Day 3 & 4, Midtown & Downtown Manhattan, Central Park, Food
I am proud to say that I am now able to guide myself around the streets and subway system of NY.



Monday morning, Tanna dropped me off at the bus station and I began my lone-adventure in NY. After learning how to navigate through the streets and subway and buses on Sunday, I managed self-guide myself around to places and not get lost that Monday.




Met up with shiroro at noon and started walking around Central Park. Saw a squirrel that reminds me of cheekyjo



Central Park is pretty. Must've been even more in fall season. It's really a heaven in the middle of such a crowded place like NY.








The tunnels apparently are often used for photoshoots.



Just like in Home Alone, there are lots of pigeons who aren't afraid of human beings, as well as random Hans Christian Andersen statue and Alice in Wonderland.





and also some random bears.



shiroro and I then decided to hit the Metropolitan Museum of Arts (Met). Central Park itself is about 70 street blocks long and about 5 avenue blocks wide. Avenue blocks are usually about 2-3 times as long as the street blocks, just to give you a good idea on how big Central Park is. We ended up walking about halfway through the park as we hit the Met.



There are a lot of exhibits at the Met, and the admission fee per person is only suggested. Admission was $20, but I ended up paying a buck to get in. Later on I get scolded for paying something more than a nickel to the museum.





We found some sort of british interior room design exhibit from victorian or renaissance era. I love the details of the furniture. If I have a lot of money I'm definitely filling up my house with these.





The Aztec exhibit has Oda's Skypiean South Bird. I wanted to steal it.



After the Met, we walked our way back to midtown to check out the Dakota House where John Lennon used to live and got shot. Also a memorial right across from the Dakota house called the Strawberry Fields.



shiroro and I then took the Subway downtown to where sw_inku lives. We stopped by the cute little teashop where she worked. It's called Amai Tea & Bake House. This place has delicious tea, godly cookies, and heavenly pastry they call "Sweet Conversation."





I also had a taste of real NY pizza that night.



After snacking, evilgamerx met up with us, and so the four of us went up to midtown to meet up with tachigonaoki and eat dinner at Jekyll & Hyde Club, which is some sort of horror-themed restaurant. Their entertainment includes robotic monsters that move around and talk, and people dressed up in costumes bothering costumers while they eat. Food was good, and the entertainment was quite entertaining, surprisingly. There is a charge of $3.25 per person for the entertainment, in addition to the food. I ordered a glass of Apple Martini and got myself some french onion soup and basket of shrimp cocktail, since the pizza was still digesting in my stomach. The french onion soup definitely beats panera, but I dunno if it can beat that french onion soup that Jo, Barb, and I got at Pacific Crepes in Santa Barbara. The plus point of the soup was that I can taste the burnt cheese on the soup.







This thing popped out from next to our table.



We went to karaoke for 2 hours, and then I crashed at shiroro's place that night. Slept on her couch after talking about stuff until 5 in the morning. Her mom was really friendly and bubbly, especially when the conversation point reaches the subject of the Beatles, to which she openly admits that she is a big fan of Paul McCartney. I really think shiroro got her fangirlyness straight from her mom, because her mom is definitely a Beatles fangirl.

Didn't do much Tuesday other than meeting up with Conor during the day and evilgamerx and megakazul at night. Jason took us to Mad Dog & Beans in the Financial District and I had some enchiladas. The food was decent, but the appetizer was great. Nacho chips with what was probably the best guacamole mix I have ever had in my life. Also had some mojito, which was decent as well. Next time I'm only going there for the guacamole, which apparently costs $6 by itself.



I've been spending a lot of money on food here, which I don't mind at all, but I haven't really found anything very spectacular. If anything, the best food I have eaten so far in New York is probably the apple cheddar bagel I got from a small shop at the Port Authority Bus Station, the Sweet Conversation that Amai Tea & Bake sells, and the $6 guacamole and chips at Mad Dog.

Off to bed now. I think I'm getting sick.