NYC...There's Something About You!

So, here's the story of part two of my grand adventure to the East coast. Overview:

Tuesday
1. Rode the Bolt Bus to New York (best idea ever! $15 dollars for a bus that only had about 20 people on it. I stretched out across several seats and slept for an hour and a half).
2. Took my first subway ride (to Harlem, where we stayed). We didn't even get lost.
3. Met Jen and her roommates, who were so kind to us, and went to SLEEP! Below is a picture of their apartment. CUTE!

Wednesday
1. Went in the wrong subway entrance when trying to get to downtown. Ooops! Note to self, read the signs.
2. Took a guided open top bus tour around down town. It was a great deal because we could hop on and off as we pleased, and we didn't have to worry about how to get where we wanted to go.
3. Shopped in Soho--bought clothes at H&M
4. Ate lunch in Little Italy (3 course meal for $10--I was elated!)
5. Rode around the rest of downtown in the rain, trying not to get too wet
6. Ate pizza from Z Deli while sitting at a little table in the middle of Times Square for dinner. FUN, although it was totally sensory overload to be there.
7. Sleep. Much needed by then.

Thursday
1. Empire State Building--there was NO line at all. It was a fabulous view of the city.
2. Ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Lady liberty is beautiful and I loved the museum on Ellis Island. I thought we would just spend a few minutes walking around, but we ended up staying for almost 2 hours.
3. Watched street performers in Battery Park--"The Positive Brothers"--two great quotes from them:
-"Ladies and Gentlemen, come closer. Come on, we are only 4 black guys. We can't hurt all of you...at the same time."
-"We are trained professionals...that's why we work on the street."
4. Ate dinner at Smorgaschef during happy hour and looked really conspicuous drinking water and eating a full meal while everyone else was flirting and drinking. Good people watching, though!
5. Went to "In the Heights" on Broadway. Awesome. My favorite part is when one of the main guy characters uses a price sticker gun to "shoot" and scare away some thugs that are hanging around a neighborhood girl that he likes. :) Below is a poor picture of the set.

Friday
1. Shopping in and around Union Square--successful, might I add.
2. Lunch at Café Lalo, the little place where Meg Ryan goes to meet Tom Hanks in the movie You’ve Got Mail. My favorite part was that there was a lady arranging flowers for the restaurant’s décor in the middle of the floor. Ate cheesecake...mmm!
3. Walked through Central Park
4. Looked at art at the MET. SO COOL!
5. At nuts from a street vendor. MMMMM!
6. Made dinner back at Jen's.
7. Saw WICKED! Need I say more?

Saturday
1. Went to the Manhattan temple.
2. Walked the Brooklyn bridge--much more fun than I expected. I highly recommend it.
3. Grand Central Station
4. The New York Public library (not much to see unless you count the random girl that was painting her fingernails at a table near ours).
5. Bought an I (heart) NY Tshirt. Ya gotta!
6. Packed up and headed to the airport.

Things I learned in New York:
1) You can feel the rumble of the subway even on the fourth floor of an apartment building. It's not just in the movies.
2) Harlem isn't really the ghetto anymore, even though it still has that reputation.
3) New Yorkers are actually very friendly and helpful.
4) Central Park is huge, and a welcome break from the sky scraping buildings of the city.
5) An open top bus is a really fun way to see the city, until it starts raining.
6) If you’re going to murder someone, dump the body where the East river meets the Hudson because then the police can’t figure out where it came from. (compliments of our tour guide)
7) Take a map with you if you're going into Macy's.
8) Little Italy has the best food, closely followed by the nuts from the street vendors.
9) The New York Subway system is MUCH more complicated than London's, DC's and Paris's. And it smells worse.
10) Even in the middle of a crazy, busy city, the temple is still quiet.