US Summer Trip 2013 NYC Day 1

June 27, 2013
Lower Manhattan, NYC
Day 1
Mission: Cross the Brooklyn Bridge
We had a very lovely weather the next day. We planned on taking a stroll towards Lower Manhattan, hit the Brooklyn Bridge and cross it.
Before we could do that, we stop by the neighborhood cafe for breakfast. This is a glimpse of the local neighborhood where we stayed at.
This was my Day 1 breakfast at Gramercy Cafe.
Ronald was a little disappointed that he couldn’t finish the stacks of pancakes on his plate and that there was only a small portion of bacon strips on top of it.
Our hotel was 2 blocks away from Union Square, which was a very convenient location. We could get into N, Q, R 7 trains. We found some wall artwork across the square and figured it was a good spot to take a selfie.
From Gramercy Cafe to the start off point of the Manhattan Bridge (Manhattan side), we walked a good 7-km or so, occasionally stopping to check out interesting architecture or shops.

When we got to the bridge. We each had to get our obligatory poses to prove a point that yes, touchdown Brooklyn Bridge.

When we got to the Brooklyn end of the bridge, it was approximately another 1km. It was a great day to be in NYC. The weather was awesome. We appreciate being used to walking a lot around Shanghai that we were very prepared for any long walks around NYC.  We walked back to our hotel, which makes it a good 20-km or so altogether hike for the day.
We got back to our hotel around 8sh pm. We were too exhausted from jet lag to leave the hotel room.
We were staying on the 7th floor of what looks like an old residential apartment building turned into a hotel. This is Ronald trying to check out the situation of the apartment next door. 

Earlier on our way back to the hotel, we discovered Ricky’s Cosmetic and Beauty Supply along Broadway Avenue. Ronald was looking into dyeing his hair ash blonde. I managed to convince him that I could dye his hair, but only just a few shades lighter.
It was probably around past 12mn at this point and we decided to put those hair products from Ricky’s to good use.
We took some precautionary measures by covering the carpet floor with newspapers before getting to work.
*I believe I look like I meant business here while Ronald looked scared as hell.
We failed to take before and after pictures but you can probably tell the difference if you get a closer look of our mane on the next blog entries.
Nonetheless, our first day in NYC was very productive. We accomplished our mission of the day, walked a lot and ended the night with hair treatments. 

Next: The MET visit, Central Park, Grand Central Terminal and more

US Summer Trip 2013 NYC

June 26, 2013
Midtown Manhattan, NYC
Ronald and I traveled to another time zone to celebrate our 10 years of friendship.
It was Ronald’s first trip to the US. He initially intended to just go to California, where he has relatives. I have not been to California. The farthest west of the US that I have been to is Colorado. Naturally, I want to for him to set foot first in the most diverse and shiny place that I have been to on my first trip to the US back in 2011.
1st stop, New York City, the concrete jungle where dreams are made of, there’s nothing you can’t do. And I can tell that Ronald agreed.
We entered the US through JFK airport, breezed our way through immigration then lined up for the yellow taxis to get to our hotel.

Obligatory selfies after checking in and leaving our bags in the hotel.


Our body clock was still on China time zone, where it would have been around 11am. In NYC, it was 11pm. Body clock be damned. We were itching to walk the streets of Manhattan, so off we go to Broadway Avenue to get to the heart of it, Times Square.

We only took our quota Instagram-qualified pictures for the usual NYC landmarks: Flatiron Building, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building to name a few.
We had to head back to our hotel to catch up with some zzzzs and save our energy for the rest of our stay in NYC.

*Photo credits: Ronald Igar