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Oh, to have to leave the Big Apple. Since yesterday was so tiring and the showers at the hostel so cold, we decided to sleep until just about check out time (11:00 AM) and spend the rest of our time in NYC in Central Park and shower immediately upon our arrival in Cape Cod. So we checked out of the hostel, loaded our stuff up in the car that was conveniently parked out in front of the hostel (we got lucky and found a prime spot for free the whole time we were there 25 feet from the hostel entrance), and hopped on a downtown subway for the last time. We got off at 72nd after a short ride, and tried to find a food place that looked appetizing enough to eat at--we wanted breakfast having really just woken up, but none of the places we popped in to had anything to suit our tastes. So, it was on to the park to work up even more of an appetite.
Central Park really is a great place. It'd be so nice to live close enough to the park to walk to it everyday. At times you really can feel
like you're out of the city... that is, if you don't look up at the skyscrapers that frame the park, and ignore the dozens of people around you riding bikes, jogging, or just strolling like you are. But regardless, it's a great escape from the concrete jungle that New York really is.
Our visit to Central Park was short but sweet since we needed to get to Cape Cod and wanted to avoid as much traffic as we could on our way there. 72nd Street led us straight to Strawberry Fields, the tribute to John Lennon who was shot upon entering the Dakota Apartments, which also is on 72nd Street. There was a slew of people gathered around the mosaic tribute in the sidewalk, taking pictures, and talking about Lennon, Yoko Ono, and The Beatles. A couple of onlookers had placed tokens of remembrance, such as apples and flowers laid out in the form of a peace sign. It was a nice tribute, but nothing too extraordinary. We took our pictures and moved on. There really wasn't too much we wanted to see, save just the park itself, so we took a path and just walked around. We made
it past the Lake and around some more paths to the north end of the Great Lawn.
The Great Lawn, to me, was the coolest part of Central Park. There was a very laid back dynamic that was going on everywhere on the vast green expanse. There were people strolling around the perimeter paths, families playing on the jungle gyms, people sunbathing, picnicking, a bunch of kids in a little league-type game, and people simply people-watching. We sat there watching the whole scene for a little while, especially the little league game. Those kids were so funny. I'm sure they were trying their hardest but no body could catch anything. It seemed like if a kid could at least hit to the outfield, he was guaranteed at least a double. They looked like they were having fun though.
We figured it was time to get something to eat before hitting the road soon enough, so we made our way back through the park, down 86th, and to a little diner on the corner of 86th and Amsterdam called 3 Star Diner. Not exactly the name I'd call my diner if I were to open one, but you couldn't
complain if the food was just average—they warned you! It was still nice though to sit by the window and watch the Upper West Side live. After we ate our breakfast (finally), we bought some fruit at a fruit stand on the side of the street and walked half a block to take our last subway uptown in New York. Once we got back to the car, we plotted our way out of the city, and were on our way to Cape Cod.
I've got to say that overall, I really love New York. And love it or hate it, you have to at least visit it once. I've been lucky enough to be here twice in essentially a month, and even though I didn't visit NYU or Colombia, I'll definitely be applying to at least one for law school. So with that, we're off to Yarmouth, Cape Cod!
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