Xela's Travel Log

[th3squirr3l]

WAIT a minute. Hahahah, sorry, I read that as June 13. Funny, I did the opposite just before, and thought I was getting my wisdom teeth out today. Turns out that's happening next month

Wops. Well, one month is plenty of time to think of something awesome to do... Hmm...

[Farore]

What about Times Square? That's one of the big sights I tend to hear about when people visit New York. There's also the Empire State Building, too. The only time I've been to New York is to go through JFK, and well, I don't suggest that as an adventure. Whatever you do see though I hope you enjoy yourself!

[Luc of True Wind]

If you are going to NYC, you MUST go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art! It's simply amazing! I was only in NYC for a few days, but I also recommend going to the Strand Bookstore if you like cool bookstores with rare books and a cool atmosphere Have fun!

[XelaReko]

I am now going to "the Met" as it is called. One day will be just touring Manhattan. This is going to be awesome.

[Bear]

As always, pictures would be appreciated =)

Pie and I were in NY once, but because of a host of delays and other circumstances, we only got to spend a few hours in the city. It was only enough time to see a very small section of the city, and get some pizza, so I can't make any suggestions~

[XelaReko]

So, the current version of the Grand Master of Plans to End All Plans is as follows:

The First Day
-110 Hours Remain

• Get fresh, delicious New York bagels
• Picnic in Central Park
• Vanquish the Museum of Natural History
• Random Encounters (*)
• Lounge with girlfriend at base camp

The Second Day
-86 Hours Remain

• Get breakfast and nom it (†)
• Begin conquering museums starting with the Met
• Break for lunch at a Hole-in-the-wall style shop (‡)
• Continue crusade against museums
• Grab some pizza on the way back to base.

The Third Day
-62 Hours Remain

• Explore Grand Central Station
• Expand my culinary knowledge with new cuisine experiences
• Relax in the Highline Gardens (§)
• Watch the sunset(¶)

The Fourth Day
-38 Hours Remain

• Quick breakfast and the head out for a busy day
• Witness the beautiful old bridges and put some of them under my feet
• Brave Time Square and best all the Random Encounters we come across
• Seek advice at The Complete Strategist
• Commandeer the Staten Island Ferry and see the Statue of Liberty (**)

The Final Day
-14 Hours Remain

• Pack up
• Take a heavy dose of self-prescribed relaxing
• Feast at a fancy restaurant with my girl
• More relaxing and lounging
• Tearful goodbyes and begin the long trip homeward

So ends the Grand Master of Plans to End All Plans.

I think my girlfriend has a camera so we will be documenting our invasion of the Big Apple. I am also thinking of making a travel challenges sheet for this trip if anyone is interested. I have never actually participated in a travel challenge other than organizing it, but I think it could be fun. Give your input with a simple "yay", "nay", or "wat?" if you care.

Footnotes:
* - Means free time for wandering, exploring, or doing whatever we wish
† - Maybe bagels again if my stomach so chooses...
‡ - Probably Japanese, Chinese, or other Asian cuisine as those seem both tasty and numerous
§ - A garden made in an old elevated freight train railway
¶ - Tradition. I do this everywhere I go. Forces me to sit back and just admire the beauty.
** - Only activity that will cost money to do. Hooray for vacations on the cheap!

[Fixxxer 117]

Sounds like fun. I hope all goes well and you have a great time.

[Tehwilburforce]

Looks great! A couple restaurants I'd recommend are Jekyll and Hyde, a sit-down place with a few different locations, though the one that I've been to in upper Manhattan is best. Two other places are Carnegie Deli and Hello Deli. Both have excellent sandwiches if you're looking to get something quick to eat. However, I would recommend sitting down to eat at Carnegie Deli only because the sandwiches are just plain epic.

[XelaReko]

TehWilburForce: Duly noted and will try to eat there. Sounds awesome.

[Farore]

Make sure you get lots of pictures of the food too!