Aimless in New York City

I woke up early on Saturday morning to join my sister's family on their trip to the Bronx Zoo. They have a membership that allows their family of four plus a guest, so I was happy to join them on their day out. It was a good day to get some fresh air as we'd been blessed with a gorgeous weather and also a free Saturday is pretty much a novelty for me.

what a gorgeous day out!

  

So here we are, that blue dot, heading into Bronx- my second time ever!

I didn't "get" to see as many animals as one would expect to see at a zoo, but I was there to have fun with the family... I'd been to zoos a plenty and seen as much! But here was something that I'd never seen before: a nyala.

a grazing nyala. It came up pretty close to me, so thanks for the great pic!

My brother-in-law and nephew enjoyed what seemed to be a split-second camelback ride! 

camel parade!

We went on a Dinosaur Safari Ride, and the kids got scared at these dino figures! So adorable!

                                      

The kids were not so scared of this foot model though, and the nephew insisted I take a shot at this.

At around 2pm, I got dropped off in midtown Manhattan and took the subway to this beautiful neighborhood of Fort Greene in Brooklyn. I debated on attending Smorgasburg in Williamsburg or the flea market in Fort Greene, and I ended up here. The flea market was outdoors, and my phone (camera source) died so I don't have any pictures. I stood at this one vendor's stand for about half an hour- he sold wooden panel signs and pictures- and debated between a Brooklyn sign and a Williamsburg sign... until realizing I don't even know what I'd do with such a thing... a Brooklyn sign in the middle of my room in LA? it's okay. Didn't want to play tourist in my own home.

Fort Greene is so green and beautiful. 

So I left the flea and headed back to the Lafayette station to head to SoHo.

This was the view opposite the entrance to the subway station, and I just love it so much. Picture-Perfect!

Lafayette station has so much character

Once I got to SoHo, I had to find a Starbucks to charge my phone. Luckily, the one I went to was right next to the bakery I'd been meaning to visit for their cronut fame: Dominique Ansel Bakery.

on Spring Street in SoHo, it's smaller than I'd expected.

Salted Caramel eclair- Raspberry Beer Cherry Religieuse- Paris New York

Though I didn't find anything worth talking about here, I did see these three pastries from which I got the salted caramel eclair. It was definitely good, but not worth the $5.50+tax. 

the view of the menu. So much to read and so little time.

Then, it got pretty chilly... and I wanted a hot drink- so I went to one of my favorite cafes: Aroma Espresso Bar. My first time in Aroma was in a NJ mall, and I was so delighted to see one in Manhattan last time I visited. Got my favorite drink here, a chai latte with the most generous spoonful of cinnamon on top with their complimentary piece of chocolate, and kept heading up back towards midtown.

a cup of warm Chai Latte from Aroma Espresso Bar is so the best way to beat the cold.

As I didn't have any plans for the day besides being dropped off in the city, I improvised my dinner and looked for places to eat. I walked so much from SoHo to East Village- found the line at the restaurant I set my mind on to be way too long- headed back to a subway station, took the N train and debated on getting off at 42nd and just going home or passing it to get off at 49th to walk to 52nd.... and I got off at 49th. Now by this time I was hungry, tired, and been wasting my time and money just riding the subway. And of course, the line at this other restaurant is longer than the last one! 

My bus back home is now scheduled to leave in about twenty minutes. I walk baaaack to 50th and hop on a subway (another $2.50 for a single stop) get to 42nd, run for my life to Port Authority, run yet again to second floor, run up the crazy long and slow escalator to the gate, and am safe to board the bus back home that arrives about ten minutes into my arrival. 

I like aimlessly wandering the city, but what I learned from this particular day was... I don't like aimlessly wandering the city on an empty stomach filling it with cold and hot drinks and sugar. Also, always carry a hand sanitizer: I got so sick from being on so many different subways- when I got home, I skipped dinner altogether and slept for 12 hours with the aid of NyQuil. 

What started out as a successful day- turned into a major FAIL. From

Bronx to Brooklyn to Manhattan, at least I got my exercise in...