The Apartment
I flew in to New York from Pittsburgh in the middle of the day. The public transportation system was relatively easy to figure out thanks to Google Maps, so I got on the train to Manhattan! I found my way to Al's apartment a few blocks from Columbus Circle.
Rent there is insanely expensive. It is a one-bedroom with a kitchen that was basically stuck along the wall to the living room. There isn't even room for a full fridge, just a mini-fridge under the counter. Note to self: wait until you are rich before moving to NY.
The Food
I had some good Thai food at Room Service. I checked out Risotteria Restaurant on Josh's recommendation. They had some pretty tasty gluten-free italian food, and breadsticks that actually tasted like breadsticks.
Cafe Gitane is a cute little French cafe in the NoLita neighborhood. I had a tasty couscous thing with hummus on top. It came in a cute little stack. This was also the first real cup of coffee I'd had in Manhattan!
The Coffee
I was very surprised at the lack of coffee shops and good coffee in Manhattan. I guess coming from the Pacific Northwest, I just assumed coffee was as popular everywhere. Mostly people were drinking "coffee in a Domo cup", 7-11's campaign which launched apparently right as I landed in NY. I was able to find two other places that somewhat resembled west-coast coffee shops, Gizzi's Coffee, and Pecan. There was definitely a lack of good coffee. Or maybe an abundance of bad coffee.
The Bagels
Since I was in New York, I had to find an authentic New York bagel even though I barely eat gluten. I turned to yelp.com to search for the best place to get a bagel. I knew I would have somewhat of a reaction to the massive amount of wheat in the bagel, so I only wanted to do this once. One shot to find the perfect bagel in New York. Absolute Bagels had some pretty great reviews, so I went to check it out. It was not close, it was all the way at the other end of Central Park.
It turned out to be a little Chinese place. I was super skeptical as I walked in, but I had come this far, couldn't turn back now. I asked them if I could have a bagel fresh out of the oven, not one from the display case. The guy tore one right off the hot stack and handed it to me. And yea, it was delicious.
Wall Street
Wall street was impressive. I don't really know what I was expecting, but it was nothing like any idea I may have had about it. There were just so many buildings so close together, and everywhere I turned I'd see a big name like "New York Stock Exchange", "Chase", "Federal Reserve Bank", etc. It also never occurred to me that the reason it's called "Wall Street" is because it's the street named "Wall."
I still have no idea what those red glowing things are for. I can't tell if they're just decorative or if they have some sort of function.
The Subway
The Subway system, while very old-looking, is pretty great. I was always able to quickly figure out how to get from point A to point B, and the trains run frequently enough that I never had to wait long for one. The subways run to every part of Manhattan (and off Manhattan as well), and it never takes more than one or two to get anywhere. Once you're underground, you don't have to pay or swipe your pass again until you pop up somewhere.
I think this means they don't want me crawling under the gate?
Unfortunately but not surprisingly, my GPS was not able to get a fix while underground. My GPS data looks pretty spotty for Manhattan, with little squiggles popping up just at the points where I went above ground.
I was able to walk around a bunch of neighborhoods, including East Harlem, Morningside Heights, Hell's Kitchen, Little Italy, the Financial District, the Lower East Side, and I even made it to Brooklyn and checked out Williamsburg.
