On Manhattan

I was in Manhattan! And I'm going to write about it! Yaaaay! (Kermit arms.)

I'm going to document this trip in three posts, because that way you and I won't get overwhelmed with all the adventures. Unfortunately I have not been able to get any of my pictures from my trip onto my computer yet, so you'll just have to check back and see what I add later.

Day One: a tiny bit of Wednesday and all of Thursday. 
There was only a tiny bit of Wednesday because I arrived at the JFK airport at about 11:45pm EST. Taking the subway from JFK in Brooklyn to the upper West Side on a Wednesday around midnight when the trains don't run as often meant we arrived at Blaine's apartment at around 2:30am. He lives on one of the only hills on the island and he lives on the fourth floor of his apartment building, which doesn't have an elevator. He was kind enough to carry my suitcase, or I would have collapsed and slept on the stoop outside all night.

While we were waiting for the trains, Blaine was telling me about his roommates. He said I might know them, since they went to BYU, but I reminded him I went to the school in Idaho and probably wouldn't know them. Their names didn't ring a bell either. However, after introducing myself to Rachel (who I thought looked uncannily familiar) and starting to chat with his other roommate Dalton, I realized that I did know them. Or, at least, I knew Rachel, and they both know Liz. Rachel went to Playmill with Liz, and Dalton was at BYU-I before I got there. Small world, people. What are the odds?

Before I go on, let me tell you, humidity. I'm telling people the two things I did most in Manhattan is walk and sweat, and I swear no one else looked at sweaty as I felt every day. Thank goodness for parks and shade and cool buildings. Not thank goodness for subway platforms, which feel like hell. 

Blaine was at work during the day so he left me his keys and went off to try and sell expensive apartments while I didn't drag myself out of bed until 11am (this, by the way, was a common occurrence. I don't think I ever fully adjusted to the time difference). But once I finally emerged, I had an interesting and pleasant day. I spent the morning exploring Blaine's neighborhood, which actually became one of my favourite parts of Manhattan. I cut across to Riverside Park, walked down and then hooked up with Broadway, which I walked down until I found a place called the Cathedral School. Within this campus was a small isolated park that was home to a beautiful pure-white peacock. There I stopped for a short rest and did Tai Chi, which refreshed and rejuvenated me. I felt incredibly clean and chipper as I continued my walk, which took me through the Columbia campus, through Morningside Park, and into Central Park.

I spent a few hours in the park, watching people and calling Liz and Mom. And there are so many dog walkers! People walking four, five, six dogs at a time, big and small, fuzzy and short-haired. It was so much fun. After the park I wandered around to find something to eat and stopped at a vegan cafe called Blossom, where I had split pea soup and sauteed Brussels sprouts (which was delicious, but the sprouts needed to be done just a little more lightly). Then I asked my waitress where I could go to get a cheap manicure, and she recommended a place called Polish. I went there and just got a cut and polish, so afterwards my nails were very very shiny. I got a hand massage and they were playing "Pillow Talk" on their TV. It was very nice.

I walked back toward the park and found a chocolate shop called Suger and Plumm, where I bought a little bag of assorted chocolates, and soon after Blaine called me to tell me he was on his way home from work, and since I had his keys I needed to meet him back there. So I went home, and we made ourselves a delicious dinner (of what, I can't remember. Blaine is really good at throwing a random selection of food into a pan and cooking it into something tasty).

Later that night Blaine's friend Michael Keeny came over and took us out to this club that was like a really, really fancy karaoke bar. They had paid singers and then you could sing for $30 a song. Keeny knew the singers, and the bartender (who was awesome and reminded me of Rosie Perez), who made us all free drinks. She made me some juice concoction, and I don't know what was in it, but it was magical. So we hung out there for a while until I got tired and we went home, and went to bed around 3am or so.

Day Two: Friday.
The next day I got up around 10:30am, after Mom texted me to see if I was okay after the unfortunate shooting at the Empire State Building (which I was; I was still in bed). This day I took a roundabout route through Central Park to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I spent several hours wandering and taking a lot of pictures.  I saw a lot of the Greek sculptures, the interesting modern art section, the fantastic Egyptian art, and the whopping four El Greco's they have. Then I just wandered around Midtown, which, for the record, has NO food. They have a few fancy restaurants (and street vendors, of course), but it's all designer shops, rich people, and tourists. Not my favourite place in the city.

I ended up meeting with Blaine and we went home and had Mexican takeout. Amazing vegetable fajitas, and really, really spicy guacamole. That night we went and hung out with a couple of Blaine's friends; his old high school boyfriend and a girl who lives in the city. He was visiting from LA and thinking about moving to New York and it was his last night, so we went to their hotel and hung out with them for a while, talking about shows and fashion. It was nice and they were great people. Then we went home and crashed for the night. We did walk through Times Square to get to their hotel and back, and I decided I really don't like Times Square. There are too many people and it's too bright and loud and crazy, even at 1am.

During the first couple of days in the city I had a few different impressions. I love all the different people in the city. You hear English being spoken only about 50% of the time, and I love all the colours and shapes and sizes. In general everyone was nice to me, I never felt unsafe, and quite often people assumed I was a local. I got several compliments on my haircut, and people always answered my questions with sincerity and kindness. I went with the attitude that no one wanted to specifically do me harm, and while I was always aware of where I was and where my money was, I never felt unsafe. I walked around with no specific destination in mind, so I didn't look like a tourist, and I found a lot of cool little places I never would have found if I was trying to get somewhere. It was a great couple of days, and I had a wonderful time.

To be continued, so stay tuned! (Saturday includes the squirrel bite story...)