Tag Archives: new york

Here goes nothin’…

17 Thursday Dec 2015

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Well, it’s done. I’m not a student any more. Barring some miracle of probablity that allows me to be accepted into one of the two PhD programs I applied for, I’ve likely taken my last class, ever.

I am fucking terrified, but also very, very excited. I have been a student, continuously, since 1993. I went to preschoool, kindergarten, graduated high school, was concurrently rolled in community college, then continued with community college, transfered to a private university, then to a state school, got a B.A., an M.A., started a PhD program, transferred into another M.A. program, and just finished that degree yesterday.

I have been stir crazy the past two nights. I don’t even know what to do with myself. I suddenly have SO much physical and creative energy. I want to start a vlog, write a novel, master a couple of the languages I’ve studied, date, travel, exercise, deep clean my apartment, go out with friends, save money, make a financial plan, apply for my dream jobs, go to the movies, get a hair cut, buy clothes, explore, live.

School has been a constant in my life, but recently I’ve felt like I’m in The Truman Show. I finally drifted into the wall. Don’t get me wrong, it would be an absolute dream to get my PhD if I found a good program that gave me the financial support I need and allowed me to explore my unique interests. But the days of being forced into taking classes I had no other option but to take and structuring my every thought in a way as not to offend or sound dumb have passed.

I want to write stuff that I think and experience without having to consult theories or worry about what grade my feelings and opions will earn. I feel empowered and free and it’s invigorating.

At the same time I do feel aimless. I know where I will be working and living until August of 2016, but other than that I have zero clue about what my life is going to consist of. I have no semesters to start, classes to register for, books to buy, assignments to stress over…all of these signposts that have punctuated my life since I can remember are gone. I don’t want to become a bump on a log that comes home from work and does nothing every night. I need to find a new purpose, which, like I said, is equal parts freeing and anxiety inducing.

*SN: YES, I KNOW I am incredibly, undeniably priveledged to have this space in my life to even have these thoughts and feelings. I am not crying about it…just feelin’ them emotions, man!

Anyway. One of my main goals is to write and film more. I AM going to start filming vlogs before the new year and I AM goign to begin writing on here more often. Maybe this is weird, but I often don’t write (and haven’t begun filming) because I feel like I don’t fill a category that people would be interested in. I don’t have a pet here, I don’t have a car here, I’m not a mom, I’m not a student, I’m not a wife. I work and think-that’s all. I do some urban exploring and cooking. I love to travel and watch movies. But I feel like writing about these things isn’t particularly interesting because they are things everyone does. Of course, I have strong opions about race, politics, religion, etc. which could help establish my inividuality, but those are such polarizing things that I feel like they aren’t useful to connecting with diverse groups. Whatever though, I am going to start writing and filming, whether it’s boring as shit or not. 

Next week I am going home to TEXAS. I have a little road trip planned for my birthday and I am going to hang out with my mom alot. Watch some Korean dramas, eat, play with my dogs, run, drive, get my hair done, go to Mass (which mean I have to go to confession ASAP…eeeeekkk!), write, film, geocache, explore, and have lots of fun. I am SO excited! I haven’t been home since August, which is a long time for me.

Well, I’m going to wrap this up, but before I go I am wondering if I should write down some of the ideas I have for upcoming blogs and vlogs…I want them to be a surprise, but I also need to put them down somewhere so I don’t forget. Here is a provisional list, which means I may or may not follow through with all of them, but they’ll be here anyway:

  • History
  • -Fascism in the Bronx, I Love Lucy, Hawaiian, Cuba, Korean
  • Staten Island
  • Long Island
  • High School (parts 2>)
  • Dating
  • Family history
  • My job
  • Korean dramas
  • Unboxing
  • Road trip
  • Texas
  • Cooking

These are just a few ideas, but hopefully something catches your eye. Anyway, I am going to write again before Christmas, but just in case, have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year!

-That Ginger, Anna

#40for40NYC : Closing out the Summer!

23 Wednesday Sep 2015

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So, as I wrote in the last installment, I have to extend this into the Fall because I unexpectedly ended up working two jobs and taking a class this summer, which meant I could not take any trips and I only had Sundays to do activities. Even so, I have done several more activities and have a few other things in the works, so we will get to 40 eventually! So far, there have been 4 posts: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4 in the city. I am over 20 things now: I went to Central Park, Battery Park, Times Square, the Puerto Rican parade, the Pride parade, Tuff City Tattoos, Little Italy, the 9/11 Memorial, the New York Botanical Gardens, Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, the Waldorf Astoria, Coney Island, Galanga Thai, Social, Lille’s, Uva, Junior’s Bakery, Emilia’s, saw some sailors during Fleet Week (even though I didn’t get to go to any events), saw Junior Brown at City Winery, Stone Street, Wave Hill gardens, Grand Central Station…

I have exhausted Arthur Avenue and Little Italy! I have been there several weekends because it is so convenient and there are so many reasonable places to eat. I’ve checked out: Emilia’s, Pasquale Rigaletto, Cafe Parisienne, Domenick’s, Artuso’s Pastry, Palombo Cafe, Bronx Beer Hall, and Blue Wave! Each of these places is worth taking a trip up to the Bronx. I still have a couple of restaurants that I need to visit (specifically, Zero Otto Nove), but I will update when I get to check them out. I am going to dedicate a whole post to the restaurants on Arthur Avenue because I don’t want to use too many restaurants as activities!

Since I last wrote, besides chillin’ on Arthur Ave, I went to my first Italian festival and visited Harlem for the first time, went to Wave Hill, went back to Coney Island, took a ride on Metro North, went to Little Ireland, and saw 3 movies!

The Italian festival and visit to Harlem was definitely the highlight. With just the cost of a metro ride to and from the Bronx and a few dollars on refreshments, I had an awesome day of fun and culture for $25!

The dancing of the giglio on Pleasant Avenue is definitely something to check out. It is hosted annually by the Giglio Society of East Harlem! According to Wikipedia the Giglio weighs three tons! It was so interesting. There was signing, eating, dancing, socializing, all in a suprisingly spiritual and prayerful environment. I thought the statue would be lifted and walked from its resting place to the Church of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel just once. Little did I know, it would be “danced” up and down the route many, many times, with each lift being dedicated to a certain person! It was such a fun thing to see and the mood was wonderful with people coming into the neighborhood that grew up there, but had since moved away. There are dozens of booths with games, coffee, drinks, Italian foods and desserts! Obviously, to keep it below $40 you’ll have to pay attention, but I got a small bag of pastries, a drink, and espresso, for around $15!

   
    
   
   

After the parade I went with a group to Patsy’s Pizzeria for a late lunch. It is a little costly if you go in and sit down and have a full meal, but there is a window out front where you can buy pizza by the slice for super cheap! Going to the parade and having a slice or two will give you an ENTIRE day of fun and a meal for around $25!

I work and live in the Bronx, so Wave Hill was kind of a cheat activity. I’ve been several times this summer. I have a friend that is a member, so I used their guest pass, but entry is only $8 on regular days!

It’s a gorgeous, historic location to watch the Hudson River, picnic, get some sun, look at some pretty flowers, and just relax in the Bronx! There is a cafe/restaurant, but I didn’t try it out. There is also a gift shop and the gardens also host numerous activities year around-which you can view on their site!

   
    
    
 I also returned to Coney Island ($10).

I took the train down, bought a drink and some chips at a bodega, got some sun on the beach and took the train back home. It is obviously INSANELY crowded during the summer, so this isn’t a great activity to do alone because you can’t swim if you have stuff to leave on the beach, but it was stilll nice to get outside and people watch!

  
Metro-North is also a bit of a cheat activity, but then again, if you like trains and scenic views (or if you have children that like trains), I highly suggest it. There is a station close to Wave Hill too! I believe rides are at most $10 each way (depending the time you get on the train and your ultimate destination), but it is definitely worth it. I am partial to the Hudson Line to Croton-Harmon. If you want to check this out, I suggest going during the early afternoon because there are peak hours and off peak hours (which fall between rush hours) and you are charged less during off peak times! Going along the Hudson River there are nice views of nature and architecture. I’ve gotten off at a few stations and think the Yonkers station is really neat! It is totally old school, with wooden benches, a waiting room-it’s like an old movie-and you are in Yonkers so you can walk to shops or restaurants and then hop back on the train into the city! The Harlem Line is also great-there is a station called Wingdale that lets you off at the abandoned State Hospital, which is a great piece of spooky architecture! So, for around $20 you can explore the suburbs of NYC or travel hours away and really get into nature!

  
I know one of my 40 activities was going to the movies and I’ve done it…times 3…but I don’t feel like any of the movies I saw were worth rave reviews. I saw San Andreas, Trainwreck, and Southpaw. I am NOT an action flick fan, but I thought I’d check out San Andreas because a friend wanted to see it. I laughed the ENTIRE movie-I’m lucky I live up here in NYC now, because people all freely make noise during the movie. Of course, The Rock was as hot as ever, but the supporting actresses were horrible and the story is SO unrealistic. I did like that Paul Giamatti was in the film. I have a soft spot for award winning actors that act in random movies for fun (and a pay check, haha)! 

*Spoiler Alert*

The part where the boat is able to go through sharp ass debris, speed over bodies and metal, go through a building, and then his daughter is unconcious for like half an hour after drowning and then magically comes back to life had me DYING! So 2/5 for effort and sexy Dwayne Johnson!

Trainwreck was meh too…sorry, not sorry…I was SO excited because I havevn’t seen a good comedy in forever, but I wasn’t impressed. I LOVED Bill Hader and his character-he was by far the best part-and I did like the other story lines with Lebron and the father, but I didn’t think the movie was very funny, at all…3/5 for casting/production budget!

Finally, I saw Southpaw. While this was the best of the three, it was still underwhelming and lackluster. Cinematography and casting were GREAT, but the writing and pacing were NO good. Rachel McAdams, 50 Cent, and Forrest Whitaker’s characters had like zero development even though they were major parts of the plot. It was also extremely predictable! If you’ve seen one boxing movie, you’ve seen this one.

*Spoiler Alert*

McAdams and the character Hoppy each had two or three scenes before they were killed off! I am so confused why you would have two characters that are supposed to have such important impacts on the main characaters of the film and really move the story foward, yet writers give like 5 minutes to develop said characters. Makes zero sense. The production was good, not excellent, but good. I did notice that it was produced by Chinese companies, which I haven’t seen before. That was interesting and did have an influence on the film (especially the fight scenes), but I would love to know why this particular film was a Chinese-Hollywood coproduction. 3/5  for casting and production once again.

I was really hoping to see a movie like Foxcatcher that would inspire a great review, but I didn’t. I have high hopes for Black Mass, so check back in a few weeks!

Lastly, I’ve been to Little Ireland in Woodlawn several times. There are tons of pubs and restaurants to check out and it is definitely a cultural experience. I thought there were no more native Irish communities in NYC (I thought they all disappeared last century), but I guess with the economic downturn in Ireland a lot of young Irish people have immigrated to Woodlawn. Accents and beer! An old lady also gave me a bunch of free Catholic swag when I was up there! Definitely worth a train and Uber ride north to see an old/new side of New York history!

   
   
I’ve started back to school, but I am back down to working 4 days a week, so I have some more time to explore. I am going to a big concert in October and am currently looking for 10 or 15 more activities! I will write another installment after my concert! Talk to you guys then!

#40FOR40NYC Episode 2: Parades and Free Schtuff

14 Tuesday Jul 2015

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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! 🙂

#40for40NYC Saturday Night’s Alright

28 Thursday May 2015

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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 59th 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

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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!