This week was my spring break, and to celebrate, two friends from college came out to NYC. It was an exhausting schedule, but it was fun and so nice to meet up with my friends. It felt like the most natural thing to chill with my girls, even though it's been an entire year since I last saw either of them. A general rundown of the week with reviews further down. Pictures to come in a future post.
(pardon the link heavy schedule)
Monday
Check in at
Affinia Hotel
Buy breakfast foods/water at
Whole Foods
Five Guys
Macbeth at the
Metropolitan Opera
Tuesday
American Museum of Natural History
Lunch in
Central Park
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Rest at hotel
Vinegar Hill House (Brooklyn)
Empire State Building Observatory
Wednesday
Statue of Liberty and
Ellis Island
Rest at Hotel
9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero
Taj Tribeca
Times Square
Rockefeller Center -
Top of the Rock
Thursday
Check out of Hotel
St. Marks -
Ippudo
Duet 35 Karaoke
Depart city
Some general thoughts on a few of the places I visited in alphabetical order:
9/11 Memorial - This is the first time I've been at the memorial. When I visited Ground Zero in 2009, there was nothing to see but rubble through the construction fences. It was very awe-inspiring to be in this space, and it's obvious how much time and effort has been poured into this memorial to honor those lost. Any less, and it would be a disservice to their memories. I don't know anyone personally who was directly affected by this event, but it was still very moving. The waterfalls are grand, with the name of each victim carved into the perimeter, organized by relationship, not alphabetically. There will be 400 trees planted, and one tree, the Survivor Tree, was the only one in blossom this week. There was such a hushed reverence throughout the entire memorial, and it was an incredibly sobering atmosphere.
Affinia Hotel - the hotel was nice. Not a 5-star hotel, but still had a beautiful lobby, clean and comfortable rooms, efficient elevators, and great location. The hotel staff was very attentive, except the second day, after we had headed downtown, somebody had placed a "still sleeping" sign on our door, so our room wasn't cleaned. It was no big deal though, I just called and asked the front desk to send someone to clean it, and by the time we returned at night, it had been done. They didn't even take the tip I had left for the day. The hotel also offered to check our baggage at the bookends of our trip. We were baggage-free for the hour until check-in, letting us grab some much needed coffee, and they took the bags at the end, so we could dine and sing without having to lug our bags up and down the city. For $300/night in Midtown Manhattan between Penn Station and Herald Square, it was a great investment.
American Museum of Natural History - while I'm not a huge museum person, I didn't dislike this visit. The exhibits were clearly marked and explained, laid out in a logical manner with easy-to-follow floor plan. We happened to plan our visit with a couple school trips (which is probably normal for any given weekday morning), but admission to the museum was quick and painless. Did I mention, it's pay-as-you-like admission; the recommended price is only a guideline, and they don't judge if you can't afford less than that. My personal favorite exhibit was the Ocean room.
Duet 35 - for $4/hour/person, it's a great deal. Their song lists were well organized, very complete, and the remote controller was easy to use, unlike a couple that I've had to deal with in the past. Not only do they warn you when your time is coming to a close, but they'll come get you at the end, instead of letting you go accidentally go over your hour and charging you extra. They confiscated my water, but it wasn't a big deal for the hour we were there. The karaoke room and bathroom were clean, though they had just opened when we arrived. Not to mention most of their songs have these random Korean dramas playing behind the lyrics, which just added to the whole experience.
Metropolitan Museum of Art - again, I'm not a museum fan, but as my friends wanted to make the most of their CityPass, we went to this museum as well. Compared to the AMNH, this museum is very much like a maze, and the floor plan is of even less help. I am sure the pieces were organized by time period and/or artist, we ended up just wandering through the rooms until we found an exit. I did see Van Gogh, Rembrant, Monet, Manet, a bunch of others, American, European, Classical, Modern, Hellenistic, musical instruments, and others, I'm sure. And that was only the tip of the iceberg. An entire week would not be enough time to fully explore all the MMA has to offer.
Taj Tribeca - located near the WTC, this little Indian restaurant was such a great find. A bit of a hole in the wall, the decorations were tasteful, there was live music (a Tambura and tabla player, I believe), and amazing food. The nan was so good, soft and fluffy, but still crispy and fresh. We ordered the lamb roganjosh, chicken sag, and kadai ghosth. I don't know a lot about Indian food, but I know what I think tastes good, and this was very good.
