Since Kerri, my crewmate (and fellow Utah commuter), hadn’t ever been to New York City, I felt that we needed to spend the morning in Manhattan- she agreed. We met down in the hotel lobby at 06:15 and got a Lyft all the way in the city to Ground Zero. New York City is so much fun, especially when experiencing it with someone who has never been. I’m by no means an excellent tour guide, and I don’t know tons, but I have been to the city quite a few times, and we were able to see some incredible things. I only wish we’d have had more time.
It was a cold (but not freezing) morning! I’m surprised that Kerri didn’t require a heavier jacket![/caption]
A marijuana delivery service! How convenient and disturbing!
Ground Zero
Not only was it Kerri’s first time in the city, but it was her first subway ride!
Breakfast at Bubby’s!
Bubby’s art
I love the eclectic feeling of this restaurant!
Hungry tourists!
Bubby’s heard my complaints (and the complaints of others) and brought back their sourdough pancakes!
We decided we were cold enough to swing by an H&M to buy gloves- and a new scarf for myself!
At the M&M store on time square- we decided to get some customized M&Ms for Tim, our other crewmate who couldn’t come with us due to a friend’s emergency. The chosen messages: Fly SWA, NYC 2018, and TimSUX.
This morning was great! I had time to run around in New York City for a few hours. Last week, when I realized this was a possibility, I knew I wanted to go get breakfast at Bubby’s, located in Tribeca and home of some darn good sourdough pancakes!
During work yesterday, I really talked this place up to the other two flight attendants. After all, another coworker had told me about Bubby’s, and I feel the best thing to do is pay it forward by spreading the culinary love. I called Kristel, my coworker, and told her she had 20 minutes to get ready. I tried getting ahold of our other flight attendant, but she didn’t answer her phone. Her loss.
Kristel had her mindset on taking the train over, but I didn’t want to take an hour-and-a-half getting there. I talked her into splitting an Uber fare with me. It was perfect! Our driver was amiable and was able to drop us off right in front of Bubby’s.
We sat down, and the very first thing I said to our server was that we’d be having the sourdough pancakes. She told us that they no longer made them! I’m generally not a colossal sourdough fan, but these were something different! It was nice when I voiced my opinion, and she told me that she would grab me a comment card. A FREAKIN’ COMMENT CARD? I had to settle for some sort of pulled pork, eggs benedict meal, which, although very delicious, just wasn’t my sourdough pancakes.
Soon we were joined by Thomas, one of Kristel’s childhood friends from Texas- she hadn’t seen him since about the first grade. Thomas is a very nice guy who now lives on the upper west side and works in Manhattan real estate. I told him that I’d have him find me a pied-a-terre someday. I heard that word in the movie Baby Mama and always wanted to use it in a sentence. I’m not even sure what that is.
Thomas walked with us to find a good shopping area (I needed to buy a new coat- all I had was a jacket that was part of my Flight Attendant uniform), and on our way, we took us by the firehouse that was used in the movie Ghostbusters back in the ‘80s. Way cool!
We stopped at one store, and the jacket I wanted to buy cost $220 (eeeeek)! I was actually tempted to get it, but thank goodness they didn’t have one my size. We left and soon found an H&M where the prices were much more reasonable. I ended up purchasing a wool coat and scarf for a lot less!
Thomas had to get to work, so he left us to explore on our own. We walked around for a couple hours until working up an appetite for lunch. Naturally, we ended up at my favorite restaurant in the city, Morandi. Seriously great Italian food! A trip to NYC without eating there wouldn’t be half as nice!
We got back to our hotel just after 14:00. I managed to take a pretty awesome hour-and-a-half nap before having to get up and get ready. We only had to work one leg from Newark to Denver, and all except one of our passengers were extremely kind. I’m not going to bash the one guy who seems to have some personal issues. Bless his heart.
This afternoon I happened to run into one of my friends from my days at Utah State University! I was walking in the terminal, and I heard someone call my name. I turned around, and it was Allyn Shaw! I haven’t seen that boy in about 13 years or so! He looked good! I should have gotten a picture with him but didn’t think about it until later.
Tonight I’m back at the crashpad. We have a houseful of roommates, so I guess that means I will get little-to-no sleep tonight. That is usually the case with a houseful of young flight attendants who don’t know how to share a house with others. I don’t have work tomorrow, so maybe I’ll drug myself! I think I have some expired Zzzquil in the drawer.
Since we have a longer overnight, I thought it would be a fun idea to run into New York City for the afternoon. I got a ride using the Lyft app. Lyft is much like Uber but seems to cater to a different class of people. My driver, who drives for both Lyft and Uber, told me that this is the case. The services seemed comparable from my experience, but one thing I like about the Uber app is the fact that I can get a fair estimate in advance and send my location to a friend who can follow my journey in real-time on their own smartphone. I think that this makes Uber a little bit safer as well. Also, Uber has the option to split the far with another passenger that you may be riding with, right from the app itself. Lyft, on the other hand, lets the rider tip through the app itself (although I always tip in cash because I don’t think tips should be taxed).
I had an early dinner/ late lunch at Morandi, one of my favorite downtown restaurants. It was perfect. Since I’ve been losing weight, It had been a while since I’d had any pasta. Being back in the city was reason enough to “cheat.” It was an overcast day, but the threatening rain hadn’t started yet, so I thought I’d sit outside. I love to people-watch, especially in lower Manhattan.
After a meal at Morandi, the server brings a postcard with your bill. This is an excellent idea!
I walked down to the SoHo Apple Store on Prince Street. This was an excellent way to try and work off some of that pasta and dessert. I needed to pick up a new external charger since I accidentally left mine on a plane a few weeks ago. This was the first time I’d been to this particular Apple Store, and there were so many employees and customers, it seemed as if it were some kind of grand opening or something. Nope, just another day at a New York City Apple Store.
I got back to the hotel just before 17:00, right as it started to rain. Perfect timing! I noticed that my room overlooks downtown Newark. One of these times, it may be fun to ride into Newark and explore. It seems to pale in comparison to the size and energy of New York City, but I’ll have to let you know for sure when I finally get there.
DavTravels 