One word: Amazing.

I was on my own today, but I got around just fine. In the morning I went to the Met (Upper East side). I managed to see everything I wanted to see in 4 hours. Roman and French sculptures, Expressionism, Impressionism, Post-impressionism, Modern art -- all great. I loved the Monet, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Matisse rooms. I also bought some souvenirs!

The only thing I had planned for today was the Met, so I left myself time to head over to The Colbert Report (Upper East side). I waited in the standby line starting at 3pm and by 4:15pm, I was the first person on the standby list! Eventually, I got into the studio, which was followed by a lot more waiting. However, all this waiting was worth it! Once Colbert ran into the studio, it was amazing. He did a Q&A out of character before taping the show, where he sang to us. Then, the show began. He would do lots of hilarious, small things during the commercial breaks. He threw out free Wriststrong bracelets, but I didn't get one. Now, I'm going to watch The Colbert Report on TV to try and spot myself in the crowd.

Even though I did less things today, I'm still extremely tired! Waiting in line really took it out of me. Next entry: Conan!

Art and Chocolate

Day two was much more relaxed than Day 1. The morning was spent on the internet and watching tv. After lunch, we went to the MOMA (Midtown). The Dali Painting & Film exhibit was amazing. It was an entire floor filled with Dali paintings -- including The Persistence of Memory -- and Dali films. I was surprised because I wasn't aware that Dali was a filmmaker, but his movies were very surreal (like his paintings) and well made. I would love to spend more time with his films in the future. The paintings and sculptures on the 4th and 5th floor of the MOMA were great. Liechtenstein, Warhol, Magritte, Matisse, Monet, a Van Gogh (Starry Night was not there), and more. There was also a great exhibit called Berlin Street Scenes.
Unfortunately, while I was at the MOMA, I broke my Oktomat. It's not completely a lost cause, but the camera definitely has some issues, ones that I would definitely consider manufacturer issues. I think it will be fixable with some tape and screw drivers but I'm still a little bit pissed because I've had it for less than a month. Unfortunately, because I'm on vacation (aka not in San Diego), I can't return/exchange it with Amazon. It ruined my time at the MOMA a little bit, but I still had a great time because of the wonderful art.
For dinner, we went to Max Brenner (Union Square) and Karen joined us for dinner, along with Sara's friends Raebekah and David. WOW, so much chocolate. They had a small "real" food menu, but the dessert menu was huge and filled with chocolate-y goodness. They also had these pipes running all over the restaurants that were for these chocolate machines, very much like Willy Wonka. The chocolate fondue was excellent! The flame got a little out of control at the end, but it was still fantastic.

Tomorrow, I'm on my own. Sara and her mom are going to the US Open for tennis. I'm planning on going to the Met, waiting in the standby line for The Colbert Report, and meeting up with Karen after her first day as an NYU graduate student. I think I'm ready to take on the subway by myself. After all, how hard could it be?

Upper East, Upper West, Greenwich, Midtown...

Today was my first "day" in New York City -- at least day time. The first thing we did was take the R to the 6 train to get to the Upper East side. While riding the 6, I fulfilled a life long dream of riding the 6 while listening to Jennifer Lopez's CD "On the 6." Surprisingly enough, the song I picked finished withing the exact amount of time I was riding the 6. Fate? I think so.
For brunch, we went to Sarahbeth's in the Upper East side, which was amazing. It was this adorable little brunch place with quite a few old people. Sara and I decided that you can tell if a brunch place is good depending on how many old people you see there. Old people know their brunches. I was going to take a photo of these 3 old ladies, but Sara said that would be ridiculous and forced me not to. The food was delicious; I had Crispy Potato Waffles (think latkes, but in waffle shape and fluffier).
Afterwards, we walked to the Guggenheim. It was much bigger than the Peggy Guggenheim in Venice (at least in my opinion). They had this great exhibit on Louise Bourgoise and their permanent collection was fantastic as well (Pollock, Van Gogh, Manet, etc).
After spending a few hours at the museum, we went in search of the Belvedere Castle in Central Park -- too bad it took us forever to find it and possibly longer to find our way out of Central Park. Finally, we ended up on the Upper West side. We didn't really explore, as we were on our way to Greenwich/West Village.
I had a list of things to do in the West Village -- eat at Bamn, hang out in Other Music, and move the giant cube. Too bad none of them happened. The food at Bamn actually looked kind of gross and Other Music was closed. People were sitting around the giant cube, so that didn't happen either. We also went on a long hunt for a bathroom. Finally, we ended up at S'mac for dinner. Delicious, although I probably should have gotten the Nosh size.

Tomorrow will be busy as well and Sara's mom is coming.

Baltimore

I'm at the Baltimore Airport for a layover. I have another hour before I board and I'm extremely excited about arriving in NYC. I'm a little nervous about getting myself to Penn Station but I'm sure I'll figure it out. There's no way it will be more difficult than traveling around Europe. In general, I hate flying. However, the flight to Baltimore wasn't that bad. I guess in comparison to the flight from SF to Rome it is quite short. OK, that's it for now since I'm on the iPhone.

part 2

So, I've decided to make my study abroad travel blog into a travel blog, in general. All of my adventures in new places and in new cities will be posted and updated here. Stories, photos, who knows what else will be here -- maybe I will finally make a video.

Next up: New York City- August 30 to September 8