New York!

A few weeks ago I spent nine days in New York City. I went to do dissertation research, but tacked on some fun weekends, too.

I took the train up on a Saturday, and made my way to the apartment I rented on the Upper West Side. After the travel and struggling with my ginormous suitcase on the subway and stairs, I was happy to finally be safe and sound in the apartment, but there were some brief tears when I couldn't find access to wifi. Everything worked out though, don't worry, and that night I met up with my good friend Celia for dinner.

The next day she and I met up again for fun times. We had brunch at Bubby's and then walked the High Line, which was a little crowded but pretty neat. Then we made our way to the Guggenheim Museum for some modern art.

Inside the Guggenheim

Art!

After all that walking and standing we were ready for a break, so we got some ice cream and sat in Central Park. It was fun seeing all the cyclists and runners and dog walkers. When we felt rested enough we walked over to the Metropolitan Art Museum, where we just visited some of the short-term exhibits, including some crazy fashion by Rei Kawakubo.

People watching in Central Park

Impractical fashion art.

After the museum we met up with Celia's sister for dinner. While we waited to get into the delicious ramen restaurant we had a drink at a bar around the corner, where we also FaceTimed with my brother Ryan (Celia and I were friends in high school, and Ryan and her sister were in the same grade together in high school). After dinner I headed back toward my place, with a stop for groceries on the way.

Monday and Tuesday I walked up to Columbia University to do research. I always love visiting places where I can walk to "work," and it was fun to see so many children on their way to school right there in the big city. After the library closed Monday I tried to find a coffee shop where I could continue working, but didn't find a good place and settled for buying a muffin at a bakery and taking it home to make my own tea and work. Unfortunately the bakery I entered only served gluten free stuff, but luckily it gave me the chance to see a minor celebrity, who was also buying a gluten free treat.

Tuesday while doing research I made sure to enter a few lotteries for show tickets, and I hit the mega jackpot when I won two tickets ($10 each) to Hamilton. I love Hamilton and have listened to the soundtrack countless times, so this was super exciting. Celia said she's tried to win tickets a hundred times without luck, but I won on my first try! So after work she and I met up for dinner, and then went to the show. 

I needed to pick up the tickets at will call, and they let us jump the line of people waiting to get in so we could get up to the window. When I opened the envelope to get the tickets out a small slip of paper was inside that warned us no drinks were allowed in the front row. Front Row?!?! I couldn't really understand the seats listed on the tickets, but each time we showed them to an usher they said "Congratulations!" and pointed us toward the front row of the center orchestra. So crazy.

Standing up at our seats for a photo during intermission!

The show was amazing. I know it's a big hit and all, which in some ways turns me off, but it's a hit for a reason. I laughed, I cried (literally), and of course I sang along inside my head. The actors were so close! I saw so much spit and sweat! (Oh, and I also happened to have spent the day looking in a collection of papers that included items from many of the main characters, so it was fun to see and touch historic documents and then see their authors portrayed on stage that night!)

Wednesday and Thursday I walked to the New-York Historical Society to do research. The first day I ate my lunch across the street in Central Park (peanut butter and jelly for the third day in a row). After work Wednesday I did manage to find a coffee shop, where I continued working for a couple more hours. Then I decided to go for a walk in Riverside Park. I ended up walking fifty blocks north, then another 1.6 miles east to Red Rooster, a hip restaurant in Harlem. The wait took forever (I was definitely overlooked as a party of one, and then when they seated me in a corner at an empty communal table I couldn't manage to get a server's attention for a really long time), but the food was good and I didn't really have anything better to be doing.

New-York Historical Society

Central Park

Riverside Park and the Hudson River

Friday morning I took the subway down to Times Square (ugh) to do a little research at the New York Public Library. It was kind of weird to have to check my bag and be wandering all over carrying my laptop and microfilm while a slew of tourists with backpacks and cameras were just visiting. I didn't happen to find anything at all useful in the collection I examined, and while that was a little disappointing I wasn't too upset because it meant I could get out of there and go back to the historical society where I hadn't been able to finish a much more useful collection the day before.

New York Public Library

When the library closed at 4:30 I headed out for an ice cream cone and another walk through Central Park. Then at 6pm I went back to the historical society to visit the museum galleries (including a small exhibit of TJ documents that are owned by the Massachusetts Historical Society, and happened to be on display in Richmond at the Virginia Historical Society while I was in Boston doing research at the MHS; so I finally got to see them). When I was done there I met up with Celia for a nice Italian dinner, where we got to sit outside on the sidewalk.

I originally thought I'd be doing more research on Saturday, but turns out everything I needed was closed since it was Memorial Day weekend. I wasn't too sad to have another free day in the city though. That Saturday was also the day I checked out of my apartment to spend my last two nights at Celia's place, and luckily her boyfriend was able to pick me up and let me avoid the subway (or a cab) with my giant suitcase. Unluckily, however, Celia's dad was actually really sick and she had to take him to the hospital, so he and I hung out in the car outside the NYU hospital while she got her dad settled. Eventually we had lunch near their place in Brooklyn, and then Celia and I visited the Brooklyn Brewery. Turns out the long line and crowded noisy place wasn't really worth the wait, since we could have gone to just about any local bar and still enjoyed a Brooklyn Brewery beer. Oh well. Afterwards we walked around Brooklyn, and that night we drove to Queens to one of their favorite sushi restaurants.

View of the city from Brooklyn

Sunday I got to go with Celia on a walk with her dog to the dog park, which was exciting. I'd never been to a dog park before. Then we went to visit her dad in the hospital. He was looking and feeling much better than the day before. (He was released a few days later, and is happily back at home.) After that we grabbed a slice of pizza and then went to the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, where our particular tour learned about Irish immigrants. After the museum we walked back to Brooklyn across the Williamsburg Bridge, where her boyfriend picked us up and we all went to a little barbecue at their friend's house. He had a great view of the city from his balcony, which was a nice treat on my last night in New York.

Monday morning I helped Celia do some packing (in addition to hosting me and taking care of her dad in the hospital, they were also all moving!), then we walked to a quick lunch before I had to head to the station for my train home. Overall it was a really great trip. I accomplished dissertation research, saw Hamilton (!), and got to visit with a good friend and her family.