The city was humid and the rain had begun to fall when we got off the bus from Newark. We traveled from New Jersey on the turnpike and the skyline appeared slowly through the rain and fog; building by building emerged through gray mist standing quiet and stoic. Coming out of the Lincoln tunnel into the daylight of Manhattan was exhilarating.
By the time we walked the five blocks from Grand Central to our Hotel, The Barclay Intercontinental, we were both thoroughly soaked. My first New York purchase - a five dollar umbrella from a roaming street vendor. The hotel is incredibly nice, but I'm now keenly aware of how expensive Manhattan can be. Breakfast here (at the hotel) goes for nearly fifty bucks. This Internet connection is about the price of dinner for both Stephanie and I at Mori in Tallahassee. Still, if you look around a bit, there's plenty to do and a lot of places to go that are really inexpensive or free.
After we dried off, we headed out to find some dinner. We ended up eating at an Irish pub down the street where I had a gigantic bacon cheeseburger, steak fries and a beer. We set off on foot to Times Square like most of the tourists in the area in one massive flood of humanity. It really is just like the pictures (duh). Although I spent some time in the Virgin Megastore, I managed to get out without spending any money. Quite unusual for me. We walked up and down Broadway, taking in advertisements, posters for musicals, and the general breath of midtown.
By the time we got back to the hotel we were both exhausted. A quick look at apartments, and by 1:00 the next morning I had finished reading Animal Farm.
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