Naturally, whenever Ryan and I go somewhere, there's always something to laugh at. Generally for hours on end. Here's a few things that made us giggle:
When we went to the Brooklyn Brewery, the girl giving us the tour gave some history on the current location. They have been in their current location since 1996. She gave this quote as how they could afford it...
That first day in the City was pretty nice out, I think it even hit 60°. Naturally, Ryan was in shorts. A couple walked by us and said, "Sun's out, guns out." I had never heard that phrase in my life but apparently Ryan had. When a student at Albany rhetorically asked, "Sun's out, guns out, right?!" He was also wearing shorts that day. Apparently, it's a phrase that's popular with muscle heads as the weather gets nice they wear cutoff sleeve shirts to show off their guns...
The night out to dinner with Ryan's friend Josh, they started talking math and I sort of zoned out. Until they mentioned this risky topology. Or rather, it was, the Zariski Topology. Not into math? I wouldn't even attempt to start reading that Wikipedia article. I kept trying to clarify what they were saying but it's one of those things where you could ask 1,000 times and still think it's pronounced "The Risky" and not "Zariski."
Our hotel had they most awesome water dispenser. They provided empty plastic water bottles (like the kind you would get from Poland Spring) and caps that screwed on after you filled it. Effectively making it sealed. You could totally steal some and sneak vodka or other liquids in these. Anyway, the stations highlighted the "chilled, purified water." I read it as...
Our second day in the City had us sleeping in a little bit later nursing our pains from the first day. We planned to go to a local bakery around the corner from the hotel but got distracted by the idea of dulce de leche pancakes at a diner across the street. Unfortunately, they weren't that good. Next time, I think we'll stick to a bakery.
After, I dragged Ryan to the Charging Bull in Bowling Green. It's right in the heart of the Financial District and I had been dying to get a picture with it. Why? I couldn't tell you. The guy was huge! While I was taking a picture with his head, other people were taking a picture with his other anatomical parts.
A couple of metro trains uptown and a brisk walk outside brought us to the Met! The bull wasn't the only big thing that day. Have you ever seen a map for that? It's massive! We spent about three hours there and only got through a couple exhibits. We saw the magic of Rodin, the finesse of Degas, the rolling landscapes of Dahl, and the unique carvings and metal work of armor and arms.
We took a lovely walk through Central Park to travel back downtown while we waited for Ryan's friend Josh. Josh lives in Yonkers so he took the metro north in to meet us for dinner. My mom had given us a gift certificate to Heartland Brewery while we were down in the City. After Josh checked out our swanky hotel room at Club Quarters, we traveled to Union Square to hit up the Brewery. The food was pretty decent but nothing that you couldn't find at any burger joint. As per Ryan, the beer was nothing special.
We parted ways with Josh and headed back to the hotel to wait for my mom got back to the NYC. I made it through our weekly Sunday night show and then promptly feel asleep. So much for a big night out.
Monday, our third and final day, was much too short. We packed and got ready to head back home. I dragged Ryan to the Container Store where I begged for glass containers, much like this one. After another slice of mediocre pizza we picked up our bags and then picked up our bus home in this part of town.
There's a reason I had always heard it referred to as the Chinatown bus.
Our first full day in the City had us ready for a nap at 2:00pm and we woke up at 9:30am.
After purchasing shorts for Ryan, since it was over 50° today, we headed to the Lower East Side to meet my mom for lunch. Her job today? Watch a man hole and make sure no one went down in it. Sounds rough, right? She was working just down the street from the famous Katz's Deli. Going there at lunch time on a lazy Saturday, we had to elbow some people to get to the counter and find a table. But after all the hustle we enjoyed some fantastic brisket sandwiches and knishes. My mom, not having eaten pork in about eight years, picked up a beef salami, which can be shipped all over the world - not needing to be refrigerated until opened. She's pretty excited about having it when she goes home today.
In case you don't know why Katz's is famous, check out this YouTube clip.
And there's just the sign there too.
In the same area, Ryan and I found a restaurant supply store. It. Had. Everything. Literally, bowls the size of my husband. We ended up buying a bread loaf pan, a huge grain scoop, and a couple smaller scoops for under $35.00. Check out some of the stuff.
A quick subway ride uptown took us to Madame Tussauds Wax Museum near Times Square. With discounted tickets pre-paid we skipped the line and saved about $9.00. We met schlepped with actors, canoodled with presidents, posed with legends, were terrified by monsters, saw the avengers, and hung out with some great artists. The NYC museum also has a 4D show where you get splashed and poked watching it. It's pretty neat. I would suggest it to folks of all ages. And buy your tickets ahead of time because you can save money on their site.
Onward we went to Brooklyn, taking the L train to Bedford. After a short walk we saw line. An epically long line for the Brooklyn Brewery. Fast forward through a forty minute wait to get inside the brewery, we find out that there's another line to purchase beer tokens. Then another line to get said beer. If you want to go on a brewery tour, make sure you get a ticket when you first walk in those warehouse doors, otherwise you'll wait some more for the next tour.
Despite the cool hipster vibe and charming personalities of the Brooklyn Brew Crew, the beer on tap and the tour was a little disappointing. With aching feet, we set off to find the Best Pizza in Brooklyn. I'm not kidding when I say it's the Best Pizza.
It's not only called Best Pizza but it has the best pizza I have ever had. EVER. With a brick oven, the pizza comes out crispy but chewy with amazing flavor and fresh ingredients. They also make a grandma piece of pie that has the sauce on top of the cheese. The hubbs and I wanted to box this place up and take it home to Troy with us. Literally, if they moved to Troy they would make a killing. I should talk to them about franchise opportunities. Here's what we got:
fresh basil = love
the grandma slice
he literally couldn't wait to try it - that's not your average pepperoni slice
A quick subway ride back to Manhattan and a transfer to downtown led us back to the hotel where we are. Resting our aching, blistered feet and apparently chafed butt cheeks for the past four hours. Too much? Yea, I thought so too.
But alas, it's 10:00pm in the City that never sleeps and we're hungry. Off we go into the bright lights. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.
Yep, today's Pi Day. Or if you're uncultured swine "Geek Day." Or if you're oblivious it's Friday.
As today marks the beginning of the hubbs's spring break, and I took Monday off, we're headed down to New York City where a free hotel room awaits us. Free hotel room you ask? Yes, free. But more on that later.
Let's focus on the "head down" portion of that last sentence. Now, normally, we take the train. But it's a little expensive, around $72 a person roundtrip. So, at the suggestion of Ryan's friend, we're taking the bus. The GoTo bus direct from Albany to NYC, which is $25 per person roundtrip. I want to start by saying this was a poor, poor choice. This post is coming from the road and I feel like I'm in the fiery depths of hell right about now. Surrounded by fifty or so sweaty, smelly people, the driver feels the need to crank the heat so that it's about 98° in here. And yes, smelly. Like BO, baby powder, and marijuana. It's a heady combination. In the future, besides our already paid for return trip, I believe we'll be skipping this option and either paying for the train or a different bus company.
So back to the free part? Well, as a side note, my mom works for a telephone company in Albany. But, because of the superstorm Sandy, NYC has had a backlog of technician work. So the local teams either sign up to go down at a time convenient to them and work or are forced to go sometime during the year. Yes, Sandy was a while ago but the aftereffects are so large. So right now my mom's completing her first week down there with other techs who volunteered to go this early. But some techs have vacation planned, or go home for the weekend. Enter the free hotel rooms. One of the techs my mom knows is going to Colorado for a week and offered us her room so we didnt have to stay with my mom. Which we would have been more than happy to do. Because, again, hello, free room.
So, we're going to be in the city until Monday bumming in a free hotel room, saving tons of money on this shitty bus, with discounted tickets to both The Met and the Wax Museum, hitting up Brooklyn Brewery. And hopefully, maybe, just maybe eating some awesome pizza and wading in sea of green.
What are your plans for this weekend? Any St. Patty's Day parties?
. After another slice of 
