New York City

This past weekend I went to a wedding that was down near New York City.  I have lived in New York State since I the middle of 1st grade and I have never been into "the city". 

There was one day of the 4 day trip where I had nothing to do, but my boyfriend, being part of the wedding party, was busy most of the day.  I figured I would lounge around in the hotel most of that day.  Maybe watch some tv.  Maybe take a nap.  Maybe do some writing.  I was very wrong.

The wife of one of the other men in the wedding party had planned to meet one of her friends in NYC on that one free day.  To my suprise, she invited me to go with her.  I was super excited, and a bit nervous.  It was a very tiring day but it was a terrific experience.

We arrived at Grand Central Station around 1:15pm.  The weather was a bit cloudy and I was worried that it would rain on us while walking around the city, but it remained decent for the most part and was much warmer than I had expected. 

Soon after we arrived the friend we were to meet called and said she'd be ready earlier than expected and suggested we meet for lunch around 2:15 at Edgar's Cafe on 84th Street.  We had a little trouble navigating the subway, but made it to the Upper West Side eventually.  We had to go all the way up to 96th street and then make our way back down to 84th but we ended up getting on the wrong one to go back down.  So we got off at who knows where, but it was about half a mile away from where we needed to be so we just walked.  I am glad we did  :)  We ended up finding a street vendor selling really nice pashminas for $5 so I bought two.  Also, we nearly got run over by Samantha Bee (from The Daily Show) and her baby stroller on our walk.  She was walking with her husband and baby and it was pretty sweet to cross paths with them. 

Edgar's Cafe was great and I highly recommend it.  I got a nice salad and then saved room for one of the fabulous desserts. I got the Apple Cumb Pie and they warmed it up for me before bringing it to the table.  SO good.  The cafe is apparently located in what used to be Edgar Allan Poe's residence.   

I had mentioned I wanted to see Central Park and we were near by so we headed over there next.  It wasn't too exciting but it was a beautiful atmosphere.  What a beautiful spot to walk or run.  There were LOTS of runners.

Next we hit up the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  So many things to see there.  We were there for at least a couple of hours and we only managed to see part of the first level.  We were getting tired and our feet were hurting, and it was getting torwards dinner time so we headed out.  We went back to GCS to meet up with another friend.  The original plan was to go to dinner in The Village but it was raing a bit and we didn't feel like going far.  We ended up at a fantastic Mexican restaurant and had a great time chatting and drinking $3.50 margaritas.

I should probably mention that this particular day that I took my frist trip into the city happened to be Halloween.  Our waitor in the Mexican restaurant actually warned us to be careful when we left -- because of all the crazies out.  So many people out in costume.  One other thing I learned was that children in Manhatten trick or treat during the day in the stores along the street.  Anyway, it was about 10p by the time dinner was done and so we headed back to GSC to catch the 11:15 train back to our hotel a ways north of the city.  It was kinda fun sitting in GSC and people-watching while we waited.  The most interesting thing was seeing 4 or so men running around screaming in their tighty whities and coboy hats.   

I don't think I'd ever want to live in New York City, but I definitely had a great time in the one day I spent there.  I never expected to be there on Halloween or have it be such a spur of the moment thing.  I have wanted to visit for several years now and am glad I finally had the chance.