Monday, March 30, 2009

the entry about new york, new york!

oh man, too much ancient ruins and borderline-impertinent italians with no civil grace have dulled my wits. never mind that they boast fragrant arabica beans or generous servings of gelato. it is the whimsical, capricious megalopolis life that i lust after. a city of lights with the ubiquitous starbucks and the cacophony of honks that orchestrate the pulse of an ever-abuzz borough, oh how i heart thee.

if that's your cup of tea too, then eat your hearts out at new york, famously known as the big apple. i gamely made my way to the district of dizzying lights and rambunctious/fun-loving people and met up with bestie raymond. no more ben (sob), and i am missing him already. aww! shucks!

still, life goes on...

moving on! here's the lowdown on times square, a part of manhattan that is teeming with cars, and even more people.


behold city lights times square!



portrait of wastebin, fast-moving cab and raymond.





a nice, warm cup of hot chocolate to battle the cold.



how apt!


fashion 101: crossing the streets in style.



using the computer terminal to catch up with what's on online.


tipping is common culture for the uninformed. there's no hard and fast rule about how much you should tip, but somewhere in the band of 15% - 20% would be adequate. however, do not, i reiterate, do not dump all your loose change as tips. doing so would only provoke tippee (person who receives tips) to launch into a tirade of the 'f' language. i know so, but don't ask me why so.

manhattan (the borough where we are living in) is all kinds of crazy. the people are a fun-loving and gregarious bunch, contrary to the misconception that new yorkers have no sense of humor and are complacent. 


times square by day.




more of the lovely times square anytime.





i am guessing sesame street's around the corner somewhere.



walking the dog is commonplace, ray demonstrates how.



a marc by marc jacobs outlet in soho.


trotting around since nine in the morning can be quite tiring. i swear the bunions on my feet were dying to grow out of my mules. we stopped track over at empire state building, the city's largest observatory. expect no more than a hazy panorama cluttered with tourists of all shapes and sizes once atop the building.


a bird's eye view of the financial district in soft focus.







by the third day, our sluggish brains then realized that traveling via the subway would have hastened the redundant, time-consuming walks from point to point. way to go, des. extra points for being an slow thinker.

anyhoos, because i've been to new york before, visiting some touristy areas that are out of the way or utilizes precious time like ellis island, statue of liberty and the met museum have been relegated to the bottom of my priorities. i opted for the obvious choice: central park. and of course, some shopping as well. 


stepping out of our hotel, the moderne.



a little camera check before moving out.


stopping by for a cuppa along a walk-by cafe.






the scenic view of central park. 






did you know: almost 25 million people visits the central park annually and central perk from friends, the sitcom, and central park have no direct co-relations whatsoever?




feeling a little pang of hunger.


one more shot before heading back downtown for some food.


a shot of me kissing the stuffed toy,
and a friendly new yorker who chimes in for kicks.


here's raymond's rendition. hilarious much?



en route to watch our first musical, little mermaid.


owing to the fact that the weather was an ass-blistering cold, tranny mess and the heater in our room fulminating only during certain periods, using the hairdryer would have been a brilliant idea. here's a demo:


an outlook of the room from bed's view.







look-it! topman's opening soon in new york, but not soon enough. dang!





on the last day, ray dumped me and went off to meet his *ahem* paramour-meets-friend, so i was pretty much left to my own devices. i brought along my trusty nikon slr and took pictures of downtown life, the manhattan and brooklyn bridges, and a couple of other locales which will be shown more in the next entry. meanwhile, here's a look at some interesting folks, and get a load of my purchases for the curtain call.


close that mouth, it's nasty!


she ain't too happy about him walking out on her.


pretty in pink? stroller lady in background concurs.


walking advertisements in the most literal sense.


yikes! i fear the arrival of my credit card statement.