(no subject)
It's bad enough going to New York City...no wait, it's great to go there, but it's hard enough to feel like you belong there. After a SWEET flight on Virgin Atlantic watching too many Scrubs and Little Britain reruns (and Shaun of the Dead! WOO!), I ended up spending more than a hour in line at US Immigration. I actually saw someone get taken away in handcuffs. It was scary.
And then I got lost in the subway.
Not seriously lost, mind you, but when you have luggage on your person and are lost, you kind of stick out a little. I was finally back in a place with a similar accent to my own and I made a rookie mistake, a mistake I was aware that people made, and ended up thirty blocks North of where I had to be. By the time I got to the hotel, I was too tired to do anything, so I watched a Scrubs marathon (it was a very Zach Braff weekend) and ate too much stuff from the deli on the corner. I fell asleep at 10ish, but got woken up repeatedly by Rachel and the front desk staff. She got in at 1:30, in a cab from Newark ($65!!!). I've never slept so badly. And I still woke up at 7:30. Fuck.
--
Friday was fun. We wandered around a bit, with Urban Outfitters on the brain, and then it started to rain. A lot. Torrentially. I stepped in a puddle up to my knee on the way to the fancy-pants lunch. I bought an umbrella from a guy in the subway. It turns out it was the last one, so we had to share.
Lunch was lovely. We got to talk to the bride for the first time in two years and her mother for the first time in 14. And ate. A lot. And the restaurant was not quite as scary posh as I thought and the upstairs, where we were eating because of the rain, was not a rococco nightmare like the photos suggest. One of the salad options included prusciutto with a 'fantasy of melons', though, the source of much amusement. Luckily, Ruth ordered it. A piece of canteloupe was carved into a horn. Oy vey. Hee.
During this time, we found out that Jo's flight was cancelled. She was due to be arriving at 3, so she would be missing the boat cruise/dinner event planned by the groom's parents.
--
We nearly missed it ourselves, underestimating the subway times. As we approached the dock, we saw several yachts, including one with a frickin' HELICOPTER on it. I turned to Rachel and said "Imagine going on that thing?" Well, that was our boat. It was also the first of many weekend utterances of "Whose life is this?!"
I mean, despite the rain, and despite my tray of food collapsing before I even took a bite, it was amazing. Absolutely amazing. It did the loop of Manhattan, then went to the Statue of Liberty, which I've only ever seen from the air. I only hope that my photos turn out. It was a perfect idea, too, since about half of the guests had never been to New York before. This was my fourth visit and I was still in awe.
I skipped the post-dinner visit with Ruth because the jetlag was really getting to me, but by the time that I actually got to the hotel, I was overtired and getting that rapid heartbeat thing that keeps you from sleeping. When Jo showed up, I couldn't stop babbling (a bad habit when I'm lacking sleep), so I was still up when Rachel came back. Ack.
--
Next morning, we went to Tom's Restaurant (aka "That Seinfeld Place") for breakfast, then made the mistake of trying to shop in Chinatown on a Saturday. Well, it's hard to move in Chinatown on a Saturday. We ended up in this three floor superstore for a bit, but gave up after I found some slippers. Jo had never been to New York (so it really was a pity that she missed the cruise), so we went to Times Square (yuck) and beyond to Central Park. I feel badly because she didn't see that much.
(To be continued. Apologies for spelling/grammar, but this was a brain fart I wrote right after waking up.)
And then I got lost in the subway.
Not seriously lost, mind you, but when you have luggage on your person and are lost, you kind of stick out a little. I was finally back in a place with a similar accent to my own and I made a rookie mistake, a mistake I was aware that people made, and ended up thirty blocks North of where I had to be. By the time I got to the hotel, I was too tired to do anything, so I watched a Scrubs marathon (it was a very Zach Braff weekend) and ate too much stuff from the deli on the corner. I fell asleep at 10ish, but got woken up repeatedly by Rachel and the front desk staff. She got in at 1:30, in a cab from Newark ($65!!!). I've never slept so badly. And I still woke up at 7:30. Fuck.
--
Friday was fun. We wandered around a bit, with Urban Outfitters on the brain, and then it started to rain. A lot. Torrentially. I stepped in a puddle up to my knee on the way to the fancy-pants lunch. I bought an umbrella from a guy in the subway. It turns out it was the last one, so we had to share.
Lunch was lovely. We got to talk to the bride for the first time in two years and her mother for the first time in 14. And ate. A lot. And the restaurant was not quite as scary posh as I thought and the upstairs, where we were eating because of the rain, was not a rococco nightmare like the photos suggest. One of the salad options included prusciutto with a 'fantasy of melons', though, the source of much amusement. Luckily, Ruth ordered it. A piece of canteloupe was carved into a horn. Oy vey. Hee.
During this time, we found out that Jo's flight was cancelled. She was due to be arriving at 3, so she would be missing the boat cruise/dinner event planned by the groom's parents.
--
We nearly missed it ourselves, underestimating the subway times. As we approached the dock, we saw several yachts, including one with a frickin' HELICOPTER on it. I turned to Rachel and said "Imagine going on that thing?" Well, that was our boat. It was also the first of many weekend utterances of "Whose life is this?!"
I mean, despite the rain, and despite my tray of food collapsing before I even took a bite, it was amazing. Absolutely amazing. It did the loop of Manhattan, then went to the Statue of Liberty, which I've only ever seen from the air. I only hope that my photos turn out. It was a perfect idea, too, since about half of the guests had never been to New York before. This was my fourth visit and I was still in awe.
I skipped the post-dinner visit with Ruth because the jetlag was really getting to me, but by the time that I actually got to the hotel, I was overtired and getting that rapid heartbeat thing that keeps you from sleeping. When Jo showed up, I couldn't stop babbling (a bad habit when I'm lacking sleep), so I was still up when Rachel came back. Ack.
--
Next morning, we went to Tom's Restaurant (aka "That Seinfeld Place") for breakfast, then made the mistake of trying to shop in Chinatown on a Saturday. Well, it's hard to move in Chinatown on a Saturday. We ended up in this three floor superstore for a bit, but gave up after I found some slippers. Jo had never been to New York (so it really was a pity that she missed the cruise), so we went to Times Square (yuck) and beyond to Central Park. I feel badly because she didn't see that much.
(To be continued. Apologies for spelling/grammar, but this was a brain fart I wrote right after waking up.)