I Love New York
I spent the last few days in the most amazing city in the world. I’ve never seen anything like it. A great friend of mine is spending the summer there, working at an internship and she so kindly allowed me to bum on her couch and show me the city.
Highlights:
- Apparently, there’s no need to use blinkers in NYC. I was in my shuttle-van for about an hour and a half and my driver never, once used one. Driving there is absolute madness.
- Shake Shack is awesome, except when it’s closed for an event and you have to walk to the next one. Well, it wasn’t that bad of a walk and it was well worth it.
* First of all, their branding is amazing. I loved everything about their logo, cups, fries boxes, napkins, etc. Really well done.
* Employees were super nice. In the 1 minute I was at the counter ordering, the guy made me feel like a friend…even commented on my southern-twang-name :)
* Cheeseburger was great. Fries were great. Diet coke hit the spot.
- Times Square is something to see, especially if you’re an Ad Major. Beautiful lights, inviting (or luring) you into each and every place. Barbie, ToysRUs & M&Ms stores all brought out the kid in me.
- No need for dieting in NYC. I was worried about gaining weight, not being on my regular food portion-levels. However, I forgot I’d be walking everywhere! The walks never seemed long, but my legs would eventually get sore. We had to have done at least 5 miles every single day!
- “Texas Heat” is nothing compared on the current “New York Heat.” While I was there, the heat index was usually 110° and above. The humidity was just as bad. Had to wear curly hair and clothes that weren’t so sweat-obvious the whole time.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art was a great place to visit. There’s so many beautiful pieces!
* Veronica showed me her favorite Van Gough painting, Roses, and I had to agree, it’s quite beautiful. Definitely my favorite too.
* The Alexander McQueen exhibition sounded so amazing to experience. However, the line for it was over 2.5 hours long. Sorry I missed out, but I just had too much of NY to see.
* I got to see a huge work by Chuck Close. My high school art teacher assigned each of us to make a Chuck Close when I was a senior, so it was cool to see his piece in person.
- The Subway system! Oh, how lost I would have been without Veronica. Those maps looked so complicated to me. Luckily, she’s an experience New Yorker now and knows the tracks. The worst part is, I kept imagining myself falling into the depths of the track, a situation that would be impossible to get out of…What an awful thought to have!
- The Museum of Natural History had a really cool underwater section that we loved. I’ve always wanted to see a life-sized blue whale (really, I have) and they gave it to me! I can’t even imagine seeing that big guy in the middle of the ocean!
- New Yorkers dress really well. In places, I felt like certain people just walked off the runway. I was totally jealous of their stylish ways.
- The main goal for the weekend was to spot a celebrity. Mission accomplished! At a small bar in Brooklyn, my friend saw Paul Schneider. If you don’t know, he was Mark Brendanawicz from the first two seasons of Parks and Recreation. He was also in Water for Elephants. She chatted with him for a bit and he was so appreciative of her compliments. Really a nice guy.
- Watching “Hey Arnold” on Netflix is always fun…but, it’s even better in your friend’s NYC flat.
- NBC must be my favorite channel, and I didn’t even know it. We went in their store and I realized that I love pretty much every show they produce. I need to pay more attention to where all my shows come from.
- Waiting 2 hours for a dessert is crazy. However, waiting two hours to be seated at Serendipity for a frozen hot chocolate is perfectly worth the wait. Making our day a little more amazing…we got to sit at the very table that John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale sat at during the scene in Serendipity, the movie.
- If you’re a movie buff, you must go to Queens and experience the Museum of Moving Images. The interactive exhibits were a lot of fun. I got to be a voiceover for Marilyn Monroe, create/star in a stop motion film and “wear” Audrey Hepburn’s famous costume. I also loved seeing props, set designs, makeup artistry and other amazing film-things.
No...I didn’t go see the Statue of Liberty or the 9/11 Memorial, eat a hot dog or a pizza or ride across the Golden Gate bridge. I told my family I saved all the tourist spots for when they come with me! I got to experience real New York life, even if just for 3 days and I’m so glad I did.
Thanks so much to Veronica for being my personal tour guide throughout the weekend. I loved every minute! We’ll have to relive it sometime soon.
I’m coming to see you again New York City. I’ll miss you until I’m back!
