The Bridge

We have been doing a lot. Hannah and I decided that four days in New York is perfect to get all the touristy things done. Indeed we have been going, going, going, and at the end of everyday we are exhausted, but it is totally worth it.

Yesterday, we began our day with walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a beautiful day, and a perfect day to walk across into Manhattan.

We ate hotdogs from a cart and sipped on iced coffee as we people-watched from an al-fresco table.

We then attended the Ground Zero tribute center. The pools that lay in place of the fallen towers were truly beautiful and breath-taking. Hannah and I both decided that this experience was not what we expecting. There is a lot of construction going on around the exhibit and they force tourists to travel within gift shops before attending the site. Overall, the way the exhibit was displayed was slightly off-putting for us. We thought such a site deserved a more significant homage to the people and families that have been affected by 9/11. Perhaps when the museum is finished and the construction site subsides, this tribute center could live up to it's expectations.

Being the weird people that we are, we then decided to travel down to The Limelight Marketplace shops; the abandoned gothic-style church that once served as the home nightclub of the Club Kids. I was freaking out. I'm pretty sure Hannah was really excited, also. The once-church, and once-nightclub, now serves as a posh-shopping center. Hannah and I sat on a vacant couch on the top level and looked down upon the mannequins and sequence, imagining the chaos that once reeked havoc in these spaces. We then ate some pizza at a B-rated pizza shoppe that was also located within the walls of The Limelight. It was alright. We are still looking for that truly New York piece of pizza.

Being the "Madman" fan that I am, I forced Hannah to venture to Madison Avenue where I could take a picture and imagine Don Draper walking across the street to his office. We relaxed a little while in Madison Square park and watched the copious amount of dogs and their owners.

Then Hannah and I realized we were exhausted and wanted to take a nap before we ventured into the New York Friday nightlife.

Something I've noticed about Hannah and I is that we have increasingly been sleeping in more each day that we've been here. Just an observation.

Today we eventually got ready by noon and decided to conquer Central Park. For me, this was one of the NYC highlights. It was like we left the city for a few hours and went camping. The greenery mixed with the city landscape is truly a scene. We felt like we were in a movie. This was also our first encounter with the New York sass we have been shielded from for the past few days. As three young hooligans were riding their skateboards down a steep hill in Central Park, a biker yelled loudly, in his best New York accent, "move over to the side, ya stupid idiots!" It was awesome. Writing it does not do it justice.

After walking for what seemed like forever, we decided we were hungry. Hannah wanted to take me to an authentic New York deli. Holy shenanigans, The Carnegie Delicatessen serves the biggest food ever. Hannah and I shared, and indulged, in a reuben with pastrami. We met some nice ladies from Florida and Hannah helped a nice couple figure our how to use the subway. Then we rolled our full-selves down to Rockefeller Center. Whatta a swanky part of town. We became best friends with a security guard who gave us the lay down of the area and the gossip around NBC studios.

We said a prayer in St. Patrick's Cathedral. THAT was a beautiful place. Even amidst the restoration that is currently going on around the church, it was totally worth seeing.

Hannah and I then decided that we wanted to see some artwork for cheap, so we rushed over the Guggenheim, but then we took a look at the line and decided it wasn't worth it to us. While walking to the H&M we mutually decided to shop at, we witnessed a robbery. And in New York, if you steal something from someone, be prepared to have a bunch of people chase after you, in the middle of the street. Social justice at it's best.

 Then we got sleepy again.

We came back to our hostel.

and we've been sleeping ever since.

We know it's a Saturday night, and we're in the city that never sleeps. But c'mon. We need to sleep.

We have been snacking on bread and cheese and watching terrible teen romances. Thank you, New York! And good night.

New York, We're Here.

Hello, all!

So, some of you might know this, but many of you don't. Being recent grads, Hannah and I looked at  our bank accounts after walking across that stage and realized that taking a month-long road trip across this beautiful country was just going to be strenuous on our sad little checkings. Therefore, we altered our vacation plans and decided that we wanted to hit up the Big Apple. And while we are there, we might as well hit up DC and Boston, right?

You can still donate us money here, if you're feeling friendly. A girl's gotta eat.: https://www.wepay.com/donations/hannah-and-paige-conquer-the-east-coast

So, Hannah and Paige set off to create a new adventure that was better fit for our budgets.

And now we're here. This is New York, baby.

Hannah and I had a nice flight. Almost missed our layover in Detroit because of an extended McDonald's feasting, but we still made it.

Our hostel is super classy for it being a hostel. We got a private room and bath. Suck on that, Europe. We do hostel's classy in America. Or maybe New York City is the classy one.

Anyhow. We have been roaming the streets for the past two days. Taking lots of pictures. Meetings lots of incredibly friendly people. Note: That New York sass and toughness has yet to show itself. Everyone we have met have been friendly, helpful, and non-threatening. For a big city, I've never felt safer. Sorry LA and SF. Love you, but NYC's got you beat. So far.

Wednesday night was a crazy night. Let's leave it at that. Something to be told in person, I believe. Needless to say, the start of our night was at a Japanese restaurant where the cooks, cashier, and music were all of a Latin flavor. We also met a 50 year old man who works at CBS. We also got blinged out

rings from a homeless man for free. Hannah has been wearing her's all day.

Thursday (today) was Hannah's 22nd birffffdayyyy.

We started the day off eating New York bagels with a whole gallon of cream cheese.
Then we beasted the subway system. We know these streets like the back of our hands. BEEN HERE FOR 24 HOURS, SUCKKAAA.
We traveled all over this island from the Empire State Building, to a random deli that sells EVERYTHING, to Ground Zero, to broadway, to times square.
Then we saw The Lion King on broadway. No big. It was just one of the most amazing experiences of our lives.
Then we had a tasty birthday dinner at Ellen's Stardust diner, and Hannah ate the biggest burger that ever existed because it's her 'effin birthday.

And now we're here. Back in our hostel. And we want to pass out. So good night.

P.S. The weather sucks. It's humid as hell and we have resulted to taking two showers a day. Sorry Planet Earth.

P.S.S Hannah will probably be adding her two cents, pictures, and more soon.