New York City - What a zoo!
Penguins are interesting little critters. They waddle all over the place and when they run, they stick their arms out behind them and waddle with vigor. Very interesting indeed.
We saw them at the Central Park Zoo yesterday.
We had never been to the Central Park Zoo before, and the juxtaposition of the wildlife set against the skyline of New York City was something that gave me pause. (No, not paws. That would have been markedly more zoo-appropriate, though.)
“Look, a polar bear!”
“Yes, and look! A skyscraper!”
Aside from some amusing (yet highly stinky) penguins, we explored the jungles of Africa, saw enormous snakes, watched sea lions leap in a fountain, and checked out three cuddling monkeys. (The monkeys, for the record, kept staring at us until we felt uncomfortable and left.)
Zoos are always excellent fun.
And so are merry-go-rounds, like the one in Central Park. It went a lot faster than we had anticipated. For $1.50, you can't have a better time. Even grown men like them. As seen in Exhibit A: The Chris-Go-Round.
Thanks to a late start and that low blood sugar, we snagged a cab to take us to Times Square instead of hoofing it. We ended up in one of those black Lincoln town cars (you were right, Lyrecha!) and convinced the driver to reduce his rate to something less astronomical. He did. Victory for the Rhode Islanders! We met up with my friend Batman and her boyfriend for dinner
in Times Square. (Note to self: A hamburger is never worth $16.99. Ever. Don't let the lights dazzle you. It should only have cost $6.00. Thieves. They burnt the bun, too.) And we didn't end up lost. Not even once. Which is a record for our directionally-challenged selves. Which is also why this picture exists: Me, standing exactly where I should have been standing, not lost in the slightest, looking surprised as hell.
"Hey! Know where you are?"
"Times Square!"
"We're not lost!"
"Yay!"
*click*
Comments
$16.99 for a burger in Times Square? Ouch. Hence the reason why I've lived in NY for 3 years now and I've been to Times Square like...twice. (And, incidentally, I've never yet been to the Central Park Zoo or to the top of the Empire State.)
Someday, when my life is less "CRAP I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO" all the time, you will come into the city and I will show you a Cuban place in SoHo where most of the entrees are under ten dollars...and worth every penny (and some). The drinks, though less of a deal, are also amazing.
Or there's a chain of Israeli-run hummus eateries in the village that's one of the best $10 meals ever...though bolusing for hummus is an art I have yet to master...
Or there's the strange phenomenon of the unusually large number of Thai restaurants around NYU, which means the prices tend to stay low because of competition...
Or, for a real adventure, there's the Jackson Diner in Jackson Heights, Queens, which is one of the cheapest and best Indian restaurants in the city (it's well known). It's right across the street from the Bollywood movie theater where a friend and I went to see our first Bollywood movie in a theater, and the movie turned out not to be subtitled...
Posted by: Jana | November 20, 2006 10:54 PM
Jana - Send me an email and we can finally coordinate our schedules! Getting into NYC is pretty easy for me from here. :) I'd like to check out the Thai places near NYU for definite.
Posted by: Kerri. | November 20, 2006 11:11 PM
I'm so jealous. I love NYC. The CPZoo is a great one and the price is excellent.
Posted by: julia | November 20, 2006 11:21 PM
Congrats on bargaining with a town car driver. Now you need to find cheaper eats in NYC. Anything in Times Square will be astronomical because it's a touristy place, but over on west 48th is tasty and reasonable Thai (Pongsri) and a few blocks away on 9th in the low fifties is tasty and reasonable sushi and rolls at West Side Sushi. I kept that place in business for years.
Posted by: Lyrehca | November 21, 2006 07:19 AM
Grr...AGAIN you were in my city and AGAIN you didn't call me. What's it gonna take, huh? Death threats?
Posted by: Angry Bob | November 21, 2006 10:36 AM
Ha! The mental image of the penguins running is great!!
Posted by: Scott K. Johnson | November 21, 2006 11:09 AM
Julia - The price can't be beat at that zoo. $8 for adult admission? That's a far cry from a $17 hamburger.
Lyrecha - I'm working on cheaper chow in NYC. Since we were meeting friends from RI, though, we needed to meet in a touristy place. That, and I'm still touristy. :) But I can't wait to check out some random places.
Angry Bob - You have left me a death threat on my blog. I'll definitely call you now. ;)
Scott - Chris and I watched this special on the Discovery Channel about penguins and it showed them waddling all over creation. Seeing the waddle in person made me almost keel over laughing.
Posted by: Kerri. | November 21, 2006 02:06 PM
Those pictures are a riot! I think I'll watch Madagascar again now. :)
Posted by: Johnboy | November 21, 2006 05:19 PM
I come down to NYC a lot... we should meet up some time!
Posted by: art-sweet | November 21, 2006 06:17 PM
JB - Exactly. Those penguins from Madagascar look like the real deal. I've never seen the movie but after we chatted, I Googled the hell out of it and now I'm up to speed.
A-S - Let me know when you're coming down this way and I would love to meet up with you!
Posted by: Kerri. | November 21, 2006 11:39 PM
Four more months! Four more months!!!
Posted by: Allison | November 22, 2006 12:57 AM
This is a picture of the best animal in the Zoo there!!
http://awesomeanimals.tripod.com/images/redpanda.jpg
Posted by: Batman | November 22, 2006 09:06 AM