Day 4 - NYC

BIG MOVE TO BROOKLYN!!! We had to be relatively early because check-out at our hotel was at 11am, and our room needed a serious clean-up. And we all know how long it takes the girls to get ready. :-/ We raced out of there around 10:45, but once again, we were the obvious tourists with our big luggage in tow. Needing a little nourishment, we stopped at a diner right on 95th and Broadway (right next to the Thai place we had eaten at on Saturday night).

The diner was very typical of what you find in New York: a classic American diner run by a completely Greek family. It was good food, and for $8, I couldn't argue. (And for all you Midwesterners, that is a steal in NYC) Afterwards, Karen needed some cash so we zipped down a block to the Duane Reade and then off to the Subway for our trek to the Brooklyn Hotel!

Mireille and I sitting outside of the diner:


At the Brooklyn Junction station:


It was a long haul, and probably our most awkward travel while in NYC. We attempted to get off at our stop in Northeast Brooklyn, but the doors closed after I had gotten out, and as Karen was in the process of. She made a karnie-squeel and had to pull back so the doors could shut. And there I was, alone with my luggage, sitting on the platform in the middle of Brooklyn. Great.

I hobbled downstairs to the station and sat while I formulated a plan. I called Mireille and she told me that her and Karen had gotten off at the next stop. SWEET. They were going to get a taxi and come pick me up. 15 minutes later, I get a call and walk down another flight of stairs where Karen and Mireille were waiting for me in a taxi. The taxi driver took us to the WRONG location and dropped us off. We were just as confused as the last people. My iPhone was our only savior, and the stupid cabby didn't even know where the location was on the map that I showed him. Idiot. We got another cab to take us to the RIGHT spot, and he was even kind enough to call his dispatcher and figure out exactly where our hotel was. He was awesome.

Our next hotel was like the opposite of our hostel: in a bad location (Northeast Brooklyn), but uber-nice accommodations! The hostel was a nice location (Upper West Side), but terrible accommodations. After our whole ordeal with getting to the new hotel, we decided to take a nap in the plush luxury we were just granted.

In the late afternoon, after a nap and shower, we took the subway to West Brooklyn to eat dinner at all-vegetarian restaurant Karen found. It was a nice change, but the nachos I had did not agree with me later. At all. We spent the evening exploring Brooklyn. Took the train to Park Slope and walked around shops and such. Who knew there was a Target in the middle of Brooklyn? Awesome. Then we went to Prospect Park and had an awesome time. We trekked to the lake there and decided to be chill.
At the entrance of Brooklyn Park:


Kinda looks like Arch de Triomphe in France:


Old meets new:


Brooklyn Academy of Music!!


Beautiful View of Prospect Park:


Karen says that someone was murdered in a movie in this tunnel. I bought it.


The consensus of the group was that we wanted to have a movie night and go to bed early since we had been up pretty late every night of our entire trip. So we stopped and got some snacks and headed back to the hotel.

I want to live in this house!!!! This is why I love NYC:


Place of the Post: Red Rosa Pizza in West Des Moines........yum......delicious.