Starting this August, I am going to be a full-time Ph.D. student at Cornell University, Ithaca NY. So this summer, I spent some spare time to explore other cities in New York State, such as Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Buffalo, and NYC of course.
There is a beautiful park near Cornell, which is called Stewart Park. It's great to barbecue with friends or enjoy the sunset, especially in the warm weather.
My friend is really good at cooking and I am super fortunate to get chances to eat the amazing food. Personally, I think these food are much better than the restaurants!
Cornell also has an outstanding diary bar which offers lots of ice-cream favors. I tried a lot of flavors and still amazed by the creamy tastes. I ordered strawberry + black raspberry + Ezra Cup (which is coffee) with Oreo crunches. My bestie is a big Oreo fan and I become addicted to Oreo too!
Because of a business trip, I went to Albany with my colleagues. I got my first business card and met several experts. After the conference, we walked around the city hall and some downtown area. Although Albany is the capital city of New York State, the food in Albany does not satisfy us, sadly. But the whole city looks really modern, which has a completely vibe comparing to Ithaca.
I also went to NYC to visit my bestie and we watched the Daily Show (w/ Trevor Noah) together. Before the show, we went to Anejo, which is a famous Mexican restaurant in Hell's Kitchen Park. I mean, I really love Taco and Guacamole sauce. I made Taco at home when I didn't have much time to cook. The authentic sauce and fresh herbs took the whole taste to a new level. The price is also quite cheap, especially it's in NYC.
It's my first time to see the Daily Show in person. My bestie was super lucky to win the audience lottery. The studio was not that big and every audience could see Trevor quite clearly. Every audience was engaged in the show and interacted with Trevor. Trevor recorded the whole session in a very fast speed and smooth pace, and he did not need any extra time to repeat.
Okay, finally, I got a chance to watch Hamilton! I bought ticket before the pandemic, however, the ticket got cancelled. Therefore, after 2 long years, I was fortunate to watch this show in live. Hamilton is my third broadway show, after the Phantom of the Opera and Jagged Little Pill (thanks to my Theater Appreciation class). The whole theater was filled with eager audience, and the whole show was surprisingly hip-hop, though with many historical contents. Our sitting location was not great and even blocked, but the whole experience was still unforgettable. If it's your first time to watch Broadway, I still recommend to start from some simple shows, such as Lion King or Harry Potter, since these shows do not require that much of the storyline and background knowledge.
Before my college friend graduated from the University of Rochester, I visited her and walked around the campus. I really love the word "Meliora" which means "Better" in Latin. Rochester has way more restaurants than Ithaca and the food amazed me! I mean, if the food does not satisfy me, I may not have a good experience. I recommend King and I (a Thai Restaurant), Sea Restaurant (a Vietnam Pho Restaurant), and Szechuan Opera (a Chinese Restaurant).
Last time I came to Rochester was this March to celebrate my friend's birthday. However, it was so cold at that time and we could only stay at home to keep warm. Summer is precious since winter is so long. And we discovered many summer activities.
We played badminton in front of their library (Sorry I am bad at memorizing the names). I always love to play outdoor sports with my friends.
Since Rochester was really close to Buffalo, we drove to the Niagara Fall and Letchworth State Park. Although I lived in Eastern US for more than 5 years, I still did not visit Niagara Fall! And June/July has the best weather and is the rightest time to visit this famous waterfall. I also saw the rainbow crossing the waterfall. Niagara Fall is located at the border of US and Canada, and we almost drove to Canada. Fortunately, my friend realized that and took a big U-Turn. That's crazy, right?
Last but not the least, new semester is almost here! I enjoyed the short trips and beautiful scenery. During the summer, I also read several interesting books, such as Endurance by Alfred Lansing and Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do by Jeremy Bailenson. A book has the same functionalities as a trip, since it helps me to open my internal eye and my mind.
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