After an uneventful flight to Newark airport (which Steph hadn't quite realised was in New Jersey, not New York itself) we got on a bus which dropped us off in Times Square, less than a block away from our hostel. I saw THE Cake Boss leaving his shop, but the heavy bag meant the hostel was the first priority. After dumping our bags we wandered around in Times Square till we found some food we fancied the look of, and after eating we headed to bed.
The next day was my birthday (woo 21 years old), so I was understandably very exciting. Steph less so as we were up at 8:15ish. But we were seizing the day like the early birds we are. First we headed off to High Line, a walk which is an old abandoned railway above the ground in Manhattan. It's been turned into gardens and was a lovely suntrap too. It was nice to be able to be away from the hustle and bustle of the streets as even the short time in Times Square the night before had let me know that Americans definitely did not move out of your way and apologise as much as Canadians... After basking in the sunshine for ages we went down to the South Ferry station and had lunch in a nice beer garden which was also bathed in sunlight. Then, being the savvy New Yorkers we are (well kind of) we got the Staten Island Ferry for a free view of the Empire State building. Then we travelled back and went to the New York Public Library before sitting in more sunshine outside it. I kept reminding Steph to put on more suncream, as she was already burnt from Calgary. After skyping my parents and my brother in order for them to say Happy Birthday, we got changed into nice dresses and went to Ruby Foos (a modern Asian restaurant) for dinner. It was a great birthday meal, I treated myself to a glass of Prosecco and then had a gorgeous duck dish. The manager came over to welcome us, and also brought us mini lemon pies, one of which had a candle in it, lovely! Then, thanks to my wonderful friends, we got to go and see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway which was awesome. All the singers were great and I much preferred it to the film, there's just something about seeing things on stage! Then it was time for much needed sleep!
Day two started off with a lot of just chilling at Central Park which is really big, like massively big! Sat by a lake which was really nice and wrote a few postcards which I forgot to post so will be sent from Miami! Then we walked to the Met and had a look round, before going to the MoMa which was much more mine and Steph's style of art. After a leisurely walk back via the Rockerfeller Centre to book tickets for the next day we had a quick rest at the hostel before going to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. It was Steph's first experience at Hard Rock, but I think the plate of Nachos the size of her body won her over for sure!
The next day we went to the UN building which was disappointingly boring and plain looking before getting the Roosevelt Island aerial tram to get a different view of the skyline. Then we headed to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees play Oakland. After a bit of a kerfuffle with different metro lines being shut we made it there. We quickly determined that baseball was a bit like rounders and they were clearly making it look harder than it was. We bought ourselves some Yankees hats as a good bit of memorabilia! Obviously we won (4-2) so that was great. Steph and me went for a celebratory tan in Times Square before heading back to hostel to put on a few more layers before dinner at a great little bar which had the hockey on. Then we went to Top of the Rock (the viewing platform at the Rockerfeller centre), I loved it, but Steph was a wee bit nervous with the height!
After an early start to make sure we were packed up and ready to leave hostel at 10 we got the metro to Coney Island. I being the excitable child I am was bouncing up and down by the time we got there. It was nice to be by the sea again, something I actually really miss while in Calgary. After a stroll down the boardwalk we assessed the rides available, I remembered how afraid of rollercoasters I am so headed to the arcade. While Steph may be better at driving games then me, I fully dominated at the dance mat! We then went on one little ride before stopping for lunch. I had a hot dog from the famous Nathan's hot dog place. It tasted just like any other hot dog, but still, always good to try the famous things. Steph then told me I had to do a proper ride, and unfortunately the Soarin' Eagle had started operating by then...not only was it a ride that flipped you upside down but you were lying on your stomach and went down drops headfirst. Needless to say it was not an enjoyable experience! After grabbing our bags from the hostel we headed to JFK for our flight to Chile and Julia...more on that next blog!
No comments:
Post a Comment