NYC Day 1: Sinara School and Hello Hostel in Harlem

Goodbye undergrad, hello the rest of my life! As of yesterday I have officially finished the requirements for my Bachelor of Arts. Then early this morning I left for my graduation celebration in NYC. Next time I’ll try to leave a day between finishing something and leaving the country – as it was kind of hard to pack and plan while still studying. Needless to say packing was done at lightning speed the night before I left. But everything worked out ok and I made it to the airport on time.

This time I had the pleasure of flying Porter Airlines the short haul airline that flies out of the Toronto City Centre Airport (TCCA). They claim to make flying fun – and they live up to those expectations. First of all it is so easy to get to the TCCA and saves TONS of time. Then Porter showers you with free beverages (of both the alcoholic and non-alcoholic variety) and in-flight lunch. It makes travelling seem luxurious where you meet the rich and famous…or in my case Brian Mulroney. Yes I did spot the eighteenth Prime Minister of Canada on his way out of Toronto. But I digress…The only thing I could complain about was the rather rough landing, but all in all one of the best flying experiences I’ve had!

I made it to my hostel in Harlem after only getting lost once. After dumping my pack and went out to have the quintessential New York City experience…shopping! While the Canadian dollar is a bit lower than the American one, there are still great deals to be had (other than the I ♥ NYC t-shirts being sold on every corner). My favorite deal of the day was an Anne Klein watch for $35 USD. I was shocked at just how cheap these discount brand name stores were. Filene’s Basement  blew me away, I could have spend hundreds of dollars getting DKNY shorts, Prada skirts and American Eagle tank tops at a fraction of the cost!

I concluded my adventures with great Mexican food at Pinche Taqueria (a yummy cilantro dressing on my taco) and then a quick walk in Little Italy with an Italian Ice Smoothie. Tons of good looking restaurants along Mulberry street that I may check out tomorrow!