Central Park West and Brooklyn

Thursday was bike riding in Central Park day.  It was the first of three mornings in a row that we ate at this awesome little hole in the wall type cheapo spot Angela's Sandwich Shop for breakfast where we could get really yummy filling breakfast sandwiches for 3 bucks.

MJ found a Groupon deal while we were there so we got a great deal on a four hour rental from Central Park Sightseeing.  Central Park is so much fun and it's huge.  It has beautiful architecture, lakes and rivers, all kinds of trails to walk through and an awesome designated bike route that loops around the entire park.  

This is where I imagine the rich people live.  I'd love to take a peek inside one of these homes just to see what NYC living looks like.  The parking there is so tight we saw a lot of cars with bumper protectors.  I'd never seen that before.

Illegal riding on the trails!  We only did it a few times.  

FYI: There was no baby in that lady's baby seat.  I looked!!

Apparently a pedestrian got hit and seriously injured by a biker in central park the day before we went riding.  There are lights and pedestrian crossing throughout the loop.  The next day there were signs asking for witnesses to come forward and we even saw a biker getting a ticket.  I guess they are cracking down.

It's weird because for the most part it looks flat but there were times when we were definitely on an incline because my legs were feeling it and I felt like I was on a stationary bike.  After the first loop we still had time so we did the loop again.  MJ is a pro so this route was small potatoes but my legs were really tired.  I thought I might have to stop and walk but I pushed through it and didn't have to.  Each loop is 6 miles so that was 12 miles of biking!  I had to sit and rest for a popsicle break after all that.  Exercise for the day done but not really because there was still plenty of walking to be done.

I'm the one who wanted to go back to Little Italy for dinner because they were having the The Feast of San Gennaro festival.  It was so exciting over there with all the people, vendors and music that I wanted to go back and eat outside at one of the restaurants on the main drag.  The way they pack the tables in and jam everyone in tight so that you have to squeeze your way in to get seated reminded me of Italy. 

Ignore the girls booty in the background

We stopped for a beer while we, or should I say I was deciding where we would eat.  I looked at every menu mainly looking for the best prices.  It turns out none of them were cheap, but I went with one of the lower ones. 

MJ got some deep fried atrocity.  He looked just like the girl in the background while he was eating it.

The next day was boating in Central Park.

Row, row row your boat gently down the stream did not exactly happen for me.  It's harder then it looks and we did not go merrily along our way when I took the oars.  MJ made it look so easy but I just didn't have the coordination to get very far.  It was really funny because I looked around and every single boat had a couple with the male rowing the female.  I tried it for a few minutes and then we switched back and I acted as look out.

Even though I was a week late for Fashion Week I still wanted to see Bryant Park.  It was much smaller then I expected and a little underwhelming without, you know, Fashion Week but beggars can't be choosers.  I can only imagine how it looks with all the tents set up.  It looks like a really fun place to spend an afternoon.

We stopped by the NYC public library since it was around the corner and began our journey to Brooklyn.  The subway was packed so we were standing the whole time.

Those Beautiful Brownstones

Mac and Cheese Muffin

MJ had already found a place for us to eat in Brooklyn.  As we got closer I was kind of concerned because I didn't see a whole lot of restaurants and the streets were mostly deserted but SoCo was perfection.  Really cute decor and a nice indoor but feels like outdoor dining patio.  Their Mac and Cheese is what every mac and cheese aspires to be and it was the best I've ever had.  I ate as much crispy, cheesy goodness as I could.  It was built like a muffin and unfortunately all I could eat was the muffin top before I was stuffed.  No left overs either because it was our last day so I had to leave it there. 

After that it was back to Manhattan.  The streets of Brooklyn came alive while we were at SoCo and there were plenty of people out on our walk back to the subway.  We liked the West End Bar so much that we went back for a few drinks.  We ended up in Hell's Kitchen in search of dessert and I was kind of bummed that we hadn't discovered this area before.  It was so lively and there were so many cool restaurants.  I almost did a grand jete (dancer talk) when I saw Alvin Ailey Theater.  The building was three stories, lit up with giant glass windows and I could see real live New York City dancers rehearsing.  So cool.  We ate dessert in bed and then went to bed.  It was a really good last day in New York. 

Snap shots from New York

There is something so cool about New York City. Even if you don't do or see half the stuff that you see people in New York doing on TV it feels really special just being there. When I think of New York City I think of dreamers and doers. I think of rich people, models, actors investment bankers, ballerinas and really cool and interesting people doing important things. It didn't take much to impress me there.  We saw set trailers parked all along a street in Chelsea and signs pointing the way to the set.  There was a guy walking in front of us who dropped something.  Turns out it was his script.  I saw a really tall pretty she-has-to-be-a-model type girl talking on her cell phone in Central Park about a casting.  I saw two ballet dancers in the Subway. The hyper-extended legs for days, long necks, and ballerina buns gave them away and then when one of them did a mini arabesque I knew for sure.  At the West End Bar we were sitting next to two oh my gosh rich girls.  How do I know this?  I'm really nosy and I overheard that they went to Sarah Lawrence College.  I googled it later just for kicks and tuition is $50k per year + room and board!! Apparently, they went shopping for $4,000 bags with mommy and daddies credit cards all through college.  I said, "MJ those girls are rich."  He said no they aren't.  Their parents are rich," and then I heard them talking about trust funds, so yeah they are rich.  I also saw a lot of preserved women that were probably in their sixties plus but had obviously had one or two plastic surgeries too many.  I think some people take it a little too far and the hands always give them away.  Do they think we can't tell?  I watched in fascination every time I saw someone step out into the street and raise their arm to hail a taxi.  I think I'd be embarrassed if I stood there forever and couldn't get one to stop.  We didn't try.  Too much traffic too expensive.  Even seeing a roach in the subway system was interesting because you know; you hear things about roaches in NYC and I actually saw one with my own eyes and it was gross but somehow so cool because it was NYC.  If it had been a mice I probably wouldn't have handled it so well.  New York City is just a cool place to be.  When I think of New York I also think of harsh cold winters, traffic and a ridiculous cost of living.  I'm 100% certain the lifestyle would not suit me unless I was filthy rich but it's an incredible place to visit.

The way back was a little bumpy.  One of the subway lines we needed to get to the airport was shut down but MJ is so awesome at figuring things out that he found us a new route.  We had to get off in Queens and take another subway but we made good time only to find out that the plane we were supposed to be getting on was so delayed that it would make it impossible to make our next connection.  We managed to barely make it on a different flight.  We didn't get to sit next to each other which sucked, but it was better then having to go all the way to New Jersey to catch a different flight or being stuck at our layover destination without another flight.  Aside from that little snafu United is awesome.  You get your own personal TV in the seat back in front of you with free Direct TV and movies.  Normally, when I get on a long flight it's like entering some kind of black hole of hell and I have no idea when it's ever going to end but they have this cool countdown that tells you and there is plenty of leg room anyway so I didn't feel like a canned sardine.  I watched three movies and the flight flew by.

That concludes my Buffalo/New York City recaps.  It's funny because before I start writing I always feel a little overwhelmed and I can't remember any details from the trip but once I get started it all comes back to me, I remember too much and end up including all of these little random details that are totally not essential to the actual telling of the trip but certainly things that I'll want to look back on and remember later.

Nine days, four posts.  The End.

Back to Buffalo

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