springbreakupdate 1 !!!
so for spring break i ended up going to manhattan for the week with these two exchange student girls. it was spontaneous and last minute but i’m really glad i went because i learned a lot and had an overall pleasant time. actually a lot happened but you know how it is when you haven’t updated lj in a while, everything gets summarized.
but so anyway nyc is effing EX-PENSE-IVE !!!!!!! omfg i will never complain about a bar or restaurant here being pricey (well probably not, or at least until the next time i’m broke). i’m not exaggerating either, the museums were 20$ to get into and a margarita at this bar was 18$ can you believe it ??? the girls spent 10$ each on breakfast at a place that was like chompy’s. and i wandered into this grocery store in brooklyn and they were selling a normal size jar of peanut butter for $10.99 (some organic shit) and that was in brooklyn for god’s sake ! the place is VERY gentrified but i still had a nice time. and btw i’d rather have the place be gentrified than have it with the whole run down, gotham city feel to it, but still me being on a budget made it challenging to get around.
in wandering around nyc i learned that i really love paris more than i thought. the two cities are really similar anyway, at least when you’re on the street. nyc is easier to navigate on foot because the streets and addresses are organized on a grid where as paris keeps it’s ancient layout with the star intersections and short streets. though the star streets look nicer i think. and the buildings in nyc are a lot taller than parisian buildings, and i like to daydream about flying so looking up at all of the skyscrapers was eye candy for me. but otherwise nyc is a LOT dirtier than paris. the businesses don’t seem to use dumpsters and so there are these giant piles of trash along the sidewalks everywhere, even in really posh areas. it was normally bagged up or tied up but still,
i mean really ?
piles of trash everywhere ?
you’re serious ?
giant piles of trash, just lying out on the sidewalk ?
trash ?
oh and the paris subway is nine times better. the trains actually cover all areas and directions of the city and when you’re down there it honesty doesn’t smell like urine everywhere. being in the nyc subway is kind of like being in a fast moving urinal. there, i said it.
nyc is fun though and i LOVED the metropolitan museum of art. it had EVERYTHING you could ask for, all in one place. it was second only to the louvre in my mind. i was really impressed. they could have used a few more greek sculptures but meh i can’t complain about anything else.
but paris, the basic fundamental culture of the place is just good for my self esteem. people talk to each other there and when you walk past someone on the street they say bonjour to you and people on the trains will talk with you just like if you were at a party or other social event. and for me the best part was how much positive attention i would get from talking with people i french once they found out that i was american. they would make a huge deal out of meeting a francophone american. it’s rare enough to be special evidently. oh and there isn’t a cultural convention against people watching in france. if you are on the train it’s ok to stare at people and they will be staring at you. something about being stared at by a cute french girl just does wonders for my self esteem, even if it’s completely random and i never even talk with her.
it’s a lot more affordable to go to paris btw, the gratuity is included when you order at a restaurant in france and so it is comparatively a lot cheaper to eat out and well prices in paris for things are just comparable to things in phoenix and just not over inflated like in nyc.
but nyc is in the us and not that exotic. still, an interesting place to visit though. i just need to not compare it to paris, and enjoy it for what it is/was.
a couple of interesting things happened though on the trip. thursday i was hanging out in the united nations building and they had this holocaust museum set up there and i was checking out this presentation on eugenics and this girl answered her cell phone and started talking to her friend about how paris hilton had gone to this ice cream shop with her bff and bought a thousand dollar sundae and how she just came from there and got the 14$ version and it was still amazing. all of this, in her loud “i’m on a cell phone” voice, in the middle of the holocaust museum. i actually started laughing directly at her and then excused myself and walked into another room to clear my mind. wtf ?
but so anyway nyc is effing EX-PENSE-IVE !!!!!!! omfg i will never complain about a bar or restaurant here being pricey (well probably not, or at least until the next time i’m broke). i’m not exaggerating either, the museums were 20$ to get into and a margarita at this bar was 18$ can you believe it ??? the girls spent 10$ each on breakfast at a place that was like chompy’s. and i wandered into this grocery store in brooklyn and they were selling a normal size jar of peanut butter for $10.99 (some organic shit) and that was in brooklyn for god’s sake ! the place is VERY gentrified but i still had a nice time. and btw i’d rather have the place be gentrified than have it with the whole run down, gotham city feel to it, but still me being on a budget made it challenging to get around.
in wandering around nyc i learned that i really love paris more than i thought. the two cities are really similar anyway, at least when you’re on the street. nyc is easier to navigate on foot because the streets and addresses are organized on a grid where as paris keeps it’s ancient layout with the star intersections and short streets. though the star streets look nicer i think. and the buildings in nyc are a lot taller than parisian buildings, and i like to daydream about flying so looking up at all of the skyscrapers was eye candy for me. but otherwise nyc is a LOT dirtier than paris. the businesses don’t seem to use dumpsters and so there are these giant piles of trash along the sidewalks everywhere, even in really posh areas. it was normally bagged up or tied up but still,
i mean really ?
piles of trash everywhere ?
you’re serious ?
giant piles of trash, just lying out on the sidewalk ?
trash ?
oh and the paris subway is nine times better. the trains actually cover all areas and directions of the city and when you’re down there it honesty doesn’t smell like urine everywhere. being in the nyc subway is kind of like being in a fast moving urinal. there, i said it.
nyc is fun though and i LOVED the metropolitan museum of art. it had EVERYTHING you could ask for, all in one place. it was second only to the louvre in my mind. i was really impressed. they could have used a few more greek sculptures but meh i can’t complain about anything else.
but paris, the basic fundamental culture of the place is just good for my self esteem. people talk to each other there and when you walk past someone on the street they say bonjour to you and people on the trains will talk with you just like if you were at a party or other social event. and for me the best part was how much positive attention i would get from talking with people i french once they found out that i was american. they would make a huge deal out of meeting a francophone american. it’s rare enough to be special evidently. oh and there isn’t a cultural convention against people watching in france. if you are on the train it’s ok to stare at people and they will be staring at you. something about being stared at by a cute french girl just does wonders for my self esteem, even if it’s completely random and i never even talk with her.
it’s a lot more affordable to go to paris btw, the gratuity is included when you order at a restaurant in france and so it is comparatively a lot cheaper to eat out and well prices in paris for things are just comparable to things in phoenix and just not over inflated like in nyc.
but nyc is in the us and not that exotic. still, an interesting place to visit though. i just need to not compare it to paris, and enjoy it for what it is/was.
a couple of interesting things happened though on the trip. thursday i was hanging out in the united nations building and they had this holocaust museum set up there and i was checking out this presentation on eugenics and this girl answered her cell phone and started talking to her friend about how paris hilton had gone to this ice cream shop with her bff and bought a thousand dollar sundae and how she just came from there and got the 14$ version and it was still amazing. all of this, in her loud “i’m on a cell phone” voice, in the middle of the holocaust museum. i actually started laughing directly at her and then excused myself and walked into another room to clear my mind. wtf ?