George Lauder Bursary - Week 8

The penultimate week has arrived and I could not be less ready to say goodbye. I feel like I have gained such a love and deep connection with New York City that I really do not want to leave. But it's important to focus on enjoying the rest of my time here!

Monday 28th July

After my busy weekend, I wanted to find a way to relax and appreciate the nature and scenery in NYC. I had enjoyed cycling around Central Park so much that I had decided to do it again, but this time in more suited clothing (not jeans!). I ventured out and onto a subway to take me to 72nd Street where I walked the remainder of the way to a Citibike storage point. I managed to find one of their electric bikes, which are better than the ones I had used previously around the park and over the Brooklyn Bridge. They come with a battery booster which allows for easier travel, especially for going up larger hills. I hopped on and off I went! During my cycle, I ended up calling my mum to have a catch up! I became so immersed in my journey and taking with my mum that I ended up cycling four laps around the entire park (over 18 miles!!!). After a quick stop for lunch I decided to quickly head back to the accommodation, stopping by Uniqlo on the way to buy a couple things. I didn't stay there long however, I was back on a subway heading up towards 168th St. where I hopped back on a Citibike and road on to the Empire State Trail, a massive trail path for pedestrians and cyclists which spans a great length of New York state! I made my way down the west side of Manhattan as the sun was setting, it was incredibly beautiful! I got to see a lot of the Hudson River and the Jersey City skyline, I had a couple of brief stops along the way to take in the views or to grab a break. Eventually, I passed into the Financial District where I concluded my trip, covering around 12 miles total! I rounded off my evening by grabbing some pizza before I went back to the accommodation.

Tuesday 29th July

For today, I spent the morning out enjoying the sun while walking around Brooklyn as I'd be occupied in the evening. Earlier in my trip, my Fife College lecturer Graham had reached out to me to setup a mutual connection through his daughter, Eva. He connected me with a lovely girl called Sonny who is good friends with Eva and studied Music at Glasgow University. She currently lives in NYC and Graham felt it would be great to have us connect to get to know one another. After a bit of time, we had managed to arrange to meet up today at a little place in Williamsburg called Fred's Dog House, a bar and live music venue. Sonny had brought two of her friends, Caroline and Lanie along as well. We all got on really well and had some really insightful conversations about life in the states, life in Scotland, music and audio engineering, etc! Eventually it was time for them to leave, however I decided to stay and enjoy the music a little longer. I wished them well and said goodbye, before settling back into my chair. I ended up staying all the way until closing time where it was just me, the performer and the bartender. He told me to come sit down the front for the performer’s last song and offered me a free drink! We sat and enjoyed the last song before it was time to leave. I wandered back to the subway station just after midnight, and made it back to the accommodation not long after.

Wednesday 30th July

I didn't get up to a whole lot today. I originally met up with JV in the morning but unfortunately it started to rain heavily so I ended up heading back to the accommodation to get on with more work on my mixes and my blog. The weather didn't end up clearing up so I just continued on with my work for the rest of the day, stopping for occasional breaks and some food.

Thursday 31st July

I have been looking forward to this day for the entire trip! As avid readers of my blog may remember, a few weeks ago I booked myself tickets to see The Weeknd in Philadelphia! That day had finally arrived and I started the day by packing a small travel bag with some clothes, toiletries, etc. I had chosen to get a bus to Philadelphia due to its relatively low expense and travel time of 2 hours. Once I was packed I made my way up to Penn Station in Midtown where the bus depot was located and waited until it was time to board. There were no stops to be made so it was a straight journey there, however while en route to Philly, national weather alerts were going off for thunderstorms, tornados and flooding. There was a bit of uncertainty as to whether the concert would go ahead amongst fans online. Thankfully the venue confirmed there were no plans for the show to be cancelled which was a huge relief! I arrived at the bus stop in Philadelphia and opted to walk to my hotel as opposed to getting a taxi, mostly to save on cost but also to get a feel for some of the city! I wandered towards the city centre where I truly got a feel for how big it was. The street which my hotel was around 12 miles long, thankfully I didn’t need to walk that distance but it baffled me when I checked to see the full length of the street, it spans pretty much the entire of Philadelphia!

Eventually I arrived at my hotel and managed to get checked in after a brief problem where they couldn’t find my booking number. But I got settled in my room and began to get myself ready for the concert. I called an Uber once it was starting to get close to doors opening, I ended up having a great conversation with my driver about The Weeknd, life in Philadelphia, New York, among other things. He dropped me off and I immediately went to go find the merchandise stall. I picked up a t-shirt and made my way inside the stadium. I managed to find my seat and got ready for the start of the concert. Originally there were meant to be two opening acts, Mike Dean and Playboi Carti. However due to the weather and his set being primarily composed of synthesisers and guitars which couldn’t afford to be damaged due to the rain, Mike Dean did not perform. So instead after a slightly longer wait, Carti began his set where he performed some of his biggest hits as well as songs from his new album released this year. Overall his set was pretty good, this was my second time seeing him and it was a little less intense being seated rather than standing like last time!

Then it was time to eagerly wait for Abel (The Weeknd) to start his set, thankfully we didn't need to wait too long before the lights dimmed! The set was incredible with striking visuals, fireworks and one of the most interactive crowds I've ever been a part of, with around 42 songs performed which is an incredible feat and a testament to how good his catalogue of music really is! Due to the delays earlier on, the concert didn't wrap up until nearly midnight (one of the latest concerts I've ever been to!).

While leaving, I decided that I would pick up one more piece of merch to treat myself, settling for one of the hoodies as the other t-shirt I had wanted unfortunately sold out. Anyways, it was time to make my way back to my hotel, however I wanted to try and get some food en-route but since the concert wrapped up so late, so many places were closed. I saw that there was a 24 hour McDonalds around 20 mins away so I walked there, unfortunately only the drive-thru was open. Looking for other options, I had saw there was another 24 hour Burger King around a 25 minute walk away and decided to give it once last chance. I walked through a lot of the suburban neighbourhoods which were lit up with beautiful lights and were also deserted since it was so late. It was incredibly peaceful and calming. Eventually I arrived but it was bad news, it was also only the drive-thru open. So instead I decided to call an Uber to head back to the hotel and order food instead. I relaxed for the rest of the night back at the hotel, watching tv and rewatching the videos and photos before heading to bed.

Friday 1st August

I woke up and got myself ready for check out at 10am. Thankfully I didn’t pack much so there was wasn’t a lot to carry other than my merch from last night. I decided to spend most of the morning and early afternoon exploring Philadelphia. I visited places like Washington Square (not to be confused with WS in NYC!), the Independence Hall, the National Constitution Centre, an area called Old City as well as the Benjamin Franklin Bridge! Eventually it was time to see about getting a bus back to NYC, so I waited on the next one before taking a nap on the way back.

Once I arrived back in the city, I got on with some more mixing work and was given my results for all of my courses. I was incredibly happy and proud at managing to receive straight A's in each course with great feedback from all of my instructors! Besides this, today was mostly just more mixing and blog work!

Saturday 2nd August

I spent most of this morning continuing with more mixing and mastering work to ensure I was up-to-date on the deadlines I had for these projects. However I was excited about going out again today, I had decided earlier in the week that I wanted to cycle the Empire State Trail again, however this time I would go in reverse and go further north to explore more as I had joined the trail midway through last time. I had a short subway journey to The Battery where I hopped back on a Citibike and off I went! It was great to see the trail from the opposite direction, thankfully it wasn't ridiculously busy either so I was able to cruise along at a leisurely pace. I took a couple stops along the way, passing by where I originally joined the trail last time. I ventured further north and was greeted with large gatherings of people out enjoying the weather as well as playing tennis and basketball! I eventually reached the end of the Manhattan section of the trail and decided to head back to find a bike station so I could hop on a subway back to Brooklyn to get some food after a long cycle stint!

Sunday 3rd August

I decided to spend a bit more time exploring The Bronx, in particular the New York Botanic Gardens which I had been interested in visiting for a while. I got on the subway and headed north to the nearest station to the gardens. I wandered around the Bedford Park area to see more of the local sights before I made my way to the botanic gardens. I was greeted by the staff, given a map and told about some interesting Vincent Van Gogh exhibitions that they had on display throughout the conservatory area of the gardens. I started off there as I wanted to cover most of the indoor sections of the gardens first since it was such a beautiful day. I managed to see all of the Van Gogh exhibitions which were amazing, the conservatory was split into two sections; a forest/jungle-like area and a desert-like area. I ventured outdoors to cover more of the outdoor areas like a huge pond, a massive forest and more! It was one of the most beautiful areas of New York I have seen and I'd recommend it for anyone visiting. After a long day of exploring, eventually the gardens began to close so it was time to make my way back towards Brooklyn.