All The Attractions

Summerfest

Who knew touring could be so tiring? Today's schedule was already busy before we left, but as we moved to and from in the city we added places to our list and the busy schedule became jam-packed.

It was nice to sleep in a bit and recharge my batteries after my first week of a college level course. For the begging of the afternoon, our cohort went with Megan, Milani and Beilul's RA to Summer fest which was basically a street fair. Summerfest featured interesting stands which sold clothing which lit up when it detected sound, mouthwatering barbecue lamb skewers, and thirst quenching lemonade. Originally when I heard that Summerfest was 16 blocks long, I was awestruck. However, when we arrived I was disappointed because almost each block had the exact same booths, selling the exact same thing. I would say that Summerfest is comparable to the Bay Area's Solano Stroll. While we were walking back, I was so excited to take a little detour to walk into NBC Studios, and see where all the filming takes place. Even though we didn't walk past the lobby I was so happy just to be able to say, I was in the same building that they film shows in!

NBC Studios

After bidding our goodbyes to Megan, our cohort minus Masao set out on foot to the Empire State Building, which surpassed my expectations. I knew it was a tall building, but from the base, it looks enormous. I really wanted to go to the observatory, but we decided against it because we wanted to go to Top of the Rock at night. Next on our list was Ground Zero.

I must say, I don't think the Big Apple is paying much respect to Ground Zero. In my opinion, Ground Zero should remain the way it is to remind people of the damage caused and the lives lost during 9/11. I find it disrespectful to have new skyscrapers being built just yards away from the devasted area.

Ground Zero

Finally, we wrapped up our day in Times Square which was amazing. I absolutely loved how lively the area was and the sheer amounts of people walking around was awesome. It had everything from a group performing Beatles hits, to advocates of Judaism and Islam, and to vendors selling souvenirs for much cheaper than the stores just across the sidewalk. By far, my favorite stand that I've been to so far was run by this foreign couple who sold pictures. The shots they took, or bought were amazing. I loved the tasteful applications of effects such as black and white which made the pictures look epic.

Times Square

Times Square

Times Square