This Is the Trip That Never Ends . . . (NYC 1)

It was a trip with a lot of promise. What could be easier? Fly into JFK on Friday morning, do some stuff on Friday, go to the wedding on Saturday, see more on Sunday, and fly home on Sunday. Most of the trip went according to plan, so I'll start with the good parts.

I arrived at Burbank Airport early on Friday. My flight was to leave at 7am, and I had plenty of time to catch my plane. My seating companions were an omen of the trip to come. As I came down the aisle, I saw one of them sit in my seat and shrug her shoulders, as if to say, "I can sit here because I was here first." When I got to my seat and informed her of the fact that it was mine, both women rolled their eyes and moved over. They were clearly unhappy about my sitting there. Honestly, what the hell did they expect? One of them (the one who was now sitting my the window) decided to insult me by calling her friend on the phone and declaring that, "Somebody sat next to [whatever the hell her friend's name is] and is taking up all the space, and she is pissed." EXCUSE ME??? Taking up all the space??? If these people don't have the money to buy the seat next to them, then I actually believe that seat belongs to someone. Idiots.

The rest of the flight continued without incident, and, as I expected, we arrived at JFK a little earlier than scheduled. I called my car service and was told where to meet them. I went to the designated place to wait for the driver. The car drove up, and I moved toward the car, just as I heard a woman say, "That's our car; it has a 7 on it."
"No, that's my car," I said, but no one heard me.
"Are you going to the Flatotel?" asked the driver.
The woman clearly didn't understand him, because she answered, "Yes, the Westin."
"This is my car," I said a little more loudly. The driver looked at me.
"No, DEAR," the woman condescended. "This is our car."
I directed my question to the driver. "Where are you going?"
"Flatotel," he answered.
"This is MY car," I stated again. Finally, someone figured it out. The woman continued to insist that it was her car.
But the driver said, "You will have to wait for your car."
"But this was the confirmation number she gave me," the woman whined.
"Then call them," answered the driver as he put my bag into the car. Once in the car he apologized, though it wasn't his fault. He drove me into Manhattan and dropped me off at the corner of 6th Avenue and 52nd Street, about a half block from my hotel.

Flatotel is a medium-sized, medium-quality hotel in midtown Manhattan, close to Rockefeller Center and 5th Avenue shopping. Does that sound like a commercial? It's not. I mean, it's an OK hotel, but it's nothing special. Some of the rooms are like apartments, so that's nice. My room wasn't like an apartment, but it did have a mini-fridge and a teeny-tiny microwave (which I never ended up using, though I had thought I would). The decor was modern and nice, although the bed was hard. I got settled but was soon out of my room to experience the city.

I headed to Rockefeller Center to find something to eat and to look for the Palm store. I needed an adapter for my Centro, since the Centro headset plug is 2.5mm, and a standard plug is 3.5mm. :( After walking around for a LOONNNGGGG time, I decided to give up. I did manage to find 'wichcraft and grab an onion frittata breakfast sandwich, though. YUMMY! Though I would have preferred more onion. Haha. I headed out to 5th Avenue and nearly ran right into the Sprint store. I went in and asked a very nice man for some help. He didn't have what I needed, and he also informed me that Palm has closed all of it's physical stores, because people buy Palm products either from cell service providers or online. Makes sense from a business point of view, but it doesn't help me. :(

I decided it was time to go to the Met. I had been wanting to do this since my last visit to New York, so I was pretty excited. The question was, How do I get there? I didn't have a map, so I asked someone in the Met store at Rockefeller Center for help. He told me the correct bus route, but the problem was that I didn't have any coins for the bus, and I didn't know where the nearest subway was so that I could buy a metro card. I decided to start walking, and if I happened to gain either of those things, I would hop on the bus. Thirty blocks later, I arrived at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, tired but happy to arrive.

The museum's suggested entrance fee is $20. Technically, you can pay any amount you want to get in, since the fee is a donation. I willingly paid the $20. If I had known about what was to come, I might have saved my money. The Met is HUGE! I only had about 2-1/2 hours to see the entire thing, so I walked through very quickly, trying to absorb as much as possible. I saw SO MANY things that it's impossible to describe it all here. I especially liked the musical instruments, the armor and weapons gallery (which was surprisingly interesting), and the Renaissance stuff. I will post pictures when I get them downloaded. I even had a chance to stop by the store and pick up some postcards and a cute bag. I could explain even more, but you just have to experience the museum for yourself. :)

I had only $1.50 in coins, and I needed $2 for the bus. I got change from a mother and daughter outside of the museum, and waited for the bus. The bus was pretty easy, even though I had to stand for most of the time. I bought a gyro from a street vendor on the way to my hotel, bought some more supplies from the hotel store, found my room, and turned in for the night.

My first day in New York was, although a little annoying at points, was relatively uneventful. Oh, if it could have stayed like that.

2 comments:

Emily said...

Look at me... I'm eagerly awaiting the dreadful parts... it's like a train wreck. ;)

I want to go to the Met someday. I'll take your advice (kinda, lol) and allow more than 2 1/2 hours. :)

Empress KT said...

Haha, Emily . . . I'll get to the dreadful parts soon enough. :)

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I write about whatever...life, education, diabetes, family, pets, church, God, and whatever else comes to mind.

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