I went on my first real vacation as a grownup last month (sad, isn't it?)! It only lasted 4 days, but you gotta start somewhere... Anyway, I went to the wonderful city of New York and visited two friends. It started out as an early birthday celebration for my birthmate Sarah and me (and myself? Sometimes I hate the English language). She showed me some sites, we saw the Daily Show and then saw more sites and a comedy show. Then I saw my BFStFDoFG® (Best Friend Since the First Day of First Grade) Mary and she showed me some more sites!
So here's the basic breakdown of where I went:
Monday: NYU Library and bookstore, Washington Square Park, Union Square, Strand Bookstore, L'Annam (yummy Vietnamese cuisine), Whole Foods (that place was HUGE) and the Staten Island Ferry.
Tuesday: Omonia Cafe (yummy Greek cuisine), bed (got a migraine), The Daily Show, Times Square, Hard Rock Cafe and Broadway Comedy Club (saw Steve Hofstetter, woohoo!).
Wednesday: The Bronx (including yummy pizza and Mexican food), Magnolia Bakery, Lincoln Center, Central Park (including Strawberry Fields) and other places for which I didn't catch the names.
Thursday: Neptune Diner (I love their menus--see the photos). The only reason I had time to visit Neptune is that my flight from LaGuardia got delayed 4 times!
The highlights were spending time with friends I hadn't seen in years, of course! Sarah and I have seen each other once or twice since grad school but I hadn't seen Mary since her wedding. Now she and her husband have two kids!!
I really enjoyed seeing the Daily Show, even though most of our time was spent waiting in line outside, haha! It was worth it because Sarah and I were FRONT AND CENTER in the audience. No photography was allowed inside so I can't show you how the studio looked. I can tell you this much--it's much smaller than I imagined! Here's a link in case you want to listen for Sarah's and my laughter. :-D The guest was author Sebastian Junger: Daily Show - Full Episode - May 11, 2010
Even though it was rainy and overcast on the day I spent with Mary, it was still a lot of fun and I still got some great photos! We visited Magnolia Bakery, which I'd never heard of until I discovered The Lonely Island's Lazy Sunday. "I love those cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling!" Once we got to Central Park we weren't sure how we'd find Strawberry Fields, but all we had to do was follow the music! There was a man singing "Help!" as we got closer. By the time we got to him he had switched to "I'm a Believer" (sacrilege, ha!) but then he sang "Imagine." He encouraged the crowd to participate and I was lucky enough to get a few seconds of "Imagine" before my camera batteries gave out.
So be sure to check out all my photos and video at bit.ly/NYCpics. Enjoy!
Awesome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Brandan and I are thinking of going some time, probably in December though. :) The only time I've been was when the Concert Choir sang at Carnegie Hall... which wasn't a vacation as much as it was a stressful trip.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great trip! I am glad I got to see you last week and hope that it's not until Fall semester that I see you again. I need my Robyn time. :-)
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