Hello, Manhattan! (Day 2)
We woke up a bit early to include other activities before meeting up with our relatives for lunch. We headed to the corner of the street for the nearby subway. It was our first time and we were headed for the Central Park! New York in the morning is a lot cooler than New York at night. I don't know why but maybe because our bodies slowly adapt during the day so it wasn't as cold at night. The NYC Subway is comparable to the ones in Malaysia, only that it's colder in New York. It's quite dirty and loud but it's okay. There are a lot of people but the trains are not as packed as in Manila. When we went there, the fare was 2.50 dollars from your position to anywhere the train can take you. It's pretty cheap if you're going far and not so bad if you're going near. If you mind walking and taking the train, New York traffic is quite bad... but, goodness, nothing beats Manila traffic! We were lucky to have always been on the right side of the train on our first few rides. The trains go both ways and we just happened to be always on the right side! I got all control-freak so I started figuring out the sides. From then on, I made sure we didn't leave it to chance anymore.
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| Our first subway pass! The material is quite soft so if you don't take good care of it, chances are, it will not function well. That's what happened to my Papa's card. He swiped it too much and it failed to work. |
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| At the corner of Central Park. |
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| A day at the park :) |
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| Photo op at this big rock formation-- or whatever you call it. |
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| As much as I wanted to go around the whole park, we only stayed here! It's too big. |
If you like the arts, chances are, you know what The Juilliard School is. I mean, come on! They offer one of the best programs for music. Had I wanted to study music, I would have dreamt of studying here. I think music has a different level of difficulty compared to what we studied in the sciences. The big difference in technique and methods make it very appealing and interesting to me. I once thought that the biochemical formulas and figures were crazy hard to understand. Well, they are, but when I look at sheet music, I think it's a different crazy because you don't only rely on what you see and what you think. Rehearsals and years of practice might change my mind but it's pretty overwhelming.
We dropped by a church on the way back. We passed by Fordham, too! Oh well, New York has a lot of good schools!
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| I think this is St. Paul. It's across Fordham. The churches here are beautiful! |
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| Off to our lunch! |
We headed to Delta Grill along 9th avenue. We were supposed to eat at Shake Shack but since we ate there for dinner the night before, we changed restaurants. Our relatives were a few minutes late because of the traffic. They came from Chelsea and they drove up to Hell's Kitchen. I ordered ribs and it was pretty okay. The serving was pretty big!
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| Muffin appetizer. I thought it was a bit bland and chalky. Is that even a word? |
We talked over lunch about different things. We shared about our company, our schools, our relatives, etc. These two just got married last year. We met Uncle Victor years ago for his SEA Games competition and we met Auntie Becky there for the first time. I thought she was pretty sweet and really nice. Uncle Victor is a stuntman now in Hollywood or wherever his projects are while Auntie Becky has her own line of accessories. I'm not sure if it's hers or if she works for a company. All I remember is it's design related. They were headed to the Hamptons for vacation after we ate. Oh, we also met Bruce! He/she's their dog! The dog was in a bag under the table all along! I didn't know! He/she was really cute and hyper!
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| Auntie Becky, Uncle Victor, and us! |
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| They were parked a few blocks from the restaurant and since our hotel was towards the same direction, we walked together. |
When we bid good bye, we headed back to the hotel to rest for a bit. We went out and roamed around Manhattan again after 30 minutes or so. Our hotel was near 9th avenue so that's in the west side. We wanted to head to the Grand Central Terminal so we did! With the map in our hands, we directed our way to the station. It was not as far. Its architecture is beautiful. It's big and I think we got lost for a while too! We took pictures, people watched, and bought cupcakes! Magnolia Bakery has a stall/branch there!
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| At the iconic Grand Central Station! |
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| Lots and lots of people! |
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| Tiny cupcakes :) |
After the terminal, my mom wanted to see the United Nations Office/UNESCO. It's in the east. I think it's on the 1st avenue and you can already see the water from there. It was a long walk and we didn't even go in the place! I liked the walking part though. After taking of photos, we headed back. We already took the bus because we were tired! I even slept in the bus! We stopped at Times Square.
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| Across the office |
Yes, I got all giddy and excited when we reached Times Square. I remember seeing it for the first time inside the taxi when we got to New York on our first day and passing by it to get to Grand Central. I held all the excitement for this moment. It was smaller than I imagined though but it was so amazing. You can really feel the theatre spirit and artsy fartsy stuff! It's apparently crowded too but it's a kind of crowded!
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| Times Square |
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| Musicals on Broadway! Whoot! |
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| Hello. |
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| Spot us! It's so funny! The pictures on the floor are courtesy of Colombia. They take pictures of people who want their faces on the Times Square floor! Cool. |
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| By the TKTS steps. Holy cow. The dog is huge! So cute and behaved though. |
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| Awkward guy is awkward. |
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| People queuing for cheaper tickets because Broadway shows are expensive! |
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| Papa wanted a picture of him on the screen. Haha! See him? |
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| Chillin'. It has been a long day. |
We roamed around the stores around Times Square. We went to some souvenir stores, Hershey's, and M&Ms. We all got hungry and tired so we looked for somewhere to eat. I mistook Junior's for Applebees. Sorry. I don't know why I mixed the two! Anyway, we ate these at Applebees.
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| Chicken wings and... |
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| Tiny pizza! |
We walked back to our hotel. My brother was dead tired and my dad was moody. I guess it was best for everyone to rest. The day was pretty long but fun, nonetheless.
Church, Art, and Food (Day 3)
We roamed around the city again. Hey, what else is there to do? We were originally headed to the Museum of Modern Art but since it was still closed, we stopped by the churches that were nearby. I don't know if it's bad for us to go to non-Catholic churches but due to ignorance, I think we entered one or two non-Catholic ones. There was one church that had a big Presbyterian label outside so we didn't enter. But that was just one! The churches in New York were beautiful. The architecture was amazing.
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| Christian church. |
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| St. Patrick's Cathedral! Too bad that it was being renovated so we didn't see it in all its glory. |
I think there was a short while when St. Patrick's was entirely closed due to renovation. Though it was still being renovated when we came, people were allowed to enter already. When we went though, a graduation mass was being held so we were only allowed to stay at the back. It was okay.
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| St. Patrick's from the inside! Still beautiful despite the scaffolding. |
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| We lit a candle. I love how clean these are! |
We stopped by Rockefeller Center too. I remember studying its type of architecture in class. Anyway, NBC studio was just across the tower. We missed the morning show! We took pictures and left for MOMA.
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| The tower! |
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| Aud and Mama. You can see the studio from here! |
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| Rockefeller. They had Stonehenge like pieces in front that time. Or are they always there?! |
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| Parents :) |
I love going to museums so I made sure we went to MOMA. The queue was already long when we got there but after a few minutes, we were able to be assisted already. Because of my brother's backpack, I became a member of MOMA! The lady at the counter suggested that I apply for membership because it will be 5 dollars or so cheaper if I do... and hey, you become a member for a year! I think members can bring a guest for free or with discount and their queue for bag check-in is shorter. Backpacks are not allowed inside. It only took us a while to apply and before we knew it, we were headed for the pieces already! We went to top floor first (Guggenheim idea) then worked our way down.
Whenever I look at modern art, it makes me feel like everyone can be an artist. Actually, everyone really can. But with modern art, everything becomes easier. The rules of classical art or any rules of design get ignored (sort of) but beautiful art can still be produced. I think, more than anything, modern art is about expression without limits. In MOMA, popular and other talented artists are featured. Everytime I am in the same room of amazing works by amazing people, I feel so blessed and lucky. It's like witnessing a very important part of history firsthand and I feel so unworthy! Haha.
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| Outside the museum |
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| Starry Night. Holy camote. It's the real thing! The girl there discusses the painting with little kids. |
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| Creepy. |
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| Frida! |
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| This is very intricate. I can't even. |
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| I have always wanted to make model figures! This one is just so beautiful! |
When we got to the floor of the restaurant, my brother urged us to eat already (as always). I didn't want to eat yet because there was so much art to see and we didn't have the whole day. I didn't win the argument. We ate. Their food was really good!
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| Yummy soup! I ordered the set. |
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| Mama's food. Salmon! Yummy! |
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| I love how popular brands differ products country per country. This Sprite bottle is so cute! |
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| My food! Looks so healthy! It was my first time to eat lentils. |
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| My brother's. Doesn't look healthy at all. Haha! |
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| Yummy whoopie pie! This was heavenly! |
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| Ze bro-duh! |
We roamed around some more but we didn't get to see it all. The museum had a lot of people. I wish museums in my country also get packed with people! Anyway, we headed to *drum roll* Carnegie Hall after! Every performer dreams of performing there. I saw in the map that it was just near so we went there. I didn't know what to expect. When we got there, it was also being renovated outside! We went in though and just looked around. Entering the place makes you feel like you're in for some good show! We headed east afterwards to meet Tita Jane.
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| Lobby, 360. |
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| One day? |
We rode the subway and walked to Serendipity 3! It's famous for its frozen hot chocolate and grand opulence. I watched the movie Serendipity too so I got all excited! Tita Jane and her family lived nearby so we met her in the restaurant. Tita Jane is my mom's close friend's sister. She brought her two daughters, Annika and Aaliyah, with her. They have just migrated from Canada and Philippines. Seeing Tita Jane reminded me of her sister, which I thought was really cool. We chatted and shared dessert!
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| Dainty. |
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| They sell it for take out! |
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| Lo and behold the most expensive ice cream ever! $1000.00, man! |
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| The restaurant was pretty small but it's so cute! I love this part. |
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| Since I am a peanut butter lover, I ordered frozen peanut butter hot chocolate. I've tasted better but it was good! |
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| My brother ordered the fudgy brownie one. The orders are really big! |
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| Tita Jane, Annika, Aaliyah, and us! |
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| This girl is very studious! You go, honey! |
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| Tita Jane and Mama |
Memorial
After chatting, we headed down south for the 9/11 Memorial. We didn't have much time left for New York so we squeezed this in. The train ride took a while but we got there just on time! Good thing we asked one police officer first before heading to the memorial. We were supposed to buy the tickets a few blocks away from the memorial first. After going there and mom having a quick washroom break, we headed to the memorial. America was shocked when it happened years ago so we knew that this was really something big for them. The place was so peaceful. The fountains were very beautiful. The new towers were being built around it.
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| We arrived at the nick of time! We caught the last passes! |
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| Can you believe that this was once one of the tallest towers in the world? Names of those who died and those who died rescuing were engraved on the sides of the site. |
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| This tree survived the attack. The other buildings had their windows and structures broken. |
Back to Times Square!
We rode the train back to midtown. At this time, I felt like I was an expert of the NYC Subway already! Everyone was tired from the activities of the day so it was me and Mama who went out to buy dinner and medicine for Papa. He caught a cold on our flight to New York.
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| After buying medicine in Duane Reade, we headed across the street to buy Papa a cake! It was his birthday. |
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| I watch Cake Boss in TLC! Though this isn't the original, it's still so cool! |
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| My mom and I roamed around Times Square before heading back. We were searching for dinner! Time Square with all its lights lit! So amazing!!! |
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| We stopped by a few shops with lots and lots of musical theater and theater thingamabobs! I was in heaven. Here are some of the scores. I was so happy looking at everything! They sold programmes, souvenirs, etc. |
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| Here's where the posters of the Broadway shows are. Wee! |
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| Scripts section! Holy cow. This place is really filled! I just hope our stores or libraries back home have a lot of these things! |
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| "But what I really want to do is direct." -- speaks so much to me. |
At this point of the night, I wanted to remove my feet (yes, feet) because they were already hurting. We bought dinner in a Japanese restaurant at 9th avenue. The food was really good! We took the food out, brought them home, and ate at the lobby/dining area! Our room was small and it wouldn't be comfortable to eat there so we ate downstairs. We gave Papa his cake in the end but he didn't eat because he was sick. I ended up eating most of it! Yummy strawberry shortcake! :)
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| Probably not the best picture of the yummy dessert. Hehe! |
Another long, fun day in NYC! :)
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