So, the weekend before last I went on a short trip to New York City with two of my good friends. It was my first time ever in the city, so I'm just gonna go on a small, rambling travel-diary-esque post here.
First of all, I expected not to like New York. Being from the west coast, I'd heard from many friends or neighbors that they didn't like the vibe, that it was intimidating with unfriendly people. Conversely, I've heard plenty of disparaging remarks about Los Angeles from native east-coasters. So I just figured that if you were from Los Angeles, you hated New York, and if you were from New York, you hated Los Angeles.
I was wrong to assume this. When I arrived in the Big Apple (okay, no one really calls it that, right?), I was intimidated, but mostly because of the nine blocks I immediately had to walk alone to my hotel. I guess in this way, I was sort of thrust into New York; I couldn't rely on a parent or adult to lead the way. When I think back on it, I was probably slightly insane to plan my first all-by-my-lonesome traveling in a city as crazy as New York. But once I got on that Peter Pan bus--with, might I add, uncomfortable seats and advertised free Wifi that was virtually non-existent--there was no going back.
Upon my arrival to the hotel, my friends and I went straight to the tourist capital of New York, Times Square, desperately in need of sustenance. We ultimately decided on Ruby Tuesdays--so much for having an authentic New York experience--where I feasted on the most delicious Macaroni and Cheese ever created. (Seriously, go to Ruby Tuesdays and get it. It will blow your mind.) We promptly retired to our hotel, exhausted, where we watched Die Another Day (probably the worst James Bond movie ever; I mean how did that writing ever get approved?) and crashed, excited for the next day's shenanigans.
Saturday morning, or should I say afternoon, since by the time we got up it was 12:00, was a long, productive, and exhausting day. We started out from our Lower East Side hotel, heading South to Greenwich Village to visit the Strand bookstore (famous as Dan's employer in the Gossip Girl books, anyone? Yeah.); from which I came away with a sweet tote bag boasting the logo so hipsters everywhere will be impressed with me. And speaking of hipsters, the Village is pretty much hipster-central. A mecca for hipsters, if you will. I couldn't even begin to count the number of ironic mustaches, thick-framed, retro eyeglasses (most of which were probably prescription-less), and Keds worn by men. And don't even get me started on the Urban Outfitters we visited there.
Next, we walked uptown to see 30 Rockerfeller Center, setting of one of my favorite TV shows, the appropriately named "30 Rock". We took pictures under the facade and then proceeded to do impressions of Tracy Jordan and Liz Lemon on my friend's Flip Video recorder. We made our way toward Serendipity to experience their famous frozen hot chocolate, but alas, there was a two hour wait. So we headed a couple blocks over to Dylan's Candy Bar to satisfy our cravings for sugar-filled goodness. Two (technically more like 4) scoops of Peanut Butter Oreo ice cream later, we went to fulfill the obligatory Central Park visit. It was really very nice to be surrounded by beautiful ponds and trees while seeing the concrete jungle rise up just beyond the tree line. It was made even more enjoyable by the group of hipsters playing an intense game of Ninja next to a pond. After walking around for a couple hours, we had dinner at a 60s-style diner that had a singing waitstaff and headed back downtown. One of the funniest moments of the day came during our walk home: as we were passing a man he asked, "Hey, what happened?" We were justifiably confused and inquired as to what he meant. He replied, in a breezy, matter-of-fact (and strangely, not creepy) tone, "Well, there's gotta be some reason God sent three angels down here!" We walked between 15 and 20 miles that day, and our feet were not pleased, but after that source of comic relief, a much-needed shower, and a marathon of "The Nanny," we were once again excited for the next day.
Sunday morning, we awoke slightly earlier, as we had a short day to cram in as much of New York as possible. We headed toward Times Square and bought tickets for a showing of the musical "Mary Poppins," which was even more adorable and fun than expected, complete with a tap-dancing chimney sweep on a harness, tapping upside-down on the ceiling of the theater. Seriously amazing. We then decided to walk to Grand Central Station to see its magnificence and ended up running into a friend from home who goes to Sarah Lawrence. It was so extremely serendipitous, a perfect New York City moment. We had lunch at a deli near Central Park, where I had delicious matzoh ball soup served by a waiter in a tux with a bowtie, even though the place was super casual. Finally, we walked to 5th avenue, mainly to have a Breakfast at Tiffany's moment and see the famous New York location of Tiffany & Co. And at last, nearly dead on our feet, we hailed a cab to take us to the station where a bus would pick us up and tear us away from the glory of New York City.
All in all, this California girl ended up falling in love with New York. I think there is room in my heart for more than one huge city, and I hope to return to the city that never sleeps (no one calls it that either) many times.
No comments:
Post a Comment