Friday, April 20, 2007

Preview to my New York trip

My flight leaves SLC at 8:50 am, and I plan on being at the airport at 7:30 am. This means that I'll probably get up around 6:00 am, but I'm not worried about being tired because I plan on sleeping through the entire plane ride. We'll arrive at JFK around 4 something, and head over to the Hilton. I don't know what we'll do tomorrow night, and since I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing on Tuesday and Wednesday at the client's office, I hope that I get a good debrief tomorrow night.

It's supposed to be raining while I'm there, so whatever we do in the evenings and during the day on Thursday will be inside. I'll provide updates at the end of each day, with photos, to share the details of the day's events.

One thing I would like to do, but probably won't be able to do, is drive to Rahway, New Jersey (about 22 miles from where we'll be), to a cemetary where some of our ancestor's are buried. I know it sounds a bit morbid, but that's where one branch of our family settled in this country after being dispelled from France in the 1600's, and I'd like to see it in person. There will be more posts to come on this subject.


Update: Well I didn't think that it would be so hard to send daily updates, but it was. We worked until 6:30 every night, exercised, and then went out until midnight. I was exhausted, but it was worth it. I made sure to get some New York bagels (nothing special there...they taste like Salt Lake City bagels and even California bagels). I ate at Ray's pizza instead of Lombardi's, because Ray's was featured on the Food Network, and since the Food Network has become my bible to everything food, I chose Ray's instead. We also ate at this little place called the Stardust. I couldn't think of a more touristy place. The food was pretty gross, but the entertainment was great. The waiters sing and dance through your entire meal. I sang along to Hakuna Matata, and a Van Halen song (can't remember the name though). I walked around time square, did some window shopping on fifth avenue, walked through central park, went to the top of the rockefeller center, and I ate, a lot. Let's be honest here, I didn't really have money to go to a show or to buy clothes from the shops, so I indulged myself in New York cuisine. One night I went to a little Jewish diner that served lots of pastrami and corned beef sandwiches that were at least 6 inches tall. The best part of that diner was the 6" tall cheesecake (I brought two slices home for Ryan). I went to Roxy's, which is famous for their pastries right after I ate at Junior's diner. I had a panini from Cafe Europa, and a chicken pita from the street vendor around the corner from our client's office. But don't worry, I walked every where and went to the gym in the evenings. Oh, I even learned how to successfully flag down my own taxi. While I was working I learned that New Yorker's are addicted to work; and I presumed it was because many of them don't have family nearby, so they rely on their co-workers to keep them company. Afterall, who wants to go home to a lonely apartment that has only a view of the concrete building next to yours? I also found that I love the city; I felt myself coming alive when I was surrounded by all the people and the bright lights. I just wanted to stay out all night and talk with people, and see some shows, and even go dancing, BUT I didn't want to do any of that with my coworkers, so I went to bed in my super comfy hotel room. Well there's lots more I could talk about, like what I did while I was working, but I'm tired. So if you want to know more, just ask.

2 comments:

Millie said...

Well if you don't make it to the cemetary, then it will be a good excuse to plan a trip to the east coast. We have been playing with the idea of going for a while now, maybe it's time to get serious?

Rachele said...

I didn't make it out there, because it would have been a hassle for my coworkers. We really should make a family trip there; it was so much fun. And, I would love to go visit Wall Street because one of our first ancestor's here had a house on a street called Wall in New York. Here's a link to his will.

http://www.geocities.com/cwheatley2000/noepwill.html