doughnuts!

When I saw this poster, besides laughing, I remembered how much I love a good doughnut (or donut, I never know which word to use). When I was living in NY (*sigh*) I got my fair share and tried a lot of them but my favourites were, by far, the ones from the Brooklyn Flea - DOUGH.

They are SO good. Fluffy, airy and so tasty. Please Universe, send one my way!
Look how happy I am:) (I look terrible, but oh-joy!)

Especially when you get to eat them here:

Have a lovely week every one!

my year in pictures according to my iphone

Hello everyone! I know the year is not finished yet but, as I started a new job, I feel like I have to make a balance of my year so far, especially as it has been the best ever :)

Jan - This was a stressful month but it was also when I happily discovered I was going to NY for 6 months!
1, 2, 3: In the neighbour country Spain, doing our last trip before my moving to NY.

Feb - Very happy but also very tired of looking for a place in NY.
1: First day - The City, gorgeous under the snow viewed from lovely Hoboken, NJ.
2: Cold requires creative dressing.
3: Goofing in Central Park.

Mar - Starting to live the life of a New Yorker
1: With friends after a party. I laughed so much and so hard that night!
2: First time in The High Line, it was love at first sight.
3: My lovely friends Guida and Luis making me feel at home during Easter.

Apr - Travel, travel, travel.
1: Washington, DC
2: Chicago
3: My favourite flowers in every corner of NY :)

May - Relaxing.
1: I discovered what is ever since my favourite little garden in NY.
2: Boston! (no bombs this time...)
3: The start of the amazing NY summer sunsets.

Jun - Boyfriend in town.
1: My flat friends and I only discovered our own building rooftop in June but oh did we use it ;)
2: My boyfriend came to visit!
3: Hanging in Hoboken with friends Guida and Luis.

Jul - July gets 9 pictures as it was impossible to have less: it was my birthday, my mom went to visit and it was the last month in NY.
1: Key West, Florida. My boyfriend and I did a roadtrip through Florida, I loved it.
2: My mom went to visit on the week of my birthday.
3: Top of the Rock. (Finally)
4: Breathtaking sunset from Roosevelt Island. It has no filter whatsoever.
5. The finished Freedom Tower.
6. The Hamptons!
7. Getting the most out of the outdoor benches that are in every café or shop in NY. Love those!
8. Outdoor film with a view.
9. Last barbecue in our rooftop. And saying goodbye to my dear friend Guida.

Aug - The return.
1: Sunset on the beach.
2, 3: Beautiful Lisbon by night.

Sep - New job, last days of holidays.

1: Lovely Amsterdam.

2: Hiking

3: Back to the hidden backyards of Lisbon.

Have a great week. I already feel more energised after writing this post. My year has been truly amazing. Thank you all that have been part of it and that have been making it so special :) You know who you are*

Maria Ana

last week in NYC

My bedroom wall is already empty.

One more week.

what I will miss (and not) about NY

With just a few days to go, I have to make a list (I love lists... :) ) about what I am going to miss about this amazing city and what I will be glad to not have anymore. I know I will be adding and editing the list these upcoming days, but let's start!

I will miss:

The smiles and friendliness on the streets
The community gardens
The warm nights
The 24h subway
The food carts
The restaurants
The free pools
The rooftops
The street markets
The free concerts and cinema
The cultural offer
The delis
The street performers
The bargains
The bagels and pretzels
The take-away drinks and doggy bags


I will not miss:

The tips
The mice
The garbage bags on the street at night
The housing and grocery prices (with a few exceptions)
The brutal heat on the subway platform
The taxes not being on the tag

Anything you think I am missing here?

my last few weeks :)

Hello everyone! I have been terrible with the blog... The time is going by so fast and my boyfriend is visiting so I just go home to sleep and take showers.
The summer weather has been here for a few weeks now so mostly what we do is hang outdoors.
The pools opened yesterday, I have to try them out :) (Have you ever been to a public NYC pool? If so please let me know how it went!)

My birthday is around the corner and so is the end of my time here in NYC (any employers out there? blink, blink...) so my motto is: I can sleep in August in Portugal.

So here are some parts of the last two weeks :)

Bedford Av, Brooklyn - I loved the concept. Closed road, music and real grass.

The must-do Smorgasburg (food fair) in Brooklyn.

The view from Brooklyn. 

The Portugal day run in Central Park was great. To run in such a beautiful place, to run 5miles / 8km for the first time, no stops and to do so well :)

After the run we had a bbq on our rooftop! :)

My favourite building in NYC - The Chrysler

The view from our rooftop

A friend had posted this on my fb wall so it was funny to see it physically.

There is life on the other side of the river too. Hoboken, NJ.

Harlem

Central Park

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

The view from Le Bain

Amateur Night, Harlem

P.S. Google friend connect is ending, so do not forget to follow on bloglovin! :)
All the best!

boats & buildings

New York is a city of contrasts. I love how it mixes things up and it all ends up making sense. As an island, Manhattan is full of piers and the view of the bridges and the river is amazing, especially by the end of the day.

I love to see the mix between the materials and lines of the boats against the ones from the buildings. I find it interesting and kind of romantic, I don't know why.

The 4-month thoughts

Hello everyone!
I cannot believe 4 months have passed... Now I can see the end and it is scary. I am doing everything I can to enjoy every minute I have left in this amazing place but my mind is already wandering some place else sometimes.

I have a lot of things that bring me back to Lisbon but I don't want to have crisis and unemployment as being two of them...

I know I will have with me this amazing experience for the rest of my life but I wanted it to be longer. Not only because of the amazing place and great quality of life you have here but also because there are not great perspectives where I am headed.

Anyway, I will continue to do as much as I can to enjoy myself here :) Sorry for the scarcity of posts but I really really don't have much time left.

Kisses :)
Maria Ana

Roosevelt Island

The Roosevelt Island is a strip of land between Manhattan and Queens (and technically part of Manhattan) that was once home to prisons and asylums. Today, it is a residential island and it has a great view of downtown Manhattan. You can get there by subway but the best way is to catch the elevated tram so you get a different perspective of both Manhattan and Roosevelt islands.

We grabbed some food at Whole Foods and went there to have dinner on sunset on a bench overlooking the skyline. Simple things are the best, aren't they?

Kiss

Maria Ana