Julie’s Bite of the Big Apple

Throughout my time here, I’ve discovered many different ways to view the New York Skyline. (Does Columbia even have a skyline?) My favorite way, however, is on a rooftop restaurant. My Mizzou friend (who works with me at one of my internships) and I were joking about the rooftop bars in Columbia. Let me tell you, the view from Harpo’s doesn’t even compare to some of the ones I’ve seen here.

The most breathtaking view I’ve encountered in New York is atop the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sure, the views inside the museum are stunning as well, but when I walked on the Met’s rooftop garden at dusk, I literally gasped out loud. (Which was kinda silly because I was all by myself.) Central park divides the Met from the skyline, and the lights of the skyline are absa-frickin-lutely amazing. I was surrounded by locals and tourists that sipped on $10 blue martinis. Stunning.

Another top-notch view is from the rooftop of 230 Fifth, a super sleek tropical bar. The roof is lined with palm trees that frame the glowing Empire State Building. It’s an awesome view that’s never blurred from too many cocktails because, really, who can really afford that many $13 cocktails and $9 beers? (Note: The bathrooms at 230 Fifth are a must-see. Tiny, but neat.)

Another fun rooftop without such a view is Sutton Place on the East Side. While the view really isn’t of anything in particular (except into wealthy people’s apartments), it’s nice to chill outside with the young crowd.

More views to come…even though I leave in a week!

I was happliy watching “High School Musical” for the third time this summer (working at a teen magazine has a tendency to make you yearn for the Disney Channel) when I heard a faint alarm from the hallway. Not thinking much of it–this IS New York City, after all–I continued watching the teens belting it out cheesy songs on my computer. Then my roommate Dana, who had been talking on the phone in the hallway, storms in screaming, “We have to evacuate the building! There’s a fire!”

Oh. No. Caren was just getting out of the shower and was still brushing her hair in her towel when she heard the news.

“There’s no way I’m going down there,” Caren said.

“Caren, you have to! There’s a fire!” Dana screamed.

So Caren got dressed, I paused my movie and we ran down 16(!) flights of stairs to the lobby, where we ran into Smith (the cheesecake-giving night guard) who pushed us out of the building and told us to hurry up and get out.

As soon as we got outside where the rest of the building had gathered, we watched four fire trucks pull up, and the FDNY got out and assessed the situation. It was only a tiny fire in the basement, and many of the FDNY (including one calendar-worthy hunk) hung out by the trucks as we waited to go back in the building.

A building on fire and super-cute firemen coming to save the day. Does this happen anywhere but New York?

The weather here in New York has been un-Godly hot lately, and I’m pretty sure that it’s having a bad effect on all of my electronics. In the past week, both my iPod and my laptop have decided to die on me, which leaves me with almost nothing! (Say a little prayer that the files on my hard drive are recoverable.) Could it possibly be this bad in Columbia?

Not only is it hot outside, it’s even hotter in the tunnels of the subway. Sometimes I wonder why I even shower and put makeup in the morning–by the time I get to my subway tunnel, I’m steaming!

And do we have a beach here on Manhattan? No, not really. But we do have this wonderful grassy knoll called Central Park. (You may have heard of it?) There’s one section of the park–it’s huge!–called Sheep’s Meadow, and I like to call it the beach of New York, minus a waterfront and sand. It’s the perfect place to lie in the sun with hundreds of other sunbathers while shady fellows try to sell ice cold water and beer from their plastic bags. Only in New York.

Columbia has a few road-trip worthy neighboring cities. They’ve got St. Louis, which is always good for a Cardinals game (that is, if you’re sophomoric enough to cheer for a second-rate team–just a joke coming from a die-hard Cubs fan). And there’s always the Plaza in Kansas City, which is perfect for a shopping day trip. However, both of these locations pale in comparison to Boston, the best day trip near New York City.

My fellow travellers (Matt and Zach) and I boarded the Boston-bound Fung Wah bus in Chinatown at 7:30 am. Three hours and a brief stop in Connecticut later, we arrived in Boston without a map or any direction beyond a Post-It note of scribbled ideas of places to visit. Once we found a map of the subway, we were set.

First stop: a tour of the Sam Adams Brewery. After thirty minutes of babble from an unenthusiastic tour guide, we sat in the small bar set up so we could taste samples. That’s were the fun began. We tested the famous Boston Lager, the Summer Ale, and Boston Ale among young couples, families, and a rowdy bachelor party group. And we got a free key chain!

Then it was off to the Cheers Bar, the inspiration for the hit TV show. What a disappointment! Slow service, decent food and an attitude of we-don’t-have-to-act-nice-because-tourists-will-always-pack-the-place made it just bearable. The highlight of our meal was thinking that the kid sitting a table over from us was wearing a Mizzou hat. Our biggest disappointment (besides the food)? It was a Michigan hat.

Then we moved on to Fenway Park. On the sub ride over, we encountered a paranoid (and probably schizophrenic) woman wearing a raincoat who babbled to us for the entire ride. Once we got off the subway and away from the nutso woman, we saw huge crowds surrounding the stadium. Dave Matthews and Sheryl Crow were performing that night, and the crowds of soccer moms and hip high schools made it difficult to see the ballpark. The parts we saw, however, were historic and beautiful. We were half-tempted to grab a pair of scalped tickets for the concert, but we had a conscience a Post-It note itinerary to follow.

And besides, we couldn’t skip our last stop, Harvard. Forgive me if I begin to gush about Harvard. Basically, I’m in love with it’s beauty, history and academic attitude. They had me at hello. To get onto the campus, we walked through an archway with the words, “Enter to grow and learn.” We walked among shady trees and red bricked columned buildings, and I felt intelligent the entire time, despite the fact that we had no clue where we were wandering. As to not let the people around us think we weren’t students, Zach and I joked that we were going to be students in the fall with comments like, “Oh Zach, there’s my dorm!” or I would ask him if he was in my 8am chemistry class and he replied, “Oh no, I’m in advanced chemistry.” We then shunned Matt for choosing Yale over Harvard. It sure is fun to act snooty and smart while walking through Harvard. To prove the fact that we were definitely going to be students there, we had to stop at their bookstore, The Coop, to buy Harvard insignia items. Of course, we had to walk through a three-story bookstore to get there. Harvard is lovely, and I can’t wait to attend school there in the fall. (I just won’t let the dream die, sorry.)

Even if I don’t attend Harvard, I know I will be back to visit again soon. Boston is beautiful. It’s clean, uncluttered, and inviting. It’s history and modernity are impressive, and I cannot wait to return (and try some Boston Creme Pie).

Before I had come to New York, I heard countless stories about rude New Yorkers. Since arriving, I have even encountered a few myself, such as the woman who expected me to hold the door open for her so she could enter Starbucks before I could exit, all while rudely saying, “Will ya let me get in first?” And then there’s the woman whom I knocked into on the subway, and she wouldn’t accept my apology. “Sometimes sorry just doesn’t cut it,” she told me. Sheesh!

Among all of the jaded, full-of-mental-baggage New Yorkers, I’ve run into just as many kind souls. Take our late night body guard/doorman, Smith, for instance. My roommates and I have bonded with him during our early morning strolls back to our dorm after our nights on the town. Sometimes we will stay and chat with him for a few minutes, and sometimes we’ll stay down at the front desk with him for a few hours. He’s an extremely buff, tough guy from Brooklyn, and he’s become our friend.

During one of our conversations on Sunday night, Smith suggested we take a day trip out to Brooklyn to see the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. He said he’d meet us there for lunch, and we’d walk around the gardens. It sounded like a plan. Monday morning (ok, it was more like Monday afternoon) we got on the subway to Brooklyn. We got off exactly at the right spot, patted ourselves on the back and headed toward the garden. We called Smith on the way, and–guess what?–he didn’t answer. Not to be deterred, we walked up to the entryway of the garden, only to find out that it was closed on Mondays! We called Smith again. No answer. We walked back to the subway and went home. Once we were home, Smith finally called and apologized, and he said he would make it up to us when he got to work at 11 that night.

How was Smith going to make up for ditching us in Brooklyn? He bought us a cheesecake from Juniors, which has quite possibly the best cheesecake (the box says the most fabulous) in the city! So that is my testament against snobby New Yorkers. Still, few New Yorkers compare to the Midwestern charm in Missouri. But Smith is an exception.

Because the Fourth of July is approaching, I feel that it’s necessary to write about my recent trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

Last weekend, my family came to New York to vist me and do some sightseeing. It was the perfect time for me to take advantage of some tourist attractions that I had been too cool to do on my own. My parents were the perfect targets for tourism: white socks, gym shoes, maps in hand and fanny packs. (Ok, minus the fanny pack, but my mom did have a one-strap backpack.) We decided to check out Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. And of course, it had been pouring all day and continued to do so as we waited in line for the ferry. After a soggy half-hour wait, we were finally cruising along the Hudson River. Then she came into view through the fog and spray. Lady Liberty was staring down at us in all of her green glory. We leaned out the window, took pictures and even bought foam headbands to show our pride. (Or maybe our extreme tourism.)

So we look like idiots, but it’s hard to combine that much history and fun with a $2 headband from Columbia.

Today was a fantastic, Sarah Jessica Parker-esque day in New York City. It started at Century 21, the best discount store in the city. Ok, so I would norally cringe at the thought of a discount clothing store, but this wasn’t any normal run of the mill discount mall with discounted Ralph Lauren Polo. We’re talking Gucci, Versace, Marc Jacobs and Prada. In fact, I walked away today with a Marc Jacob’s lightweight fall coat for $129 (originally $398). Oh yeah, and don’t forget the Michael Kors silver platform shoes marked down from $330 to $99. This place is the mecca for slashed prices on designer jeans (Joes, Seven, Citzens, Paper, etc), acessories (Kate Spade and Prada to name a few) and cosmetics. I was in shopping heaven! But now I’ll have to remind myself how perfect it was every time I’m eating Ramen, which will probably be for the rest of my stay in New York. Here’s to Century 21!