New York City

This is my trip in a nutshell. I loved every minute of it.

I love him:

I've missed Colin so much! I'm just glad that he is coming back to Provo for a few last months before he makes New York his home. It was so good to see him and go explore the sights and see how he's been living the last few months.

I love Brooklyn:

I love the architecture:

I love the subways and their amazing impromptu concerts:

I did not like the girl who tried to sing O Holy Night. She wasn't that good, and she was trying to get me to give her money by singing Christmas songs... Please. The mariachi band was really cool though, and I would have given them money if they had hung around long enough, because I liked them quite well. The acrobat gangsters... eh.

I do not love the subway stations... because I'm still confused by them. I'm lucky that I had Colin to show me around, or I would have never gone anywhere.

I love Central Park. Especially in late fall. And the weather was really, really great too:

I love the high line:

And the Esplanade:

I love Broadway:

Especially, In the Heights. Which is what Colin and I saw on Friday night. It was pretty fantastic. And we must have gotten the best possible cast - because when I later looked up youtube.com videos, they weren't nearly as good as the people we saw...who were really, really great.

I love this picture:

I do not love Time Square. Too busy; too touristy.

I love the history:

Ellis Island

And the art:

Metropolitan Museum of Art

I love the food:

Rice in Brooklyn is the best thing I've ever tasted. I had this Indian curry with raisins, chicken, yogurt, almonds and bananas. I was a little worried, but Colin's roommate Jason talked me into it (it wasn't hard, I just took his suggestion and went with it) and I'm so glad I did. It came with Thai black rice, and it was sooooooo soooooooooooooo good.
This cupcake is dense, moist and delicious (also from Brooklyn). Bon Chon had the BEST chicken I've ever had. It's not really Korean, but it is soooooo yummy. And then the Shake Shack, which made the best cheeseburger I've ever tasted.

And I love what New York stands for as related to our county:

A land of freedom. A land of opportunity. A place where you can go and make something of yourself. It is an incredible place with all sorts of peoples, cultures, religions, backgrounds. There are rich and poor. I heard no less than 10 different languages walking around, and it was incredible. Truly a melting pot.

It was a great trip. So great, I even considered living there. And then I went grocery shopping and realized that I couldn't afford to buy bacon. I don't even buy bacon in Provo, but for some reason, that was a deal breaker for me. That, and the fact that all my favorite places (Central Park, the Esplanade, etc.) were the places that you could actually get away from all the people. I kept waiting for NO people on the subway, and it never happened, of course.

But I would not hesitate to go back and see more shows. And more history. And more art. More food! And more of everything. I thought it was so great!