A few weeks ago an old college buddy came to visit, bringing along 2 friends of his from Colorado. Since my friend Jason is a complete package of fun, I knew that his friends would be cool and didn't hesitate to offer the services of Hostel Travel Nurse. Jason, Vana, and Cassie arrived in the early afternoon and we hit the ground running as they literally only had 24 hours in NYC!
Cassie was familiar with the city and took us to her favorite pizza place over near Madison Square Gardens, where her dreams came true as we met the owner and he gave her the official store hat as a souviner. We then ventured north to TS (Times Square) where we took some fun pictures, got propositioned mulitple times for comedy shows, and finally made our way to the TKTS booth. For those who aren't familiar with that acronym it's the discounted Broadway show ticket booth, where you can save 30-50% on shows. Usually there is at least an hour wait, but when we arrived there wasn't even a line and we all agreed on the same play and price point. We were hesitant at first when the best available seats were front and center on the first row, wondering if you're too close and all you really see is up the actor's noses but we took the plunge with the attitude of "How often do you get the chance to be on the front row for a Broadway show?!". We decided to celebrate our seats with a battle of the Cheesecakes. I had heard that Roxy's is the best, and Cassie insisted that Juniors was the best, so we put them both to the test! I'll have to say, they are both really good with Roxy's being SO creamy, and Juniors had a unique tangy taste. Either way you go, you won't be let down...but I still vote Roxy's!
As it was such a beautiful and mild spring day, we made our way up to Central park. I've always wanted to ride a bike through the park and shared this aloud with my new friends. They agreed that it would be fun, and worth it if it was only $5. Don't ya know, several blocks ahead of us was a man with a sign "Bike Rentals for Central Park, $5". We convinced him to let us have the bike's for an unlimited time and off we set, biking several blocks through the bustling evening traffic of NYC until we reached the park! I haven't ridden a bike in YEARS so I was definitely nervous...and the idea of riding through the streets, even if just for a few blocks, was scary! We dodged cab doors and buses and squeezed through some tight spaces but finally reached the park and took these cute pics!
It was getting late so we headed back to return the bikes, this time opting to ride on the sidewalk since we didn't have any reflective gear. People were not too happy and yelled things like "This is a CROSSWALK, not a bike walk!" I've learned that just about anything is forgiven if said in with an accent so I'd yell back "Sorry, I'm a tourist"! After a bit of difficulty we finally found the bike rental return place (note to self: next time make sure you know the address) and then began our walk back down to Times Square, and ultimately to the best seats in the house for a Broadway show!
Earlier in the day we had purchased tickets for "How to Succeed in Business", starring one of the Jonas Brothers and we were excited for a chance to sit down after all the walking we'd done. If you're ever offered front row seats, take them! It was so fun to literally look over the wall and watch the orchestra play, and I LOVED seeing the actor's facial expression and really having a chance to interact with them at times, but it was definitely surreal each time Jo Bro ascended from a platform right in front of us (so close we could touch him)! Poor Cass, he was literally in her lap and she can now claim being spit on by a Jo Bro! This play was phenomenal, had great music, was really funny with good inuendos that some might miss and filled with talent. I highly recommend going if you have the chance, on or off broadway! At half time I stood up to stretch and noticed that John Stamos a.k.a. Uncle Jesse from Full House was sitting just 2 rows behind us! Now we could joke around about that time we had better seats than John Stamos!
After a wonderful show we headed over to Carmine's (family style Italian) for a late dinner, again, this was another of Cassie's great recommendations. We feasted on penne al la vodka, some great wine, and plotted our next adventure. At this point in the day we are running out of steam, and it's almost midnight. Something I'd been wanting to do was ride the Staten Island Ferry at night time so that sounded like the perfect suggestion. If you don't already know, the SIF runs 24/7 and is free, plus it provides you with great skyline and Statue of Liberty views. The temp had definitely lowered, but we braved the cold for most of the journey to enjoy the sights. While waiting for our boat back to NYC we played a card game and Jason and I serendaded our friends with songs by Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors :) Initially I was content to sit inside on the ride back over, but Jason and I made our way to the front of the ship and had the best view as we approached Manhattan.
By this point it's almost 3 am and you'd be surprised at the characters on the trains this late. We made it home, and in bed around 4 with plans to wake up and walk the Brooklyn Bridge at sunrise. Next thing we knew it was after 10am and I was trying to get them out the door to breakfast and their plane and get myself off to work by 12. I made so many great memories in that short time with them, and am so thankful for my new friendships with Cassie and Vana. I'm looking forward to visiting them in CO Springs one day!
