NYC Day 2 - The Awakening

I love sleeping in nice hotel rooms.

I woke up this morning in a queen-sized bed, nestled among three fluffy pillows and covered by a heavy duvet. It felt as though I'd fallen asleep in a cloud, the kind that kids dream of sleeping in before they learn that clouds are just insubstantial globs of frozen water particles. I like that feeling of security, that the rustle of the sheets and the whiteness forming hills and valleys around me can shut out the world. The bed's much wider than what I'm used to sleeping in at home, meaning that I could roll around and stretch every which way without worrying that I'll knock something over or tumble onto the ground. Even with the fire station right beside the hotel and fire trucks wailing their way out in response to alarms all night, I think I had the deepest sleep I've had in forever.

NYC Day 2 - Subway

After my first experience on the New York subway system, I've gained a little more respect for the TTC. The trains here are pretty loud and scary as they come into the station, kind of like Moscow ones. TTC trains are actually not so bad in comparison. I couldn't even hear my dad talking and he was sitting right across from me. I'm assuming the train's interior is mainly stainless steel (in places where TTC trains have some off-white plastic stuff) because they want to make graffiti easy to clean off. Unfortunately that also makes it feel like the inside of a prison cell. Also, route maps are difficult to find or read, making me realize how nice it is to have those simplistic colour-coded diagrams over TTC subway doors. Finally, there aren't any stop announcements, or not any that I could hear over the roaring and crashing ruckus of the moving train.



There are good things too. Mainly, I want to point out the ticket system that is very superior to the TTC's. You can buy a MetroCard in any amount of money you want to put in, with a negligible expiry date (mine's for sometime in 2011). It seems much more practical than being forced to carry tickets/tokens or buying fixed weekly/monthly passes. You can just slide the magnetic strip on the card through gates as you enter and a little screen tells you the balance you have left. You can also "recharge" it and put in more money when you run out. Think of it as something between the MTR Octopus and the TTC.

NYC Day 2 - Cafe Cafe

This was a neat little place in SoHo where we stopped for lunch. They had nice sandwiches which were pretty healthy-seeming, as well as good coffee and hot chocolate with real melted chocolate in it. Also, 'Create-Your-Own-Salad"! It's kind of like Harvey's where you start with a plain salad with greens of your choice, and you choose what veggies/dressing/cheese you want to add to it.



The atmosphere was very quaint and cozy as well, with a cool second-floor balcony seating. We met this nice couple who were traveling from Norway and talked to them for a while.

NYC Day 2 - Rice to Riches

A friend of ours recommended this one to us, and we actually stumbled upon it quite accidentally while wandering around between SoHo and Little Italy. Basically, it's a store that specializes in rice pudding. There are many interesting flavours to choose from, such as "Sex, Drugs and Rocky Road", "Corner of Cookies and Cream", and "Hazelnut Chocolate Bear Hug", as well as the traditional plain rice pudding. I chose one called "Coconut Coma" which was extremely yummy. They come in different bowl sizes, and you get to keep both the bowl and the innovative spoon. =) Too bad I wasn't paying enough attention to ask for a cooler colour...I got a weird army-green bowl but I think the orange ones were nice.





The store itself was awesome enough. There were humourous signs telling you that eating rice pudding was more important than avoiding fatness.


There were also cool tingz in the washroom ;D

NYC Day 2 - Shopping and Other Stuff

The rest of my time today was spent in clothing boutiques with my mom, while my dad did his photography thing outside. The streets are really close together, so we could do a lot of walking around. I found that crossing the street was more or less an arbitrary thing; you watch the traffic and ignore the lights.Basically, you're free to cross if there aren't any cars nearby. When we were at the Pearl River Mart, they were filming a TV show for ...I think it was HGTV. So if anybody sees me and my family in an episode where a guy and a girl are running around a Chinese department store frantically grabbing random home decor items off the shelves, please let me know :3

I got some shirts and also found some presents for special people. Later on we wandered around Chinatown and soaked in the Asian-ness for a while. We stopped for dinner at a Chinese restaurant called Big Wong ("dai wong"), which was rather familiar-feeling and refreshing.