I had a great weekend last weekend as I had went to New York city for the first time. This was one of my goals for the year as I was hoping maybe some day I can go down to do open mics in New York so I thought I should do an introductory visit to the city if I was really serious about doing it.
I had stayed in Queens with an older woman who I met on some online forum for women. A few of them came down to Toronto back in March and stayed in a hotel downtown. We spent time together that weekend and I took them down to Niagara Falls.
I decided to take the bus as it was cheaper and I could at least see what the landscape looks like on the way there. I don't think I will ever take it again because the bus was 2 hours late in arriving but on the way home, it was 3 hours late. And with stops included, it should only take 10.5-11 hours.
I had already ordered my tickets on the 16th of May and I was going to take the 10 am bus on Monday, however, when we got on the bus we had learned that the 10 am bus already left because of an issue with another bus company, Trailways. I was on Grey hound so they were helping out this company that probably oversold on their tickets. A lot of people were supposed to get on the 10 am bus so I wasn't the only one screwed over.
We ended up leaving New York and did an express trip and skipped Syracuse. We had arrived in Buffalo but we ended up waiting there for 2 hours. My ticket said we'd leave for Buffalo at 6.30 pm but didn't leave until 9. I waited in the bus terminal for a bit and noticed this girl, probably 13, walking around BAREFOOT and with 5 other guys. Now walking barefoot in such a public space is just inappropriate and unhygienic. I figured she was probably a local. As well, being that she was with 5 other guys, she may have been a redneck and a slut so maybe that's why she was barefoot. It's possible some of them may have been related to her but whenever I see one girl with more then 4 guys, I get a little suspicious! Anyways, I wonder if she is one of those young teenagers who has a mother that doesn't love her child because I would never allow my child to be out barefoot in public, especially a bus terminal of all places!
As well, the bus was idling for the entire time we were waiting in Buffalo, which is not good thing to do, especially for the bus and for the environment. As we were leaving Buffalo, the bus was having problems running so we ended up having to switch buses, which again took some time. I think idling it may have caused problems, but being that I don't know much about cars, I can't really say for sure.
I didn't get into Toronto until 1.15 am and took the street car home. Being it was late and not much people were on it, I got home pretty quickly since we weren't making many stops and there wasn't much traffic. I had work the next day so I ended up with only 4 hours of sleep. Basically this week I took it easy and was slowly catching up on my lost sleep.
On Friday when I left, I was the 3rd last person to get on the bus. I had thought that ordering a ticket online would guarantee you a spot for the same you had selected online but no it doesn't work that way, which I don't think is right. I potentially would have to wait for another bus but at least I got on it on Friday.
When I arrived on Friday, my host was worried that I never called her as I didn't get to her place until 8.30 and I said my ticket says I'll be there at 6, which didn't happen. My cell phone was not able to get a signal so I never bothered calling. I didn't think to bug someone to use their phone because I didn't think it would be a big deal if I was late and I typically do not like asking people for help unless its absolutely necessary. My host is a bit of a worrier, which actually is one of my pet peeves. I understand people worry but if something bad happened to me, worrying isn't going to solve the issue.
On Saturday I took a ferry around Manhattan and got to see the skyline. I saw the Statue of Liberty. This ferry wasn't the ferry that took you to Staten Island where the statue is located but it had stopped in front of it so we could get a good look at it.
I had lunch with someone from the forum, whom came to Toronto. She is closer to my age and has been living in New York for over a year. She had to work for the weekend so we weren't able to hang out much but I appreciate that she took the time to meet up with me.
I then spent the rest of my afternoon walking around Central Park. I didn't know it was so big. I started from the south and worked my way up to the Jackie O pond so I think I did half the park.
I then went to the Guggenheim art museum as my guide book said that its free on Saturdays from 5.45 to 7.45. There was a really long line up and I wasn't sure if I should get in line but it ended up moving quickly so I was able to see everything there.
On Sunday I met up with another woman from the forum. It's too bad that we all couldn't be together but they actually hung out with my host last weekend so it was understandable.
We went to Ground Zero. It was actually smaller then I thought it would be. Then we went to the Memorial site which was a few minutes away.
We went to Wall St as I wanted my picture taken with the Bronze Bull that is supposed to be representing the rising of the stock market. I thought that's not really realistic since they should have a Bear (which symbolizes a fall) next to it and in the middle a panicked investor. That's the reality of the stock market!
I did so much walking on Saturday so my feet were sore. The woman I met up with wasn't able to spend too much time with me so she left in the afternoon and I just went to one shoe store and a t-shirt store. I really hate shopping but at least I could say I went to some stores.
My host lives by the beach (15 minutes) so she took me there and I officially touched the Atlantic ocean for the first time as I went down to the water and put my hands into it. It wasn't that cold.
I like the subway system as well. Toronto only really has 2 major lines so it's easy to navigate but NY has tonnes so it's more like a game to figure out which lines to take. They had a lot of new subways as well. I think I only went on 2 or 3 older subways.
I don't think I'd like to live there though but I don't know if I'll go back again this year or next. It's close enough so that I can go whenever I want to.
I felt different when I came back to Canada. I like the vibe of this country, it seems more relaxed or maybe being in America makes me a little nervous. I did see some New Yorkers be nice. I think I have this idea that they are mean and tough but some of them seemed helpful when asking for directions.
I may like you New York but I think I like Toronto just a little bit more!
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