What I Did:
Central Park
Central Park Zoo
5th Avenue
F.A.O. Schwartz
The Met
The Guggenheim
Top of the Empire State Building
Drinks and Dessert at Olana
Movie – It’s Complicated
This entry talks about Saturday 1/16/10 (it only says 1/17/10 because it was written at 3:45 am, so technically it was 1/17…)
I had a great Saturday though. Central Park was wonderful and I can only imagine what it would be like to see it during the spring when it is all blossoming, or in the fall when the leaves are all changing. When I was walking through the park, a man who was walking his dog (a pit bull) checked me out and said “Nice” in that long, drawn out, creepy way. I honestly felt like I was in a sitcom or movie of some sort. I wonder what guys like that think is going to happen. “Maybe if I shoot a creepy sort of compliment her way, she’ll swoon or fall instantly in love with me…” Hmm…
The Central Park Zoo was extremely disappointing because it was small and the penguin exhibit was closed. However, I did get to smash a penny—instead of Lincoln, it now has a toucan on it! (Note to anyone who might ever think about giving me a souvenir—I adore smashed pennies)
Fifth Avenue shopping was great. They had real men dressed as toy soldiers standing outside F.A.O. Schwartz. I also got to see the big piano (you know, the one Tom Hanks plays chopsticks on in the movie Big…if you haven’t seen the movie, you need to go out and rent it right now) However, I didn’t get to play anything on it because of some stupid kids ;) I’m kidding, kids aren’t stupid, they just have a tendency to hog the toys…
The Met was HUGE and beautiful. If you have ever been to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, (which is fantastic) the Met is like that, but multiplied by 17. I forgot to grab a map on my way in and got lost. When I finally got a map, I still got lost, only for not as long as the first time. You could spend a whole day in each wing, if that. It was amazing to be in the presence of such historical sculptures, tombs, carvings and paintings by artists like Raphael, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, etc. Not to mention the photograph section was great too.
Unfortunately, only two small floors of the Guggenheim were available since they were setting up for a new installation. It was still cool to see it in person though! The top of the Empire State Building was just as breathtaking as the view from the top of the Rock. I did the Rock during the day, which was awesome because in the light you can see each little building—it really highlights just how much is squeezed into the city. I did the Empire State at night though, which was a whole different type of beautiful because of all of the lights. At night, the city is just one big ocean of lights for as far as the eye can see! It was amazing to see the city both ways ☺
For drinks and dessert we went to Olana, which is where Katie’s sister Emily works. Then, after she got off we went to see the movie It’s Complicated (the one with Alec Baldwin, Meryl Streep and Steve Martin) It was pretty funny—we did quite a bit of laughing. It was one of the longest days of my trip, but also one of the best. The city has so much to offer!
