WOW! That’s about all I can muster up the energy to say at the moment. For those of you just tuning in, I have recently went on a trip to New York City to pay a visit to my friend, Andy, whom was a former college roommate of mine while I was at Nazareth.
I spent 3 whole days exploring Manhattan. There is so much to tell, I will break down the trip into three different posts over the next few days. I want to get as much down on paper as I can so I do not forget it… and even as I type this account, there will be many details that will still slip my mind!
Here goes:
On the first day (December 7), Andy and I started off at the Empire State Building. This was a fitting place to start because you get the entire birds eye view of the city before jumping into it close-up. It was freezing cold! But it was also very quiet relative to the crowded noise of the streets below. From the 86th floor observation deck, the audio tour guide (his name was Tony... that frikin guy, he's the guy I tell ya!) I was equipped with pointed out many of the bridges, buildings and neighborhoods that make New York City famous. I was able to see the East River, Central Park, the Hudson River, New Jersey, the Chrysler Building, the Financial District… and SO MUCH MORE!
Following that chilly start, we took to walking. Andy led me to Bryant Park, where an ice rink was set up along with a small “Christmas Village” of booths selling a variety of gifts for Christmas. It was there that Andy introduced me to hot cider. Mmmm… when you are freezing your ass off in Manhattan, there is nothing that can warm you up better than a cup of this stuff with a cinnamon stick floating in it.
From there, we worked our way on foot up towards Times Square (which is not really a square at all… I never really figured that one out). We quickly got the hell out of there because it was just way too crowded and frankly, it’s just full of neon billboards anyway. Nothing terribly unique seemed to be there.
We continued towards 9th Avenue (or Columbus Avenue) uptown. Once we got WAY uptown (110th or 111th street) we ate at Koronet’s Pizza that sells slices of pizza the size of a cafeteria tray for $3. NO JOKE! Totally worth the walk!
Following that, we headed downtown where Andy pointed out the Metropolitan Opera and Julliard. We continued to head downtown to the 42nd street pier to take a Circle Line Sight Seeing Cruse. It was at this point that it started to snow! SO FREAKING COLD! Our tour was from 4 to 6 PM, so as it was snowing, it got dark too. Many of the pictures I took (including those of the Statue of Liberty) did not turn out. But, we watched the whole city light up as we rode the boat. We saw many views of New Jersey, the United Nations, the numerous different piers, Financial District, Empire State and Chrysler Buildings, the Brooklin Bridge and the Verazano Narrows Bridge. The guide also pointed out where various tunnels were located as we floated over them. INCREDIBLE… despite the sold, snow and dark!
After that, Andy and I had dinner at a diner on 9th avenue in a neighborhood of the city called “Hells Kitchen”… so called for the rough and tough Irish immigrants who lived there. It’s calmed down a bit over the years.
We were exhausted at that point, but we were scheduled to meet Andy’s friends from work (Jon, Zak and Nate) and another former roommate of ours (Joel) at a bar called Barcelona. Here’s where things get a little dicey! After a few rounds of drinks… Andy and I were not tired at all. And we also decided to go to a strip club. (!!!) Prior to that, neither Andy nor my self had ever been. I think Zak knew the bartender at the bar because he returned with a final round of drinks and 6 passes for free cover to the Hustler Club on 51st street. So I had my first experience with a strip club Friday night. It was especially entertaining for all of us due to the fact that Joel is gay… and he also managed to attract the attention of two stripers who were all over him within a matter of minutes of entering!
Following the strip club… we returned back to the bar we were originally at where Zak bought us another round of drinks and Joel bought us a round of shots called Flaming Moes (yes, just like the Flaming Moe from the Simpsons)! That was pretty much where the night ended up… Andy and I took the drunken ride on the N train back to Queens.
How did I fair the following morning… tune in later and find out!
On the first day (December 7), Andy and I started off at the Empire State Building. This was a fitting place to start because you get the entire birds eye view of the city before jumping into it close-up. It was freezing cold! But it was also very quiet relative to the crowded noise of the streets below. From the 86th floor observation deck, the audio tour guide (his name was Tony... that frikin guy, he's the guy I tell ya!) I was equipped with pointed out many of the bridges, buildings and neighborhoods that make 
Following the strip club… we returned back to the bar we were originally at where Zak bought us another round of drinks and Joel bought us a round of shots called Flaming Moes (yes, just like the Flaming Moe from the Simpsons)! That was pretty much where the night ended up… Andy and I took the drunken ride on the N train back to 
No comments:
Post a Comment