NYC V

Friday morning came a few seconds after we closed our eyes. Or so it seemed.

Tante had been working so we hadn't seen her since Monday. We had pretty much had the apartment to ourselves, which was nice. We had barely woken up when she knocked on the door saying she was back.

Tante treated us to brunch at a West Indian restaurant. Jerk chicken and rice for breakfast! Then we headed off to see the Brooklyn Bridge while she went to meet a friend.

Bless his heart, people were making fun of him but he sure did pose for these pictures!

We exited the subway near City Hall and were immediately part of an audience for a Michael Jackson show. I wonder where Mike found white, ruffled socks with sparkles on them.... The sad part was that his 3 dancers were way better than him. Even sadder was that a passerby showed them all out when he "did his thing" at the urging of his friends. The young, white kid break danced better than Michael Jackson and Friends. lol

This is my favorite picture of all!

Jen's long arms come in handy for group self portraits! :)

After our photo op on the Brooklyn Bridge, we headed into Chinatown and shopped a bit. Fun times. No haggling, though. I abhor it. I just pay the asking price.

After Chinatown, we went to Little Italy.

And then to Ground Zero. Since construction for the memorial is well under way, there was not much to see. Thank God. I would so have cried. But the hard hats and construction signs pretty much removed the melancholy feel surrounding the place.

We headed back towards home. When we got back to our subway stop, Jen went on to visit some of her family, Lyda went home to rest her toesies and I went to Starbucks to blog like a good little nerd. :)

At about 7:30, we all met back at the apartment to get ready to go out for the night. Tante kept asking why we were so dressed up, if we had dates. I said yes. I don't think she believed me. Wonder why. We headed to Greenwich Village to eat at a little Cuban place that Jen found online a few weeks ago, named...Cuba. Original, huh? It was a small hole in the wall where they played loud, live Cuban music. The place was packed and noisy but it was great! Lyda and I ordered Filete de Pargo, red snapper over green plantains with black beans and rice. I think I committed a sin that night with all the food I shoved down my gullet! It was soooo good! I have not had red snapper for years and I highly enjoyed myself! Definitely a favorite place now!

After dinner, we walked back to Times Square. I think half the population in New York had the same idea, lol. Great place to people watch. We had a blast walking up and down 7th Avenue. Until exhaustion set in.

City skyline by night

This morning we slept in somewhat. We didn't do much today, much to my disappointment. lol Oh well. Next time I shall be better prepared. :)

And now here I am, on the plane back to Dallas. The pilot is announcing that we will be beginning our descent shortly. Noooo! I am not ready to go "back to reality"! All in all, my opinion of NYC has changed drastically. I've been twice before but never really enjoyed the place. My previous opinion was cold, dirty, stinky and crowded. lol None of that has changed. It's still cold, dirty, stinky and crowded. But I know now what people mean when they say that NYC has it's own vibe!

View from the plane

Some of these photos were contributed by (or stolen from) my two lovely companions, Jen and Lyda. Thanks, ya'll!

Puerto Rico next, ladies?!