NYC Trip + Special announcement (pic heavy)

Well, I am back home from our crazy NYC trip. It was so much fun and full of pure bliss, although it was pretty hectic and of course, fast-paced. We took the subway throughout the trip (except the first day using the bus and shuttle to the hotel and Uber for the Mat Kearney concert, and the shuttle going back to the airport on the last day) and it was a quite a fun experience blending with the New Yorkers. I actually lost 4 pounds from all of the walking even though we ate lots of pizza, donuts, and halal food! As much as we loved it there, there's nowhere like home, even though I have to go back to school tomorrow (gross). Now we want to constantly travel, especially because this trip went smoothly. We had a few bumps but nothing major.

Here are the pics!

Grand Central Terminal

Chrysler Building

Mat Kearney concert (Just Kids Tour) at Best Buy Theater

Our chicken and lamb gyro wraps from one of the many halal street carts. It was so spicy and delicious!

Times Square

There was a Dunkin' Donuts right next to our hotel (Dumont Hotel in Murray Hill) so of course we took advantage of that!

We took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was amazing. Cecilio teared up a bit because she is a symbol of OUR country, MY country now that I am a U.S. citizen. We got to go inside the pedestal and there was a museum about it. It was so cool.

Ellis Island Building. I just found it so amazing going inside and learning about all the people from various countries stopping here, with hope for a better future. Not everyone was lucky though, a lot were forced into coming. We saw the list of names of those who crossed here. As a former immigrant (although those from the Philippines didn't cross through Ellis Island), I just found it so fascinating.

Overlooking the city

Frozen Lake on Central Park

More of Central Park. 

Chillin at Central Park.

Various exhibits from American Museum of Natural History

Cecilio walking down Central Park

MoMa Madness (because it's free on Fridays from 4–8 pm)

Photographer Karl Blossfeldt at MoMA

Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

Various record covers

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

Lamb on Rice Plate from the Halal Guys, one of the most popular food carts.

Chillin' at Rockefeller Center

At the Lego Store, here is a model of Rockefeller Center

As you can see, we had a blast and did lots of activities. But nothing beats the BEST PART (on Thursday)...

The spot where he asked!

I said yes to be Cecilio's wife. I am extremely over the moon and excited for our journey together for life. It just feels so surreal.

How did he ask? Well, after we left the American Museum of Natural History (it closed at 5:45) we decided to sit down for a bit because our feet were in pain from all of the walking. But he kept saying, "I still want to walk around to explore." So we did. Even though we would take breaks and sit on benches a lot, he kept saying he wanted to still walk around. And we walked down paths and bridges over the water and overlooking the city skyscrapers. The rain made the air feel so fresh and a lot warmer. He kept getting annoyed saying, "there's too many people here"  and kept looking for a spot to sit down. We eventually found a bench in a corner near Bow Bridge. We sat on the bench talking about the future and how much we loved each other. I thought it was just our usual talk. Honestly, ever since we booked the trip I was hoping he was going to propose but I would've been ok if I he didn't. At least I told myself so I wouldn't get my hopes up. I was going back and forth the whole time wondering if he was going to or not. So after we rested for a bit, he said, "lets get up now" so we did. As we stood, he then goes, "oh by the way..." then he got down on one knee with the ring in the box. He asked really fast and I freaked out and said, "OH MY GOSH!!!" really loud! Then yeah, that's our story :)

Even though we were near Bow Bridge (a really popular proposal spot), he didn't ask me there because he knew that I didn't want it in front of anyone. I'm not the type of person who likes the spotlight. So those viral video proposals are out of the question for me. So that was why he didn't want me to check his phone last week! He got an email from James Allen (where he got the ring) about a survey.

I can't wait for our journey together. I am so thankful for every moment and for someone who loves me so deeply and widely. I don't want anyone else. We are planning a 2 year engagement so that way I have time to find a job and save up for the wedding, honeymoon, car, house/apartment, etc. It's just amazing that I found someone I can love and cherish forever because I've always been one of those girls who wanted that when she was little, and I did watch a lot of Disney movies. But now that it's happened and as much as I am looking forward to the wedding day, the most important part is the journey afterwards!

Thanks for reading everyone, I hope you enjoy!