new york, new york
it has been 4 days since my return from New York. the trip was quite an experience, perhaps one that will define a huge part of my life.
DAY 1
my sister and i watched VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA during our layovers at the airport. our airline was cheap. it was an 8-hour flight which boasted free drinks (usually a can of soda or a cup of water) and perhaps a pack of peanuts / granola. the flight attendants varied, but half the time, they seemed unenthusiastic and tired. when we arrived in New York / LaGuardia airport, we paid $30 for a taxi ride to our hotel, Hotel 30 30 (appropiately named for being on E 30th street). it was rather idiotic because they had told us we couldn’t check in until 3pm. it was roughly 7 or 8 am, so we were forced to walk around for 6 hours. adding to the shittiness was that they required you to pay $14 for an hour of internet. we felt it a waste so we lived without it. we actually achieved a lot on our first day. we went to Time Square, purchased a few items at H&M (which we could’ve down here at home), and went to the brooklyn bridge. i have a photo of myself, taken by my sister who, in a lapse, accidentally missed her head by a long shot. the walk across the brooklyn bridge was fun, but dangerous! them bikers have a nasty attitude.
on the brooklyn bridge; i don't know why i like it. perhaps it is the weariness in my eyes or perhaps it is my failed attempt at a smile
and let me tell you something: new york smells, literally. i don’t know if it’s because i’m from california, but Manhatten smelled like Vietnam or something. Everyone’s smoking, there’s so much carbon emission from cars, there’s pee and whatnot in the alleys; the city has a pungent odor. my hair seemed to have soaked up the scent of new york, my clothing reeked of something foul. it’s even worse in the subways. because it’s underground, there’s barely any clean, fresh air. i was glad that the actual subway cars were air conditioned. but of course, over time, you get used to the smell (it’s them olfactory nerves!), so i guess if you’ve been living there for a while or you were raised there, it’d be offensive for some californian nobody to diss your home.
DAY 2
it rained cats and dogs. my shitty 2-year old vans had numerous holes in them. my windbreaker was not insulated enough so water seeped right through it. carol and i went to the metropolitan museum that day. it was fantastic. it would have been perfect it i had dry socks to wear. instead, i tried my best to cover the museum in a tank top (much to my embarrassment at the way i was dressed but i did not want to wear a windbreaker that needed drying), folded up jeans, and socks-less ratty vans. we spent practically the entire day at the museum to wait out the rain. i think that was the night we ate the peruvian? (it was south american is all i remember) restaurant Piou Piou Chicken. i hope i spelled that right. the chicken was delicious!! unfortunately, the $32 dollar meal was too big for only 2 people, so we gave half of it to a dignified homeless woman (she had too much integrity and pride to accept it from us but we were told that if you left it there she would have it and so we did). We then went to see Times Square at night. When we got back to the hotel I threw away my old Vans fearing mushrooms and whatnot would sprout out of it. I didn’t trust the dirty waters of New York flooding my shoes and getting away with it. In my mind, they were “tainted.” besides, it was time to let them go anyway. i adopted slippers the rest of the trip, much to the chagrin of my feet who had to endure the pain!
at the metropolitan museum cafeteria
DAY 3
we went to see the Statue of Liberty / Liberty Island and Ellis Island. my sister and i were scared that we were duped into buying $26 tickets that were already expired. to our relief, all tickets are valid for 180 days. Liberty Island itself was quite a yawn. we rented an audio player that would tell us more about where we were and what we were looking at. we did the same thing at Ellis Island, paying nothing when we got there since we showed them the receipt of our “purchase” at Liberty Island. the audio experience on Ellis was so touching. I loved it, and at times, I had wanted to cry. We walked around the museum for a while and went home. After about an hour or two rest, we headed off to New York’s Chinatown which kicks NY’s Korea Town’s ass by a longshot. i loved it in chinatown. everything was cheaper; there were booteg films, cheap jewlery, knockoffs… it was heaven! That night we ate at Anthony Bordain’s restaurant LES HALLES. Chalk it up to an unsophisticated pallete if you will, but I’m just going to be honest – the food was overpriced shit. we paid $44 or so collectively, and for what? a bland pork tenderloin meal and a dish overrun with beans (Cassoulet “Toulousain” – classic cassoulet). the sauce on my Mignon de pork “Maison” tasted muted (it needed oomph!) and the meat was almost tasteless. if anything, don’t eat here! you’re better off at a SUBWAYS or PAPAYA DOG (which was ok, by the way).
we left Saturday morning, taking the subway and a bus to LaGuardia. my sister’s big regret was not learning the subway system right off the bat because she could’ve saved $30 bucks on a cab ride. regardless of the regrets (because there were a few), the trip was fun and a memory that will never escape my mind. the greatest thing that i took away from the experience was this single thought: I LOVE CALIFORNIA. and i would never leave it if i could.
