What an awesome day! I still remember it quite distinctly.
A couple days ago, I celebrated my birthday at Hartford with my UConn buddies and on the 23rd, I wanted to celebrate it in NYC. During this time, I was enjoying some relaxed time in between the semesters, so there was nothing much to do except applying to jobs and wishing to land one before graduating UConn.
To take my mind off from all this craziness and not to think about jobs and studies, I really needed this getaway and that’s why I booked some cheap bus tickets to spend only a single night at an AirBnb, and also allowing me to spend a couple nights exploring my most favorite city in the world! The plan was solid and I had enough wiggle room to let loose and have a relaxed birthday getaway.
I reached my AirBnb on the night of April 22nd and the host was gracious enough to guide me through the complicated directions. Though it was not my first time in NYC, I found it hard to navigate the metro lines. It took me almost an hour to reach his place, which was near to Central Park, which was the first place I wanted to visit the next day.
After checking in, I stepped outside exploring nearby places and attractions that NYC had to offer, before calling it a night with a slice of pizza and a diet coke (I know!).
The next day was my official birthday – April 23rd. The plan was to check out from the AirBnb explore Central Park the first thing in the morning. I had never visited Central Park, so I wasn’t sure how much time I would spend here. The next stop after Central Park was Coney Island, followed by Times Square, and then finally catching a bus to Hartford in the wee hours of the next day.
When I checked out of my AirBnb, the weather was extremely nice and I couldn’t have been happier soaking in all the Sun and enjoying the celebratory feeling of my 26th birthday. The first thing I did when I stepped out was to buy a cup of coffee. Back then, I wasn’t a coffee guy, so I poured in some sugar and cream in the coffee to make it taste like Chai. The coffee was so sweet and sugary that I took almost 2-3 hours to finish it and carried the coffee cup everywhere I went in the Central Park.
When I arrived at the park, I was completely blown away. The way there was a clear separation between the city limits, marked by the Hotel Amsterdam, and the entrance to the Central Park, I couldn’t imagine that scene before, so when I was actually witnessing it, the only thing I could do was appreciate the beauty of the park and the way people and city officials have managed to keep it from going extinct.
As it was the first time I was visiting Central Park, I couldn’t imagine how big it was and ended up spending almost 3-4 hours here. I visited many baseball fields, watching people play and soaking in the Sun at the same time. I saw many people biking in the park, and wished I could have biked as well. I saw many runners and appreciated the cool breeze that the trees in the park had to offer. I saw so many tulips, surrounding the small lakes. People were kayaking and canoeing in those lakes, which was something I couldn’t imagine doing myself, as I didn’t know how to swim.
There were countless things that I saw in the Central Park and wished I had more time to spend there as it was super relaxing and soothing at the same time.
After Central Park, it was time to head to Coney Island. The reason I chose to visit this place is because whenever I visited NYC in the past, I couldn’t visit this place and since it was one of the top 10 must visit places in NYC, I wanted to give it a try.
The sunny weather in the morning had turned cloudy by the afternoon and I remember reaching here by 4PM-5PM, which brought some chilly weather with the waves. Though it was cold, I enjoyed spending time here. This place turned out to be a kind of place families loved to visit since there were many joy rides and giant wheels for the kids and family. I didn’t go on any of those rides and just checked out what the place had to offer. After spending some time here, when it was time to head to the Times Square, I got some fish and chips and made sure the seagulls don’t attack me. The food was warm and a little spicy, just the kind of flavor you need during the cloudy weather.
The last place to visit for the day was Times Square. I always get happy whenever I visit this place, so when I got a chance to spend my birthday at NYC, Times Square was the place I wanted to be. When I reached the place, it was jam packed (as it always is). Apart from exploring nearby buildings and places, I didn’t know what else to do. I did do that for almost 3 hours, when I finally got tired of all the walking and exploring.
It was after this when I slowly saw people leaving Times Square and how it looks like when it is actually empty. I saw the crowd fading away slowly, sitting on a bench, alone eating my New York style pizza and sipping on some diet coke. Times Square had thousands of people, which reduced to hundreds, and in a matter of an hour, reduced to just a handful of people. I never saw Times Square this empty before and certainly the scene was opposite when I was here on the Christmas Day.
I had a bus waiting for me at 2AM to head to Hartford. I made sure my phone was charged and my tummy had some food in it, before jumping on that bus to Hartford. It was a well day spent, the kind of things I like to do on my birthday.
So many memories made and so many things learnt. Certainly, this will not be the last time I celebrate my birthday! Do check out some pictures.
Next stop is a flurry of Farewell parties from UConn. A busy semester is coming, as well!
stochasticity 