NYC Round 3
On a random Thursday, while sitting at work, I got a call from a friend who was visiting New York City and we had a quick chat about what he was doing while there and I offered a few pointers and tips and I told him how jealous I was of him. By the time I hung up, I bought a ticket for that afternoon to fly to New York City. The travel bug bit me, and bit me good.
I landed in NYC around midnight and my friend met me at the airport so I wasn’t taking the 25 minute cab ride to the lower east side alone, something I need to get used to if I think I want to live here someday, likely alone. That night we had a heck of a time trying to snag a cab out of the airport. Since LaGuardia has been under construction for what feels like a lifetime, it’s not easy for cabs, Lyfts, and Ubers to pick up from arrival terminals. But, we finally got one and 25 minutes later I was at my hotel. Since I was staying by myself and paying for this trip, I couldn’t be my normal boujee self and say in Midtown at a Hilton like I do when traveling with my parents. I found a cute little boutique hotel on Orchard Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan that was clean and safe, but it was no-frills and pretty small, so it was affordable. I’m not kidding when I say my room was the size of a closet.
When I woke up the next morning I searched Yelp for a good brunch spot and found Tribeca’s Kitchen. I should have utilized my hotel’s free breakfast, but my friend was staying at an Airbnb and didn’t have that option. After brunch, we took the metro to Central Park. I felt pretty empowered that I figured out our stops by myself, since I’ve only ever ridden the metro with my parents. Going to Europe helped prepare me for this in a big way. I had no parents there and I had to get places. (Thank you again study abroad experience)
Even though this was my third time in NYC in the past few years, I haven’t really ever walked through Central Park. We intended to just enter the park and walk around, and ended up basically walking the entire park…. West 59th all the way to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir. It was almost a 45-minute walk, which is everyday normal walking in NYC, but not what we intended to do right away with that brunch kicking in. While we were resting after our accidental hike, I hopped on a few work calls. I can’t even explain how awesome of a job I have that I am able to travel on a whim and still be involved and get work done. Hurrdat, you rock.
We decided to go to The Met after our Central Park hike, but first, caffeine. We walked a few blocks to a Starbucks on 58th & Madison where we sat and people watched. I think my favorite part about New York City is that it’s an actual place that people live. It’s still such a wild concept to me that kids go to school here, they play sports and visit with friends. But watching nannies bring school children dressed in khakis and navy sports coats into Starbucks for an afternoon snack after school makes it all a reality.
While we walked back to The Met we stopped for a photo op of a small Italian restaurant. “Grazie” had a beautiful storefront with pink and red flowers everywhere. It took “stop and smell the roses” to a whole new meaning. I need to do that more and this little restaurant is a reminder to everyone to do that. Time flies, experiences fade. Enjoy them while you’re living them.
The Met is this magical place filled with different artwork from different centuries and countries. Admittedly, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a museum, so this was good for me to be surrounded by so much beauty. It really aided my creativity, which at times needs more than what Lincoln can offer me. I’ve never claimed to be a super creative person, I need to have something staring me a bit more in the face and yelling at me at times, “hey, I am a marvel, photograph me!” New York City does this. The Met did this. The photos I took there were phenomenal, and thank you to The Met for allowing photography. Thank you Apple for improving the iPhone camera to make this easier on me so I can leave the Nikon behind when it will be a day of walking. Check out the photos I shot in NYC here.
My day wasn’t over, though I parted ways with my friend as he had plans that evening. I still had a ticket to the Lion King that evening, a show I haven’t seen yet but has been high on my list. I grabbed pizza at a corner place with outdoor seating near my hotel and ordered the Positano, which made me reminisce of Europe and my time in Positano, and consisted of shredded brussel sprouts and garlic. I coupled this with a sweet Hawaiian porter beer and it was friggen great. I had to rush through my meal a bit to make it to the Times Square area for my show and I’m sad I couldn’t enjoy sitting there just a bit longer.
The Lion King was an experience for sure. It’s highly acclaimed and I can see why, but I wouldn’t put it at the top of my list. Sure, my list is short I’ll admit, but the fact I have a list of Broadway Shows allows me to be my own rate and review team. Grabbing a cab after the show was a ridiculous joke because Times Square is nuts all the time, but extra nuts after a show gets out. I finally got one and had an adventurous ride home filled with a near accident and yelling and cursing. I was really starting to feel like a New Yorker, ha!
The next day I left Manhattan for the first time ever and took the subway to Brooklyn and then walked to DUMBO, and spent a lot of time in that area. I stumbled across Photoville, a pop-up art show, and spent a lot of time walking and looking. I found a little known spot for photos of the Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge. I walked along the waterfront, came across Jane’s Carousel and landed at Juliana’s for pizza. I got a seat at the front counter and got to watch pizzas get hand-tossed while sipping an amazing local beer and eating the best Margarita Pizza I’ve ever had, better than anything I had in Italy even. If you haven’t heard of Juliana’s and Patsy Grimaldi, I urge you to read this article. It’s quintessential New York. Frank Sinatra played while I was eating, drinking and watching Patsy’s trusted employees and I knew I was where I was supposed to be. And I was doing it alone, which is so enjoyable and empowering. Don’t get me wrong, my parents got a lot of facetime calls, but mostly so they could see what I was doing and experience it a little bit with me.
I took the metro to Brooklyn so that I could walk back to Manhattan. I read somewhere to walk the Brooklyn Bridge and don’t walk to Brooklyn, but rather walk from Brooklyn so that you can see the Manhattan skyline the whole way, so that’s what I did. The only thing that would have made it better would have been to walk it at night and see the lights of the city. But, I’ll save that experience for a day I have someone walking next to me, a partner who wants to experience these things with me. I’ll appreciate the experience, and him.
The walk was beautiful, a bit crazy (to think of walking over the East River with all those cars below) and full of photo ops. I am SO glad I got out of Manhattan to do this. I can go weeks in Nebraska not even driving over a bridge, so to be able to walk one with such history and beauty was as enjoyable as walking Tower Bridge in London. When I got back to Manhattan I stopped at a Starbucks to recharge, the phone and myself, and no, this wasn’t my first Starbucks stop of the day…. I sat at a table with a native New Yorker, Barbara, who chatted with me for a while and gave me the biggest compliment from a stranger. During our 45 minute talk, she told me,
“you are driven, you know where you want to go, and you’re doing it at your own pace.”
It’s great to hear that from a total stranger because it means what I feel like I’m doing is recognized if a total stranger can see it. Compliments from friends and family are great, but sort of required, right? This woman didn’t owe me anything and her comments won’t be forgotten anytime soon. Thanks, Barbara with the thick Brooklyn accent.
I tried to walk through Little Italy on my way back to my hotel but walked right through the Feast of San Gennaro and I wanted to enjoy this, I really did. But it was SO crowded and I had to get out. It didn’t feel safe how jam-packed we were, and Italian guys yelling, “keeeeeeeP it MOOOvin PEOPLE” didn’t help. I wanted to enjoy the culture because I’m pretty sure I was getting a good look at Snooki in 30 years and listening to the accents and the things they were gossiping to each other about was a trip!
That night I finally caught back up with my friend and we went to Hudson Station, a bar where Nebraska fans gather to watch the football games together each week. They had a knock off Elk Creek (and I’m sorry, but Sandy’s is totally beating you) and Ruebens, but more importantly, they had a bar full of Nebraska Nice people, and it felt great. If I moved here, I’d go here often, just for that little feeling of home.
My trip was almost over and even though I stayed up way too late on Saturday night, I got up and checked out the next morning and had just a few hours to spend in the city before my flight. I went to 5th Avenue to walk it because during my first trip to NYC this was one of my favorite destinations and primarily because of Tiffany & Co. I love that place, that’s no secret. But, I’ll admit the thrill of 5th Ave is a little less these days. The amount of roadblocks and armed guards around Trump Tower has quadrupled and feels much like we’re preparing for an attack and that definitely lessens the exciting and glamorous feel of 5th. It was a bit of a let down for my last few hours there and left me feeling even more sad than normal to be leaving.
This quick, no planning trip just lit the fire under me, even more, to really strongly consider a move there. I don’t know where I’d live or how I’d afford it, or how I’d compete in a marketing agency there, but I have to try.
