NYC trip: That's a wrap

And I'm home from NYC! My flight back to Chicago was on time and very smooth. The only slight snafu was that there wasn't enough room on the plane for everyone's carry-on luggage so some people (including me) had to check their larger carry-on bags. No biggie.

I didn't get to see any shows while in NYC, but other than that my mini-vacation was pretty satisfying. :-) Some things I learned/experienced on this trip:

• Newark Airport is one of the nicer airports I've ever flown into/out of, and it's very easy to get from the airport to midtown Manhattan.


• Staying at a hotel near a subway stop is very helpful. Also, NYC subways are pretty easy to navigate (not much trickier than Chicago's).


• It turns out that the side pockets of my camera bag can hold a small bottle of water. This was essential during the hot and humid afternoons!


• I don't understand modern art, but some pieces are really cool to look at even if they defy explanation.


• While "free-forming" a weekend schedule keeps things interesting and usually works out fine, I still prefer planning things out ahead of time. :-)

As always, I took a bunch of photos. Check out my NYC photo album on Flickr!

Many thanks to Brian, Mel, and Greg for showing me around town this weekend! I'd love to visit NYC again and maybe even explore some boroughs other than Manhattan. :-) Now to figure out if I'm gonna be able to take another trip before school starts back up in September...

NYC trip: Uptown, downtown

I finally got into NYC late Friday night after a lengthy delay. I took the NJTransit train from Newark airport to NY Penn Station and walked two blocks to my hotel on 32nd St. Since it was past midnight already, I just called it a night after letting my mom and my Manhattanite friends know that I had finally arrived safely.

On Saturday I spent most of the day roaming around midtown Manhattan, doing some shopping (mostly of the window variety :-)). I was hoping to meet up with Brian in the early evening, but he had to run some errands with his girlfriend so we didn't meet up till about 11pm. However, the wait was worth it as we hit up a Korean bbq spot on the same block as my hotel. We had a good meal (bulgogi, mmm) and caught up on lots of stuff. We've kept in touch via e-mail but I hadn't actually seen Brian since he left Chicagoland for law school in Philly four years ago.

Sunday morning I took my first NY subway ride up to the Rockefeller Center area to attend mass at St. Patrick's cathedral. Afterwards I phoned Melissa V. and set up a brunch meeting in Union Square. We caught up and lamented our single status over a nice meal at a coffee shop next to Union Square Park. :-) We then rode the subway back uptown to meet Brian at MoMA.


St. Patrick's Cathedral 

At the museum we wandered around aimlessly for a bit until we got the brilliant idea to pick up a museum map, heh. There was some neat and famous artwork on display but I must confess that I don't really "get" most modern art. Anyway, we wrapped up our MoMA visit by checking out the sculpture garden and chatting over some gelato.


OOF? Or GOOF? :-) (Brian at MoMA)  


Melissa and me 

I parted ways with B and M and headed back to midtown to do a bit of souvenir shopping and to recharge for a little while at the hotel before heading down to Chelsea to meet up with Greg. He and his partner Mitch took me to dinner at a neat little Italian place called Tello's (I had penne con meat balls, very tasty). We walked off the meal by trekking through Chelsea to the waterfront, stopping to rest at Christopher St. Pier, and continuing on through Greenwich Village. After a stop at Rafaella Café for some dessert, we walked back to Greg & Mitch's neighborhood where I caught a cab back to the hotel.


Greg and me 

While the weekend got off to a frustrating and slow start, it has turned out to be a lot of fun. It was great hanging out with my friends and seeing more of the city. Here's hoping my flight back home tomorrow goes more smoothly than Friday's ordeal!

NYC trip: Off to a fine start

My original flight into Newark this morning was cancelled (ugh) so I'm now booked on a flight that is scheduled to get in around 8:30pm tonight. So much for my plans to check out MOMA this afternoon/evening. On the bright side, at least I found out about the cancellation before I left home, so I'm not stuck at the airport for several hours.

Start spreading the news

In just over 12 hours (barring unforeseen flight delays) I'll be en route to NYC for the weekend. I'm looking forward to lots of sightseeing, catching up with friends, and taking lots of photos. :-) My knee is feeling better from Tuesday's procedure, so it shouldn't keep me from fully enjoying the weekend (I'll just have to remember to change the bandage regularly). Hopefully it won't be too hot, although the forecast on weather.com isn't looking too encouraging. :-) Anyway, I'll be sure to report back on my Manhattan adventure when I return (and I may even try to post to the travelblog occasionally while I'm away).

[cross-posted to my LJ and my travelblog]