Summer Movies

So, downtown Manhattan seems to be a reoccurring theme in these posts. Honestly, I might as well live in downtown when I'm home unless something's going on in Brooklyn that I can go to. Downtown is, in my humble opinion, the best place for young adults to go and enjoy their time whenever they're in Manhattan. There's always something going on there whether it be during the day or at night.

This past summer I was looking up outdoor movies in Manhattan for friends and I to go to and happened to stumble upon one of my favorite things in the city. It's something that I'm ridiculously excited to do again this summer! The movies start showing every Thursday night in the summer from the beginning of July to the end of August so people have two full months to go see movies outside with gorgeous weather for no money.

These free movies are held in Tompkins Square Park in the East Village between Avenues A and B. Free Films in Tompkins is one of the best things I've been to in the city; it's simplistic, but has a lot of value. You can bring a blanket to sit on, relax, and enjoy a movie on a blowup screen with a bunch of other people who know about the event! They also have a free music act about an hour before the film starts for people to enjoy if they happen to get to the film a bit earlier. The artists are usually always from New York so it gives people a taste of some great New York talent that they wouldn't get elsewhere!

Two of my best friends and I went to a movie screening in the beginning of August for the first time. I was particularly excited about going to see this movie in Tompkins because it happened to be one of my all time favorite movies, True Romance. This movie is a bit of a cult classic since it's not very well known, but if you have the time to watch something then you should definitely check this movie out! It's written by Quentin Tarantino and stars one of my all time favorite actors, Christian Slater.

Anyway, the three of us went to a small sandwich shop on St. Marks before walking down to the park. We set up a blanket and had an extra incase it got a bit chilly later in the night and then we were set! Having a little picnic in the smaller parks in Manhattan is always nice since it's much more secluded than Central Park, so being able to sit out with my friends as the sun set in Tompkins was extremely fun. Also, people are always walking their dogs through Tompkins so it's definitely really great if you're a dog person like me!

If you happen to be in New York in the summertime, you should definitely hit up a Tompkins movie night. It's free and the movies they show are always really good ones! They even showed Rocky Horror Picture Show, which I was pretty sad I missed. Overall, it's a really nice thing to do with friends and I'd highly recommend doing this for anyone that's really big into movies or just enjoys a relaxing time.

The Strange Building in Bowery

Have you ever had a dream where you see a crazy looking building that is jutting out from all edges, you know something out of the ordinary? Okay, maybe you haven't. But now that I've got you thinking about it, don't you think it'd be weird to see a building like this in real life, or even be inside a building like this?

Well, if you happen to be on Bowery in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, you're welcome to experience this strange place for yourself! This interesting place is called The New Museum and always has unique exhibits to match the exterior of the building. The building appears to be stacked on itself and constantly has different things on the outside of it. For a while, they used to have the words "Hell yeah!" in rainbow font, but have now switched it to being a pirate ship!

Image from wikipedia

Now I know what you might be thinking... "that does not look like a hole-in-the-wall kind of place!" Maybe it doesn't look like one, but I promise it is. Before I went inside, I hadn't even given the place a second glance on a walk down the street. Honestly, I thought it was some hipster building since they're constantly popping up around Manhattan. I'm so thankful I went in here, though, because it is definitely my favorite Museum in all of Manhattan.

The New Museum has been around for decades, but has only been at it's current location on Bowery since 2007. This building is extremely different from every other building surrounding it and causes the museum to stand out to anyone passing by from blocks away. The iconic design is one of the most amazing things about this place, beside the view that you can get in the building on that is absolutely breathtaking. I'll go more into that view a little later on, though.

The first time I ever went to The New Museum was an interesting experience. It was the first time I couldn't directly find a piece of artwork to connect with, but I had found everything so much more interesting than most art galleries. I took the time to read about each and every exhibit that was there and found myself engrossed in the weirdness that is this museum. Something that stands out to me was an odd video that was shown in a very dark room of people up close. Someone in the room was playing saxophone, but in a way that portrayed this video as people being stressed since the sax sounded so strained. It was definitely fascinating, to say the least.

On Saturdays and Sundays, those that go to The New Museum are in for a real treat. This treat is known as the Sky Deck and is only opened on the weekends. The Sky Deck is an room lined with windows, almost like a sunroom, and allows people to exit onto the large balcony outside. This view is my absolute favorite view of the Lower East Side and is one of the main reasons why this building is truly great. From seeing everything downtown to the skyline of the city, it is gorgeous.

Honestly, this place is pretty great. I encourage anyone going into the city to go check out whatever weird exhibit is now in this museum! It's also cheap, too! Half off students if you bring your ID, so enjoy!

We All Love Ice Cream

Every time I walk into this shop, I automatically get a smile on my face. From the aroma of different flavors to the smiling workers at the register, I always know I'm in for a treat whenever I walk into Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream.

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream is located between 2nd and 1st avenue on 7th street in the East Village. Everything about this place, well maybe not the fact that it's so small that it's hard to find a seat from it always being so busy, is incredible. It offers and incredible selection of ice cream flavors that include vegan options that way nobody is left out! This place is constantly teeming with regulars from New York, and for good reason too. 

Image from timeout

The ice cream at this place is absolute perfection. The array of options this place has is absolutely incredible; they go from simple flavors like vanilla bean to an incredible passion fruit layer cake! They even make sundaes with whatever flavors you want and have coffees, teas, and pastries that anybody can enjoy. As a coffee lover myself, I have to say that they have some great coffee over there that can keep you up for a nice long while.

Now, I can't take the credit for finding this place. One of my close friends from home decided to google a place where she and I could get ice cream together. Now it seems like it is an easy task to find a place in Manhattan to get good ice cream, but my friend happens to be vegan so it really isn't all that easy. We decided to try this place out together over a year ago now and, to our surprise when we got to the shop, there was a line just out the door. We waited for about ten minutes until we got to the front and were able to order.

We each got two scoops of what we wanted and took a seat at the small bar by the window. After seeing the long line this place garnered, I was not shocked at how incredible my ice cream was. My friend on the other hand was so excited and surprised by the fact that she had found such great vegan ice cream. She offered me a bite and I originally declined since they make their products with coconut milk, which is definitely far from something I tend to enjoy. After a second time of her asking, I took her up on the offer and was pleasantly surprised to find there was almost no difference between the taste of her and my ice cream. The only real difference was that we had different of ice cream!

My absolute favorite flavor that I've tried from Van Leeuwen is the cookies and cream. It's a classic that has always been one of my favorite kinds of ice cream. It is so creamy and the taste just pops in your mouth! 

If you ever come into the city and wonder where you can get the perfect ice cream, Van Leeuwen is the place for you!