The Adventures of Team Parker

We’re back in New York after leaving our semi-permanent home in Chicago. That in itself was such huge drama because we had loads of packing to do (ohmygod we have way too much shit!) and also cleaning and cleaning and more cleaning.

Anyway, so we got up at 5am this morning, washed, brushed and did some last minute packing/cleaning of all the things/areas we were still using. Then taxi to Washington/Wells and then a train to Midway Airport. We arrived late, checked in late, and so they couldn’t guarantee that our bags would get on the plane. By the time we got to the boarding gates, the attendants were making a last call for us. As we were the last two people on the plane, we had to sit in separate rows. When we landed on the other side, we got our overnight bag but found that the other one would only arrive four hours later. So we decided to leave it with the airline and collect it on Friday when we go back to the airport. Then a bus drive to Ronkonkoma station and a 90 minute train ride to Penn Station in NYC. This part was alright thanks to our travel Scrabble but when we got there we found out — here comes the horrific part — that somehow we’d managed to book the wrong hotel.

It’s complicated. (Same chain, same name, same general area, big difference.) The hotel we wanted to book is just off Manhattan Island, in Brooklyn, a few blocks from a subway station. The hotel we got is in Queens, 40 minutes away by an overland train which only runs once per hour. Drama!

So okay after initial dismay, panic, anger, irritation and all sorts of scary feelings we realize, okay no problem this is travelling on the fly or at least, on the cheap, roll with the punches and wotnot.

What can we learn from this experience? Double check your locations and when you print out that little confirmation slip, don’t just file it away until you need to check in. Actually check the address and check where it is on your Google map!

Lesson two: Call the hotel before you leave the airport to find out the best way to get there. Because we’d assumed that it was on the subway line and so accessible from anywhere in Manhattan, we didn’t do this. Instead we got a train all the way to Penn Station, then had to wait an hour to get the exact same train back to a stop half way to where we’d come from!

Sameer says we should call this blog “Nightmare in New York” but actually it was not that bad. Once we checked in, and found that it wasn’t too far from the train station (albeit in a slightly dodge area), and that the room was clean and comfy we started to chill.

So we caught another train back to Penn Station (in case you missed it, this was our third trip on the same line for the day) and eventually, at around 4pm in the afternoon, got to start wandering around. It was too late to go to the Met or the MoMa so we went to — where else — Crumbs and Bryant Park. (Oh, did I mention this was the first thing we ate all day?)

In case you weren’t lus enough the last time we went, here are some new pics that I took with the camera Sameer got me for my birthday.

Too many pictures of cupcakes you say? Forsooth! In the words of Samberg and Parnell, they’ve got “all the bomb frosting” and “we love these cupcakes like McAdams loves Gosling”. These were soooooo good! Sameer had the Devil Dog and I had the Blueberry Swirl. Hmmm… I need to experiment when I get back to SA. I love the way the blueberry preserve center goes all the way down to the bottom of the cupcake. Oooohhhh!!!

We took them to Bryant Park and ate them slowly. Then we felt sick. Then we went to go lie down on the grass. It was warmer than the last time we were there so there were a lot more people around just chilling, lying around, listening to music or reading or sunbathing.

We stayed there for a really long time, just lying on the grass, talking, and taking arb pictures with our new toy.

And then we went to Central Park coz we liked that a lot the last time too!

And then — where else when the sun goes down? — Times Square.

And then we had to haul ass again to get back to the train station (again). But it was alright and now we’re ensconced in our room and we have free internet and I’m blogging and checking out all of my pictures from the day and generally feeling good. Now for a hot shower. Bliss.