Fabulous!

I heart NYC and have a t-shirt to prove it. We had a wonderful time! The weather was gorgeous for the first time this year, so everyone was in a good mood. The cherry blossoms and other trees were blooming. The pope was in town. There was a cool breeze, so the city was fresh and clean smelling. Nothing went wrong on the trip, and everything went right.

Day 1: Arrived at LaGuardia about 2:30. My bag arrived as well! Typical cab ride to Brooklyn. I was scared. It was great. Arrived at the Saints and Sinners B&B about 4. We were on the 3rd floor of a 4 story brownstone. It wasn’t as “nice” as a hotel, but it was a cool place to stay. It showed me what it would be like to live in the neighborhood. There were lots of families and kids. It was a 10 minute walk to the subway, and it had lots of little shops and restaurants in the area. We took a power nap, and b/f called and ordered tickets to a show later in the week. Then he called his friends and made tentative plans for meeting up with them for the week. We took a cab to a Columbian restaurant. Had great empanadas, and then I had arroz con pollo with black beans. It was all very tasty. One of his friends ended up not having to work that night, so he met up with us at the restaurant for drinks. Then we went to the bar where he works sometimes (he’s also a music teacher). At the bar, there was a demonstration of a new musical instrument thing invented by a Japanese guy. It was weird. Sort of an electric piano crossed with a music box and a go board. Went back to B&B.

Day 2: Woke up late. Had brunch at Lobo’s Tex Mex. Couldn’t go very long without some good familiar food:) Then we took the subway into the city. Arrived at Rockefeller Center to a mad rush of a lunchtime crowd. So many people. Went to St Patrick’s Cathedral. Beautiful building, inside and out. Walked to the Guggenheim Museum, but it was closed. Needed to go to the bathroom, so we snuck into the Met. Since we were there, we walked around a bit. Saw Monets and Picassos, and Manets, and Rodins and huge asian sculptures and tons and tons of stuff. Walked to Central Park. Beautiful. Subway back to Brooklyn to meet up with his friends for dinner and drinks. Had an excellent burger at a French restaurant. I know, I know but it was too good.

Day 3: Met up with friend 1 at the subway station. Had lunch at a quirky little family owned “restaurant”. They had 3 tables. Walked along the Lower East Side. Bought some sunglasses from a street vendor (mine got broken on the plane). Went to Grand Central Station. It certainly is a grand place. I don’t know why they would spend so much money on a public place like that. But it was gorgeous. Walked some more (are you sensing a theme here?) Stopped in the NYC library – also very gorgeous and massive. Went up the Empire State Building. Beautiful day and we could see for 10 miles. Pigeon pooped on my hair. But not much. And I give him credit. It took him guts to fly up that high. Took a pedicab (a rickshaw with a bicycle) ride during rush hour back to south Central Park area. Almost got hit. Had dinner on a patio overlooking the park. Walked to Times Square to go to The Lion King. That was amazing! We had really good seats, and the show was spectacular. The kids who did Simba and Nala were very talented, and there was a South African lady who did Rafika, who had an amazing voice. Got out of the show about 10:45pm and entered a crazy world of lights and people and vendors and madness. Walked to the Hello Deli from Letterman fame, but it was closed of course.

Day 4: Met friend #2 for brunch in Brooklyn. Walked to the Brooklyn Promenade along the waterfront. Very cool neighborhood. I never really pictured kids living in the city, but they have parks everywhere and they act like its normal to play 2 feet from the busy streets. We walked across Brooklyn Bridge. Impressive and long! Took a subway to Battery Park. Then we went on a helicopter ride around Manhattan. Wasn’t my idea, but I went along. It was good – that was the closest we came to seeing the Statue of Liberty. The heights didn’t scare me, but when he turned around, I started to get a little green. The whole ride was 10-12 minutes. It gave a good view of Ground Zero as well. Then walked to dinner at a pizza place. But it wasn’t my idea of NY pizza. It was good, but the brick oven type, so it tasted like something I could have gotten in Dallas. Walked along Canal Street and bought cheap t-shirts and got the offer to buy handbags, watches, DVDS, VHS (ha), and even a dime bag! My NY experience was complete. Which was great b/c I was running out of days and money! Got back to the B&B and b/f went to have drinks with friend #3. I chilled and packed and went to bed.

Day 5: Travel day. Back in town about 3pm.

It was a wonderful trip, but at least I have a reason to go back. I still didn’t get my Grey’s Papaya hot dog, or to taste real NY pizza. I highly recommend going. I hope this entry wasn’t too long!