The Big Apple- Bite 3

http://tinitravels.blogspot.com/2010/09/big-apple-bite-2.html

I thought I will never get around to finishing up this trip in words...but then it would not have been fair, now that I am in the process of racking my brains about other trips I have not penned down (wonder if this phrase would even hold true after some time :) ). So before I get around publishing my travels (he he!!)...the chronicles should be complete right down from landing at a location to taking off, shouldn't they?

Me at Times Square

After a really late  party where I was standing pretty much the entire time, I finally hit the bed around 3 in the morning with a packed schedule for the next day, since that was to be the last day in NY (at least for now). Dreamless sleep ensued, only to be broken by the telephone ringing (I am pretty sure it would have rung in vain at least 10 times before it caught the attention of my brain which then asked me to wake up and pick up the phone). It was a wake up call at 11 in the morning :) So I got ready, and stepped out of the hotel to walk around directionless (or if I may say..going in and out of the supremely expensive shops at Times Square!) till my friend arrived. So turns out, that I had wandered not too far from the Ripley's Believe it or Not place which was right next to the NY Wax museum...tempting to step into one of those, but then my research (or talking to many many people before the NY trip) was suggesting that I could give these 2 places a pass and walk on to the other places like Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn bridge, the fireworks (yes it was finally the 4th of the 4th of July weekend), the Empire State building, Broadway musical....loads to see and not much time.

This was an exhibit at MoMa!

So stop wasting time you silly girl and move on...but how could I when my stomach was growling :( Remember I got up at 11? So we went to this small little ice cream place which came highly recommended...yup my NY guide was quite a foodie. Pity I did not eat as much as was suggested. That reminds me of one of the offline comments I got on the NY blog posts, that there was not much mention of food while travelling to a city which was so famous for it. Anyways...now it is going to be almost 5 months since I visited NY, so I have naturally forgotten the name of the ice cream place (without feeling guilty). But i do remember, that after trying at least 6 different flavours, I decided to take...no not my usual chocolate flavour...but Key lime! Different... And while trying to finish the really huge "small" cup of the ice cream, I was sugar saturated!! I needed some salt in my system... You see a lot of bakeries in NY..but when you try locating one of the road side shops (like the ones we have in India where you can get samosas :) ) where you can get salty stuff, you only get Chips! So we walked into yet another McDonald's (If I start thinking of the NY trip, I always end up having a faint taste of French fries in my mouth!...I went to that many McDonald's there!).

While I sat waiting reserving the seat in the very very crowded McDonald's, a gentleman came and sat on the seat next to mine and started talking about some church he was a member of and asking me which church I went to...OK!!! Weirdo!! So I just made up some stuff saying I go to Church in San Diego since I am only vacationing in NY. He seemed like a fanatic and I was too hungry to explain to him that I was a Hindu (who knows how he would have taken it!). Strangely enough the guy though of me as a very devout Christian and congratulated my friend, who by now was walking towards the table with 2 large fries, for having such a good wife!!!! That remained the joke of the day :)

Inventions at MoMa

Wishing Well..errr...Fountain!

So now it was high time we started the touring for the day! First halt was MoMa (museum of Modern Art)...now what do I say about the museum...for one, my friend got a discounted entry into it with a student ID which expired God knows how long back...and I had to pay full price!!! But it was a place one could spend days exploring...but that one would have to be supremely interested in art...and that was not me :) So for me Moma was a very very good one day exploration. The photography section was my favourite. and then there was the coffee place next to the fountains...with a wishing fountain kinda thing. Not that I am superstitious, but yes I did throw in a dime (or was it a cent or a quarter? more than a year in the US and I still do not know the coins!!!) and wished for something, forgetting which would again be attributed to the 5 months :) (not that anyone would be interested!).



I was here!



Sipping the tea, we thought that if we rushed, we might be able to catch a musical at Broadway. So we rushed. Little did we realize that it was 4th of July and all Broadway shows are cancelled for the evening (I think in anticipation of low crowds since everyone would want to watch the fireworks. So we decided to walk to the Brooklyn bridge instead.

Somewhere close to Brooklyn bridge





Caged

With loads of talking, we did not realize how many kilometers were covered. However, what also was not realized, was that we were lost :) We were somewhere close by,but we were lost. So while my friend asked around, I clicked around. Then we finally found the way to the Brooklyn Bridge. Some bit of history about this monument...Its a Gothic style bridge which took 13 years to make. The bridge connects Manhattan and Brooklyn over the East river (yes I did read most of this on the bridge, but obviously forgot...so I sought the help of good old Wiki....to refresh the memory...more you can read there!!). It was getting kinda dusky, so was a good long walk with loads of people cycling around and walking. This bridge in other times is the prime spot for viewing the 4th July fireworks. But unfortunately, this year, the fireworks were on the other side of the Hudson river, so one would be able to view them only from a distant view

Anyways...we walked into Brooklyn...and decided to stop by at a convenience store to buy cut watermelons...sit on the roadside and relish the fruits while the sore legs healed for the walk back. And by then it was already time for the fireworks...9 PM is when they started. So we somehow managed to walk back to the bridge. It was so totally worth the walk!!! Even from so far, the lit up sky was a treat to watch! I finally saw 4th of July celebration in NY!! (nothing compared to our Republic day parade or anything...but spectacular nonetheless!). By the time the fireworks finished, it was the perfect time to try some photographs of the Manhattan skyline....must say..I was proud of myself :)

So now if I went back to the list my research had provided me...barring the Broadway musical, the only thing that was left to see was the Empire state building. If only Dad was a billionaire, I would have hired a private plane to fly me there cuz I could not walk another step....three days of walking was finally catching up. But alas, we decided to walk and take the subway. So we reached Empire state building at 12:30...and even though we were supposed to take the escalator up the 102 floors, to me it seemed as if we would have to climb....I was there...and I did not want to climb :( how sad is that :)

NY from Empire State

But then we did take the elevator! After all one should go and see the tallest building in NYC, shouldn't they! I just scrolled up my blog to see how long the post is, and turns out it is really really long!! So I will let the pictures I took of the empire state, from the Empire state, tell you how spectacular it was, and what I would have missed had I given way to the laziness!!

With that it was time to bid adieu to NY! There is more to see and more to experience. so in the hopes of coming back again, I boarded the flight to Chicago...only to realize that the flight from there to San Diego had been delayed by 5 hrs!!! oh come on!!! Really?? I am tired...I have to drive back to the hotel...and i have to go to office tomorrow...you really wanna delay the flight? But meri kaun suntaa hai.

Anyways, I was sitting there reading "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo", when i noticed an old lady walking up to all the Indians sitting around one by one asking them if they were going to Toronto. Surprisingly and much to my disappointment, all that the Indians were answering was no...since she was obviously at the wrong gate. Since this was towards the latter part of the 5 hours, I was worried I might miss my flight if I go up to help, but what the heck...I suddenly missed Ma...the lady could only speak Punjabi. so I went to her to ask her for her boarding pass, checked with the airport folks about the gate (thankfully it was on the same terminal), took the lady to her gate and talked to the folks there to keep an eye on her and make sure she boards the flight since she would not understand English, told the lady that she was now on her way to Toronto...and ran back before I missed being on the way to San Diego!!