New York, New York!

As I mentioned last post, I was in NYC! It was a very last-minute, fly by my ass vacation,  and it was just what I needed.

What had happened was, after I had been hired for the new gig, I had 4 days free between my last day at the old job and my first day at the new one. I had never been to New York City before, so I said screw it and got the flights arranged. After getting things mostly in order, I called J to share the news.

"Guess where I'll be Sunday?!"
"Wh-"
"NEW YORK CITY!!!!" (I was a little excited)

That's when he started laughing. "Really?? You are never going to believe this..."

He proceeded to explain he had been invited by one of his wine distributors to go to the city Sunday and Monday for a mset and greet and dinner. He wasn't sure if he was going to accept or not, but given the circumstances...

He had to do work stuff on Sunday, but we promised to spend all of Monday together.  So Sunday I flew up and walked all of the touristy parts I wanted to see- Chinatown, Little Italy, DUMBO, Brooklyn, Manhattan b the whole gamut. I saw an old improv friend of mine and got to catch up with him and meet a friend of his in a cute little Swiss café (can't remember the name to save my life, but they had phenomenal french toast). I walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, that was a fun hike- I even learned something!

When you walk across the bridge,  if you are paying attention, you notice a number of padlocks randomly locked along the course of the bridge. According to a tour guide I was sneaking behind,  a local legend is, if you write you and your lover's name on a lock, hook it on and throw the key off the bridge, you two will stay together forever.  A sweet tale... and I'm curious as to how many of those couples are still together? Some of the locks have been there so long, they've been painted over with the bridge a few times.

In the spirit of adventure, I hadn't booked a place to stay for the night officially.  By the time I thought about it, buses to New Jersey (where I had been offered a couch) had stopped. Being on the broke side, I decided to test the motto, "City That Never Sleeps". I headed to Times Square, where I proceeded to people watch and caught some "visual poetry" on the big screens. Met some fun random people that gave me insight on the Square itself, lied to Spiderman (he was being a pushy ass), and saw the excitement of the area fade into a sparse, deserted street. About 3am, I was wandering around the perimeter of Central Park when I stopped to write a bit. That was when I met Carl. An Upper West Side local, we got chatting and he was cool enough to hang out and keep me company. We talked about our significant others, life, the whole shebang. He was a great example of New York hospitality,  and I am happy to have met him.

In the morning proper, I met up with J. We had brunch in Manhattan at a little Italian place that was more atmosphere than anything else, though it did have an impressive wine list. We then hopped a cab to Chelsea, where we booked a room at the Chelsea Lodge. Built in the 1800s, it is a ...cozy B&B for lack of a better description.  We napped, then went to the Chelsea Market. We tried doughnuts at the Doughnuttery, and later got dinner at The Meatball Shop. Almost immediately after,  we came across a little German café that I insisted we try. We had a blast- it was the first time in a LONG time we had spent so much time together. I was sad to say goodbye- the day had felt like a beautiful dream,  and I was being forced to wake up.

My last day in New York solo was spent bumming around Soho, then heading to Queens to the hostel I was staying in my last night. The trip was an awesome,  and I couldn't be happier I took it- it was just what I needed to recharge my batteries and get ready for my next big adventure!