New York diaries "The Museum Misfortunes and the Treasure Store"

Day 3. May 13th, 2010.

Our 3rd and last full day in NYC was definitely the best, mostly of course, thanks to the weather. The sun finally decided to show up and really cheered up the Big Apple and my perception of it.If it wasn't for the sun, I wouldn't have taken our museum misfortunes so easily.

First we came to East 97th St, having crossed all Central Park, only to find out that International Photography Center was moved to Midtown. it turned out that the map we were given in our hostel was really outdated. (I told you, you have to have up-to-date maps!) Then we hopefully walked in search of the next interesting museum (as we were on the "museum mile" ), which happened to be Copper-Hewitt, National Design Museum. By the way,the museum looks as good outside as it does inside. The classical building is beautifully fringed by bind weeds and surrounded by the gorgeous garden (see the pic.) When we came in we were told that only a small exposition is open, since the grand opening of the 3-year collection is coming up tomorrow. I was pretty excited about this grand-opening and not so upset about today's no-show... until I realized that tomorrow we are leaving New York. Fail! Now, I am planning my next New York trip hoping to visit this exhibition which runs until January, 2011. At least we got a chance to use a restroom for free (seriously, what would tourists do without these free restrooms???), where led a very colorful and creative staircase. And the best of all was of course the museum shop. Who said we can't shop if we didn't visit the actual museum? I could only imagine how good was the museum itself if they had so many amazing things in the store!

Man, how nice it is to have money to spend! I would have been devastated if I couldn't buy this amazing book I found there. The author (Melissa Heckscher) seems to be pretty sure in her production as the title reads: " Use this book! The only book you'll ever need." Well, it depends on what you need it for, but the thing is pretty damn useful, I must say! Inside you find any random yet useful piece of information or even guidelines to create an object you need! The book is especially good for travelers, but might save you from boredom anytime anywhere. "Use this book!" the title urges you and you will do so, whether you need a cup to pour a drink into (you will cut it out of the book), write a resume, thank you, or even a break-up note, count a tip in a restaurant, or explain yourself in a foreign language. and sooo much more! After skimming through this truly treasure-book, I though of nobody else but my best friend Lena. She's a big camping lover, an amateur euro-traveler, speaks English and likes to make stuff with her hands. I couldn't find a better gift for her! I am so excited! Meanwhile, my mom got herself what seemed like a really childish gift, Buckyballs. A bunch of small round magnets from which you can make any kind of shape, figure, animal, bracelet... it turned out to be so much! My boyfriend couldn't get his hands of them and we ended up buying two more sets of them online. Check it out for yourself on getbuckyballs.com

Out final failure to get some culture in was at Guggenheim museum. We saw a bunch of tourists taking pictures outside the museum and finally felt hopeful. Too early! I aimed straight at the door, when the guard stopped us and said that museum was closed. "Are you kidding me?!" was all I could say.

New York diaries, "The bad weather and the sceptic"

Day 2. May 12th, 2010.

Day 1 was as uneventful as it was cold.

"New York, New York,"-you will never hear me say these words with the utmost admiration. Every time (3 so far) I come to the Big Apple, I wait for this moment that will take my breath away and I will finally fall in love with this city that looks like so much fun from the other side of the screen. My favorite NY movie is Sex and the City, of course. But the only thing that reminded me of Carrie Bradshaw was Sex and the City 2 posters which are all over the place here, advertising the movie's sequel. NY that I experience here, is, thanks God, not the one from Taxi-driver, but far from Seinfield or Friends either.

Speaking of Seinfield. One of our high points (out of 2 actually) today was the discovery of Jerry & Co's favorite restaurant! We went out for an evening stroll along Broadway and totally stumbled upon this Tom's Restaurant, which is located on 112th St & Broadway. From outside it looks exactly like in the movie (see the pic), not so much inside, because the inside of Seinfield's restaurant was actually shot somewhere else.

The main high point of the day was undoubtedly "The Phantom of the Opera." The longest running show was plain amazing and met all my expectations! Do go watch a musical if you are in New York, I don't think you will be disappointed no matter which one you choose. FYI, nowadays Broadway's absolute blockbuster is "Wicked." BUT, the prices are accordingly double the price you'd pay for "The Phantom." So the "The Phantom of the Opera" is definitely the best thing that has happened to us in NYC so far, also because it is absolutely disgustingly unnaturally freezing. Today was only 53F! I dreamt of seeing gorgeous and freshly green Central Park in summer and walk around along the famous avenues wearing heels and a dress just like in Sex and the City...

That's not particularly what you'd see me walking around in right now. Actually, if you spot a creature wearing what seems like a dirty skin of a polar bear, it would be me. We were so freezing yesterday that spent half of the day running around the stores looking for something warm, but, bummer, everybody has only summer collections! So, I had to buy this awful polar bear men's (!) hoodie from Old Navy. At the cashier's we asked not to pack anything and the guy was like "you are really cold." - "Freezing!"

Lessons Learnt

Some mistakes I did, some places I've visited, some good gadgets that you have to have while traveling.

1. Do take China bus to New York or elsewhere if you want and need to save money.
-->Apex bus- $60 roundtrip from Norfolk, VA to NYC. The trip to Big Apple took us only 5,3 hours!
http://www.apexbus.com/

FYI: We accidentally arrived at another China bus company and spotted a special deal for May: roundtrip $40 on the same direction. So..

2. Always do look around for best deals and plan your trip AHEAD when possible. (It's almost always possible, but we are almost always too lazy.)

3. If you have a camera that uses regular batteries use Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries. They do cost around $20 for 4 of them, BUT these gotta be the best batteries ever! 5 days trip to NYC and Niagara Falls, 800+ pictures and 8 videos and I am still using them!!! Meanwhile, my mom who has a rechargeable camera had to recharge it like 5 times.
http://www.energizer.com/products/hightech-batteries/lithium/pages/lithium-batteries.aspx

4. Always have a map with you. Ideally, you should buy a map in advance, but you can always find it in the airport or even in your hotel/hostel. AND, check if the map is up-to-date. We came to International Center Of Photography on 97th St in NYC only to find out that it was moved to downtown... Never made it there! Why? Because we were given the same map in our hostel that we used 3 years ago.

5. You know why all the tourists are almost never dressed up, most of them wearing sneakers and hoodies? Because it's comfortable! Unless, you are planning a shopping-spree, bar-hopping, or just visiting friends, choose a comfortable pair of shoes, jeans/shorts and a t-shirt. Because you are a typical tourist, with a loooong itinerary for a day!

6. What to take with you on ANY trip.

- Jeans
- Parka
- Hoodie
- Sneakers
- Water Bottle (you'll save a lot of money on water!)

Why you ask? Because the weather, in our time of global warming, is getting, no, not warmer, but weirder and more changeable. For example, weather in NYC brought us a BIG surprise! We took a hoodie, mind you. But we were still freezing. Instead of promised 16C, it was 12C if not less and then it started dripping! Awful! 2 days out of 3 in NYC were rather ruined and we didn't even go to see Statue of Liberty! Not in this windy weather!
Funny is that, we got lucky on out trip to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon... the weather was warm and sunny the whole time. But, if we had come a day (just 1 day!) earlier, we would have been pretty chilly again. Actually, no, we wouldn't have, because that time we brought parkas with us, the ones we bought in Niagara Falls. :)