ny neighborhood cultural shock

Today is Robin's last day here.. :( therefore, i went to Staten Island to visit. I really enjoy the ferry ride over to Amy's. In a way I find it peaceful, minus the tourist taking photos of the Statue of Liberty and NYC skyline. I like seeing the contrasts of barges, cruise ships, ferries and sailboats.

I then took the subway back to my apartment and made dinner.....kung pao from trader joes! yum-o!!

Liz, Joanna, and I went to a bar tonight called the Gin Mill. It was in the Upper West Side near Columbia University. They have great drink specials there! Tonight was $1 pints. We decided to go back on a Tuesday because then it is ladies night with $1 pints and $2 margaritas! The food looked really good. The table next to us got a bacon cheeseburger and it had at least 6 slices of thick bacon on it....amazing! James would love this place! For four beers and an order of wings our bill was $20.. some places charge that much for a drink!

The area we were in was total a college area. It was too cute! The streets were so clean and apartments had super cute stoops. A lot of fun people must live there! The bar just had this certain ambiance of sophisticated college kids discussing worldly issues and then college intramural sports teams coming in for a drink after a match. I love how everything is blended in NYC....so diverse, so fun!

I truly enjoy experiencing the different neighborhoods around the city. It is fun to see how the people, streets, housing, prices, food, mentalities, etc differ. For example, the East and West sides surround Central Park and are both completely different. The Upper West side has the reputation of being home to New York City's liberal cultural and artistic workers, while the Upper East Side is much more conservative and business-like. Who knew things could be so opposite and only short subway ride apart.

Well, I just opened my purse to locate my phone and found my sunglasses broken instead...super upsetting. Looks like I'm going to spend part of tomorrow buying knock-off Dior or Chanel sunglasses! Who knows..maybe i'll pick up a matching fake purse as well! Wooho for $30 Coach bags!

-Sam