DC and New York
So much has happened since last I posted! I feel like I have a week's worth of things to talk about. But it boils down to three things:
1. I spent an afternoon with Jessica and Noah in Washington DC on Sunday.
2. I've been doing a whole bunch of tourist things today and yesterday in New York.
3. I've been hanging out with my couch surfing host and his friends.
Jessica and Noah were amazing tour guides. We managed to do everything that I wanted to do in DC, and then some!
We saw the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Smithsonian Natural History museum. I was very impressed with the Hope Diamond at the museum. It was sparkly! Then we had lunch at a delightful tapas place and got the most amazing cupcakes that I have ever tasted in my life from a cupcake shop as dessert. If I hadn't been so full from the yummy tapas dishes I could easily have eaten one cupcake of every kind that they had at the shop!
With Jessica at the White House
Not too far from the cupcake shop was the Icelandic embassy, so we decided to walk over there and see if the ambassador was at home. Turned out that he was on holiday in Iceland, but I was still a huge dork and took some photos underneath the Icelandic flag. The walk to the embassy was fun in and of itself because we passed by all these different embassies from all over the world. It was like a miniature walking tour of the earth!
A train ride later I was in New York. My couch surfing host, Juanito, met me at the station and helped me get to his place. Juanito is a great host and has a sense of humour that keeps you on your toes!
Yesterday was my first proper day in New York. I decided that I wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and go to the top of the Empire State building. I managed to do this and some other stuff besides. The cheapest way to see the Statue of Liberty is to take the free ferry that goes from Manhattan to Staten Island and back.
It was a lot of fun, but the ferry didn't go all that close to the statue. I walked over to the tourist cruise terminal after my ferry ride and saw that a cruise that goes closer to the statue cost considerably more than nothing, so I decided to postpone further cruising of the Hudson.
On my way to the Empire State building I looked at the Stock Exchange and loitered around Wall Street for a bit. I didn't go inside anywhere, but it was fun to see. There were a lot of people there!
I also stopped by the big Tiffany's store which is located nearby. Regrettably it is being improved on the outside, so I couldn't get any good pictures of the store-front, but I walked around the sweet, air-conditioned, sparkly heaven that waited beyond the doors. I have never seen so many beautiful diamonds together in one place before in my life! The engagement rings alone would have done it.
Before I went to the top of the Empire State building I decided to walk around Grant Central terminal for a bit. (It was en route to the Empire State building anyway.) I quite liked it! It's very grand, for lack of a better word. It was fun to actually be in a place which I have seen so often in movies and on television shows.
Going to the top of the Empire State building was really cool. The view was amazing! And I was the first to know when the hot, humid day finally turned into a hot, rainy day. I have never been so happy to welcome rain drops. (Seriously, it has been so hot while I've been here!)
Regrettably the rain didn't last.
The evening was spent with Juan and his friends playing a card game called 'Dominion' and drinking rum in combinations with various sodas. Cream soda and rum is sheer brilliance! So refreshing!
Today started with another cruise. The ticket to the top of the Empire State building came with a free 90 minute skyline cruise, and this time I got to go a little closer to the Satue of Liberty!
After the cruise I met up with Juan in Central Park where we had a lovely lunch picnic. I may or may not have figured out the meaning of life while I relaxed in the grass, watched the clouds drift by and listened to the whispers of countless leaves in the breeze. ♥
Once the heat became too much to bear, Juan and I escaped to a nice cool cinema in order to watch The Dark Knight Rises. I won't say much about the film - just that I enjoyed it. (Also, the drink sizes were ridiculous at the cinema. I asked for a 'medium water', and the cup the girl gave me was bigger than the 'large' in Iceland!)
Tomorrow we're going to go see if we can win the lottery for cheap tickets to see 'The Book of Mormon'. It's the hottest musical on Broadway right now, and the soundtrack is hilarious! Wish us luck!
1. I spent an afternoon with Jessica and Noah in Washington DC on Sunday.
2. I've been doing a whole bunch of tourist things today and yesterday in New York.
3. I've been hanging out with my couch surfing host and his friends.
Jessica and Noah were amazing tour guides. We managed to do everything that I wanted to do in DC, and then some!
We saw the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Smithsonian Natural History museum. I was very impressed with the Hope Diamond at the museum. It was sparkly! Then we had lunch at a delightful tapas place and got the most amazing cupcakes that I have ever tasted in my life from a cupcake shop as dessert. If I hadn't been so full from the yummy tapas dishes I could easily have eaten one cupcake of every kind that they had at the shop!
With Jessica at the White House
Not too far from the cupcake shop was the Icelandic embassy, so we decided to walk over there and see if the ambassador was at home. Turned out that he was on holiday in Iceland, but I was still a huge dork and took some photos underneath the Icelandic flag. The walk to the embassy was fun in and of itself because we passed by all these different embassies from all over the world. It was like a miniature walking tour of the earth!
A train ride later I was in New York. My couch surfing host, Juanito, met me at the station and helped me get to his place. Juanito is a great host and has a sense of humour that keeps you on your toes!
Yesterday was my first proper day in New York. I decided that I wanted to see the Statue of Liberty and go to the top of the Empire State building. I managed to do this and some other stuff besides. The cheapest way to see the Statue of Liberty is to take the free ferry that goes from Manhattan to Staten Island and back.
It was a lot of fun, but the ferry didn't go all that close to the statue. I walked over to the tourist cruise terminal after my ferry ride and saw that a cruise that goes closer to the statue cost considerably more than nothing, so I decided to postpone further cruising of the Hudson.
On my way to the Empire State building I looked at the Stock Exchange and loitered around Wall Street for a bit. I didn't go inside anywhere, but it was fun to see. There were a lot of people there!
I also stopped by the big Tiffany's store which is located nearby. Regrettably it is being improved on the outside, so I couldn't get any good pictures of the store-front, but I walked around the sweet, air-conditioned, sparkly heaven that waited beyond the doors. I have never seen so many beautiful diamonds together in one place before in my life! The engagement rings alone would have done it.
Before I went to the top of the Empire State building I decided to walk around Grant Central terminal for a bit. (It was en route to the Empire State building anyway.) I quite liked it! It's very grand, for lack of a better word. It was fun to actually be in a place which I have seen so often in movies and on television shows.
Going to the top of the Empire State building was really cool. The view was amazing! And I was the first to know when the hot, humid day finally turned into a hot, rainy day. I have never been so happy to welcome rain drops. (Seriously, it has been so hot while I've been here!)
Regrettably the rain didn't last.
The evening was spent with Juan and his friends playing a card game called 'Dominion' and drinking rum in combinations with various sodas. Cream soda and rum is sheer brilliance! So refreshing!
Today started with another cruise. The ticket to the top of the Empire State building came with a free 90 minute skyline cruise, and this time I got to go a little closer to the Satue of Liberty!
After the cruise I met up with Juan in Central Park where we had a lovely lunch picnic. I may or may not have figured out the meaning of life while I relaxed in the grass, watched the clouds drift by and listened to the whispers of countless leaves in the breeze. ♥
Once the heat became too much to bear, Juan and I escaped to a nice cool cinema in order to watch The Dark Knight Rises. I won't say much about the film - just that I enjoyed it. (Also, the drink sizes were ridiculous at the cinema. I asked for a 'medium water', and the cup the girl gave me was bigger than the 'large' in Iceland!)
Tomorrow we're going to go see if we can win the lottery for cheap tickets to see 'The Book of Mormon'. It's the hottest musical on Broadway right now, and the soundtrack is hilarious! Wish us luck!