Hello from New York! The Brother and I arrived a little before midnight on Thursday but it took us nearly 2 hours to get to our cousin’s apartment in Manhattan. SuperShuttle blows. We got picked up on time but then had to drive around picking up more passengers until the van was full. We then drove to Manhattan and ended up being the 3rd from the last to be dropped off. So, at 2 am EST, we finally arrived at Ishya and Billy’s place where we ate dinner that was delivered. We got to catch up with the two of them before going to bed and saw them one last time this morning before they left for their trip to Spain.

We started our day with a subway ride uptown to do some shopping. The first stop was H&M where I found some nice tops and a pea coat. Later we headed southwest to B&H Photo, which was crazy big and crazy busy. This is the place where I order a lot of my photography stuff from and I couldn’t believe the selection of equipment and accessories!

After dropping off our goodies at the apartment, we headed downtown for lunch. We ate at Momofukku where we tried their pork buns that were so fatty and so yummy. Then we hopped back onto the subway and headed down to Wall St. where we took the Staten Island Ferry to get a better look at the Statue of Liberty and New York City skyline. Next stop was Ground Zero where it was eerily somber. I never actually saw the Twin Towers when they were still standing and I still can’t believe that something so tall actually doesn’t exist any more.

Then we went on the hunt for Chinatown Ice Cream Factory. I had the lychee sorbet and Johnny had the almond cookie ice cream. Both were very good and worth the extra walking to find it. Our next destination was SoHo where we found Cafe Habana that was recommended by Holly. The mexican corn was tasty…grilled and smothered with butter, cheese, lime, and salt.

For dinner, we had Korean BBQ with Dayantha, who had ridden the bus up from Philly, and Krishani, who goes to grad school in NYC. Justine came by after dinner and we had drinks at a nearby Korean cafe. Now we’re back at the apartment and the Brother is passed out and snoring. It’s 4:19 am EST and I’m wide awake. Until tomorrow…ta ta for now!