Applebee's Around the World

Well folks, we have one more day here in New York. We decided to stay in a hotel tonight and our last night because we were sick of staying with people who had weird room mates. The hotel has Internet and a shower, which are the two necessities we've been missing. It's nice to get into a clean place with all the latest amenities.

So let's see, what have we done? Most days we just head out looking for food and then do whatever we come up with during the day. We've been to Times Square several times but it's total crap. They have McDonald's, TGI Fridays, ESPN Zone (which, regrettably, we visited), Applebee's, and so on. Who on earth would visit New York and go to one of these crappy restaurants?

New York is all about finding the cool places, not the corporate whore places. The little pizza place on the corner, the deli full of scary looking people, and even the whole foods market in Columbus Circle (which is delicious), is what New York is all about.

So we've tried to stay away from the mainstream tourist traps for the most part. You can travel all over the world and eat at Hard Rock Cafe, but then you've just seen a bunch of the same place in a different setting. Nothing could be more lame.

So far, of all the places we've eaten, I like the whole foods market the best. They have a bunch of restaurants inside this health food store where you can find anything you want. The pizza, which is sold by the pound, is excellent. We've been trying to outdo one another with the amount of Pizza we can eat and so far I am the winner with a one pound piece of pizza. Go me.

Weird Room Mate

The last two nights we were staying at this kid Matt's house at Columbia University. Sleeping accommodations were surprisingly good, with two futons and a couch to sleep on - but his room mate is totally weird. Let me tell you about this kid.

First of all, he listens to the Howard Stern channel on satellite radio all day. And when I say ALL DAY, I mean ALL DAY - even if he is not home. He turns it up loud enough to fill the whole apartment, leaves his door open, and disembarks for his days journey.

The first morning we were there he started with the Howard Stern at about 7am, having no regard for us our our slumber. He then left the apartment for school, leaving his radio on and his door open. We eventually closed the door due to being unable to sleep. When he returned for lunch, he opened his door again, and left his music on.

I witnessed him leaving after lunch, opening the door to exit the apartment he paused as if he just realized something. He returned to his room and turned his light on, then left. The explanation for this bizarre behavior is unknown at this time - but I assume it has something to do with a jewish conspiracy to waste electricity for no reason.

The Towel

Staying at this apartment for two days presented another problem. Due to lack of towels, we were unable to shower. We set out after the first night to find towels. Unfortunately our chosen locale (Times Square) isn't exactly a hotbed of towel retailers and the Target located there according to a local has no entrance, a slight error that must have been made when they were building it (I don't believe there is a Target in times square).

Oli was so desperate to shower that he purchased a beach towel from Planet Hollywood for $22. Upon returning home for the evening, however, he realized that the towel smelled like Times Square and deemed it unfit for purposes of cleanliness and decided to go another day without showering. He eventually left the towel at Matt's apartment, unused. It wasn't even ever taken out of the bag.

Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience

While in town we were able to see the Late Show with David Letterman, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and The Colbert Report. Of all these, The Daily Show was my favorite. We were able to obtain VIP tickets by waiting in line all day Monday for standby tickets and then failing to get in. The lady there had mercy on us and put our group as well as two others on a special list, allowing us to bypass the line altogether on Wednesday. Our seats were excellent (stage right).

Oli also saw Conan O'brien today while Danny and I walked through central park. I'm glad he got to go as it was his number one goal, but Danny and I were studio-audienced out. Central Park was nice. We ate dinner with Merrady at a restaurant that was almost exactly like the one Zach Braff works at in Garden State. It was delicious.

Here are some pictures from our first few days in New York. I didn't bring my camera because Danny was bringing his and it's smaller. What I didn't realize was that Danny would never dream of using his camera because, well, he doesn't want to look like a tourist, or show any emotion or interest in anything. So these pictures are from Jake's camera.

Me in Jake's dad's apartment. Those are my cookies.

Me and Oli riding the subway. I like everything about public transportation
except how dirty you feel after touching any surface.

Ground zero. We went on Sept. 10 and Pres. Bush was there. We didn't stay
to watch his speech or whatever. There were lots of crazy people there
saying the government was behind 9/11 and other crazy people saying
not to listen to the first crazy people. It left me not trusting either side.

Oli and I ate the Lovely Day cafe.

Sitting on a rock in Central Park. I got the bag at H&M and it was about the
best thing for New York. Perfect for my map, wallet, and phone. McSteve got a
similar one when he was in New York so when I saw it I was reminded of how
awesome it was.

Danny and Oli in central park.

Guess who.

Jake and I walking back to his apartment after a long day of adventures.