesday: I slept.

Wednesday: I went out and explored the Chelsea area to make up for not doing anything the day before. I wore black jeans which was the worst decision considering how hot it was. I have been sweating so much here! I got lost a few times and probably walked more than 20 blocks but I was still happy. Mostly because I picked up a new skirt from Muji and much needed summer tanks on sale for 2/$10 at H&M~
Thursday: I was set to catch up with a friend who I met while in the city for a networking event over spring break. We decided to meet at a restaurant called Santina in the Meatpacking District because of its close proximity to the Highline.

The Highline

I live near the end of the Highline on 31st and didn't realize the restaurant is at the complete opposite end of the line past 13th so today I ended up walking more than 20 blocks too! But the time totally passed by quickly because my walk was filled with cool murals, art pieces, and funky architecture.

Santina is a trendy (and expensive) restaurant located right under the Highline in Meatpacking. The menu featured a lot of different seafood plates amongst others.

I went for the Wild Rice Calamari Salad mostly because it was one of the cheaper options at $17 (still expensive but good)! All of the main dishes on the menu were around $24 and up, so if you're into that definitely check this place out.

Gansevoort Market

After lunch, we headed over to Gansevoort Market for something sweet--my friend needed a de-stresser after going through a two hour job interview the morning of. The market is full of little eateries with their own booths. The options range from freshly squeezed juice to tacos served straight out of a Volkswagen. 

My friend decided gelato would be her cure of choice so we both ordered custard and marsala wine-flavored cones called Zabaglione. We were definitely satisfied!

Afterwords, I headed back down the Highline while listening to my new fave Soundcloud mix. It was a pretty nice day.

Until next time,

V.

Back in Ithaca | Our International Gift Exchange

TIA HERE with our latest video! Now that we're back in Ithaca, Victoria and I decided we'd finally do our gift exchange. I grabbed some goodies while in Europe, and Victoria got some from while in South Korea, and this is a short video showing what we decided to give one another.

Tragically, my camera shut off before we could record our outro so expect an abrupt ending. Regardless, I hope you enjoy! Maybe you'll even learn a little about our experiences and the countries we visited along the way.

Much love,

T.

Adventure in Seoul|Samcheongdong 삼청동

VICTORIA HERE to bring you along with me on a girls' day out in Samcheongdong. Nestled between mountains and palaces, Samcheongdong quickly became one of my favorite spots in Seoul because of its beautiful and relaxing surroundings. Within walking distance of the neighborhood lies  great traditional sites such as Gyeongbokgung Palace and Insadong, and Samcheongdong itself contains a village full of charming (aka expensive) traditional homes. Though the neighborhood is rooted in a historical gold mine, Samcheongdong also is a very artsy locale full of museums, cool galleries, and many small independent cafes and shops that make this place ideal for a chill day out. 

Seoul City Tour|Gyeongbokgung Palace, Namsan Tower, and more!

VICTORIA HERE with a little summation of the Seoul City Tour I went on that was provided by Hanyang International Summer School. This trip is apart of the few fieldtrips put on by HISS to encourage International students to explore and learn more about Seoul and Korean culture. The other trips they provide include a Nanta traditional Korean drum performance, the Boryeong Mud Festival, and other excursions which require additional payment.

So You Wanna See Celebs in Korea?

VICTORIA HERE with an epic compilation of all of the famous people I saw while I was in Korea (yup, past tense! I am sadly back in the States now). Korea's entertainment industry is pretty expansive these days considering the amount of new idol groups being debuted every week, the rising popularity of Korean dramas, and the overall rise in acknowledgment towards the little peninsula across the world partly because of that damned Psy video. In this post, I list all of the events and places I have gone to ranging from music shows to film sets where I saw some of Korea's stars. I hope my little adventures help navigate you on your own journey in celeb-spotting! Remember that Korea has a lot more to offer beyond what I have done. If you are on a serious hunt for idols--visit their entertainment companies or strut around the streets of Gangnam. Korea is so small, you are bound to see someone!

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!

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!

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!