NY Day 3: RIP TITO

Taking advantage of this step in my professional writing career by jet-setting on a lavish vacation I certainly cannot afford. Stay tuned for every inevitable fumble, wrong turn, and overpriced meal as LAUREN TAKES NEW YORK!

(trying to barter free food from this poor hot dog vendor)

Jaywalking our way downtown, walking fast, faces pass, and we're turned around...

So we haven't heard from Tito, despite his explicitly stating he'd hang out with us today. In response we've mourned the six hour friendship, left to our own devices without even his jacket to remember him by. All good things must come to an end, I guess. Kerra, who had no romantic interest in him last night, has realized in his absence that he is the love of her life. It's unfortunate that he left her so heartbroken. There will be no living with her after this.

Anyway, our itinerary called for us to head to Central Park today, but a slight drizzle left us dazed and confused. Instead we decided to walk to Columbia University, which was about the same amount of time out doors as the park would have been, in the same rain. Kerra realized her new pink jacket from Forever 21 ripped, a straw nearly crushing her poor brittle heart after forgetting her black thermal and losing Tito.

A phone call with my dad reminded me that "looking like we don't know what we're doing," (and loudly stating it to passersby when asking for directions,) is probably the worst thing a tourist in a large city can do for themselves. So we spent the majority of our walk to the University trying to look as unimpressed as possible. This was interrupted by occasional bursts into song and theatrics, because, come on, we saw Anastasia on broadway yesterday. Again, we are who we are as people.

Today we slowly came to terms with the fact that, in New York, pausing at red lights just isn't a thing. To do as the Romans do, we jaywalked like we were in a prison break. Neither of us can handle this kind of rebellion, it feels too much like looking death in the face. But we did it, and eventually Google Maps said we'd arrived at our destination. Of course what we stood next to looked just like a row of buildings and not like a college campus. It took another turn, and Kerra stopping to ask "Excuse me, is this Columbia?" for us to find the main campus. And oh my god, am I so glad we didn't cut our losses and just head back to nap like we wanted. Columbia is such a gorgeous campus, so pretty that we probably looked the least cool and most impressed running up the stone steps and trying to take pictures next to statues. It's gigantic with buildings that have stood the test of time-- they made me absolutely giddy. Unfortunately, most of the indoor spaces on campus were closed. It was a bit after Kerra exclaimed "why is New York nothing but a closed door to us!" that we realized it was Sunday.

Starving after all that walking and not sitting, we went to Massawa for delicious Ethiopian food. They practically had to tear the plates from us after we'd finished, as we were both licking off every last scrap. 10/10 would and do recommend. If anything's going to get you to New York, make it the food.

Singing to strangers as we walked back to the apartment, we realized what we needed was a Karaoke Bar. Google Maps came in for us again, and we found one with it's own room and dual microphone's for only six dollars an hour! Of course, after we realized Karaoke 53 had a bar, and that you could extend your stay multiple hours, six bucks quickly turned to a hundred. In spite of our pleas and attempts at harmonizing, they didn't reduce our fee. So we decided to take our bartering attempts elsewhere, and hit up two separate hot dog stands in search of free food. One creepy dude nearly gave us rice, but decided last minute to pull the rug out from under our hopes and dreams. The second hot dog guy actually gave us something to eat, and as thanks he will live immortalized on my blog forever.

The night ended with a very kind stranger who spoke no English guiding us to the subway station, as at this point not only were we singing fools scarfing discounted hot dogs, we were singing fools scarfing discounted hot dogs who were also very lost. We got home, ready for sleep, and I was out before my head hit the pillow. Unfortunately, our escapades led to a morning of severe illness, a virus found only in one too many Long Island Iced Teas. Hence, why I am posting the events of Day 3 at the end of Day 4. To find out how I survived, keep your eyes open for the next post as Lauren takes on Manhattan!

#travelpost #travelblog #travelseries