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Published: February 7th 2006
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Kory is #1
In order to fit in in the neighborhood, Kory often dresses like he's homeless. Last weekend Kory and I went to
Yale (in Connecticut) by train to visit our friend Jen and check out the campus. Jen was visiting some friends of hers from school and invited us up for the night. We went to a Yale basketball game and went out to a few local bars. The town actually had a lot going on - just like any college town. The next day we toured the campus a bit and checked out some of the major buildings. The architecture and history of the campus is really interesting. It looked just like it does in the movies - the way you imagine college to be when you are a kid. We only stayed for a day but it was a nice break from the city.
Earlier this week we walked up our street to see Columbia University which is only about ten blocks away. We both really loved this campus - even more than Yale. The architecture was also really interesting and all of the buildings were more centrally located. In the middle of campus there were fields of grass and brick walkways lined with trees which were lit with white lights. There
The Library
The Library at Yale is HUGE, and very old. There is another library that houses rare documents, but it wasn't open on sunday. were students everywhere reading and sketching pictures of the buildings. The energy of the campus was really cool, and the massive size in the middle of the city is pretty amazing.
On Wednesday we went to another play at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts- and it was even better than the first. It’s too bad they don’t put on productions all year because it’s really good - free - entertainment. Before the play we went to an Indian restaurant where we couldn’t read a word of the menu. So we asked the waiter which dishes were vegan and just took a chance. It turned out to be really good and unlike anything we’ve had before - although I am still not sure what all of it was. It seemed like a really thin pancake with sauce and things inside—good though.
On Friday night we went to the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) again since it’s free on Friday nights. We still haven’t seen the whole thing so we will we probably be going frequently - on Fridays
only of course. After that we went down to the lower east side, which was a first for me. We went to dinner at a premier vegan restaurant called Counter and the food was sooo good. It’s fairly affordable for a gourmet meal too. We walked the neighborhood a bit and I really liked the area. It’s very different from the rest of the city - There are no high rise buildings that are twenty story apartment complexes. You can actually see the sky when you walk down the street. The buildings are very old- very classic New York- and there are parks and community gardens everywhere. The whole area seemed a lot more community oriented. Later that night we went to a bar called NuBlu, which you wouldn’t even know existed if it wasn’t for the dim blue light above the door and the bouncer standing outside. It had a very underground feel to it and only the locals seemed to know about it. The place was small and the bar opened up to an enclosed patio in the back that looks out on a private garden. After a few drinks we got on the subway and headed home.
Lindsey and Jen
At the Yale basketball game. Yale won. We had to change trains a couple of times and because it was so late they weren’t running as frequently. We ended up passing our house and then had to take a train back down. It took us over an hour to get home and it really sucked -but all in all it was a successful Friday night out.
Saturday morning we slept in and then we went down to Tribeca -in lower Manhattan- to see ground zero. It was rainy and pretty miserable but there were still a lot of tourists looking at the site. There is really nothing left - just a huge hole in the ground (about the size of a block) with only the foundations of the two towers left. It was pretty amazing to look at the pictures of the towers and how incredibly tall they were. The buildings left that surround ground zero look huge - and in the pictures they appear to be maybe half that height of the twin towers. It is hard to describe - and even after seeing it I find it hard to digest. I wish I could have seen the towers before 9-11 so I could
really understand the magnitude of this disaster.
While we were downtown we went to Century 21, a huge discount department store that carries designer labels for cheap (Carrie shops there in a sex and the city episode). It was packed full of people and the deals were amazing. We will definitely be shopping there in the future when we have a full day to dedicate to shopping.
On Sunday we walked a few blocks east of our apartment to Central Park to get some exercise. There are trails everywhere and one main jogging path that runs through the park. The park is huge and has many playgrounds, ponds, and sports fields scattered throughout. I could spend all day walking through it - it’s so pretty and such an escape from the city. It’s quite and peaceful and yet you can still see the tops of the city buildings surrounding. After jogging we went to a coffee shop/bar that was really strange and we probably won’t go back - but it was an experience nonetheless.
Today Kory had school and I had another job interview. Now we are home and Kory is making dinner—Lasagna. Mmmmm, smells good! Well that’s all for now - gotta go eat.
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Jim
non-member comment
It sounds like you guys are doing as much as you can keeping busy seeing the sights. Living in a large city can be amazing w/all the different feelings, lights, sounds, smells and people, people everywhere all w/agendas and busy lives. The wealthy and poor, young and old all coexist, living next to and almost on top or each other. You can, and will probably, make aquaintences that will last a lifetime, and have people living w/in a couple 100 feet you will never see or know. The oppurtunity for diverse experiences are endless, and you can find people, and neighborhoods, where the people have lived there whole lives and rarely go more than a few blocks. I could go on but will not. This experience could be more important then a couple years of college, in terms of growth w/in your relationship and perspective of molding your futures. I hope you continue to get out and experience everything you can. Just be carefull. Pat and Kirk are having dinner at Natural Cafe--we ate there Friday(really good food in a few minutes). Torba had a hip replacement today and they just found out so decided they needed to visit the hospital right away. We, Kirk and I, meet Jason((Jason's birthday)) at Rancho San Marcos(Cachuma Pass) for golf yesterday. Pat and I meet Kirk at McDonald's in AG to caravan in two cars(Pat went to Debbie and Eric's). We suggested she ride w/Kirk so they could talk. He said he wanted to sleep. She said she would drive his car. He said he would ride w/me, because he could not sleep if she was driving the car he was in. Anyway, I drove Kirk, and your Mom busted him for smelling like booze at 7 am in the morning when she kissed him. We all had a good time. I am sure she will see this and respond when she gets here(we have been staying at my house mostly since you left). We are going to Tahoe tomorrow afternoon for a few days-- Seeya--Jim