Ok, so I finished my last post with us going to bed happy (and a little drunk!) and looking forward to shopping at Canal St. the next day, Tuesday 23rd. Hehehe, it turned out we weren%26#39;t quite as prepared for Canal St as we thought....
DAY 4 - Tuesday 23rd
We got up feeling ready to take on Chinatown, prepared to seek out little Chinese ladies whispering ';Gucci, Chanel?'; along the street, and follow them into hidden rooms and hallways. Our mission : to find the best fake handbags available! We jumped on the nr. 6 subway which took us all the way down to Canal St. (we basically took this subway whenever we were going Up- and Downtown, and took crosstown busses and taxis when we went...crosstown :)
Got off at Canal St. and exited the subway right in the middle of all the hub on the street. At first we felt like morons, standing around trying desperately to hear any whisperings from Chinese women, while pretending that we weren%26#39;t in case they were actually waiting for the bus or what not, since we didn%26#39;t want to offend anyone!! But it soon became apparent that most of the people hanging around on the street were scamming off handbags, and we soon got into the flow of things..
Once we got over our initial fear of following strangers into winding alleys (what one doesn%26#39;t do for good fakes, huh?), we were ready for some serious shopping. BUT - All the rooms were hot and airless, and one of the places we went to, I will never forget, the fumes from the fake leather and whatever the walls were built of were intense, and my eyes started stinging sooo bad!!! And we seriously just couldn%26#39;t get a real breath, it was so hot and crowded with other CRAZY shoppers like us...
After we surfaced from that underground H*LL, we gave up. Kate managed to find a bag and a wallet she liked, but even so, we felt that putting ourselves through that ordeal was just SO not worth it...It was really fun in the beginning, but if you find yourself in an airless room that you cannot breath in, just leave, because to be honest, most of the bags looked and felt fake anyway...Hang out on street level, maybe check out a couple of back-rooms if you want, but have fun outside, thats where you will see the real Chinatown, and all it has to offer.
Anyways, after that memorable experience, we were both EXHAUSTED and gross and sweaty. We literally dragged our feet along the rest of Canal St, occasionally pausing to look at something, then exclaiming, ';ugh, I need to sit down!!'; and plodding on... :) We eventually managed to get ourselves to Soho, and found the most lovely, little French bistro on the corner of...I can%26#39;t remember, but it was a couple blocks into Soho...We sat there for maybe 2 and a half hours just giggling over the traumatic experience that was Canal St. and checking out our purchases...
After our lunch of French Onion soup for me, and salad for Kate, we decided we had enough energy to move again, and wandered some more around Soho, slowly and casually, just checking out the stores, etc. We were about to jump on the train home, when we talked to my godmother (GM) and decided to head to her place on the UWS for..hehe, Chinese takeaway! Very relaxing and chill, just hung at hers and watched a movie while we ate.
By the time the movie was over, Kate and I decided we needed to get ourselves to a bar and have a couple of drinks, so we went to this place on 3rd where we could sit outside and chat and watch all the cute couples on dates! Seriously, I have never seen so many people on dates! Cute! Its so obvious too, people holding hands slightly awkwardly, looking just a little self-conscience...awww :) So anyway, we sat there and had a few margueritas, when we got hit on by a couple of guys! Hehe, they turned out to be pretty nice and talkative, so we had a couple drinks with them, and headed home to bed (by ourselves, OBVIOUSLY) for a much needed good-nights sleep.
DAY 5 - Wednesday 24th.
Today was a big day for us!! :) We got up later than planned after such an exhausting previous day, and feeling much better, got on the subway and took it to Wall Street. We took the nr.6 again, and got off at its last stop (Brooklyn Bridge stop?) where we literally just went to the other side of the platform to get on the connecting train and took it two stops to the Financial District. Easy-peasy.
Once we got out of the subway we started walking towards Wall St. and the Stock Exchange. That was pretty cool actually, and we even made ourselves take a picture outside of it, even with all the cute young businessmen walking around ;) (hello future husbands!! hehehe, kidding) From there we headed down to Battery Park, passing the Bull on the way. I would have actually liked to take a pic, but there were tons of people milling around, so we decided that we didn%26#39;t really need a pic of a bulls *ss :)
We milled around Battery Park, and tried to look for the WaterTaxi stop (we had tickets, but even with all our good intentions, we never managed to use them!!) and saw the Statue of Liberty from a great distance. From there we headed towards Ground Zero.
I have been there once before, on the other side of the site. This time we were on the side where the subway is, and the long time-line poster on the fence. This was Kate%26#39;s first time there since the towers fell, she had been there before, and had dinner on one of them. Very very sad experience, and it was no easier being there a second time. I was glad I was wearing huge dark sunglasses, which I also kept on in St. Pauls...I can%26#39;t even imagine what it must be like to have to pass that every day on your way to work.....
After that, we took a few minutes to calm ourselves, and got something to drink to swallow down the bumps in our throats. We had absolutely no desire to shop AT ALL, but knowing that we wouldn%26#39;t be in this area again, we forced ourselves into Century 21. This was a similar Canal St. experience for us, too many people, alot of crap, with some good finds in between. We each came away with some stuff we both really liked, but it was a bit of a waste of time. We were glad we only spent an hour there..
We were hungry and whiny by then, so we got a slice of pizza across the street, proving to ourselves that we really aren%26#39;t New Yorkers (yet :) by cutting our pizza slices in half with a knife! eeheeheee.... felt slightly silly at that point..All you New Yorkers will know what I am talking about I hope?? For those who don%26#39;t, the ';real'; NYC way to eat one of those huge slices of greasy pizza (yuuum) is basically holding it in one hand and more or less folding it over :)
We headed home from there to shower and get ready for our evening with my cousin and his BF! We met up with them at Roberto%26#39;s, a great Italian place on I think 60th%26amp;8th. Had an amazing meal, with the staff sending over a free starter! This happened alot with my cuz%26amp;BF, they don%26#39;t cook themselves, so they eat out ALOT! Really great place, and filled up within the hour!
From there we walked down to Booth Theater to see the Pillowman. Everything you have read on TA is pretty much the truth. We personally loved it, found it really interesting, very deep and dark, and brilliant acting. Billy Crudup was just fantastic, but I have to say, Michael Stuhlbarg, who plays his brother, was also just amazing.
Once the play was over, we made our way to Times Square to see the lights and people. We decided we needed some drinks after the play, as someone very smart on TA had advised me to plan something fun for afterwards! We went to Ruby Foos at the ';top'; of Times Square, and had a couple drinks there, and shared some enourmous desserts. Great place, the food smelled fabulous, and there were still lots of people there at 10! The drinks were pretty good too.
BF left us at about 11.30 to head home, and cousin strolled with us to walk up along 5th Av. That was really fun, to be alone on 5th Av without the throngs of people, and look at all the amazing window displays...We just chatted about everything and nothing, and eventually got into cabs and went home. This was such a great day, we really felt we did and saw alot, and the play was just fantastic. We went home feeling full, but really happy.
Ok, I am going to do Day 6 as well, just to keep this in even numbers! This hopefully won%26#39;t be quite as long as the other days, since we didn%26#39;t do too too much...
DAY 6 - Thursday 25th
This was moving day for us, as we were leaving our B%26amp;B in Murray Hill, and taking over my cousins apartment on the Upper East Side. He actually went to stay with his BF for 6 whole days so we could stay at his place! How nice is that!!? So we got there about noon, unpacked slightly, and headed out to the Guggenheim!
This was fun to see, and the exhibit was very interesting. We didn%26#39;t stay for very long, kind of sauntered down the levels, stopping if anything caught our eye. Once outside again, we decided to head downtown, though we can%26#39;t actually remember why, or what we did there! :) We are assuming for shopping...
Anyway, our memory comes back to us during our walk up 8th Av to the Time Warner Building, to hit some of the stores in there! We didn%26#39;t find much, but had fun trying things on, and refreshing our make-up at Sephora :) By this point, it was nearly quarter after 7, and we had dinner plans with my cousin and his BF, and also my godmother!
This dinner was our treat, as cousin and godmother had been paying for all our meals so far, no matter how much we insisted they let us pay! We met them at Citrus, this GREAT restaurant on Columbus and 69th??? I%26#39;m pretty sure it was right around there at least. This place is amazing, it has a very broad menu, and they have a fabulous sushi bar, which is what we all had. Cousin%26amp;BF come here alot, and we got seated at the best table, overlooking the whole restaurant.
We all gorged ourselves on amazing sushi, and just when we thought we couldn%26#39;t eat a bite more, the owner sent over three different desserts, on the house! And they were just divine...After dinner, we all headed over to BF%26#39;s apartment, a couple blocks away. We had a nightcap, said our goodbyes for the evening, and headed home. Again, another amazing evening with great family and friends. And I also just loved the UWS, it turned out to be one of my favorite neighbourhoods, especially Columbus Av.
Alrighty, this will just have to do for today!!!! This sounds crazy, but I could actually keep going, I am so into it! But if I hope to keep anyone%26#39;s attention, I know I need to wrap it up :)
Should I post the photos on the last installment so they correspond to my installments, or do you all want them now? You choose!! :)
2nd part of loooong trip report! Moving onto Day 4 + +
Well done, Tina - another excellent installment! Can we have the photos now please?
2nd part of loooong trip report! Moving onto Day 4 + +I%26#39;m loving every second of this.
I%26#39;m tempted to say %26#39;give us the photo%26#39;s now!%26#39; but at the same time I always put off things I%26#39;m looking forward to (I NEVER open my presents on Christmas Eve!)
Aww - never mind - GIVE US THE PHOTOS NOW! hehe
Really great! I feel like I%26#39;m having fun and I%26#39;m just sitting here in pjs and having coffee, half-watching the US Open. Can%26#39;t wait for pictures and chap. 3.
BTW, I think that some recent queries (dimsum67, babymac, amstanley and NETS come to mind) have asked about neighborhoods. I think you would be great at describing the feel of the diffferent areas for them! Besides, I need to finish my coffee...
You cut your pizza in half???? Ha ha ha ha ha!
Hard to describe Pillowman, isn%26#39;t it?
The UWS is my favorite area. I%26#39;ll speak for Daisiegee, too, and say it%26#39;s also hers.
More please.
Enjoying this very much Tina. At some point I think you should attach all the reports together on one thread. ';;) Post links to pics when you%26#39;re ready. ;)
I know, once we looked around and saw everybody else with their pizza slices, we felt like such dopes! We learned our lesson! Hehehe....here is the link for the photos, let me know if it works/doesn%26#39;t work!
snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/鈥?7534728
By the way, I am the short one in all the pictures!! :) Oh, and I%26#39;d be happy to describe the feel of the different neighbourhoods at some point!
Sounds GREAT tina... though, the pictures link doesn%26#39;t work for me...
I%26#39;m loving this...could almost be there with you with such great descriptions. And Bettina was right about the UWS being a favourite of mine!
Tried the link and it wouldn%26#39;t work, got me to a log on page! Is this just me ?
Forgot to say...how great is your cousin? Wish I had one like that.
Tina, I%26#39;ve just read the small print on Snapfish and it appears that the only way that you can share your photos is for them to send an email invitation to everyone on your behalf! This isn%26#39;t going to work if you want to share them with everyone on this forum. Why not check out photobucket or even webshots?
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