Life lately and upcoming travels: June 2015 Edition

Last Updated on October 8, 2024

In my monthly round-ups, I am looking back at my travels over the past four weeks, what went well and what didn’t, what’s new with Globetrottergirls.com and what’s next for me.

Where I’ve been

With regards to actual travel, June was the slowest month since last August. Unless you count me going back and forth between Manhattan and Brooklyn as travel; but I didn’t leave the city once this month, let alone the state (except for the thirty minutes I spent hanging out with a bunch of deer in New Jersey). That doesn’t mean I didn’t do anything, however – as usual, I feel like I need to slow down, because I’ve been doing too much. But as you’ll see below in ‘What’s next’, there won’t be much time for a break in July.

What I’ve been up to

The minute I got on the subway after touching down at JFK, I felt like I was finally home. I picked up right where I left off when I said goodbye to New York last November, and I realized this month that this city truly feels more like home to me than any other city in the world right now.

That said, the month has been a bit of an emotional roller coaster and I am not sure how much of it I am ready to share with you (yet?), so I’ll leave it at that… for now.

When I wasn’t getting wrapped up in a sentimental turmoil, I was busy running around New York in my usual manner: checking out new coffee shops and revisiting old favorites, continuing the hunt for the best pizza in New York, catching up with old friends and making new ones, getting back into a regular workout routine, seeing art, going to the movies, stuffing myself with all the delicious food New York has to offer, watching outdoor movies and concerts, picnicking in the park, finding new street art, hanging out on the High Line, watching the sunset over the river, doing all the things I love about New York in the summer. And then there was Pride this past weekend of course, a celebration much bigger than anyone had foreseen thanks to the Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality last Friday.

What went well: June highlights

Daybreaker – a morning rave
I didn’t even know that this was a thing until I found myself dancing at 7 in the morning on a random Wednesday in the Highline Ballroom, but apparently Daybreaker tickets are the hottest tickets in town right now. The movement started last year, and instead of a morning workout, people start their day with a dance party. Energized from the DJ tunes everyone heads straight to the office afterwards – what an amazing concept! I left the party thinking that I’d love to begin every day with a dance party from now on.

So much good food!
When I heard that a pizza speakeasy had opened up in New York AND the reviews were good, I knew I had to eat there. My hunt for the best New York pizza had been disappointing so far this year, and I was happy when my strike of bad luck finally ended at SRO. A speakeasy in its true sense, hidden behind a Spanish tapas bar, you have to knock on the door and know the password to be let in. The pizza was everything I was hoping for, and I have to keep myself from going back there all the time now (it’s kind of pricey). I also went to the celebrity chef Marc Samuelsson owned Red Rooster in Harlem this month for a fancy lunch, where I had the best Mac’n’cheese of my life. These two were standout meals, and together with all the other good food in New York I feel like I’m in a culinary paradise. I will put together a post with all my favorite new food finds and other cool spots – New York City recommendations seem to be very popular which is why I published part II of my favorite off-the-beaten-path things to check out in New York.

Meeting Lola
When I met Lola earlier this month, it was love at first sight! I picked up my bike (her full name is Lola Warrior Princess) shortly after arriving in New York and we’ve been inseparable ever since. She is a beauty, and I wish I had a photo of us together to share with you, but we haven’t had a family photo shoot yet, so this has to wait until next month. But seriously, after relying on the citibike bike sharing system last year I promised myself I’d get my own bike this year and it has been glorious – who wants to sweat in the subway at this time of year anyway? 😉

Getting back into a running routine
Getting finally back into a running routine felt so good! I ran a couple of times in Arizona, I ran in Hong Kong and a few times in Bangkok, but most if my island hopping winter escape was spent without running – the humidity and heat defeated me. I missed it, I felt unbalanced, and I’m happy to be back in a place with running routes galore.

Financial stability
Including this here is just to show that this is not the norm, and I am usually struggling to make ends meet. It is rare that I have a month where I don’t have to worry about how much money I’ll have in the bank at the end of the month, because I never know how much I make. The past few months have been relatively stable though, and trust me, that is a true relief after several months of worrisome little income.

What went wrong

The near- credit card disaster and the debit card disaster
I did something really idiotic this month: I washed my running pants before taking out my credit card and monthly subway pass. I was horrified when I realized what had happened and thought for sure my credit card wouldn’t work anymore – and I was already down to one card (see below). Miraculously however, both credit and metro card are still working!

This had me thinking though that with the near-death experience on the highway and the not-being-allowed-on-the-plane incident in May, I completely forgot to mention a major travel mishap last month: my debit card was cloned in LA! I called my bank as soon as I caught a transaction on my account that I was sure I hadn’t made, and the bank canceled the card right away (they were also very good about refunding me the money I lost). This meant, however, that I would be left with only one card until the bank would send the replacement card, which I still have not received.

I have been thinking long and hard if this near-mishap was really the only thing that went (almost!) wrong in the past four weeks, but I guess the mishaps of the previous month raised my stress levels enough for a while.

What’s next for me

Tomorrow I am moving in with Gomez, who I fell head over heels in love with when I met him for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I will be looking after him, an adorable Wheaten Terrier, while his parents are traveling, and this is going to be the first time that I have a whole house to myself in New York, rather than ‘only’ an apartment. I am not sure what I am going to do with all the space there, but I am sure Gomez and I will come up with something.

Plus, I am going to have a very special visitor in New York next month, and I am beyond excited to spend time in New York with her. This means lots of sightseeing, beach trips, maybe even a trip up to the Hamptons, urban exploration, and all the things that make New York fun. You’ll hear all about it next month. I also have to be vague with my upcoming travel plans, I’m afraid, since I am still sorting out the details, but I’ll be flying to the UK at the end of next month when my US visa is running out (how do 90 days always go by so fast?) where I will pick up a 2-month Eurail pass which will let me travel by train in 28 countries! As I said, I haven’t figured out all the details yet but expect more on my upcoming train trip in my next update which should come to you from London.