New York Road Trip Part 2: Lost in Lower Manhattan

Well, I am back below the Mason-Dixon line, de-stressing from my trip to Mets-land (being from Baltimore, I can't bring myself to mention the Yankees without leaving a bad taste in my mouth). It was good, though there was some definite stress - like my ATM pin number somehow ceasing to work, causing me to run around lower Manhattan for an hour trying to find a branch of my bank (a few people had that problem, so I don't think it was fraud - but I will be watching), THEN spending another hour or two getting lost on the subway (I now officially hate subways), and another half an hour searching in vain for a taxi that would take a passenger away from the winding streets of Chinatown and Little Italy!!!

But I will not allow it to get me down. I still enjoyed much of the stuff I did. Saw the World Trade Center (as I thought it would be, it was moving, far more than I had expected - that's all I will say). Also saw much of Chinatown, Little Italy, Soho and NoLita (NOrth of LIttle ITAly). Didn't get to do any Christmas shopping while I was there, though I did stop in Emc², the Soho / NoLita store of former Project Runway contestant Emmett McCarthy (he was one of my favorites). Didn't see him, but a nice person there let me know that if I was on a budget there were cheaper shops around Broadway (hey, maybe lots of people gasp at a $400 / blouse price tag). Also ran into a nice guy from Newcastle, UK (in northeastern England) at a bar the night before who told me about just how expensive London actually is (something to keep in mind when I visit next month). Didn't get a chance to go to the American Museum of Natural History, but I've seen it before, and really want to wait for the Hall fo Human Evolution to open back up. I just looooove that Australopithecus exhibit!

To tie this back into food, I did get a famous Sabrett's hot dog at a cart across from the mega Adidas store near Houston St. and Bowery. Tasty dog, though I still like Nathan's better.