By: Ana Alexander
Adventure, , , , , ,

Limitations are Perceptions

Five days in New York had flown by too quickly, but we’d finally reached the day I was most excited about: the Project Iceman premiere date.

It was going to be a long day, however. We had to check out of our hotel in the morning, ask them to hold our luggage for us, and then go about a day in the city with the premiere in the late evening, followed up by a stop at a car rental joint to pick up a car before driving four hours to Salem, Massachusetts. Why would we do that, you may ask? Because the very next day was Halloween, and there was no way we were going to be that close to Salem on Halloween without spending the day there.

And also because the date of the premiere changed the day after we booked our hotel, which meant that our original plan of sleeping in the morning after the premiere and then taking a leisurely drive along the coast was no longer in the plan.

So that morning, we packed up, checked out, dropped off our luggage with the extremely nice hotel staff, and headed to Angelina New York for breakfast. I’d been severely missing Paris for quite some time, and after getting bits and pieces of France throughout my time in New York, I was pretty excited to see how the New York Angelina’s stacked up to the Parisian, original version.

It was just as cute on the inside as the Parisian version.

I decided to go with the full brunch menu, which was the right choice, by far.

It started with a hot cup of tea. I went with the Mont-Blanc tea, which was superb. Seriously, it was so good. It’s meant to taste like their famous pastry, also named the Mont-Blanc, with marron glacé and maple syrup.

We also received a layered tray with a croissant, pain au chocolate, pain aux raisins, bread roll, French butter, honey, and jams.

French butter tastes cleaner than American butter. It’s so good. And the jams – chef’s kiss.

I ate most of this before being served the next round – Salmon Eggs Benedict.

The salmon had the most delicious smoky flavor, and the hollandaise was perfection.

The finale was a hazelnut crepe, but if I’m being honest, by the time this rolled around, I was stuffed, and only was able to take two bites of this thing.

It was really good though. I mean, look at it.

Next on the list was Bryant Park, or should I say Brrrrrryant Park? That’s legit what their signage said. Because, despite the fact that we had plans to go to Halloween Markets the following day, Bryant Park was already set up for it’s Christmas Markets. So we walked around!

I have to say, it wasn’t my favorite. It was definitely cute, but it doesn’t compare in any way to the Christmas Markets in Europe. The shops were all made of metal and looked exactly the same – it was very commercialized and didn’t have the charm of the European Christmas Markets. A lot of the stuff being sold was kind of chintzy, as well.

However, they did have a full ice rink set up, which was fun to watch.

Next, we went to Grand Central.

We’d both been here before, but Sarah and I would be parting ways for the evening, as she was not going to the premiere. I needed a place to change into my dress and touch up my makeup, and Sarah had plans to meet a friend nearby, so it was the perfect last stop for us. Plus, the ceiling in Grand Central never really gets old.

Neither do the chandeliers.

I’m a sucker for a good chandelier.

I also saw this cute little mailbox, which made my heart happy. I’d wished I had some mail to send so I could use it.

After walking around a bit, I did a wardrobe change, and Sarah and I parted ways. I went to meet some strangers ahead of the premiere. A bunch of people who were in New York for the premiere had decided to meet up at this beautiful bar near the water to get to know one another ahead of time. I met some really cool people, and had fun chatting prior to the premiere. Then, we all headed over together.

I got to meet Anders, the Iceman himself, and Ammar, who I’ve been a big fan of for a long time.

They also took a polaroid, which was really speaking my language.

It was a really nice touch for the event, too.

The movie was incredible – first of all, the cinematography is insane. The shots were gorgeous, creative, and well-thought out. The first few minutes of the film gave me goosebumps – and not from the cold.

Anders’s drive and determination is like nothing I’ve ever seen from another human being. He was a true inspiration to watch during the journey the film takes you on. He never gives up, and continuously says that limitations are only perceptions. During the movie, I found myself reflecting on my life and the limitations I perceive myself as having. I thought about all of the dreams I hope to accomplish, and suddenly they didn’t feel so far away. Maybe not easy to get to, but not as far away.

They did a Q&A after the documentary, and Ammar gave a really inspiring speech about tapping into your inner free child. He encouraged everyone to think about the dreams we held as children, the core dreams of who we are which have always been with us, and to honor those dreams by pursuing them. I left with fresh energy and motivation to go after my own goals, no excuses. I highly recommend watching this film.

After the premiere, there was an after party, which I made a quick appearance at before taking an Uber back to my hotel. At this point, it was sometime after 11 p.m. and we still needed to pick up our car and set off on our road trip. We were both exhausted, but Sarah snagged some snacks and coffees for us at a local grocery store, which we scarfed down and slammed, respectively.

And a mere four hours later, we were in Salem. Stay tuned for that adventure.

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