nyc, day three (june 20, 2012)

[ Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Central Park, Lower East Side, Hudson River ]

Day three was quite possibly the hottest day we were there (have I mentioned that there was a heat wave and the daily temp + humidity was around 40 degrees celsius each day? because it was, and it sucked).

Regardless, we forced ourselves back down into those painfully hot subway tunnels (and into the wonderfully air conditioned subway) towards the Upper West Side.

We had originally intended to get real NYC bagels at some cafe in Bailey's guidebook but ultimately couldn't find the place (we found the address but there was nothing there so I assume it closed?). After wandering a few blocks and not finding anywhere else that looked super appealing, we decided to get street bagels and eat on a bench. NYC bagels really are different (they don't toast them? what?), but what really got me was the cream cheese. It was slathered on an inch thick and tasted... different. Not my favourite, but whatever. Worth the $1.50 to try.

We also (originally when making NYC plans) had planned to buy lunch in the UWS and then picnic in Central Park, but due to the heat we decided that any food would expire pretty quickly. I'm convinced that even bread would have melted in that heat.

So, we ended up just wandering around the UWS, south, until we hit Lincoln Centre. And then we wandered east along the bottom of central park, and went up and around to the Upper East Side. 

I had always wanted to try a macaron and had discovered that I could get a real Laduree macaron in NYC (the only place outside of Paris). So we made it our goal to find Laduree. And it was hard. Mostly because I had no idea where it was, except in the Upper East Side. And it was hot. But we found it! We got 4 and shared them: Rose, Blackcurrant Violet, Pistachio, and Green Apple. And we enjoyed them in that order (rose being the best, green apple being the worst). Also, I now love macarons. Surprise, surprise.

Afterwards, we headed into the park. We actually intended to spend the afternoon in the park, but between the heat and my feeling a bit sick (probably from the heat) we didn't spend too long and opted to instead spend the morning of our last day in the park. Since we were pretty hot, we wanted something cold to drink, and some air conditioning to drink it in. We had both heard of Serendipity 3 and their famous frozen hot chocolate and decided to check it out. We got there before it opened and ended up shopping for a bit, and then by the time we got back (5 min after it had opened) there was already a 30 min line up. So get there early and stay! There was a minimum amount per person, so despite the fact that we had already intended to split the $9 frozen hot chocolate, we had to get something else. We ended up splitting a sandwich, and it was beyond delicious. Maybe the best sandwich ever. But a half a sandwich and half a frozen hot chocolate is plenty. Trust me. Afterwards we pretty much just went back to the hostel, where we rested for a couple hours.

At this point we were at square one (the hostel) and it was dinner time and since we didn't know of any good places to eat, nearby, we decided to go back out into the city. So we ended up taking the subway back downtown to the Lower East Side where we grabbed some Souvlaki GR. It's technically a food truck, but there is a sit-in portion right next to the truck, so we went inside to eat. There was nobody else there so it seemed kind of strange (and it was a sketchy area) but I'm sure we were just there at a weird time and the food was quite good (I loved my SGR Pita Souvlaki and we split some Greek Fries). Afterwards, I decided that ice cream was in order and we managed to find Big Gay Ice Cream (we had spotted it on the first day but it was closed). I had heard good things about it and wanted to try it out. It definitely hit the spot and was delicious, although I devoured it pretty quickly since it was melting at an alarming rate. I got the Salty Pimp and while it was good, if I were to go again I would get the Mermaid like Bailey did. It tasted just like a Key Lime Pie and was in a cup (so it didn't melt all over you).

Afterwards, we headed back to the hostel. We grabbed some San Pellegrino and sat by the Hudson River watching the sail boats float by. It was pure magic.

daily costs: street bagel: $1.50 / laduree (4 macarons): $11 / serendipity (for 2): $25 / souvlaki gr (for 2): $20 / big gay ice cream: $5