#40FOR40NYC Episode 2: Parades and Free Schtuff

14 Tuesday Jul 2015

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Personal and Fun, Travel

Tags

art, arthur avenue, bars, boogie down bronx, bronx, brooklyn, budget friendly, budget travel, bx, cheap, cheap activities, culture, flowers, fun, graduate student, green-wood cemetery, history, little italy, new york, New York City, NYC, restaurants, single, things to do, tourism, tourist, Travel, twentysomething

Howdy everyone!

Time for another installment of #40FOR40NYC! I haven’t written recently because since my iPad was damaged and my laptop is a hunk o’ poo, I had no way to write except with my phone. Thankfully, I have a new iPad and I bought a keyboard on Amazon, so I can type!

There is going to be a slight change to this series. I am working 6 days a week now, so I have had to restrict my exploring to Saturday afternoons and Sundays. On top of the 6 day work week, I am also taking a 6 week summer class which requires a copious amount of reading and writing in a very short time AND I have to take a Spanish fluency exam in a month. This means I do not know when I will be able to fit in any new activities. Since I picked up a Saturday and Monday shift, I won’t be going on any weekend trips either. After the class is over I can resume exploring on Sundays, but I obviously can’t fit in 25+ activities in 8 sundays. That being said, I don’t want to stop the series, but I am going to probably have to stretch it into the early Fall.

Anyway. Since my last entry I have done several things!

I went to two parades: cost=$5.50 and $5.50

I went to the Puerto Rican parade and the NYC Pride parade. I had only ever been to one parade-a Veterans Day parade in Greenville, Texas. Parades are an amazing, free, fun way to meet people, listen to music, and people watch! You should definitely bring a chair (which I didn’t do) and maybe a mini-cooler with drinks and such, but I highly recommend going to parades if you are looking for something cheap to do in NYC. There are SO many to choose from. I am already excited for the Labor Day and St. Patrick’s Day parades! I’d always wanted to go to the Puerto Rican Parade and it was really neat. There were representatives there from different states, many unions, companies, small business owners, clubs, dance studios, and people representing cities from all over the island of Puerto Rico! My best friend and her family are from Ponce, so it was cool to spot all the people representing that area. I missed the beginning of the parade so I didn’t see any famous people, but it was still a lot of fun. Last weekend I went to the NYC Pride parade. I had never been to a pride parade and going right on the heels of the marriage equality ruling by the SCOTUS was really memorable. Everyone was SO happy and in such a good mood. There was so much fun music, everyone was dancing, and there were a lot of well known people. I read that Caitlyn Jenner and the cast of OITNB were there, but I only saw Senator Chuck Schumer, Mayor DeBlasio, and Sir Ian McKlellan! This parade was really convienient for me because the route runs right by my school (yay, access to bathrooms).

I will know the best place to sit and time to get there next year! I was VERY weary to go to parades because big crowds aren’t really my scene, but at both parades I was able to find great places to stand that weren’t too packed so this will definitely be a regular activity for me.

I tried two new restaurants: cost= $24 and $29

Before the Puerto Rican parade I went to brunch with a friend from school. We tried this Italian place called UVA on the Upper East Side that was REALLY good. They serve Aperol Spritz, which is my favorite drink from Italy, and they have brunch specials. I got a drink, eggs, potatoes, and spinach for $24 including tip.

After the NYC Pride parade I went to Galanga Thai restaurant. It was really good and the service was QUICK, but the portions are small and there was lipstick on my Thai iced tea glass ;/ I got cashew stir fry with white rice, a Thai iced tea, and a Sapporo for $24 including tip!

I went to a concert and a bar: cost=$30 and $30

If you need cheap entertainment, I HIGHLY recommend entering contests/raffles. In the past two weeks I’ve won two contests which meant I got entertainment for the cost of an Uber ride (I take the train downtown, but always Uber back if it’s after 9 since I would have to walk from the train station alone). Two weeks ago I won a contest at a bar called McFadden’s and got free alcohol for 3 hours and anyone that came with me got an open bar for $25 (at $10-$15 per drink in NYC, this is a great deal)! I entered their contest while eating dinner there a couple of weeks before (after trying to take pictures of Manhattanhenge). Anyone can enter and they select people for the free open bar the following week.

I also entered a contest through Jukely for some concert tickets and I won. I went to see Junior Brown. Most of you probably don’t know who he is, but I’ve been listening to him since I was a kid, so it was pretty fun. He sings country music, so it was it was neat to see a country artist in NYC. The concert took place at City Winery NYC. I will definitely go back to check this place out when I have more time.

I visited Green-Wood Cemetary: cost=$5.50

I decided I wanted to checkout Brooklyn and I’ve heard a lot about Green-Wood Cemetary. It’s a Nationial Historic Site and tons of famous people are buried there too. I will be honest and tell you I didn’t do any research before going, so this will probably be a repeat activity, once I find some specific graves I want to visit. I took lots of pictures, but it was raining and I came from work so I wasn’t up for walking around the entire place. There are some AMAZING views, great history to learn about, and unique graves to see. They also offer evening tours a couple of times a month, which I’d really like to check out sometime-probably in the Fall! A friend told me they hire actors and actresses to portray the famous dead people at their graves (spookyyy)!

I went back to Little Italy (in the Bronx): cost=$18 ($5.50)

This could cost as little at $5.50, but there are no trains directly to Little Italy only buses, so I just Uber (I take the bus to work everyday and I honestly really don’t like getting on it when I don’t have to). I made a friend on the train a few weeks ago and he is a graffiti artists from Harlem. He does a lot of work in Little Italy, so we met up and he showed me around. I went back to Bronx Beer Hall, checked out a place called Tuff City Tattoos, and have been to several delicious restaurants too! It was raining so I didn’t get many pictures, but I plan to visit several times throughout the summer, so I am sure I will get some more!

I went to the Frida Kahlo exhibit at the Botanical Garden: cost=$0 ($20-25)

My boss is a member of the Botanical Garden so I didn’t have to pay to see this exhibit, but regular tickets are $20-25 (discounts for students, senior citizens, and kids). I was SO excited to see this exhibit. I have been fascinated by Mexican culture and art since I was in high school, so this was a major treat. The NYBG refashioned Frida Kahlo’s home in Mexico City and had several works on display. I can’t really put into words how great it was, so here are some pictures.

The exhibit will be there through the end of October, so if you are in NYC, I highly recommend checking it out!

Last, but not least, I went to Highbridge: cost=$15.50

I rode the bus over to the Manhattan side of Highbridge. This bridge was built in 1867 and later left to crumble, but it was recently renovated and reopened. The park is gorgeous and I bought a beer and some Takis at the bodega and sat and watched people for over an hour. It’s a nice walk, it’s peaceful, and definitely a great historic site for both the borough of Manhattan and the Bronx!

Stay tuned for more stuff to do in NYC and sorry for the change of schedule! 🙂

“I’m on Top of the Worlddd”-The Dude That Couldn’t Fit on the Piano

03 Wednesday Jun 2015

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Personal and Fun

≈ 4 Comments

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blog, enjoyment, film noir, fulfilment, girl, graduate student, happiness, happy, Italy, life, living, movies, noir summer, peace, personal, shellys cabaret, simple, single, student, Travel, traveling, WODW, woman, world, write or die wednesdays, writing, zen

Yeah, it was “king” but whatever 😝

This week’s prompt asks us to recount a time when we were on top of the world!

Two things came to mind: hiking the Haiku Stairs in Hawaii as a kid (physically on top of the world) and a recent blog I read from last year.

A week ago (thanks to that freakin’ Facebook flashback-which I both love and hate) I read a blog from my trip to Italy. I had experienced the definition of my perfect day, but I had forgotten about it until Facebook reminded me. I reread the blog and it made me excited all over again, but also sad that that day was so phenomenal and so great and I had already forgotten about it. I really was on top of the world. It was one of my many fantasies come to life and that does not happen often. Nevertheless, I started thinking and I am on top of the world anytime I have a good moment.

I am high maintenance in some ways (I hate gross smelling places, I hate rude people, I hate public embarrassment, I like organization, etc.) but being happy is not one of them. I am happy sitting at home watching Netflix all day, happy going to see/experience new stuff, happy going to work and handling things correctly, happy watching a good YouTube video, happy going fishing, happy when nothing bad happens. I try to act chill and I do like doing chill things, but I am a very passionate person. This means I can get really mad and sad sometimes, but it also means simple stuff can make me really happy and make me feel on top of the world. I get overly excited about stuff and nerd out pretty hard. I really, really love many things: wine, I Love Lucy, hiking, snorkeling, clothes, books, cheese, chick flicks, farms, cows, accents, languages, movies, music, other cultures, food, etc. So anytime I get to do anything involving things I love, I feel on top of the world.

That’s a a bubble of cheese, with potato in it…aka Heaven…aka Frico

Today, I went to the library and checked out a compilation of Walt Whitman poems. I opened it and saw that one of the poems in Leaves of Grass is titled “To a Historian” and I got a little giddy since I study history. (I also nerded out because Noah reads Whitman to Allie in The Notebook and on her first day at Sarah Lawrence her professor writes out Leaves of Grass on the board and my boss’ son works for that university…this is why I have no friends LOL) Anyway, this is just an example of the kinds of things that can make me feel on top of the world—even if it is for a short period.

The last time I was on top of the world for more than a few minutes was Monday! I slept in, cleaned my apartment, talked to friends, cooked, did dishes, washed and did my hair, laid out my clothes for tomorrow, did my nails, worked out, had a glass of wine, watched Gossip Girl and The Bachelorette and I started a new free online class about film noir. I accomplished all of my goals, got to rest, got to learn something new, and got to prepare for the week without any anxiety or looming deadlines. It was a chill day, but I was motivated and accomplished things, so I was really happy and relaxed. It is summer break!

SN: If you like classic movies or films noir, I encourage you to check out that free class. It takes like 5 minutes a day to participate. TCM and Ball State University organized it and it lasts 5 weeks. The professor provides a short clip and introduction to a film every Monday through Thursday for the next 5 weeks and on Fridays TCM airs each film in its entirety. You chat with classmates and other viewers via Twitter (#NoirSummer) and the TCM message boards. If you want to participate fully in the class, you can take a few quizzes and a final assessment and you get a certificate! Definitely something fun and free that gives you an introduction to film history/analysis!

I could obviously spend two paragraphs describing some fantasy day on the beach with a man drinking, listening to music and eating good food. Or walking around Rome and going back to an apartment to watch old movies and smoke cigars, but through many disappointments I’ve learned that if your fantasies are the only things that put you on top of the world, you’re going to be miserable for a big part of your life-which kind of sucks. I am not going to lie and say my expectations never get in the way of being on top of the world. I am a normal female being and I do create ideal situations in my head that I wish would happen and usually don’t, which leads to anger and annoyance, but I do work hard all the time to try and be happy in everyday situations (like getting a Whitman book from the library).

That being said, situations like in my blog from Italy, when I am traveling and meeting new people and doing exciting things, put me on top of the world for a much more prolonged period of time than checking out a book-obviously.

When was the last time you were on top of the world? Hopefully it was more exciting than cleaning and watching TV, haha! Well, I guess the better question would be how often are you on top of the world?

#40for40NYC Saturday Night’s Alright

28 Thursday May 2015

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Personal and Fun, Travel

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#40for40NYC, bill nighly, broadway, brooklyn, budget, budget travel, carey mulligan, celebrity, Central Park, Coney Island, dallas to nyc, female travel, graduate student, helen mirren, manhattan, new york, New York City, NYC, oscar winner, single, star, student, texas to new york, thatgingeranna, the audience, Times Square, tourism, tourist, Travel

Saturday, we walked around down in NoHo because I had to turn in a paper. If you go down to NoHo there are a crap ton of brunch places and boutiques for shopping. I suggest this area for a chill Sunday afternoon. After I turned in my paper we took the train down to Coney Island. The train down there from NoHo took over 1.5 hours, so just keep that in mind. It is a pain in the butt, but you get there for $2.75 so who can complain?

Coney Island was fun! We rode the Wonder Wheel, a 95 year old ferris wheel. A ticket is $7 and you get great views of the boardwalk and surrounding area and you are RIDING A 95 YEAR OLD FERRIS WHEEL! Haha, I had never ridden a ferris wheel so it was a little freaky, but definitely fun. After the ride we walked all the way down the boardwalk and then down the big pier.

That was fun because there was a Puerto Rican/Venezuelan band playing, people fishing and tanning, and all kinds of stuff going on. We walked back down the boardwalk and I wanted to eat at Nathan’s! I got a hotdog, pretzel, and a beer for like $14. You aren’t allowed to take the beer outside the Nathan’s tables area, but there was nowhere to sit, so I hid it in my purse and we sat on a bench by the beach. There was a DRUNK ass man that we watched while we ate. He fell down and ate his food out of the sand and it was a train wreck. The wind picked up about halfway through lunch and it was already 5 and we had a long ride back to my place, so we left. I got some saltwater taffy for $7, so I spent $34 for the entire day. If you brought your own snacks, I would highly suggest this as a full day activity! From what I understand, they also have free fireworks on Friday evenings (hello, additional date idea)!

After getting back from Coney Island we freshened up and went back downtown to Times Square. Eh…so there are some good things and bad things about Times Square on Saturday night: It is VERY crowded. Like, I can’t even imagine how NYE would be if Saturday nights are so crowded. If you want to do this, I suggest going around 10.

We walked down 45th street around 11 and all of the play casts were letting out and I got to see HELEN MIRREN, CAREY MULLIGAN, and BILL NIGHLY! So amazing. That would be fun if there were a certain actor you knew or were a fan of and you could get an autograph or picture with them, even if you can’t afford to go to the show!

After we walked around and saw some stars, we did a little bar hopping. We went to Junior’s Bakery and got a piece of cheesecake and espresso. Then we went to Lillie’s Victorian Establishment for a drink and then went to Social for another drink. Junior’s has been voted the best cheesecake in the city and it was delicious (it’s around $7.50 a slice), but I might check out the location in Grand Central instead if you haven’t been before.

As far as Lillie’s…it’s a typical NYC concept bar with a typical NYC price. If you don’t drink beer, you are going to break the bank. With tip, I spent about $35 on two drinks (one for myself and one for a friend), which is pretty nuts. The ambiance is really great though and it’s a fun bar.

We left Lillie’s and walked to Social, which is much more reasonable! For half the price of 2 drinks at Lille’s, we got three at Social (around $17). This place is loud and definitely more of a party spot. The music caters to twenty somethings, so it was right up our alley. Times Square is definitely best at night because the lights are so pretty and there are so many characters to see.

So, if you go to Times Square at night, I suggest getting there around 10, hanging out around the theaters to spot some stars and then heading to Social for a couple of drinks. That will keep you under $20, so that’s $20 for another activity (maybe Lille’s for one drink or an appetizer at a restaurant nearby)!

Sunday was the last day my friend was in town, so we kept it chill. We took the train to 59^th street Columbus Circle, bought some food at Whole Foods and then went across the street and had a picnic in central park. This was my favorite thing we did, closely followed by Stone Street. Whole Foods has an amazing salad, soup, hot food, and dessert bar that is priced per pound. I got a drink, a huge salad and some chicken wings for $18! I brought a blanket so we had a picnic, took many pictures, and relaxed.

It was pretty crowded since it was Sunday evening and the weather was nice, but it was so peaceful and relaxing. This would be another great date idea if you had a picnic basket and could bring a bottle of wine, cheese, and crackers or something. I highly recommend the Whole Foods idea, but bringing food from home works just as well! With the $5.50 subway fare+$20 at Whole Foods, and $5 for an ice cream from the ice cream truck, we had a full day for $35.50.

As you can see, I packed a lot of activities into a few days, so I am going to have to budget for a while. I hope that I get to do some free things this weekend and I will be sure to write about it. I don’t have an iPad right now, so it’s a little less convenient to publish blogs and pictures, but hopefully I will figure something out soon. Thanks for reading the first three installments and I will talk to y’all soon!

#40for40NYC Friday in the City

28 Thursday May 2015

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Personal and Fun, Travel

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#40for40NYC, 9/11 memorial, brooklyn, budget, budget travel, dallas to nyc, female travel, graduate student, grand central station, grand central terminal, manhattan, new york, New York City, NYC, september 11, single, student, texas to new york, thatgingeranna, tourism, tourist, Travel

Friday, we went to Grand Central Station, the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, and Battery Park.

Grand Central Station is one of those places that is great to dip into and take pictures. There are stores, a huge market, a bunch of restaurants (there is a Shake Shack) and many cool pictures to take. It’s another historic spot in the city, surrounded by tons of things to see and do. I suggest this for a rainy afternoon activity if you are visiting. You can go inside and see cool stuff and relax. The ceiling of the main lobby is painted with constellations and the chandeliers in the station are amazing too.

You can also take trains anywhere, so if you ever wanted to go for a scenic ride, I suggest taking Metro North from Grand Central and sitting by a window! If you don’t eat or anything, a stroll around Grand Central is free! I got a coffee and a cupcake from Junior’s Bakery, so that was about $10. Even with a snack you would have $30 left for another activity! They do offer official tours, which would also be interesting, I’m sure!

The 9/11 Memorial and Museum was a great place to be at the start of Memorial Day weekend and during Fleet Week (got to check that off my list because there were sailors everywhere this weekend!). The memorial and museum were really great and fitting. I didn’t cry until I got into one of the exhibits that had a timeline of events. One of the points in time was a message from a man on one of the hijacked planes to his significant other when he realized he was going to die and it was so, so touching and really affected me. Seeing the map of all of the locations of body parts around Lower Manhattan was especially haunting as well.

I believe the tickets are $24 per person and you pick a time slot. If you are a college student, you pay $18. Here is a list of additional discounts for specific age groups and professions. My friend and I were half an hour late for our 4 o’clock appointment and they just let us go in. So, I don’t know how strict the reservations are, but on a Friday afternoon before Memorial Day they didn’t give us a problem. The security is strict, obviously, so make sure you take everything out of your bag and leave it home or at the hotel. I’ve lost two knives in my travels because I always forget and have to dump them. Thankfully, I didn’t have a knife this time around. The museum is designed as a descending cylinder. You start at the top and descend around a central atrium until you reach the bottom where all of the exhibits are located. I’m glad my friend came to town, because I probably wouldn’t have gone alone, but I’m glad I went. However, I will not be going to the observation deck that is opening in a few days. The memorial fountain outside is really beautiful and touching as well.

If you have to pay full price+$5.50 for subway, you’ll only have $10.50 to get a drink or snack somewhere to keep it under the $40 budget! I paid the college rate, so I have $16.50 left over for this activity.

After the 9/11 Museum and Memorial we walked to Battery Park, near the tip of the island, so we could see the Statue of Liberty. We didn’t take the Staten Island Ferry, but this park is a great place to view the statue and there are tons of areas to sit and watch the sunset.

After Battery Park we walked to Stone Street. Stone Street is my second favorite place we went. It’s a small street down below the 9/11 memorial in the Financial District and each side of the street has restaurants and bars then between them there are big tables and pretty lights strung between the buildings so it is kind of like a beer garden. You can get your food/drinks at the restaurants and then sit at their outdoor sections with everyone else eating at the different places. We went to Adrienne’s Pizzabar and I highly recommended it! We got a huge pizza with two toppings for $23 (there was over half left to take home) and a glass of wine each. They also sell smaller pizzas and buckets of beer for those of you going out with groups. It is the best pizza I’ve ever had outside of Italy. The ingredients were fresh and the crust was great too.

Obviously, I did both activities in a day, which was over $40, but if you broke it up you could easily have a phenomenal meal and drinks in a beautiful environment for under $40. You could also order a pizza at Adrienne’s and walk to Battery Park to have a picnic, which would be so fun! Dudes and ladies this is my number one evening date pick, so far. It gets packed so the volume level may be a bit inhospitable for a first or second date, but if you already know someone and are looking for something new to do, go here!

40 for 40: Summer 2K15 in NYC!

13 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by That Ginger, Anna in Personal and Fun, Travel

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#40for40NYC, activities, adventure, brooklyn, budget, budget travel, college, foodie, forty for forty, fun, graduate student, manhattan, new york, New York City, NYC, NYU, queens, single, staten island, student, thatgingeranna, the bronx, tourist, tourist trap, Travel, twenty something

I’m back!

I just had my last class of the semester on Monday night and except for some paper editing, I am done with all of my final assignments. The end of this semester wasn’t nearly as hectic as last semester, thank goodness (no flu, yay!).

I really want to explore the city and do some fun things before I start back to classes in September. I probably won’t get to go back to Texas because I’ve picked up a second job, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have fun up here. Keeping in line with my pattern, I am going to start another “40” series. This time I am going to do 40 activities for under $40, in NYC and the surrounding area! I want to do as many free/low cost things as possible, but there will be a few things that I splurge on. I will post pictures of all of the activities on IG, with the tag #40for40NYC. Here are the 40 things I plan to do this summer, in no particular order:

The High Line
Roof Garden Café and Martini Bar
Fort Lee-Korea Town
Geocaching
Garibaldi House on Staten Island

Coney Island
Run a 5k
Go to a Concert: Willy Nelson 8/12 or Sublime 8/5
Rockaway Beach
Queens-Korea Town

Bronx Zoo
Self-guided I Love Lucy or SATC walking tour
Baseball Game
Ellis Island
Fleet Week

Pride Parade: June 28
Horse Race
The Polo Bar
Giglio di Saint Antonio Fest: August 6-9
Italian Film Retrospective: May 22-31

Dim Sum
Wine and Picnic in Central Park
Hot Yoga
Weekend Trip Upstate (The Hamptons or elsewhere)
New York Public Library

Empire State Building
Brooklyn Bridge
Central Park
A Farmers Market
Natural History Museum

Comedy Show
New Movie+ Write Movie Review
Pok Pok NY
Real dive bar/pub
The Cloisters

Jamestown/Lucille Ball Comedy festival
Soccer game
Jollibee
Jackson Heights
Green-Wood Cemetery

This is just a provisional list. I may do more than one activity in a day, some days and other times, I may only be able to fit in one activity the entire week (I’m taking a 6 week class toward the end of the summer). I will blog about the activities as I go along and if any of you have any particular places you’d like me to check out and report back on, leave your suggestion in the comments! Since this is a rigid schedule, I may skip some things and substitute other activities in their place. Other options include: beach camping and fishing (if I can find a buddy that has supplies), bowling (if I can find a group to go with), ice skating, the Montauk light house, more restaurants, more classes/lectures, exploring the Bronx and Long Island. The goal is to spend less than $40 on each activity. Obviously I don’t have $1,600 to blow on summer activities, but many of these things are free or low cost, so that will allow me to save the allotted $40 or its remainder for some of the bigger activities (weekend trip, concert, Jamestown, etc.). I will begin participating in #WODW again and also blog about other things here and there. Thanks again for reading, lets get this marathon of tourism started!
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