NYC Day 1 and 2
It's getting HOT in New York-- Man is it steamy.
We had an interesting time coming in to New York. We drove in through the Holland Tunnel and dropped off the rental car in this tiny garage downtown. We took a cab to Lauren (my good ol buddy and ex-roommate)'s apartment and passed her walking on the street on the way their. It could not have been better timing. Then we schlepped our bags up to the 6th floor.
Lauren had to go back to work, so we went out walking looking for lunch. We stopped at a diner and my meal was way too good for diner food. They also had awesome pickles which I had been craving for a while. We went back to the room to nap. When Lauren got home we went back out for a walk in Greenwich Village and stopped at an Asian place for dinner. Sam's Noodles. After dinner, you guessed it, we kept walking. To Washington Square and NYU.
Then we got the hankering to play a game so we headed home and started a match of Rummy 500, which I am losing miserably at the moment.
Lauren's room is like an oasis because it is air conditioned with enough room to lie down. It's a haven at the end of the day.
On Tuesday, Jon and I went out for brekkie. Then I headed out on my adventure. I had a couple of false starts. I had to buy a new watch, I went down the wrong subway stairs and wasted a fare, I had to hit an ATM, but finally I got on my way. Can I just say that the Toronto subway kicks the NYC subway's bootie?
I went to Times Square. I know it's a tourist trap but it's just so unlike anywhere else and I wanted to try to get rush tickets for a Broadway show. But it didn't work out that great. Everywhere was either sold out or if they did have tickets it was $100. No last minute discounts. It was so hot and crowded and I was walking around all over and after a while I Really had to use the bathroom . ... I thought, I'll go to Barnes and Nobles. They will be air conditioned, not be crowded, have comfy seats and nice bathrooms. All of these assumptions were wrong. it was warm (not hot), crowded, there were no seats to be found, and when I went to the bathroom, there was one crummy bathroom with four women waiting in line. I was starting to panic. I was thinking about Urinetown the Musical that I saw in Toronto, where there are only pay toilets and the poor have to scrimp and save to go pee. I thought, dang, I'm going to mess my pants on 5th Avenue... What am I going to do?
I went out on the street, and there I saw it ... the most awesome of holy bathroom experiences in the city.... Sax 5th Avenue. I thought maybe they would kick me out of the store because I was so disheveled and smelly and panicked, but no. . . . Stepping inside was like an oasis. It was cool, clean, it smelled wonderful, and everyone was so kind and friendly. I found a lowly elevator attendant and asked where the bathroom was. 2nd floor. Oh and it was amazing. Now I understand why you would buy a $700 jacket there.
Afterwards I headed to the park, which was also a nice relief from the crowds. I did end up walking more than I expected because I got a little lost.
Aside from the bathroom frustrations, there was the frustration of the crowds and everything being sold out already or having REALLY long lines. There's so much to do here, but it seems really difficult to get to do it. At least the stuff I read about in the New York Times and fantasize about doing.
But on the upside, it's been really nice to hang out with people we don't get to see very often. Hanging out with Lauren and her roommate Barbara. And last night we had dinner with Sari, Jon's old college friend.
She took us to a great restaurant nearby in the oh-so-right-now Meat Packing District. Here's a picture of Jon and I under a meat packing sign that was right next to our fancy restaurant.
The other upside is Lauren got us tickets to Tony Kushner's musical Caroline, or Change for about 40% off. So I'll get my Broadway fix
We had an interesting time coming in to New York. We drove in through the Holland Tunnel and dropped off the rental car in this tiny garage downtown. We took a cab to Lauren (my good ol buddy and ex-roommate)'s apartment and passed her walking on the street on the way their. It could not have been better timing. Then we schlepped our bags up to the 6th floor.
Lauren had to go back to work, so we went out walking looking for lunch. We stopped at a diner and my meal was way too good for diner food. They also had awesome pickles which I had been craving for a while. We went back to the room to nap. When Lauren got home we went back out for a walk in Greenwich Village and stopped at an Asian place for dinner. Sam's Noodles. After dinner, you guessed it, we kept walking. To Washington Square and NYU.
Then we got the hankering to play a game so we headed home and started a match of Rummy 500, which I am losing miserably at the moment.
Lauren's room is like an oasis because it is air conditioned with enough room to lie down. It's a haven at the end of the day.
On Tuesday, Jon and I went out for brekkie. Then I headed out on my adventure. I had a couple of false starts. I had to buy a new watch, I went down the wrong subway stairs and wasted a fare, I had to hit an ATM, but finally I got on my way. Can I just say that the Toronto subway kicks the NYC subway's bootie?
I went to Times Square. I know it's a tourist trap but it's just so unlike anywhere else and I wanted to try to get rush tickets for a Broadway show. But it didn't work out that great. Everywhere was either sold out or if they did have tickets it was $100. No last minute discounts. It was so hot and crowded and I was walking around all over and after a while I Really had to use the bathroom . ... I thought, I'll go to Barnes and Nobles. They will be air conditioned, not be crowded, have comfy seats and nice bathrooms. All of these assumptions were wrong. it was warm (not hot), crowded, there were no seats to be found, and when I went to the bathroom, there was one crummy bathroom with four women waiting in line. I was starting to panic. I was thinking about Urinetown the Musical that I saw in Toronto, where there are only pay toilets and the poor have to scrimp and save to go pee. I thought, dang, I'm going to mess my pants on 5th Avenue... What am I going to do?
I went out on the street, and there I saw it ... the most awesome of holy bathroom experiences in the city.... Sax 5th Avenue. I thought maybe they would kick me out of the store because I was so disheveled and smelly and panicked, but no. . . . Stepping inside was like an oasis. It was cool, clean, it smelled wonderful, and everyone was so kind and friendly. I found a lowly elevator attendant and asked where the bathroom was. 2nd floor. Oh and it was amazing. Now I understand why you would buy a $700 jacket there.
Afterwards I headed to the park, which was also a nice relief from the crowds. I did end up walking more than I expected because I got a little lost.
Aside from the bathroom frustrations, there was the frustration of the crowds and everything being sold out already or having REALLY long lines. There's so much to do here, but it seems really difficult to get to do it. At least the stuff I read about in the New York Times and fantasize about doing.
But on the upside, it's been really nice to hang out with people we don't get to see very often. Hanging out with Lauren and her roommate Barbara. And last night we had dinner with Sari, Jon's old college friend.
She took us to a great restaurant nearby in the oh-so-right-now Meat Packing District. Here's a picture of Jon and I under a meat packing sign that was right next to our fancy restaurant.
The other upside is Lauren got us tickets to Tony Kushner's musical Caroline, or Change for about 40% off. So I'll get my Broadway fix
posted by Jonathan Bownds at
6:22 AM
1 Comments:
Yo, Shana. Remind me to tell you a horrific bathroom related story involving Ramen, the Tony-award winning show, 'Copenhagen', and adventures in Grand Central Station. Take care!
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