Fun and Adventure with Sylvia

My dear friend Sylvia came to visit me the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and then left this past Saturday. It was so good to see her and to spend some time just having fun. While I did have work to do and had little sleep on some nights, we managed to squeeze in quite a bit of fun. =) The Saturday she arrived, I had to circle JFK 3 times because I couldn't find the terminal sidewalk where you pick up passengers, and then couldn't find her because she was waiting at a different terminal while I was looking for her at another. Thank goodness for cell phones. So finally, I circled again and then met her at a different terminal (she took the Air Train to Terminal 1 while I circled back). Joy oh joy. I am a bit irritated with the signage here in New York; they're not very clear and they're kinda last minute - you know, turn right here, RIGHT NOW because when you're going 45 miles an hour, you really don't need any preparation other than a small sign three feet before the actual turn/street.

Anyway, we went to Manhattan several times the week Sylvia was here. Now, you have to understand - I don't go into Manhattan more than twice a month because of gas, time, and parking. I've taken the train but as you have read, it can be quite an adventure, and sometimes traveling time can be up to 5 hours (round trip). So we went in on Saturday night - right after she arrived; fortunately we found parking in Brooklyn Heights where my nephew's dorm is. This turned out perfectly as parking is usually free if you can find it there, and the subway station entrance is right at the first level of the building he lives in. That night we headed into Times Square, ate at Hard Rock Cafe, and then headed back. Then we headed back into town on Tuesday night, at about 10:30 or so. We actually found street parking, so that trip actually only cost us gas, and a $4.50 toll into town. We decided to go to the Empire State Building (yes, THAT late at night). We discovered the Empire State Building closes at 2 a.m. and the last elevator goes up some time around 1 a.m. So, we went up. It was beautiful at night, but freeeeeeeeeezing cold and windy. The picture here is one we had taken of us while up at the top. We're all bundled up but it was still pretty cold. I think it was about 36 degrees that night. After about 30 minutes, we decided we had had enough of the blustery cold wind up there and headed back to street level. Then we went to eat some Korean food in Manhattan's version of K-town (well, I should probably say K-street as it is only one block long). It was pretty good, and the place we went to was unbelievably packed for 12:30 at night. Yes, some parts of the city and its people never sleep. By the time we got home, it was around 3:30 a.m. or something like that.

We went into town the very next day again - on the train this time, because I was determined that Sylvia needed to experience it at least once to understand what it's like to take the Long Island Rail Road into town. I will have to write about that day separately (see Part 2 for that one).

The final day we went into Manhattan was on Friday. We chickened out on Black Friday and slept in instead. We dropped my nephew off (who had come to stay on Thanksgiving Day) and once again were fortunate to find parking; we delightedly parked and took the subway. This was the coldest day of the week (about 38 degrees during the day). Our mission for the day was first and foremost going to the Met (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). Sylvia had never been there, and to be quite honest, she's a museum buff. I like museums too, but I think she likes them more than I do. So we went to the Met, spent about 3 hours there, and then when we were adequately overwhelmed and running low on energy, we left. We headed to the Chelsea Market, which is where the Food Network TV station is. While most of it was closed, we did get to see what stores were there and ate dinner in the building. We had Thai food and it was very good. And to end our night, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge as the chilly 31-degree weather got to us, freezing our chins and our ears. But the Manhattan skyline at night was so beautiful - I think it was worth it. :)