Aaron and Justin Take New York CIty - Day 1

As we started our trip to New York, I had an energy and excitement level that rivaled Christmas. I have heard so many things about NYC and how it is unlike any place on earth. So far, I am going to have to agree, it’s nothing like any place I’ve ever been. On Day 1 I was determined to see as much as I could!

Our first experience out of the gate was jumping in the cab to go from the airport to our hotel. While bobbing and weaving through traffic, and honking constantly, our cabby decided to give us his philosophy on life. He enlightened us to the fact that NY was a jungle and you’ve got to be a man. He also told us why we shouldn’t be hooking up with girls at the bars and that’s why he is ‘clean’, why it’s better to be safe than sorry, and that he likes to ‘f*#k with’ UPS drivers. However he only messes with UPS drivers when there is a green light ahead because they’d kill him. Our driver also decided half way through our trip that he needed to get air in his tire, so he pulled down a random side street in Queens and yelled at the random guy selling hubcaps and tires out of his garage, ‘Yo B, can I get some air!’ To which B replied, ‘Ya mon, just come on around.’ At this point, we proceeded to do an 87 point turn in the middle of an intersection all while honking and cursing at every car that tried to get through. Throughout this whole process my little spidey sense was going off the charts. I had no idea where this debacle was going to get us, and did have a small fear for my life. Welcome to New York! In the end though, B did get the tire aired up, and we were on our way to the hotel.

Once we had checked in to our hotel, it was time to explore. Since none of us had eaten more than a couple pretzels since 5am, we were starving and had decided Italian was on the agenda. From what I have heard, if you want Italian, you have to go authentic and headed to Little Italy. We walked through Times Square, and headed for the subway. Once we got into the subway station, the first thing that stuck out to me was all of the complex smells. There was everything from urine, to the food people were eating, to the stale stench of the underground air. Regardless, it all added to the experience.

As we exited the subway station we hit the street and tried to figure out where we were. Oddly enough, our 21st century technology, google maps, led us on a walking tour of nearly all of Soho before we finally figured out where were supposed to be going. Ultimately we got to Little Italy, and I was amazed that every restaurant had some guy standing outside trying to funnel people in. After shunning a half dozen of these cat calling restaurateurs, we finally decided on La Mela. This place was amazing!

Linguini w/ Muscles at La Mela

I settled on the linguine with muscles, but the spaghetti and meatballs as well as the penne bolognaise were delicious. We wolfed our food down like starving animals and decided that we needed to have an authentic cannoli. After once again wandering the wrong direction we finally found Caffe Palermo and walked up to the counter. Being a cannoli virgin, I had no idea what to expect. What I got was crispy sugary goodness filled with creamy sugary delight. It was delicious and I could feel my arteries clogging as I was savoring every bite.

Cannoli from Caffee Palermo

It was time to move on and we decided a paper map was a safer way to find our way around. We referenced the NY pop up map 2 and immediately started walking toward the subway station in Chinatown. It’s amazing to me how different 2 adjacent blocks can be. We went from Italian everything to instant China while crossing 1 street. Suddenly there were Chinese trinkets, and fish markets in every door. It was just incredible!

We jumped on the subway and were off to Rockefeller Center. Since it was a clear night we decided we needed to go to the ‘Top of the Rock’ and see the city from above. It was stunning, and the lights went on as far as you could see. I will say it was a bit on the nippy side though. With the wind on the very top, I nearly shattered an ear! We did manage to get a few photos though, and were off to find a nice quiet pub in Times Square, and call it a night. It is time to cash it in and get ready for Inman Connect Day 1…