Times Square and Liberty

Last Oct6, I met up with my two best friends in high school (btw, I have a lots of best friends way back then). Zen who is a New Yorker and Bhit from Pennsylvania, they were both immigrants here more than a decade ago, unno typical teenagers then who had to leave pinas co'z they were petitioned by their parents. But the distance was never an issue to continue our friendship, often write to each other via postal mail then up to the existence of e-mails. Whenever they go and visit pinas we always hang out. And now it's their turn to tour me in their home...yeah they now call this land their home...probably live the rest of their lives here...ako kaya?hmmm, to early to tell :P

After my first subway train ride, I met with Zen first, co'z Bhit and Raquel (Joey's wife-my friend in pinas too) will meet us later that afternoon. Zen promised me to tour the Statue of Liberty and some places here in Manhattan. Kakahiya I'm more than an hr late?! I forgot to adjust the time zone ng cellphone ko so nde ako nagising ng maaga?! anyway, finally saw Zen na and sorry ako ng sorry hehehe! He's really nice naman at nde naasar sa kin hehehe! so ayun lakad lakad kami sa Times Square, kwentuhan while walking then make a few stops for picture taking. Pinakita nya yung Broadway then have to ride the subway to go to The World Trade Center co'z malayo pag nilakad from Times Square. Dissapointing ang WTC, kse nga wala na sya so all you can see is the contruction going on and they just put a memorial site for tourist to see on what will happen to Ground Zero pag natapos na. After that we walked a few blocks going to the Battery Park, andito kse yung docking area nun ferry going to Liberty Island and Perris Island. Grabeh ang daming tourists?! ang haba ng pila! After Zen, paid the $12 fee pumila kami for more than 1hr to ride the ferry! ang init pa naman nun araw na yun. At least while falling in line dami kmi napagkwentuhan ni Zen and catching up sa mga bali-balita sa pinas and You-Know-Who. Then picture taking with Liberty wanabes statue na kailangan mo palang magbigay ng dollar to pose with them, so nakipose kami, buti na lang generous tong si Zen for shouldering all the expenses :P. Finally ayan na on board na kmi sa Circle Line Ferry, but you have to passby security check again parang sa airport removing your belts and bags for xray check. I can see Liberty now, kumakaway na sya!:P Kala ko super laki sya, I mean parang ang taas taas kse nya sa mga pictures but when you reached the foot of the pillar not that high naman pla mukha syang malaki kse nakapatong pa sya. I did not bother to climb up na co'z same sight din naman makikita mo from there, we just took lots of pix, she as our background then lakad lakad enjoying the sight from this Island seeing Manhattan's skyscrapers and New Jersey on the other side. I can say, you've never been to NY, if you failed to see Liberty :). We had our lunch here burgers lang and fries then I just bought a key chain, ref magnet and liberty snow globe. Hindi na kmi bumaba sa Perris Island, I don't know what to see there pero sabi nila parang museum, I'm not really into museums so sabi ko kay Zen pass na lang maybe visit that some other time.

We return to Manhattan to meet up with Raquel, she's waiting at the Manhattan Mall then we had some snack while waiting for Bhit. Ayun finally complete na kami! Since nasa Empire State Bldg. na kami we decided to check it out. Teritoryo to ni Zen since this is where he's working, so me discount sya. Mahal din ha! $15 each to go to the viewdeck! Zen treated us all bale $9 each na lang co'z of his tenant discount, buti na lang. Dami din tourist, but the view here is really something, though sabi nila mas maganda daw talaga view from the Twin Towers, oh well, since Empire is the tallest bldg now after WTC was gone so no choice. Sandali lang kami, just took some shots and ayun tinuturo nila Zen and Bhit which part is downtown or uptown Manhattan then you can see New Jersey din from this angle, nakita ko na naman ang Central Park, which btw I have been there but just saw a bit of it maybe one of these days lilibutin ko yun esp now its fall season maganda ang colors ng mga trees.

After Empire State, we just stroll at 5th Ave. to see Macy's, and check out the shops. Bhit is bugging me to shop?! o nga naman we used to do this way back in pinas as our girl bonding thing when we were teens but this time Bhit wants to pay for it, hala ang generous ng mga friends ko ah! Awa siguro sila sa kin for what had happened to me and try to cheer me up by shopping hehehe! We checked out Gap and Banana Rep, one thing I noticed it's hard for me to find my size here?! ang laki ng small and even yung XS! You just have to really search hard, though good thing about these shops and other shops here they have the Petite Section but still not all styles have my size. Well, finally at Gap, Bhit got me this long sleeved orange striped shirt for fall and a maroon long sleeved shirt, buti fit naman hehehe! Thanks soooo much for a welcome gift! So sweet and generous of you Bhit!:)

At dinner time, we're supposed to eat at Olive Garden, kaso grabeh ang waiting time, so instead the group decided to check Applebee's, galit ata sa pera tong si Bhit at nag offer na naman na treat nya!:P oh well, tuwang-tuwa naman si Zen and Raquel. Ang laki ng servings, I had steak naku tataba talaga ako dito sa NY! and their dessert, wow to die for! Just forgot ang name eh pero it's a cake a very moist chocolate cake na mainit pa talaga ung filling ang saraaaaap! the best chocolate cake I've ever tasted! Super busog ako grabeh!:) And tired kalalakad the whole day but I had fun, the sights, the shops, the food and friends who keep me company for my first Manhattan tour. Thank you Bhit, Zen and Raquel for spending this day with mwah!:)

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