overdue visit to NYC report....written late Oct - a long read, no obligation!
This last week I went to New York City to visit my darling cousins, Alex and Allison. I have spent time in Chicago and visited Amsterdam and London. Nevertheless, I arrived in NYC and went into complete culture shock. Quite the opposite of the shock I entered when I moved to Iowa, the state of rolling nothingness. While Hollywood movies are known to embellish reality, I concluded otherwise, when experiencing the city: it really is full of honking yellow cabs, persistent street vendors, bustling ethnic diversity, people running every which way, and grimy filth lining the streets. Anything goes in the city. Some people were running around in polka-dotted pj pants while dogs pranced down the sidewalk in rain boots and a matching cap. After my initial shock wore off, about 24 hours later, I became quickly accustomed to running down sidewalks and shoving my way onto the subways.
Friday afternoon, I was left to my own devices. As someone, already adept at getting lost, it was only expected I would make a wrong turn at some point on my journey. This happened right away. I should preface this with the fact that I handle getting lost with great strife and I am pleased to say I learn more quickly when I have made directional mistakes. I had somehow ingrained in my mind I needed to go, "downtown" not, "uptown" on the subway and neglected to double check the flashcard on which Allison had delicately written directions. When I jumped off the subway, I found myself in a neighborhood near Brooklyn. I was later informed this was "not the best part of town", which I had already concluded, especially thanks to the text my father sent to me..."It would be a good idea NOT to be the only white person in the room..." I stood out like a sore thumb. I'm pretty sure I picked the nicest possible lady to aid me back on track....to the Natural History Museum, in Manhattan. The woman reminded me of Jennifer Hudson's character in the "Sex and the City" movie, though slightly rougher around the edges. She chauffeured me upstairs, outside, across the street and swiped me into the other side of the subway station, then waited until my train arrived. I reached my destination with no further complications. I thoroughly enjoyed the Natural History Museum, particularly the multicultural areas and the displays of unusually large bugs and animals! On my ride back to Allison's apartment, I made friends with two British girls who aided my subway navigation, as they had mastered the London tubes early in life. These girls were younger than I, and cheerfully relaid to me their hours previous experience, getting kicked out of a bar for drinking underage. One girl had a fake ID that claimed her to be a motorcyclist. I learned you can easily acquire fake IDs via the internet, who would've thunk! Kids these days.
Friday night, Alex, Allison and I ventured to Times Square, a predominately tourist filled arena, where we promptly took the traditional tourist pictures, despite the misty weather. It was truly amazing to see all of the lights emitting out of the scrolling marquees, such that it looked as though the sun had never set! We ventured through several shops, our favorite being the M&M store; three floors of the colorfully dipped chocolates and other brightly decorated paraphernalia. I think one of the most amazing things to me, was the sheer volume of everything in the city. I have been in large stores, but to see three floors of sprawling retail isn't part of my usual experience. We ate dinner in Little Italy, which was a street crowded with eager to serve Italian restaurants. Waiters were standing outside to catch passersby with a menu and a promise of "fresh-made pasta"! Our final stop was a cute bakery where we stopped to buy cannolis.
Saturday was a rainy day, so the three of us decided to go on a museum tour. Alex beat us girls to The Guggenheim, where he stood in line for us and grabbed tickets to alleviate our wait. The museum itself was a work of art, with a modern flair and painted only in white. The main exhibit was the work of the Russian "expressionist", Wassily Kandinsky, which was very bright and geometric. As we ascended up the winding walk of the exhibit, Kandinsky's work grew on us, though initially we weren't sure what to think. After an hour, we ventured to lunch, then to The Metropolitan Museum, which I LOVED and cannot wait to see again! The Met was filled with any and everything under the sun! I spent a majority of the time in the Greek and Roman display, in complete awe. Having focused on those cultures through school it was wonderful to see the remains of jewelry, pottery, sculptures and more. We spent a good deal of time in the European art rooms, where there was a noticeable focus on Christianity, particularly through the 1500s-1600s, with most art either depicting the virgin birth, or the Madonna and child. I often feel unimpressed by art I see today, assuming it was machine made, but knowing pieces like the ivory carvings were hand made wowed me! The museum was so vast I am sure I could have spent a good week going through it and still not seen everything.
That evening Allison took me to 5th Avenue, famous for the high end stores it houses, plus the Paris Theater and the Plaza! We were pretty worn out from the day, but still managed to squeeze in some shopping. I had not expected so many street vendors, selling purses, watches, I "heart" NY t-shirts, postcards, reproductions of famous art, scarves, pagminas, and hotdogs. I bought myself a pagmina which I wear nearly daily.
My favorite day was Sunday. Not only because we had gorgeous weather, but because Allison and I were stoked to be going to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We officially began the morning with a bagel breakfast. These bagels were the largest I've ever seen, and the "mini bagels" were the size of a standard bakery bagel. I learned the average New York bagel contains 900 calories, and I can assure you, each and every one of them was delicious!
We took the subway to Battery Park, which faces the New York Harbor where the ferries depart. Filing through the ticket lines was much more extensive than I could have imaged, and exceptionally less glamorous. We were herded into a pack of pushy, coughing people, where English was no longer the predominate language. Once we were on board the ferry, things were much more enjoyable. As we continually neared The Statue of Liberty, the ferry began to heavily tilt as passengers, Allison and I included, raced over to the edge to take pictures. Once landed, we were unable to go in the Statue, as tickets needed to be booked in advance. The newly golden leaves added a gorgeous compliment to Lady Liberty's tealed tone and the bright blue sky. We captured many lovely pictures. From Liberty Island we rode the next ferry to Ellis Island. I had done an Interest Fair project on Ellis Island in middle school, so I was particularly excited to visit. Allison and I were disappointed that none of our relatives had gone through the island. The grounds were spectacular and it's amazing to think of how many people went through the building on their route into America. The museum was organized such that when you walked through, you walked the steps that an immigrant would've processed through. It was neat to read some of the stories and realize how differently our world functioned, even less than a century ago. People were quizzed on their intelligence prior to admittance. One instance that struck me, was when a young woman was asked, 'if stairs should be washed top to bottom, or bottom to top?' She responded, "I did not come to America to wash stairs." I hope she passed!
That evening we walked through the financial district of town, which looked very different from the rest of the city. The sterile streets were lined with cement skyscrapers, and silver or black BMWs. The American flag was about the only color along the whole of Wall Street. Allison and I had our picture taken with The Charging Bull, also called The Bowling Green Bull, which is a larger than life, bronze statue, said to symbolize, "aggressive financial prosperity". That night I was also enthused to experience, Magnolia's Bakery, now famous, not only for being delicious, but for the frequent filming of "Sex and the City". Their cupcakes are said to be especially amazing, and my experience held true to the story, though I am easily impressed by anything covered in cream cheese frosting.
I had a leisure Monday morning and slept in, while my cousins went to class. That afternoon, I braved the subway on my own, yet again, but this time with more success, and armed with hand sanitizer. I walked along Central Park, which was stunningly full of colorful trees and the adorably quaint horse drawn carriages. No wonder the park inspires so much artwork! Every angle had a different view to gasp at! Alex and I met up at the all glass Apple store, to cruise 5th and Madison Avenues, where all of the high end stores reside. I was on a mission to find Chanel and Dior. I achieved my goal, despite flashing my tourist-ness all about me, taking pictures of the store signs, in between hops of glee! Thank goodness Alex does not embarrass easily. We went into several stores and I gravitated to a modestly sized snake skin purse, for a very immodest price of $6000.00. I'd rather have a car, but to think of how differently some people live. That evening we made a second trip to Magnolia's Bakery for more cupcakes. Allison's roommate told me she is continually amazed at the quantity of cupcakes Alex and Allison seem to 'trip across' weekly, and now I understand the draw! At night we met up with Allison for pizza and had a relaxing evening.
Tuesday was my last day in NYC and we only had the morning to sight-see. Our last, and most expensive venture was to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, featuring nine floors of wax sculpted celebrities, or historical figures. It was quite fascinating, and also creepy to see how life-like the statues were! In person, most of the celebs (sculpted to scale) were much smaller than I had imagined, with the exception of Yao Ming. The museum was completed with a 3D movie, on special effects. It was enjoyable, with the exception of the mist they shot at us as the on screen villain vomited! We went through the exhibit much quicker than expected and had extra time to kill. We concluded the morning with another trip to the over-sized bagel shop and then frozen yogurt at Pinkberry, which is similar to Cold Stone, but I prefer it much more!
In conclusion, I had a blast in New York! I was glad to spend quality time with my cousins and it was fun to see so many places in such a short time! I am looking forward to the next time I get to visit!
Friday afternoon, I was left to my own devices. As someone, already adept at getting lost, it was only expected I would make a wrong turn at some point on my journey. This happened right away. I should preface this with the fact that I handle getting lost with great strife and I am pleased to say I learn more quickly when I have made directional mistakes. I had somehow ingrained in my mind I needed to go, "downtown" not, "uptown" on the subway and neglected to double check the flashcard on which Allison had delicately written directions. When I jumped off the subway, I found myself in a neighborhood near Brooklyn. I was later informed this was "not the best part of town", which I had already concluded, especially thanks to the text my father sent to me..."It would be a good idea NOT to be the only white person in the room..." I stood out like a sore thumb. I'm pretty sure I picked the nicest possible lady to aid me back on track....to the Natural History Museum, in Manhattan. The woman reminded me of Jennifer Hudson's character in the "Sex and the City" movie, though slightly rougher around the edges. She chauffeured me upstairs, outside, across the street and swiped me into the other side of the subway station, then waited until my train arrived. I reached my destination with no further complications. I thoroughly enjoyed the Natural History Museum, particularly the multicultural areas and the displays of unusually large bugs and animals! On my ride back to Allison's apartment, I made friends with two British girls who aided my subway navigation, as they had mastered the London tubes early in life. These girls were younger than I, and cheerfully relaid to me their hours previous experience, getting kicked out of a bar for drinking underage. One girl had a fake ID that claimed her to be a motorcyclist. I learned you can easily acquire fake IDs via the internet, who would've thunk! Kids these days.
Friday night, Alex, Allison and I ventured to Times Square, a predominately tourist filled arena, where we promptly took the traditional tourist pictures, despite the misty weather. It was truly amazing to see all of the lights emitting out of the scrolling marquees, such that it looked as though the sun had never set! We ventured through several shops, our favorite being the M&M store; three floors of the colorfully dipped chocolates and other brightly decorated paraphernalia. I think one of the most amazing things to me, was the sheer volume of everything in the city. I have been in large stores, but to see three floors of sprawling retail isn't part of my usual experience. We ate dinner in Little Italy, which was a street crowded with eager to serve Italian restaurants. Waiters were standing outside to catch passersby with a menu and a promise of "fresh-made pasta"! Our final stop was a cute bakery where we stopped to buy cannolis.
Saturday was a rainy day, so the three of us decided to go on a museum tour. Alex beat us girls to The Guggenheim, where he stood in line for us and grabbed tickets to alleviate our wait. The museum itself was a work of art, with a modern flair and painted only in white. The main exhibit was the work of the Russian "expressionist", Wassily Kandinsky, which was very bright and geometric. As we ascended up the winding walk of the exhibit, Kandinsky's work grew on us, though initially we weren't sure what to think. After an hour, we ventured to lunch, then to The Metropolitan Museum, which I LOVED and cannot wait to see again! The Met was filled with any and everything under the sun! I spent a majority of the time in the Greek and Roman display, in complete awe. Having focused on those cultures through school it was wonderful to see the remains of jewelry, pottery, sculptures and more. We spent a good deal of time in the European art rooms, where there was a noticeable focus on Christianity, particularly through the 1500s-1600s, with most art either depicting the virgin birth, or the Madonna and child. I often feel unimpressed by art I see today, assuming it was machine made, but knowing pieces like the ivory carvings were hand made wowed me! The museum was so vast I am sure I could have spent a good week going through it and still not seen everything.
That evening Allison took me to 5th Avenue, famous for the high end stores it houses, plus the Paris Theater and the Plaza! We were pretty worn out from the day, but still managed to squeeze in some shopping. I had not expected so many street vendors, selling purses, watches, I "heart" NY t-shirts, postcards, reproductions of famous art, scarves, pagminas, and hotdogs. I bought myself a pagmina which I wear nearly daily.
My favorite day was Sunday. Not only because we had gorgeous weather, but because Allison and I were stoked to be going to The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We officially began the morning with a bagel breakfast. These bagels were the largest I've ever seen, and the "mini bagels" were the size of a standard bakery bagel. I learned the average New York bagel contains 900 calories, and I can assure you, each and every one of them was delicious!
We took the subway to Battery Park, which faces the New York Harbor where the ferries depart. Filing through the ticket lines was much more extensive than I could have imaged, and exceptionally less glamorous. We were herded into a pack of pushy, coughing people, where English was no longer the predominate language. Once we were on board the ferry, things were much more enjoyable. As we continually neared The Statue of Liberty, the ferry began to heavily tilt as passengers, Allison and I included, raced over to the edge to take pictures. Once landed, we were unable to go in the Statue, as tickets needed to be booked in advance. The newly golden leaves added a gorgeous compliment to Lady Liberty's tealed tone and the bright blue sky. We captured many lovely pictures. From Liberty Island we rode the next ferry to Ellis Island. I had done an Interest Fair project on Ellis Island in middle school, so I was particularly excited to visit. Allison and I were disappointed that none of our relatives had gone through the island. The grounds were spectacular and it's amazing to think of how many people went through the building on their route into America. The museum was organized such that when you walked through, you walked the steps that an immigrant would've processed through. It was neat to read some of the stories and realize how differently our world functioned, even less than a century ago. People were quizzed on their intelligence prior to admittance. One instance that struck me, was when a young woman was asked, 'if stairs should be washed top to bottom, or bottom to top?' She responded, "I did not come to America to wash stairs." I hope she passed!
That evening we walked through the financial district of town, which looked very different from the rest of the city. The sterile streets were lined with cement skyscrapers, and silver or black BMWs. The American flag was about the only color along the whole of Wall Street. Allison and I had our picture taken with The Charging Bull, also called The Bowling Green Bull, which is a larger than life, bronze statue, said to symbolize, "aggressive financial prosperity". That night I was also enthused to experience, Magnolia's Bakery, now famous, not only for being delicious, but for the frequent filming of "Sex and the City". Their cupcakes are said to be especially amazing, and my experience held true to the story, though I am easily impressed by anything covered in cream cheese frosting.
I had a leisure Monday morning and slept in, while my cousins went to class. That afternoon, I braved the subway on my own, yet again, but this time with more success, and armed with hand sanitizer. I walked along Central Park, which was stunningly full of colorful trees and the adorably quaint horse drawn carriages. No wonder the park inspires so much artwork! Every angle had a different view to gasp at! Alex and I met up at the all glass Apple store, to cruise 5th and Madison Avenues, where all of the high end stores reside. I was on a mission to find Chanel and Dior. I achieved my goal, despite flashing my tourist-ness all about me, taking pictures of the store signs, in between hops of glee! Thank goodness Alex does not embarrass easily. We went into several stores and I gravitated to a modestly sized snake skin purse, for a very immodest price of $6000.00. I'd rather have a car, but to think of how differently some people live. That evening we made a second trip to Magnolia's Bakery for more cupcakes. Allison's roommate told me she is continually amazed at the quantity of cupcakes Alex and Allison seem to 'trip across' weekly, and now I understand the draw! At night we met up with Allison for pizza and had a relaxing evening.
Tuesday was my last day in NYC and we only had the morning to sight-see. Our last, and most expensive venture was to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, featuring nine floors of wax sculpted celebrities, or historical figures. It was quite fascinating, and also creepy to see how life-like the statues were! In person, most of the celebs (sculpted to scale) were much smaller than I had imagined, with the exception of Yao Ming. The museum was completed with a 3D movie, on special effects. It was enjoyable, with the exception of the mist they shot at us as the on screen villain vomited! We went through the exhibit much quicker than expected and had extra time to kill. We concluded the morning with another trip to the over-sized bagel shop and then frozen yogurt at Pinkberry, which is similar to Cold Stone, but I prefer it much more!
In conclusion, I had a blast in New York! I was glad to spend quality time with my cousins and it was fun to see so many places in such a short time! I am looking forward to the next time I get to visit!