Afternoon in New York City

So I managed to survive a day in NYC.

After posting the previous post, I went back to Times Square by the subway and started walking. It was a long walk. I went east and west of Broadway, as well as all the way to where Broadway crosses 5^th Avenue.

During the afternoon, there were herds of people on the streets. I was amazed. Then came the evening, and it got to a point that I wasn’t just amazed; I was horrified. Coming 5–6pm, you simply cannot see the pavement due to the massive number of people walking the streets.

Other than touring around, I decided to get some taste of New York. Being alone, I preferred to not go to some fancy restaurant—I was content with just going to a small place. I ended up going to Pancho Villa, a Mexican pub/restaurant (sorry, I can’t remember where). Very filling meal, quite good, for $7.

Continued walking until I came across Aunt Annie’s, which is a chain that specializes in pretzels. Someone working there gave me a sample of those pretzels, and whoever knows me can tell you that I am a sucker for pastries. I got an almonds‐nuts pretzel which was amazing.

I am pretty sure that Starbucks took over the city’s cafe scene. There’s a Starbucks literally in every block here. I was craving a latte but couldn’t find any cafe that is not Starbucks, so I ended up stepping into one and getting a latte which turned out to be rubbish.

After walking for so long, I stopped at a bench near Broadway & 5th, for about 45 minutes. I could feel my blood flowing into my poor feet. Then I made my way back to Times Square and took the subway to the hotel.

Jeroen mentioned to me that he’s going to have a drink with a friend of his in some rooftop bar in downtown. We agreed that his friend sends me a text message to let me know exactly where the bar is. At around 8:00pm I got the text message, saying that the place is on 5th Avenue between 26th and 27th, and that you can’t wear shorts and must have a collared shirt. The latter was a problem as I only brought T‐shirts with me. Jeroen agreed that I wear one of his shirts, so I ended up wearing what I believe is the flashiest shirt I have ever wore before.

Went to the subway and found my way to the bar. It is a nice rooftop bar from which you can see some nice scenery—the Empire State building, the Chrysler building and more. You see the kind of life you usually see on TV—bunch of people, well‐dressed, very crowded, having laughs and drinks. The “New York Glamor” which, for me, is kinda fake, and I’ll leave it at that.

I got to meet Jeroen’s friend, Hiskias, had a drink and chatted. I was there for about 30–45 minutes and then Hiskias mentioned he has to leave, so we all left. Jeroen and myself walked to Times Square, I had a pizza and we took the subway back to the hotel. It was 11:00pm and the subway was fully loaded. Millions of people roaming the streets and the subway system.

Now it’s Friday morning. Show tonight at the NJPAC. I convinced Jeroen to come with me to the show, so we will be leaving to New Jersey soon.

Later,
Isaac