A DAY IN THE STREETS

Today was officially my first day in the city! After spending all day in a car yesterday, it was really nice to stretch my legs, especially since they were so stiff from the 5K. (I ran a 5K Saturday morning and spent Sunday sore stuck in a car. It didn’t do wonders for my muscles). 

Making it to the city was not as formidable as I had originally thought. Because I’m staying in New Jersey with family, I needed to take a quick bus ride to the Port Authority. It drops you off a few blocks away from Time Square.

It’s so crazy! If you blink, it’s as if you are missing an entire minute. The city just never stops. The hustle and bustle and the large throngs of people are homing to me. This kind of commotion is exactly what I love about it. This city is home.

I spent the morning shopping on 34th street, waiting for my second cousin, Melissa so we can have lunch. Most of the stores are the same back home, but they're all in one convenient location. It's like the best mall you've ever been to. Did I mention there's a Starbucks on every corner? Believe me, that was step one today. 34^th street is also the home of Herald Square and Madison Square Garden.

We ate lunch at the Tick Tok Diner. It was kind of overpriced, but what isn't in this city? After lunch we headed into Times Square. We were ambushed at what seems like every second with ticket sales, bus tours, and other shenanigans. The key is to avoid eye contact; however, one of them made a very good deal, and I bought some tickets to a comedy show! I figured I needed things to do at night while I was here, so why not? I'm not the best at being frugal. Whatever, YOLO. (Yes, I just went there.)

Bart Simpson and Elmo in Times Square

Times Square by Day

While we were in Times Square, I did some shopping, and then continued to find all of the Broadway Theaters. I had originally planned on seeing Chicago, so that was first on my list. A passerby had even conveniently handing me a coupon for $30 off any ticket. I arrived at the box office, and I tried to purchase a ticket for the rear mezzanine at $67.50 each, but they were sold out. I was convinced the rest of the tickets were out of my price range, but since I had that coupon, I was able to purchase tickets for the middle mezzanine for the same price. Better seats for the same price, WHAT? It was like fate. I bought my tickets for the show tomorrow night at 8pm, and I couldn't be more excited.

One of my absolute favorite musicals

After buying my tickets, we continued to stroll through the streets of NY. We decided to take a walk around Central Park. For those of you who don't know, Central Park is HUGE. There are so many individual landmarks, statues, and sites just within the park itself. It would take hours to walk all of it. The park is filled with joggers, freelancers, entertainers, and horses/carriages. There are statues of Columbus, Shakespeare, and many others. The one site I really wanted to see was the fountain. This might sound silly, but the glee cast filmed in Central Park for Episode 4x4 "The Break Up." (Still depressed). Though I have already seen it multiple times, I definitely wanted to see where they filmed regardless. I found the fountain where Kurt and Blaine broke up, which is much prettier when there's actually water in it, and it's dark, great nonetheless. 

Metropolitan Museum of Art

After Central Park, we sat on the steps of the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Art-it's within Central Park), waiting for my uncle so we could grab some dinner. After he met us, we headed to the West side of the city for dinner. We went to some Japanese joint, and I'm sitting here thinking that I'm going to order Hibachi vegetables, but when I look at the menu, I didn't understand any of it! So much for those vegetables... I ended up ordering Octopus dumplings, which didn't even look like dumplings, but delicious (in an interesting kind of way) nonetheless. I met some friends of my uncle's, and we headed over to Seaport! Seaport is at the edge of Manhattan; from there, you can see the Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn itself! The view was absolutely breathtaking...and freezing. It was very windy, but it was completely worth it for the view.

The View from Seaport

 This city comes with this newfound sense of independence. It’s as if you can do anything while you’re here. No wonder so many people have their big break here. It's wonderful. Many believe NYC is a dangerous and villainous, but I resent that. This is one of the beautiful cities in the United States. There's just no possible way one can get bored here! There's just so much to do! I'm so incredibly jealous of all of my family members who live here, and literally, it's all but us. Not okay. Life is a constant adventure here. Even with as many times as we've visited, I'm still not bored. Tomorrow I continue my adventures in the city, with big Broadway plans and dreams. Viva Nueva York! 

xoxo,