New York City: Day 2 (Fight On!)

Remember that time I could successfully get up early in the morning? Yeah, I don’t either. But it’s okay. The plan for today was to go to the Brooklyn Bridge Park, cross the Brooklyn Bridge, head to the Statue of Liberty, then meet up with my best friend/fellow USC Silk Rebecca. Seemed like a pretty solid itinerary, but then again, remember that time everything went according to plans? Yeah, I don’t either. After finally getting out of bed, I ran into a random old man in the apartment, who was notably not Manisha, and seemed equally surprised to see me. But I guess this is what you sign up for when you stay at a cheap AirBnB. After we did finally leave our apartment and get on the subway, something else very interesting happened: it began to snow. And then it went as follows:

Me: “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I repeat, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Maybe we should just go to a museum”

Joanna: *has never seen snow falling before, begins Snapchatting snow*

Me: “You know what, I don’t care. Let’s go to the Brooklyn Bridge Park. It wasn’t supposed to snow anyway. It must stop eventually. Because, like, this wasn't supposed to happen.”

The Manhattan Bridge, which is notably not the Brooklyn Bridge, feat. trash bag.

And so we did go to the Brooklyn Bridge Park, which happened to be eerily empty, took some photos, then went over to the other side of the bridge, took even more photos, and then just like that, casually photobombed a wedding. I'm not kidding. We were just minding our own business, taking pictures of the skyline and all that, when out of nowhere, the two ladies next to me began exchanging wedding vows. They even had an officiant and a wedding photographer and everything, but to be honest, I had just assumed that they were tourists, with the cameras and three layers of coats and everything. But anyway, we were just hanging out there, right behind them, in the one exact spot that was definitely visible in each photo. And then again, it went as follows:

Me *whispers*: “OMG, I think they’re getting married.”

Joanna: “OMG what”

Me: “OMG they’re getting married. Right now right here.

Joanna: “OMG let’s get out of here.”

Me: “OMG I think we just photobombed a wedding.”

Yeah. So that happened. But I mean, to be fair, it didn’t *look* like a wedding. And it’s not like anyone asked us to move. Anyway, we ended up watching them for a bit from the distance, and they all looked so happy that it made me happy. But then I’m also pretty sure that Nola broke up with Greer at that exact location in She’s Gotta Have It. But y’know, that’s just an observation.

The first of many skylines.

The least worst of a string of bad pictures that I made poor Joanna take.

So once we were done ruining people’s weddings, we I decided to cross the entire Brooklyn Bridge. Joanna wasn’t too crazy about the idea, because it was freezing cold and everything, but I was pretty relentless (mostly because of the photo opportunities; this is what Susan Sontag meant when she said traveling is now about collecting experiences to enjoy later). To make things worse, my map reading skills had hit an all time low, so we ended up taking the long way onto the bridge, but I mean hey, we did eventually make it! And the view of the Manhattan skyline was beautiful, and the bridge was beautiful, and in the meantime the sun came out and everything was perfect. Well, besides the cold. 

The one photo everyone has to take

my heart <3

After crossing the bridge, however, we decided that going to the Statue of Liberty would not be the smartest of ideas, so instead went up to the Empire State Building observation deck. Now, the first thing you need to know about me is that I love skyscrapers, skylines, and cityscapes in general. The second thing you need to know about me is that I love photography. So, despite the wind and the freezing cold, I ended up spening a good hour up there, walking around the deck, taking photos and fangirling over the view. Meanwhile, Joanna was sitting inside, probably adding this to the long list of poor choices I have made.

Again, LOL.

After being forced to leave making the smart decision of going inside, we headed back to Penn Station to meet Rebecca and her friend. The four of us then went to Macy’s to check out their window displays, then walked over to Hershey’s Chocolate Factory to get free candy, and then headed to M&M’s World, which made me want to like M&M's. We also went to Radio City and saw the Rockefeller tree again, and then checked out the Christmas market at Bryant Park. Also, Rebecca and I realized that we somehow always end up exploring cities together, whether it’s Chicago, Dallas, or New York, so there's a fun fact for you all. Rebecca also explained to me what happens when the ball drops at New Years Eve, which was very confusing to me before, and let me just say, I imagined something very, very different, which may or may not have been inspired by a certain Miley Cyrus music video. But yeah, we don’t need to talk about that.

When Macy's only decorates the bottom floor to lure you in 😒😒

That's definitely not a wrecking ball.

I feel like this is an odd combination of the Statue of Liberty and VJ Day in Times Square.

Rebecca & me feat. giant baubles.

Once Rebecca and Ginger left (sadness), we went back to the Empire State Building to look at the city in the dark. And once again, it was stunning and I never wanted to leave, so I spent yet another hour outside, staring at the city. Except, of course, it was even colder and winder than before, so I literally had to hold on to the rail so that the wind wouldn’t blow me away. It was worth it, though. I’m telling you, it was worth it.

The Chrysler Building, aka my favorite building of all times.

  

This view is what I essentially live for.

After that, though, we were pretty much dying from the cold, so we headed home and went to sleep.

Click here for day three.

New York City: Day 1

Part One of my mini-series on my winter break trip to New York City, aka that time I learned that I can't read maps. Enjoy.

Also, for the complete experience, I suggest you follow the links when you can!

***

It was 3:00 am, our shuttle was running ten minutes late, and I was yelling expletives on the street corner. At this point, however, there was nothing we could do, it was too late to change our minds, our trip to New York City had begun. After six more aggressive phone calls to our driver (who by the way, had passed our street two times already and kept saying was five minutes away) and twelve more embellished renderings of the f-word, I told my roommate and travel companion Joanna that it was time to surrender those 32 dollars and call a Lyft. That was how we met Edwin, our Lyft driver and hero of the day, who was far more capable than PrimeTime Shuttle driver #6262246786 and got us to the airport on time. As you can imagine, though, by this point I had already convinced myself that this entire trip was a bad idea, I was on verge of a nervous breakdown, and was about to repeat the airport meltdown I apparently had at the solemn age of three. Not sure what exactly went down, but my parents still bring it up, so it must have been bad. If you think I’m dramatic now, you can imagine what I was like 17 years ago. This was also exacerbated by the fact that there were only about $85 on my bank account at that point, as my money transfer took forever to get through (and I also might have taken a trip to Macy’s the previous day).

But it was gonna be okay, I told myself, everything was gonna be okay. We boarded our plane to Newark just fine, I got some much needed sleep, and we were in New York in no time. See! Flying is fun after all! Said no one ever. As it is, of course, around halfway through the trip, this guy ended up passing out right next to me on the plane. Just as in movies, he passed out in the middle of the aisle, and the crew was calling for “doctors, nurses, or medical professionals” to identify themselves. For the few minutes that he was unresponsive, I was honestly terrified. But then he woke up, said he was fine, didn’t comply with regulations, and ended up being very rude and dismissive to everyone, so by the end of the trip, I had lost most compassion I had felt for him. Though I still hope he got home okay. But yeah, eventually we got to Newark just fine, somehow made it to the AirTrain, then again somehow made it to the train to Penn Station, then somehow managed not to get lost on the subway and make it to Carroll Gardens. And in the meantime we had an unfortunate run-in with a pizza-less pizza rat. Because every rat in NYC is pizza rat, of course. I also had a 40-pound suitcase with me of course, which I had to drag up and down the subway stairs, but not even that could stop us.

But yeah, we eventually got to Carroll Gardens (which is BEAUTIFUL and their holiday decorations are something else!), and after a 10-minute walk, there we were at our Brooklyn AirBnB, a gorgeous building with an even more gorgeous eviction notice on it, and four flights of narrow stairs that were just waiting for aforementioned suitcase. Yay! After settling down for a bit and chatting with our host Manisha, we decided to venture into Manhattan to see the tree and ice-skate at Rockefeller Center.

Yet before we get into all this, let me tell you one thing about NYC in the winter: it’s gorgeous, yes, but it’s also cold af. And yes, I’m sure you knew that already and so did I, but like, it was cold. Like, cold cold, the kind you think you’re prepared for but really aren’t, unless you're one of those people who walk around in ski gear 24/7 of course.

So, due to the weather conditions (and the $40 admission fee), we decided we would not be ice-skating at Rockefeller Center. My “marvelous” dreams of being Sally Hayes from The Catcher in the Rye were crushed. (C’mon, we all know that Holden was an unreliable narrator, and Sally really wasn’t that bad. She’s my secret favorite.) It was a sad, sad moment. But hey, we still got to see the tree, which was pretty, but also pretty anticlimactic. It turns out it isn’t that big after all. (At least it’s still not the Montreal Christmas tree, though.) 

"'I have a marvelous idea!' She was always having a marvelous idea. [...] 'Let's go ice-skating at Radio City!'" (page 113) 

For your full enjoyment, they were also playing this song on repeat.

We were at Rockefeller Center for a while, taking pictures and all, and once we got bored of being squished in a crowd of aggressive tourists, we decided to walk around, eat a pretzel of unknown origin, and head to Times Square. This moment also marked the beginning of the “Lilla Can’t Read Maps and Decides to Head the Opposite Direction” saga. But eventually we did make it there, took some cute pictures, got a few weird comments about my USC beanie (and jacket and sweater, I went full on out) and then headed on a quest to find Krispy Kreme, because apparently you have to go all the way to the East Coast to find Krispy Kreme nowadays. While that was quite a challenge, because I can’t read maps we did end up finding it (hint: it’s in Penn Station, not inside Madison Square Garden lol) and decided to head home.

Times Square can't shine as bright as you/ I swear it's true

And that was our first day in New York.

Click here for day two (fight on!).