New York City Day Three

I woke up early around 8:00am to catch the live coverage of the marathon on tv.  I slept pretty good considering my incident the night before.  I saw some snaps of my friend in full marathon gear and it seemed everything was going according to schedule.  I was surprised to know that the men’s kickoff was around 10am.  That was pretty late to me!  Oh well.  Once the race went off I decided to go down the street to Leo’s Bagels and get myself a bagel with lox and cream cheese.  I can’t believe I waited so long to get one.

I ordered online to save some time but everything seemed unorganized.  There was a line out the door.  I waited in the meantime because it wasn’t too long.  What a mistake!  The line moved so slowly.  I figured I had nowhere to go anyways since my friend just started the race.  He had told me earlier that he expected to finish no more than 4 hours.  I calculated my time in meeting him at Central Park around 2pm.

I finally got my bagel and coffee and ran back to my hotel room to pack my things.  I checked out on time and left my luggage there.  I decided to walk around some more to kill time.  I ended up in Tribeca and went towards the Oculus Station when I decided to walk through Soho again.  I had downloaded the marathon app and looked up my friend’s time.  To my amazement---he had already crossed the finish line!  Oh my goodness!  I can’t believe he had finished so soon!

I jumped in the metro and headed towards Central Park.  He had warned me that you needed tickets to be around the finish line area, and since I didn’t have any, we decided to meet back at his hotel if we didn’t see each other.  I was upset with myself that I had not come down sooner.  It was exciting watching the runners make the last stretch.  The area was filled with bands playing music and people cheering everyone on!  I was inspired by their spirit.

Eventually I got back on the metro and headed back to my friend’s hotel in Times Square.  Sure enough, he was back in his room.  We talked about the race and he explained that he had ran much earlier than 10am.  He did great too!  3:12:57!  According to him that was the best time he’s ever done!  I was so proud of him.

His roommate who also ran the race eventually met us in the hotel.  I was amazed that the two of them came so far away to do this marathon.  He was excited as well.  In the end my friend grew hungry and I helped him get up since he was now cramping.  We walked over to the same restaurant we ate last night.  I ordered a plate full of meatballs and it was delish.  We ended the night with me walking him back to his room.  I had to take off to catch my flight.  I was pretty sure he was going to pass out soon.  As for me, the nerves kicked in when I was making my way to the airport.  I decided to take the metro line but opted not to wait on the bus service.  I ordered an uber instead and the traffic heading towards the airport was jammed packed.  Luckily I didn’t have to go very far.  I was also relieved my flight was smooth on my way to Chicago.  I was tired when I got in.  We landed around 11:30pm and I still had to take the train back home.  What a trip!

New York City Day Two

I had the scare of my life at my hotel room.  Someone knocked on my door at 3am!  I must have jumped out of my bed.  I asked “Who is it?” and heard a mumble at the door, but then I yelled back “Ummm.  I think YOU got the WRONG ROOM!”  I heard another mumble and then complete silence.  By the time I got the nerve to check the peep hole, he was gone.  Talk about a New York moment!  I was scared shitless!

In the morning I slept in later than I wanted to, mostly because of the door incident.  I didn’t realize that my friend had already messaged me that he was waiting for me by Battery Island.  I jumped in the shower and got ready as fast as I could.  Apparently he was waiting for me at a Starbucks, but I ended up at the wrong one.  I felt bad because I knew he had been waiting for a while.  I jumped in an Uber to save time heading to the other Starbucks.  Luckily it was the right one and we went over to the ticket booth to purchase our ferry tickets.  It was set to sail in 15 minutes!  Whew!

I grabbed some coffee and we found a spot outside on the boat.  Obviously I was getting anxious again.  I had to sit down when it took off, but I did manage some courage to get up once in a while to take some pictures once the Statue of Liberty was closer.  My friend was at the end of the boat snapping pictures himself.

We docked and then walked over but found out the hard way that we couldn’t get to the Statue.  We had to purchase tickets online and it was sold out.  So much for that.  At that point we took some pictures surrounding Lady Liberty and went back on the boat to head to Ellis Island. 

Ellis Island was very informative!  We spent hours there, learning about how the United States came about.  They also included where most of the migrants settled in the U.S.  We even watched a short movie about the conditions the boats were in for traveling to the New World.  It put a lot of things into perspective for me, especially since my family came from Guatemala.  

Afterwards, we headed back to the boat and discussed what to do next.  By this time, it was 2pm and we were getting hungry.  We decided on Italian food and a fellow passenger suggested we head to the Upper East side.  I yelped a couple of restaurants, but we decided to check again once we arrived in the neighborhood to get a better idea on where to go.

We settled on Via Della Pace restaurant and luckily there weren’t too many people inside.  We were taken care of right away.  My friend enjoyed his pasta and mine was absolutely delish!  I ate the whole bowl!  We knew we weren’t too far from Soho and my friend needed to purchase some headphones for the marathon.  We found the Apple store and while he spoke to a sales rep, I had the opportunity to charge my phone.  I was having the worst luck with my phone the whole time I was there.  I needed to charge it constantly.  I hardly used the data!  Sometimes taking photos drained my phone.  It was becoming a nuisance.  The sales rep suggested for me to purchase a new battery, but I figured I would do this when I got back to Chicago.

My friend decided on some earphones, but he still needed a sweatband for his forehead for the race.  We found a Nike store and looked around.  I didn’t realize how many people were at Soho!  There were so many tourists shopping around.  My friend was surprised I wasn’t shopping myself, but I wanted to make sure he got what he needed for the marathon.

We headed back to his hotel in Times Square to rest up for a bit.  His roommate was there and he was getting his things together for the marathon.  Unfortunately, it was Daylight Savings weekend, and the time was going to change at 2am.  They had to get up at 4am to get ready and have a marathon breakfast buffet the hotel was hosting.  Then their charter bus was going to head out at 6am to Staten Island. 

My friend got his things ready for the marathon as well.  He then grew hungry again (since we had the pasta early afternoon).  He knew he had to sleep early tonight, so we headed to Mamma Mia pizzeria down the street from his hotel.  We ordered a margaritha pizza to share and then called it a night.  I went back to my hotel but since I wasn’t doing the race myself, I took time to walk into some souvenir shops along the way.  I also got a chance to pass by Radio City Music Hall.  Their Christmas Tree was already up!

Matera and Alberobello: Day Five

Today France was playing against Belgium for the World Cup and they won!  Needless to say, I am missing Paris very much.  I’m beginning to think it’s my happy place. 

Back to recapping my big trip in Italy.  The following day we decided to drive off to Matera to spend a day there sight-seeing.  I’ve been there before a few years back, but the rest of the guests haven’t.  It was amazing to visit and see things through their eyes.  It makes you aware of what you could have missed the first time around.  The groom was the perfect tour guide for this getaway.  He gave us an insight on what life was like for this town since it was considered to be a very poor area.  We went into their museum and learned more about the history.  Unfortunately I had the worst migraine that day.  It woke me up around 5am and it never truly went away, despite me taking aspirin throughout the day.  I have to say, this was not a good day for me health wise.  My migraine put me in a mood, and I often found myself walking ahead or behind the group the rest of the day.  I didn’t want to ruin their experience there, yet I couldn’t shake this headache away.  I felt I was a terrible traveler that day.  I hope no one around me was offended by my lack of social skills.

We had a light lunch at Matera.  We tried the peperoni cruschi which the groom explained was available only in this region.  It was deep fried red peppers, but once you put them in your mouth, they would completely disintegrated with all of its glorious flavor!  I loved it!

The groom felt we had time to hit another town, so we drove off to Alberobello.  Again, I’ve been there before, but the rest of the guests seemed excited to see the trulli houses.  We checked out some shops and even hit a gelato café before deciding we should settle for dinner.  Driving back on an empty stomach is no fun.  We found a trattoria and had pizza and wine (of course) to end our night.  The drive back was long after a hearty dinner, but luckily we got back home safe.

Wedding Day! Part Two

Sorry I’ve been M.I.A.  I have been in a funk these past few weeks.  My birthday came and went and I’m glad that it did.  Over the years, I’ve grown to despise my birthday.  I know I should be grateful, etc., but for me, it always reminded me of my short comings.  I wish I could tell you my trip to Italy was all rainbows and sunshine, but it wasn’t.  I’ve been gloomy since I came back and once my birthday month came into effect, forget about it.  I just wanted to be left alone.

For the most part, I HATE being around people when do I get this way.  I always felt that my moodiness is something that I should deal with personally, and do not need an audience to witness my internal drama.  I had some outings to go to once I got back, and that made some of my mood swings dwindle down, but as they say, too much of a good thing can do more harm.  I needed some time to myself and finally had some last weekend when I stayed in and did absolutely nothing but to enjoy my own apartment.  I sometimes miss my place a lot.

Back to recapping where I left off on my best friend’s wedding.

We pulled into the wedding venue of Peppe Zullo.  It was breathtaking!  Gorgeous hills surrounded by white fluffy clouds!  We made our way to the crowd gathering afar and realized we probably weren’t going to get a seat.  Luckily someone gave up their seat so me and my friend could sit together.  Our makeup artist friend ran off to find the bride.  I was relieved we were finally at this point.  I couldn’t help but think about the past 20 years I’ve known my friend.  I felt so proud of her!  She was marrying a wonderful man in front of all of these people that flew in from all over!  It was pretty surreal.

Next thing you know, we heard the wedding music play on the speakers.  Here comes the bride!  She looked beautiful!  I don’t think she was aware of all of the camera phones recording her.  She ended up whispering something to us but it was all caught on video!  Oh well.  What can you do?

The ceremony was moving along when the wedding coordinator came up to us and lead us to a line of people.  I was under the impression we were going to give our mini speeches during dinner but apparently it was happening now.  I was so nervous!  I hated the fact I had to speak on a microphone.  My friend was ahead of me, and sure enough, when it was her turn, she started to cry.  GREAT.  Now I’m going to shed some tears.  I did manage to get it together but my voice was very shaky.  I had to stop for a second so I could regain my composure.  That was one of the most truthful moments I had ever encountered.  Telling my best friend in front of a crowd, how much I loved her.  I wish people could do this more often to one another.

Once the ceremony was over, the bride and groom got bombarded with people coming up to congratulate them.  I decided to go for a drink.  Light bites and cocktails were being served in one of the kitchens.  We enjoyed some delicious appetizers.  Eventually the couple came out and started dancing to the band.  It was the start of the party and everyone was having a good time.

We were then lead to the other building where the banquet was taking place.  Me and my friend luckily took some pictures before the crowd arrived.  Our first course was spaghetti, followed by another plate of pasta, and then a third!  Italians love their pasta!  They also brought out different wine pairings to go with our meal.  I loved them all!

Once dinner was over, me and my friend AGAIN took some time to sneak off and take more pictures.  The bride and groom were now taking their professional pictures, too.  When we returned to the banquet room, they placed the cheese table in the middle of the dance floor.  I’ve never seen anything like it! 

There was also a table put out filled with wine bottles from around the world!  Since the groom is in the wine making industry, he asked some close friends to bring in their wine so they could showcase them at the wedding.  It was a great experience being able to try different wines you don’t normally get a chance to.

Now it was time to dim the lights and start grooving!  The band was amazing, but once they started playing disco music, forget it!  It was time to tear up the dance floor!  This was the most fun for me since I love watching people enjoy themselves.  I loved seeing happy faces!  

It was now time to clear out and head to the OTHER building which looked like a glass greenhouse.  Here a large table of sweets were waiting for us to indulge in.  I got a chance to have some of the wedding cake and it was amazing!  Luckily, the dj got back on and it was time to burn off these calories!  By now people were getting a little silly but everyone was having fun.  I helped get the take home gifts ready which were mini bottles of wine from the groom’s winery.  What a great gift idea!

After the hoopla, it was time to meet in the parking lot for our charter bus to take us back to the winery 45 minutes away from here.  As you can imagine, there was no bus, (we apparently missed the last bus) and there was no other bus that was going to come back and get us.  Friends offered their cars to help out and we car pooled back into town.  What a day!