City of Dreams

This weekend I traveled down to New York City for a three-day visit. I’ve been to NYC a few times before and always found it to be a little bit daunting. I’m used to Boston, with its winding streets that make absolutely zero sense… its small restaurants and coffee shops… and how completely normal it is to see someone you know every time you step outside your apartment. In my mind, Manhattan was always just “way too big and way too hipster” -- not that Boston doesn’t have its fair share of skinny-jean-wearing people that only like mainstream things ironically. This trip, however, was a very different experience, and maybe even changed my mind about the whole city. After walking around NYC for a few hours, I was pretty confident in my ability to get from place to place without too much confusion (This is the exact opposite feeling that I have when wandering through Boston -- which is sad because it's true). Also, the first two nights we stayed away from the touristy areas, so all the places we went had the same comforting quality that you can find in a little pub back home. This gives me some hope that I'll take to Texas in a similar fashion...

 The first night we ended up at a bar called “Kettle of Fish” in Greenwich Village. It was packed, and I looked downright ridiculous is my work attire… but we all cheers-ed to the weekend over shots of tequila (gag) and had a great time chatting & mingling for a few hours. The next night, Billy and I met up with my cousin and one of his friends. They’ve lived in the city for several years now, so they took us to all the bars that we would never have found on our own… Well, let me rephrase that... all the bars that I wouldn't have found. We started at the “Ear Inn”, which opened in 1817, and had the dusty memorabilia on a shelf over the bar to prove it. After a few quiet drinks, and our first free shot of the weekend, we jumped to “Bleecker Tavern” in the West Village to watch the game. Are free shots trendy now? Did Boston completely miss the memo? This wasn't the only time during my trip that a bartender lined up a row of shots in front of us... just because we were there. I didn't hate it. I digress. Anyways... The second bar was interesting because to get into it you had to walk through a burger joint and up a back staircase... This blew my mind. I've heard of these "secret bars" in NYC, and while this probably wasn't one of them, it was still pretty awesome in my book. However, not too many Pats fans in NY… sorry guys.

The last night we went into tourist mode. The hotel was across from MSG, so we figured we really couldn’t avoid the situation… Plus, let me be honest here – I’m a total tourist at heart. After a cocktail in the sketchiest bar in America, followed by a very necessary nap, we wandered over to the “Top of the Rock Observation Deck” in Rockefeller Center. I wish I could tell you that we planned this; however, by a complete stroke of luck, we managed to time it perfectly – overlooking the entire city at sunset. Hoooowww romantic (I can see Bill rolling his eyes now)… It was gorgeous though, and completely worth the bitter cold and the money they robbed us of in order to get up there. People aren’t kidding when they say NYC is crazy expensive. Afterward, we warmed up in a packed sports bar (Giant's game -- people went nuts) which was eventually followed by a delicious dinner on restaurant row and a bottle of pinot noir. Red wine… boy knows the way to this girl’s heart.

Top of the Rock (iPhone camera)