With my 5 year Cornell reunion approaching, I decided to take a few extra days off from work and visit New York City. I was extremely fortunate to have so many friends to hang out with and show me around. This is a story told through Foursquare checkins, a new way to revisit recent trips in chronological order. To be clear I only took the subway once on this whole trip. Walking FTA. Also, my Flickr photo set.
Saturday
Arrive at JFK. Take the AirTrain to Jamaica Station. No E service to Manhattan. Forced to take a bus to a working station. Stood next to a guy bragging about his time in Sing Sing. Delightful.
Finally made it to Manhattan’s Flatiron District. Showered and walked over to Brother Jimmy’s for drinks. Then Wilfie & Nell’s for more drinks. Then Avenue for big pimpin drinks (not kidding - bottle after bottle of Grey Goose concluded by a nebuchadnezzar bottle of champagne). $16 Crown and Coke. $12 Amstel Light. $7 for Diet Coke (8.5 oz bottle). 5AM cab ride home.
Sunday
Began my trek through Manhattan. Stared at the Flatiron Building until I was convinced it was real. Ate some real pizza at Totonno’s. Walked from Midtown to Lower East Side with Sam to see Amber. Wine at Xicala; bruschetta at Inoteca. Late night coffee at Grey Dog.
Monday
Visited Dogpatch Labs to see Dave Lifson and his baby, Postling. Reminded me of my time at gig.com except more spacious. Breakfast at Grey Dog. Walked through NYU campus. Walked to the Financial District. Explored Wall Street and Ground Zero. Walked to Tribeca for coffee at La Colombe with Kristian. Visited Mint Digital’s office to see Ron. Amazing pizza at Saluggi’s. Coffee at RBC. Upright Citizen’s Brigade with Sam, cousin Jordan and her BF. Surprise performer was Zach Galifianakis. Whoa.
Tuesday
Walked to Times Square. Downtown double-decker bus tour. Pizza at John’s. Cupcake at Magnolia. Shocked to discover that Apple’s 5th Ave store is underground. Visited the Regency Hotel where my parents used to stay when they visited in the 80s. Visited Grand Central. Dropped by the Tumblr HQ which was mostly vacant due to Internet Week. Walked to Skirball Center at NYU for the monthly New York Tech Meetup. Saw Scott Heiferman destroy an iPad with a sledgehammer. Met Kyle Bragger after he presented Forrst. Saw a bunch of interesting webapp demos. Listened to the former CEO of thepoint.com talk about a tiny feature that turned into Groupon (nice). Tricked into eating shitty pizza at one of the many “Ray’s”. Checked out the blip.tv 5 year birthday party. Met Mrs. Postling! Snack at Chat ‘n Chew.
In total I walked approximately 116 blocks.
Wednesday
Walked to Times Square. Uptown double-decker bus tour… in the rain (big mistake). Sandwich at Carnegie Deli. More rain. Live music with Kim at Chez Jacqueline.
Thursday
Walked to Times Square for round 2 of Uptown double-decker bus tour (first trip ruined by the rain). Visited MOMA. Camera cleaning at B&H Photo A.K.A. Manhattan’s capital of Hasidic Jews. Packed and PATH’d to New Jersey where I caught a ride to Ithaca.
Things I learned in NYC
There are women in tech. Lots (unlike SF).
The tech community is open and friendly (unlike SF).
Manhattan is clean (unlike SF).
Manhattan is both huge and tiny. I was surprised by its walkability.
Manhattan is easy to learn. The grid system is awesome.
Manhattan has history. The churches were ancient and beautiful.
The architecture is inspiring. I want to take an architecture specific tour next time I visit.
Always talk to New Yorkers about where to go for the best whatever. Apparently Magnolia is only famous to outsiders. Same with Carnegie Deli.
Rent is not a joke. Lots of money for small spaces. I’d have to dump most of my furniture to fit in Manhattan.
There are parks scattered everywhere. More than I expected.
