So here i am in the big apple! I left Kansas this morning at 7:30a.m. and flew over Chicago to New York. Everything went really smooth, i didn't lose my luggage, i never got lost, it was great :-)! Since i'm trying to save money so i can spend more on souveniers and clothes i chose the cheapest airport transportation: the public bus! it was a regular public bus and I with my huge backpack and the equal sized duffle bag have to admit that it wasn't the most pleasant bus ride of all times...the bus was literally packed, so i stood for an hour with my 35lb backpack on my back between people and wasn't able to move. i think everyone can imagine the temperature on this bus :-)! the more entertaining thing was that i (of course) stood right at the exit, so everytime someone wanted to get off the bus, i had to get off as well, because otherwise i would've blocked the exit. I shared this hardship with two australian girls who also had a huge backpack and blocked the door with it. but through our suffering we got to know each other and talked the whole bus ride long, what made the ride a lot more enjoyable! and this is the weird part, even though it was hot and uncomfortable and long, i loved this bus ride...it's so much better than to take the fancy shuttle bus or a taxi and i saw a great deal of the city (harlem) we drove right by columbia university, that was pretty neat, since it has been in the news a lot ever since the iranian president visited there. i even found the right connection bus and found my hostel right away! i have to say i haven't been lost so far, i'm really proud of my navigation skills :-)! the hostel is really nice, i'm in a twelve bed room and the girls in there are really nice! the girl in the bed next to me is believe it or not from Posen in poland :-)! of course i told her in what street in germany i live and she thought it was the coolest thing!
of course i left the hostel after i checked in right away, since my time in NYC is super limited. I took the subway straight to Times Square where i spend the next four hours or so. What an amazing place, they have the coolest stores there and it's just so much fun to walk around! The first thing i did though was to buy tickets for the broadway show the lion king :-)! we tomorrow night i'm going to see the lion king on broadway!!! i'm majorly excited!! well afterwards i went store browsing and ate teh probably most expensive meal in my life...i didn't realize that it would be a good idea to get off times square to eat, instead i went to the same tgi Fridays we went to three years ago because i remembered that the food there had been good. well. the food was below average and the price for it definately above! and i've also noticed the difference to walking around alone in a big city compared to a group. i was sitting at the table and had just finished my average dinner, when this guy comes up to me and sits down on my table! he trys to talk to me but he already pissed me off by just sitting down on my table, so i was praying for teh super slow waitress to kick her speed up and finally bring me the check. when she finally did i gave her the biggest tip, not because the service was so amazing, but because i didn't want to wait for change :-)...
well i left the restaurant and headed back on times square, where a guy comes up to me and starts telling me about his comedy club. i was in the mood for some conversation so i talked to him a little bit. he was really nice and we ended up having a really fun conversation (especially after i told him that i didn't want to visit his club) and guess what his name was? Jason :-) i almost laughed out loud when he told me this!
it was getting dark so i decided to head to the empire state building for a view of NY in the night. total rip off! you have to pay $18(!) just to ride up to the observatory and look at NY! it was well worth it though! the view was absolutely stunning! i would only go there at night, it's so much better with all the lights!
since it was already nine thirty and NYC i decided to ride the subway back to the hostel as long as it was save :-). i got my good night starbucks and bought some water at the corner store and called it a night, all this walking is really exhausting! before i went to bed i planned my trip for tomorrow and i'll be getting up at eight, so i don't have to miss a thing of NY :-)!!
