Summer sixteen

As I am finishing up college this summer I plan on having as much adventures as possible. Here some of my travels so far...

Warriors finals game in San Francisco. They won against Oklahoma City with a 30 point spread. 

Me flying on Delta from JFK to SFO, btw Delta is my favorite airline. 

In East Hampton for Memorial Day Weekend. I named this flamingo Trevor. 

I'll write more this week. 

Xoxo,

Melody 

Single in the City

The best place in the world to be single is New York City. This is because New York is the magical city of dreams. There's tons of galleries, parks, museums, historical landmarks, bars, restaurants, lounges, clubs, nightclubs, cafes and so much more. When I first moved to New York City in 2013 I was single and had the time of my life, I dated several guys casually and it was so easy and fun going out and meeting new people. I barely knew anyone when I moved but I chose a school in NYC because it is the city of dreams! I wanted a new start after my brother passed in 2012 and anything could happen in New York City. My first weekend there I met my roommate and best friend out in the Hamptons, also several cute guys. I fell in love with the city and the people but more importantly the men. The men and women in NYC who are in my opinion more intellectual, driven and handsome. There's also every type of guy and girl in New York City so whether you have a type or not there's LOTS of options in New York. Whether it be a one night  stand or someone you aspire to date it's really not very hard to meet people. Recently, I became single and rediscovered the magic of the city. Not to brag but it's way more fun being single and going out with your girls and having fun. Afterall friendships last longer than most relationships and nights out or days out can't be repeated. It's always so fun to have those "remember that one time..." moments with your friends and giggling until you almost pee on what you did. Being single again in the city reminds me just how amazing this place is and who knows maybe I'll bump into my future husband on the street. This goes for anyone, come to New York and see where the city takes you!!!

Xoxo,

Melody 

Dinner at Famous Rao's New York

This past week I was lucky enough to have dinner at the 119 year old Rao's Italian restaurant in east Harlem. It is noted as one of the hardest restaurants to get a reservation at. I was lucky enough to score a reservation through a charity auction. 

Rao's has amazing pasta sauce and it is something I have been enjoying since I was a little girl. Walking in it is very warm and comforting. Like walking into a warm Italian family home. The people there are very traditional and you can tell this has been their go to spot forever. 

The food is amazing. They serve it family style and we had three courses. The first course was appetizers. We had calamari, fried mozzerela, salad, fried cod and baked clams. All AMAZING! 

The second course is family style pasta. We had a few types, vodka, lamb sausage and of course meatballs. 

Really tastes like an Italian mom made it all day. Some of the most authentic Italian food I have ever had in my life. 

For our main course we had the veal parmigian, lemon chicken and fresh sole fish. All three were outstanding. 

We were able to stay at our table and enjoy it throughout the whole night. A lot of people with strong Italian accents came in and all seemed to know the owner and management like family. Overall the experience was one of a lifetime and I am so happy I got to experience the best Italian food in the USA. 

Traveling with the Brooklyn Nets

This past weekend my boyfriend and I were very fortunate to be able to travel with the Brooklyn Nets. Immediately after their Friday night game against Orlando's Magic team at the Barclays center in Brooklyn they came to the airport where we were waiting. Unfortunately they had just lost the game. We would be traveling on the team plane to Detroit, Michigan for their Saturday night game against the Pistons. Then after that game return back to New York on the team plane again. Very exciting and unreal! We get to travel with the team and meet the coaches and players !!

My boyfriends mom won this opportunity in an auction at a charity event for the Alzheimer's Association. This was one of the big wins and we were lucky enough to get it. My boyfriend is a huge basketball fan and I would say I'm a pretty big fan as well. 

We went to the signature private airport in Newark, New Jersey. We got there early so has some extra time to wait until the team got there and we could board and depart. The plane was a Delta private plane and it was massive. It was like a regular plane turned into a nice exclusive plane. The front is where the players sat and they had big tables and first class seats. I would say this is the nicest section. The coaches sat in similar seats. Our seats in the back not as nice but still business class seats. There was delicious food and flight attendants. Short flight just over an hour to Detroit. As we were exiting the plane in the front some players were gambling. There was some big piles of money so the stakes must've been high. We got off and they did shortly after. We landed around 1:30/2am. We headed straight to our hotel in Brimingham, Michigan on big bus with everyone from the plane, players, coaches, assistants, media people and then us. 

The next day was our free day. The game against the Pistons wasn't until 7:30. My boyfriend and I grabbed lunch and walked about the cute town. It was unseasonably warm for January. 

Above is my boyfriend Randy standing outside the Brimingham towns movie theater. 

We had to end our day of exploring short because we were heading to the game with the team. This meant early, 4:45 to be exact. I was excited to get to see the players warm up and get some pictures with them. We loaded up on the team bus again and headed to the arena. Once we got there the bus backed into the arena and we were now only yards from the court. 

 

We had media passes so we were able to sit on the court as they warmed up. 

It wasn't long until we started to get photos with the players. 

Above is Brook Lopez and myself.  He was really nice and talked to me ( a couple of sentences) more than the others. 

Above is Randy (my boyfriend), Joe Johnson and I.

 

Above us and Willie Reed. 

Above us and Bagnani. 

Those are just some of the players we were able to get photos with before the game started. The game overall was good but unfortunately the Nets lost to the Pistons. We got to see the press happen after before leaving. It was an amazing experience. 

We took the same plane back as we took over. On the plane ride back to New York the coach Lionel Hollins came up to us as we were sitting. He was very friendly and remembered us from the press. A very nice guy. I immediately regretted not asking for a picture but oh well. 

The flight home was quick. We landed and exited the plane. Again I see 4 players in the front gambling with each other. Even bigger stacks of money than last time! So amazing to see the players just having fun after a game like that.

 We said our goodbyes to everyone we had met and thanked them for such an amazing experience. Overall this will be something I will never forgot and I am lucky it helped support the Alzheimer's Association.