Knowgonzalo

Since our vehicle has been in the shop since Wednesday, I was forced to rent a car to get me around. Work does not want to foot the bill, but wait till they hear that the Suburban won't be ready until next Wednesday...Do they really expect us to be locked in our Hotel in Jersey until then? ( I hope they don't ) So we took off and explored NYC. We went as south as Chinatown (we had lunch there...not as good as Tony's Chicken) and went as far north as the Bronx. We even passed Harlem, Central Park and everthing in between. I think the more I drive around New York, the more it's growing on me. Like a bad infection. But Yankee Stadium was cool; I wish they had a Tour because I would have loved to explore it (Yankee Stadium has been around since 1928!). We finished off the night by having dinner at this cool little Italian Cafe/Restaurant in Little Italy. They had good italian dishes, good gelati and good people. Paul would love this place. In fact, Paul would love Little Italy.

Seriously, do some places have to live up to it's bad reputation!? I'm talking about the bad rap that follows NYC and the surrounding areas. It seems everytime you hear about NYC, you end up hearing all the bad things that happen in NYC. I've tried to stop that, I've been focusing on some of the not bad stuff of NYC. The nice buildings, the unique villages and the good food. BUT you know, after your Mom almost gets her Metro Card stolen (our 1st NYC trip), and you almost get stabbed at a NYC festival (this past Monday) and then someone breaks into your vehicle overnight (last night), I think you pretty much have to add to that bad reputation. Yeah, someone broke into our Suburban last night and tried to take off with it. They busted our window and damaged our driver side door and they broke the console. I tell you, New Freakin' York.

(My brother is going to hate that I put this picture up here. We both agreed that it wasn't the best picture of us. But eh, it's still part of our Emprire State Building experience)Tuesday is my day off, and after wasting away the early part of the day at the Hotel, I was brought to my senses by a phone call from Janelle. She was shocked to hear that I was wasting my day off at my hotel when New York City is right outside. And gosh darn it, she was right. So I got myself ready and made my way to New York City. Did you know from New Jersey (where my hotel is) I have to pay $6 to pass the Jersey Tunnel to get into NYC!? I have to pay $6 just to get into NYC! Freakin' NY. Speaking of New York City, I've realized it's only Restaurants, Shops (or "boutiques" if your trendy), Traffic and Pedestrians. That is New York City in a nut shell. But it does have some cool sights. My brother was commenting that you always find some new corner or street you never knew existed. I guess that's what makes New York City such an attraction: You never know what to expect from Corner to Corner. One minute your walking through Chinatown, the next minute your in Little Italy. And the next minute your staring at this cool old building with a lot of character. New York, New York, it's a happening town.
And yes, the Empire State Building gives you a great view of the City.

Alright, our first event was the Columbus Day Festival and it took place in the Downtown area of New York City. That's the Financial District. We were on the corner of Water Street and Old Slip. It was a pretty cool event. I rocked the mic and I got people involved with our soccer goal we had set up. Make a SUPER GOAL, get a Verizon Wireless Shirt. That was the name of the game. Plus, I made sure everyone knew that you can make FREE international phone calls on our phones. So if you know anyone I can call overseas, pass me their number :-)
And if you can believe it, I almost got stabbed in NY at that event. Yeah, WELCOME TO FUCKIN'NEW YORK CITY.