There are roughly three New Yorks

"There are roughly three New Yorks. There is, first, the New York of the man or woman who was born here, who takes the city for granted and accepts its size and its turbulence as natural and inevitable. Second, there is the New York of the commuter- the city that is devoured by locusts each day and spat out each night. Third, there is the New York of the person who was born somewhere else and came to New York in quest of something." - E.B. White

And I am that third New York person, in search of something that I don't even know of yet.
One of the things I know I am searching for is to see everything possible in these ten weeks I have here. Never having been to New York I am like a small child in a candy store, every street or isle is a whole new adventure and I want to see every piece of candy this island (I think it's pretty cool that I'm living on an island- I now know how Molly feels living on Baimbridge, except that this island has more buildings and people). Back to adventures, my goal is to see something new everyday. If that means taking a different street or avenue home then so be it- but I am running out of different ways to go home.

Friday at work I thought was going to be especially tough, I had so much on my mind! Exploring, studying for finals and more exploring. I was a little relieved when everyone got to leave work around 3- that is after we all had a glass of champagne to celebrate the week- who says working on Fridays suck?

Saturday: The big kahuna of a day was just about to begin.
Like I said earlier, I want to see everything possible here (so if you have any suggestions on something to see  or do please let me know!) I began my journey through Union Square which had a ton of small Saturday market booths set up, and then continued to venture North till I reached the tallest (completed) building in New York City. You guessed it, the Empire State Building- the Freedom Towers once completed will surpass the Empire State Building by two floors.

The next stop on my adventure was stopping by the New York Library- well it wasn't a predetermined stop, I just happened to pass by it. It looks a little bigger and nicer than the Valley Library. 

As Carrie Bradshaw would say

"It's a Classic New York landmark that housed all the great love stories." Next time I pass by i'll have to stop in and figure out where these love stories are located. 

After passing by the library, and taking note to go back and explore more I continued on to...

"Spotted at Grand Central, bags in hand: Serena Van der Woodesn." 

And if you look close enough against the far right back wall, that girl with the blonde hair- its Serena. No- I'm serious. You kind of have to squint at the screen, maybe tilt it to get the best light- but she was there, would Gossip Girl ever lie? 

Well it is Grand Central Stations 100th year anniversary this year so we should give them a round of applause, and maybe they will toot a horn or something. Ha ha ha sometimes I crack a few jokes just to make myself laugh and I don't really care if I am the only one who is laughing. I mean if you are still reading this you probably thought it was a tad funny- or you are just being kind and reading my blog. 

Okay, back to what this blog is about. My adventures. After wandering around Grand Central for hmmm 5 minutes I realized there wasn't much to do because A. I was alone. B. I wasn't getting on a train and C. I wasn't waiting for anyone to get off a train since I already spotted Serena. 

Making my way westward from Grand Central to Times Square was where my next adventure would take place- Times Square. I was a little disappointed that there was not flash mob like in Friends with Benefits. But an ordinary afternoon with thousands of other people staring at all the lights will have to suffice as a unorganized flash mob. As Mary-Kate Olsen once said...

How can you be organized when you're in Times Square? 

And boy was she right, everywhere you walk there was sometime trying to figure out what to look at next. I made a little circle around Times Square- which isn't much of a square as it is diamond.

As for being in Times Square I tried my hardest to not look like a tourist- but lets be honest, if you are in Times Square you are a tourist- there is no other reason you should be there. After seeing my fare share of LED lights for the rest of my life, I had to maneuver out of the square/diamond/obtuse triangle or whatever shape it is and get myself up to Central Park. Christo who designed The Gates of Central Park said that 

"The most unusual and surrealistic place in New York City is Central Park"

 And after spending some time there Saturday, I fully understand what he is talking about. No words can describe Central Park. You can talk about it's size, it's beauty, it's beautiful architecture, the interesting people you see throughout its winding paths, but there is not one word to perfectly describe this place. A touch of heaven in a way, an escape from reality in a never ending city. I mean it's not all calm, image having to cross a path with bikers, runners, roller bladers (yes they still make them), and horse drawn carriages. It gets a little stressful when your life flashes before the back wheel of a white carriage. Other than that this place is pretty wonderful.

Oh wait, its all fun and beautiful till you realize you are lost and you haven't passed a single person in about 3 minutes which feels like 3 hours when you think you're lost. But don't fear, my good sense of direction lead me down 4 more paths that lead to nothing- well except this really pretty view of the boats from the boat house.

 I did have to climb down an unmarked path to get this photo- so getting lost might have been my fault. Except that they don't put that handy "you are here" sticker on any map. They just except that you know where you're at in 1.3 square mile park. I wouldn't be looking at a map if i already knew where I was. Maybe I should send in a comment card....
Eventually I found some other humans- for a few moments I felt like I was the last one in the park. I found my way around the park, staying close to the water in case of an emergency, and the fact that if I stayed near the water it would lead me to the exit I was looking for. I did stop and ask these people to take a photo of me. I feel so odd asking others "hey can you take a photo of me?" It just sounds SO odd. Like, no I'm not self absorbed, I just want people to know that I actually went to Central Park, that I'm not just making it all up. So here is some proof that I indeed was there.

After finding my way out of the Park- and I only made it about a quarter of the way through the park- the rest of the park can be saved for another day. I made my way over to Carly's house. It was such an amazing feeling finally seeing a familar face. I had no idea that I would be so happy to see someone I know. Let me just say- Thank God for Delta Gamma. For anyone that knows Carly, you know that she eat, breathes, sleeps Delta Gamma, and it was so refreshing to talk to someone who I didnt have to share my background, or say 'yeah I'm from Oregon- its above California' and 'No I dont live like Portlandia.' 

We had a great time, got lunch, she showed me around her FAB upper west side apartment, and dun dun dun......... took me on the subway. 

It was an experience to say the least. Very dirty, loud, shaky and nothing like the Portland MAX. We took the subway to her work where she was able to give Benny her new pet fish a brand new aquarium home! He was so happy, he had so much more room to play. After we gave him some food, Carly took me down through Rockefeller Center- where I will have to come back for, for the Today Show. And then sadly we parted ways, me Greenwich village, her the UWS.


xox