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| Riverside Park |
You may have heard about all the exciting things that New
York City has to offer, but you probably didn't even realize that you don’t have to get on a downtown subway to enjoy yourself. Barnard is located in one
of the most amazing neighborhoods in Manhattan—Morningside Heights. It has everything
that you need to make your college life a wonderful one.
Every day, I wake up to the beautiful view of river outside
my window. (Yes, the Hudson River is our neighbor!) Everyone knows that Central Park is awesome,
but Riverside is no less! It is a scenic waterfront public park with an esplanade lined by honey-locusts and it is only a two minute walk
from Barnard's campus. When spring is here and I've had enough of indoor
work-outs, I go for a morning run in the park. The green nature
refreshes my body and mind and prepares me well for another busy day of school
and work. If you are a biker, don’t miss the waterfront car-free bike routes! Biking is one of my favorite spring activities, so don’t be surprised
if you spot me biking down along the river on Sunday afternoons. I like the
bike route in Riverside more than any of the others in the city because it literally runs along the water. Parts of the route are even built directly above the
water. All my stress seems to go away when I see Hudson glowing under the sun.
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| Riverside Park & the Hudson River |
If you aren't an outdoor sport person, that's okay too; I'm not always in a sporty mood either. There are tons of great indoor
places to explore in Morningside Heights. You might hear your friends say, "Let’s grab coffee at Starbucks!" Yes…but no. Morningside Heights has
something better than that! My go-to coffee shop is Oren’s Daily Roast. It is a
three minute walk from Barnard. One of the aftereffects of having studied
abroad in Paris is that you care how coffee smells. I do and I love Oren’s
because their coffee smells so good! (This might sound a little crazy, but I
feel like I can smell their coffee aroma even when I am a block away.)
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| Blueberry pancakes from Community |
If you're a brunch person, don’t be discouraged by the long line outside Community
Food & Juice. There are various opinions about what is the best brunch place
in Morningside Heights, but Community always has my vote. Their blueberry
pancake is the most elegant one that I have ever had, not to mention their
freshly squeezed fruit juice!
As a student, I am never disappointed by the intellectual
life in Morningside Heights, either. You will very likely hear the name “Book Culture”
again and again during your first week of classes at Barnard because your
professors like to order textbooks from them. But it doesn’t just sell
textbooks. It is a lovely boutique bookstore with great selections of books to
read for fun outside of class. Sometimes it has used book sales and you might be
able to get the book that you have always wanted to read for as little as one
dollar! Again, don’t be surprised if you see me standing in front of the
stacks, not knowing which one to read for next weekend because Book Culture
just has every book on my reading list.
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| One of two Book Culture locations near campus |
I could go on and on about all the amazing things that
Morningside Heights has to offer, but I prefer to invite you to explore it
yourself. I have no doubt that you will find your own must-go places whether they are restaurants, coffee shops, or just your own secret spots to relax. If
you run into me grabbing coffee in Oren’s or taking a walk in Riverside next
semester, please say hi! :)
Fangdai
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