Anyhow, yesterday was my only full day in New York, and I had a blast! Waking up at the decent time of 9:30, I took a shower and left Bea's apartment at 10. I walked to the United Nations Headquarters and looked around a bit, grabbing a donut and coffee for breakfast on the way. From the UN, I walked west straight to Times Square. It was a complete shitshow, just as I expected, but I really enjoyed it. I guess part of me is captivated by all the lights and signs, even if it is disgustingly touristy. I went into the Toys 'R' Us (or however you spell the name of that stupid store' does it really have two apostrophes?) and walked around. I didn't find any fun World Cup toys, though, which was disappointing. Mostly I just walked up Broadway after that. These billboards of course reminded me of Ada and Alyson.
I'd seen the first half of the Japan-Paraguay game while I was getting ready to leave Bea's apartment, but I decided my time was too valuable to sit inside all day, and so I left at halftime. But walking around the city, Evan kept me updated on the score, and when it became clear that the game was likely to end at a 0-0 draw, I decided I had to find somewhere to watch the PK shootout. And so I stopped outside of this Irish Pub, where a crowd was gathering. There were several huge televisions inside, and the doors were open, and we watched the final minutes, followed by the shootout. I was disappointed when Paraguay scored their fifth goal and knocked Japan out of the tournament, but I'm glad I got to see a game go to PK's. Unfortunately, now all of my preferred teams are out of the tournament. I'll definitely still watch and keep up in Italy, but it won't be the same having no vested interest in who wins games. But that's what I get for choosing up-and-coming teams to favor instead of the big dogs. Well, I did favor Italy, which could have been a big dog. But no.
After the game ended, we dispersed, and I continued north toward Columbus Circle. I crossed into Central Park, I meandered for a few minutes among some of the large rocks, debated running through a playground with fountains to cool down, decided against getting my camera, phone, and Zune wet, and decided to leave. I cannot say I'm a huge fan of Central Park. I'm sure there are nice, relatively quiet parts, but I didn't have time to explore the entire place, and there were just throngs of tourists, who I didn't feel like being around. In Times Square, the business is fun, but in a park, I look for a different atmosphere. So I walked back down toward Madison Square Park, passing Times Square again along the way. I was disappointed that the Virgin Megastore was no longer there (although I knew they had closed, so I hadn't expected otherwise), and surprised to find that ESPN Zone was closed.
By the time I got to Madison Square Park, my feet were aching. Having unwisely used my cash that morning, it took me a few minutes to find a small store that sold Snapple and took credit. I love Snapple. Snapple is my New York drink. But I took my Snapple to the park (which was also more crowded than the evening before) and studied for a bit. At some point, it occurred to me that I hadn't thought to check out Little Italy, and I decided to head toward Bea's nearby to regroup and see if it were possible to get there before too late. This journey from and eventually back to Bea's gave me several blisters. I used Google Maps to map it, and discovered that if I had taken the most direct route to each place I went (which I didn't) and excluded my meandering in Central Park (20 or 25 minutes), I walked about 6.4 miles. So I estimate something over seven miles. I don't know if my directions are going to show up on this map. If not, sorry for the useless map of New York. The internet here is a little too slow to toy around with for long.
According to Wikipedia, Little Italy in Manhattan has been almost completely absorbed by Chinatown, but I decided instead to go to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, the "Little Italy" in which A Bronx Tale and many other books and movies take place. I'd never been to the Bronx before, but the subway ride there was ridiculous. It was Yankees game day, and some of the trains were running irregular service, and I swear I had to let two or three trains pass by before I could even think about forcing my way on. I finally got onto a train and rode, sardine-style, into the Bronx. At every stop at which the opposite doors opened, I was relieved. But at the stops at which the door on my side opened, I was terrified. Luckily, I didn't get pushed off of the train, and many many stops later, the Yankees crowd got off, and I had precious breathing room for the remaining ride.
The Bronx was a little sketchy, but I made it safely to Arthur Avenue having only gotten slightly lost for five minutes or so. I knew I couldn't stay long, because I didn't want to be in an unfamiliar neighborhood in the Bronx after dark, but I walked around Little Italy for a few minutes and stopped in una pasticceria, buying un cannolo (which is strange in the singular) and una sfogliatella, a layered pastry which Vera always recommended to her classes. I ate them back at Bea's apartment, and they were delicious!
So add to the earlier seven miles something like two miles, probably, in the Bronx. Back at Bea's, we ate PB&J's on English muffins, and then headed out to a bar in Greenwich Village to listen to a local band, the manager of which invited her. It was fun, and the band was pretty good. We caught a cab back, and quickly went to bed.
Today, I haven't done much. Most of my day I allowed as preparation time for my departure, and now that it's so close, I'm totally relaxed and excited. I'm going to put my laptop away and read for a bit, waiting to board my plane. But if you've read this far, and if you're following me further, I appreciate your interest! I won't be able to post as much in Italy as I have the past few days in the United States, but I'll try to sit down on occasion and record some thoughts and experiences. Until then, arrivederci, e grazie!
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