Since it's FOUR DAYS until I get to go to Boston (FOUR DAYS, can you believe it?  woot.), I figured I should share all of my dreary 70 degrees and cloudy and 97% humidity pictures of NYC.  YES 97% HUMIDITY.  I sweated my ass off all damn day.  I got stares because my jeans were sagging so bad and I had those weird dotty sweat marks on my shirt.  I didn't care.  I fully embraced the tourist in me with my backpack and my big ass purse that left a semi-permanant bruise on my right thigh from all the walking and a sweat mark on my shoulder. 

Oh yeah, remember the walking?  11 miles of walking.  My feet are sort of back to normal after 6 days.

So here we go... pretty much in chronological order with many pictures and limited commentary because let's be honest, most of this ain't nothing new.

Bryan, Dave, Kirk and I started off in Astoria at Brooklyn Bagel and Coffee Company.  It's like a mecca for cream cheese lovers.  A whole deli case dedicated to flavored cream cheeses, displayed like gelato.  I got the whole wheat sesame bagel with bacon and scallion cream cheese.  And that was a winner.  I only ate half and that was the best decision I made all day.  Also, when they say "Cream and sugar?" and you say "Yes", they pour at least a half a cup of sugar in your coffee... yes is right.

We left Bryan to fend for himself finding a cab back to meet his boss and the three of us went to catch the R.  Except a better train came first so they hopped on and I waited for mine.  Oh pressure.  Amazingly, I got on the right train, transferred at the right stop and found the #4 to Brooklyn without having to ask anyone for directions.  I win.

I got out and started walking across the Brooklyn Bridge to get some close up shots.  This is where the sweating began.

After being yelled at for being on the WRONG SIDE of the walking path by a security guard and then almost being flattened by a frantic biker, I hiked my way over to Wall Street.  Where some serious shit is happening.  There were blockades on most of the streets so I had to fight my way through the throngs of Asian tourists to get a couple shots. 

After that debacle, I hopped in cab and stuck my head out the window like a dog to stop sweating.  It worked temporarily.

Next up was the Physical Graffiti Building on St Marks Place.

Walking a bit farther down, the oldest bar in NYC, McSorley's.  I didn't go in this time but I've been in twice before and it's awesome.  Inside the front door are the original swinging wood doors that are worn at the bottom where men's old long coats used to hit it.  Also there's the legend that soldiers going off to war would come in for a last drink and hang a wishbone on the chandelier, to retrieve it when they returned.  If you go in here, the chandeliers haven't been dusted and entirely too many wishbones still hang from them.

This building looked cool, even though I have no idea what it is.  Wikipedia says it's 41 Cooper Square, part of the private Cooper Union college.  This building has faced neighborhood opposition... you don't say.

Next stop is the famous Gray's Papaya... unfortunately it was 10:30am and I wasn't the least bit hungry for hot dogs.  After seeing Fools Rush In, I've always wanted to try one.  Don't lie, you know you've seen that movie on TBS at least once.  Or forty times.

Another NYC landmark shopping stop is Strand Bookstore.  Not sure if you can see clearly in this pic, but every window of the second and third floors are filled with old books.  Love it.

Had a little bit of a hike to get to the next stop... Flatiron Building.  You've all probably seen this view a thousand times but I don't care, it never stops being really cool.  Especially in person.  It's really flat.

In the fishbowl style lobby out front, a woman was drawing on paper cups and suspending them from the ceiling.  Super cool.

Close up...

After this, I decided I was hungry.  Did I get nutritious food of substance to keep me going all day?  Hell no.

I walked down 23rd Street to the Doughnut Plant.

I got a Peanut Butter and Jelly doughnut for later and indulged in this mini Creme Brulee donut on my way out.

Just down the block, I stopped at La Maison du Macaron to get some of the "best macarons in the city" for later.

Macarons are so pretty.  I wanted to take a picture of their display case inside with all of the bright colors, but they were kind of a snooty fancy place and I think it would have been frowned upon.

I got three... I asked the guy there what their most popular was and he immediately recommended the caramel fleur de sel.  Not pictured below because I ate it immediately and it was wondeful.  So much cold, salty caramel.  I also got their mango and pear and walnut, both good but incomparable to the fleur de sel.

This is where I headed off towards the crazier part of the route... more pictures coming tomorrow.