Day 4 in New York: Thursday. Saint Patrick's Day.
Ty and I didn't have anything in particular planned for Thursday morning. We slept in a bit, because all the walking and sight-seeing was starting to catch up with us. (At least it was catching up with ME!)
However, once we'd gotten ready for the day, we still had plenty of time to catch the famous St. Patrick's Day Parade on 5th Avenue. We dressed up in our green t-shirts and set out.
A quick note for anyone that might be considering a trip to New York:
IF YOU DON'T LIKE CROWDS, AVOID 5TH AVENUE ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY AT ALL COSTS!!!
It was a complete MADHOUSE!!! It took us 45 minutes to push our way through a single block of that ridiculous crowd. This crowd seemed to be mostly made up of teenagers. Not just any teenagers, DRUNKEN teenagers. It was freaking 11 AM and more than half of them were drunk off their rockers. It was insane.
Okay, rant over. If you couldn't tell, I am one of those crowd-hating people to whom the above warning would have applied. I know it seems like common sense, but I seriously thought the crowd would have been more manageable than that.
I was wrong. It's not manageable at all. If you don't like massive, shoving, drunken, obnoxious crowds, just STAY AWAY and watch the parade on TV.
Anyway...the rest of the afternoon was mostly made up of us exploring a few places that we hadn't gotten to yet. Ty wanted to look through some antique shops. They were interesting, but we didn't end up buying anything.
We had dinner reservations again that night. We went to a Scottish pub called St. Andrew's. I'd never been to a pub before, but let me just say this: If they're all like St. Andrews, I'd be there a heartbeat. The atmosphere was exactly opposite from that of The Lamb's Club, but it was a LOT of fun. I'd go back tomorrow if I could. (Who am I kidding? I'd go back to New York tomorrow if I could, let alone St. Andrew's!)
The food was amazing, and we had an exquisite view of the bar across the street, where drunken girls were leaning over the railings of the balcony and throwing their St. Paddy's day beads to equally drunken men on the street. Good times. Goooood times.
Anyhoo, after dinner we had some time to kill before our show started, so what else do you do in Times Square when you have time to kill? Go souvenir shopping, of course!
Side Note: As we walked around Times Square, we were passed by a couple. The clearly inebriated man was basically carrying his positively SMASHED girlfriend down the street to...wherever they were going. I've never seen anyone as drunk as this girl was. She must have been at it since 7:00 that morning.
Anyway, moving on...We picked up a few last minute items and dropped them off at the hotel before heading over to 42nd Street--Yes, THAT 42nd Street--to see Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."
The show was a lot of fun, and when it was over, we took one last walk around. At my insistence, we also made a final stop at Roxy's Delicatessen for a farewell slice of their heavenly cheesecake. Aaahhh...Roxy's. You shall forever hold a dear place in my heart...
After Roxy's, it was close to midnight, but we just HAD to stop at the amazing little place called The Colony. (We'd hit this store a few times during our time in New York as it was quite close to our hotel, but this time I actually bought something!)
Hang on...for those of you who don't know what The Colony is, here's a basic overview:
The colony is a music store. It's filled with row upon row upon row upon row of sheet music from every band, singer, broadway show, movie and anything else you can possibly think of. My jaw just about dropped to the floor the first time I walked through that place. It's extraordinary.
"But Candice," you may wonder, "what did you actually choose to buy out of this incredible selection of sheet music?"
To that I say: Duh! Of course I got 'The Best of the Beatles!' This book is about 2 inches thick and chock FULL of their best songs ready for guitar AND piano! It's a beautiful thing!
After Ty finally managed to drag me out of The Colony, we went back to the hotel.
We finished packing (thankfully, most of it had been done that afternoon before dinner) and went to bed, setting our alarms to wake us up in time to catch the shuttle to the airport the next morning...
Perfect end to an awesome trip
ReplyDeleteI would love to go there some time
I am definitely one of those crowd-hating people. I don't even go to Times Square anymore. You see it once, you're good.
ReplyDeleteDrunken teenagers...yeah, I will be taking your advice and not attending any parades if ever I do make it to NYC and they happen to have a parade while I'm there. I HATE crowds and I hate Teenagers and I hate drunk people...so put it all together in a crowd of drunken teenagers and I'd have a panic attack or something. Thank you for the warning, Candice.
ReplyDeleteOh! We have a book that matches that description! We sell that kind of music! We don't have nearly as wide a selection as Colony does because we're not solely a sheet music store...but we have a fabulous collection of Beatles music thanks to the obsession of yours truly. It's hard to keep it in stock because it's popular...but we do try! You should take a picture so I can see if it's the same book by the same publisher.
So glad you had fun, but I'm even more glad (gladder?) that you're back. You've been back for a while, I know. But I'm just saying. You were missed.
Mynx: It was an amazing trip. I loved every minute of it. :)
ReplyDeleteNicki: Times Square actually wasn't all that bad most days we were there. Of course we were there during the off-season. Either way, the trip was still fantastic.
Chanel: I'm glad my warning has done some good. St. Paddy's day in New York is NOT for the faint of heart, that's for sure!
I'll take a picture of my music book and post it with the rest of the pictures from Thursday. You DEFINITELY need to see the Colony. I think you'd appreciate it as much as I did. :)
Awww...thanks. It's nice to know I was missed, and it's good to be back. :)
I hate parades anyway, live or on TV, so never will I be in New York on the day of any parade. Seems like a thing built for punishment. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteOoh, my family and I hit up NYC one St. Patrick's day, and it wasn't nearly as eventful as yours! I think it was so freaking cold, everyone was shivering their alcohol away. And great music stores are the best; made even better by the fact that they're basically a dying breed. Your trip sounded awesome!
ReplyDeleteI have the 'Beatles Complete Scores'. It has all of their songs in the keys that they played them in. It is a great book.
ReplyDeleteI'm not much on crowds myself. I would have turned around and gone back to my room. I get really aggravated by the type of people you described.
It looks as though you got to enjoy some great shows.
Brent: Yeah, I'm not really into parades either, but we wanted to be on 5th avenue for some of the shops and just got sucked into the chaos. We'll just have to watch the timing if we ever decide to try THAT again. :)
ReplyDeleteElizabeth: It was incredibly warm for the middle of March. No alcohol was shivered away by any of those revellers. They got the full benefits, trust me.
Great music stores are indeed a dying breed. It's too bad, really. I loved walking aroud that store. It was fabulous. :)
George: Your book sounds awesome! I love the Beatles. They rock out loud.
Crowds suck. They really do. I try to avoid them at all costs. If Tyler hadn't been there to bravely act as my human shield, I probably would have curled up into a ball and laid there on the sidewalk, crying and praying that I wouldn't be trampled to death.
The shows were SOOO amazing!!! I loved them all! :)