Blogging New York...Day Two...

First of all, let me point out that it's hot. And I don't mean, waaaah, it's hot. No, it's HOT. And HUMID. I think between yesterday and today I may have sweated off 4 pounds, which is not really a bad thing. I forgot how much I loathe real humidity. Most days I think it's humid in the Bay Area. Yeah. It isn't. It's just more humid there than Wyoming and Arizona. New York is HUMID. It was 92 degrees today with a heat index of 97. HOT.

But also, AWESOME.

I didn't wake up until about 9 this morning (still 6 according to my body) and lounged in the hotel until about 10:15 or so. Today's adventures included the subway, of which I am now a master. As I was plotting my course before I left, I seriously couldn't get that old song, "My baby takes the morning train" out of my head. That's right. Good morning Sheena Easton. Feel free to step down memory lane with me...

Anyway...got on the F train and got off in the vicinity of NYU. I love college campuses. I blame my parents for that. They love them too. That must be why I work on one. NYU is near Washington Square Park, so I wandered around and saw several sights I'd seen in movies, took a tour through the bookstore and had some real New York pizza. From there, I took the 6 train to City Hall. 

And that's when the Subway entertainment took place.

First, there was a quartet of older men singing in barbership harmony, and it was actually really good. They had a paper bag and also a bucket and people tipped them, they thanked them and said God Bless to everyone. At the next stop, a trio of younger guys got on with their boombox and proceeded to break dance as we rode. One did a back flip between two poles and also had some pretty good arm strength as he hoisted himself sideways on a pole and held himself up for a few minutes. They strolled around with their Yankee baseball hats and gathered tips, thanked everyone and got off at the City Hall station, which was my stop too.

I wandered through City Hall Park - man, New York has a LOT of parks! Very awesome. Looked across the park at City Hall and across the street to Pace University and the Brooklyn Bridge, which I did not walk across.

From there, I took the 4 train to Wall Street. Subway mastery in progress.

Now, I don't do anything that involves Wall Street, but my dad does, and I have to admit, it was rather cool to see the actual New York Stock Exchange. It was even cooler to see the Tiffany store. And yes, there was a purchase made.

After that, I got on the R train and came back to my hotel where I finally got cooled off - thank you hotel shower and air conditioner! I lounged for a bit and tried to evict the heat-induced headache and rest up for dinner, which was definitely the highlight of the day.

I got on the 1 train, went 2 stops south - subway, totally mastered! - and then walked to 355 W 14th Street for a divine dinner at Scarpetta with a friend from WVU that I hadn't seen in 17 or 18 years. Crazy, right? It was so much fun to catch up over a delicious feast by Chef Scott Conant, whom I met as we were leaving since my friend Mary actually knows him. He was very nice and the spaghetti with tomato and basil was without question the best spaghetti I've ever eaten in my life. I'd eat that every day if I could. Seriously. There's just really nothing wrong with good food. NOTHING.

So now I'm back in the hotel, thinking about tomorrow's adventures. Tomorrow night you can find me at the theatre seeing Fences with Denzel Washington and Viola Davis, and I'm definitely excited about that!

Oh New York...I just may be falling in love with you...