Sista, sista

My oldest sister Beth came to visit this past weekend, and I am slowly recovering. Here's why:

Thursday

I pick Beth up at Penn Station in the afternoon and we walk the couple blocks to the Empire State Building. We decide not to go to the top and head back to my apartment in Brooklyn, get a slice at Luigi's, and eat it on the Pratt campus. We take the train to the Brooklyn Bridge and walk over it and through DUMBO where we split a chocolate chip cookie from Jacques Torres' chocolate shop. So rich, so delicious. After sitting in the park and watching the sunset and the passing dogs we take the G train to this Polish restaurant called the Golden Cafe in Williamsburg. I like taking visitors to this cafe because it is cheap and different and just plain tasty. We retire for the evening.

Friday

Breakfast at John's Donuts on Myrtle Avenue, and then SIX HOURS AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART. The newly renovated American Wing is pretty stunning. I suggest checking it out even if American decorative art isn't your thing because the layout and computerized information stations are very exciting. In case you were wondering if the rumors are true, it is nearly impossible to see everything in the Met in one day. We only went through about half of the building in those six hours. However, if you are a financially strapped student, the Met is a great place to spend a few days because you can do it for $0.25 if you want (the suggested ticket price is $20, but many people don't realize that this is truly just a "suggested" amount, and that you can pay whatever you want). Watch out for the cafeteria, however, where $15 salads are the only salads.

For dinner we walked south through Central Park towards Serendipity 3 and split a creamy chicken crepe and frozen hot chocolate, which the restaurant is famous for. By this time, believe it or not, it was 9:00 and we were exhausted so home we went.

Saturday

Breakfast at Choice Cafe and the express train to Battery Park to catch a ferry to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. The view of Manhattan from the ferry is enough to make the trip worth it. The islands themselves aren't half bad either. Although we didn't opt for the ticket that included entrance into the Statue of Liberty, I felt satisfied just walking around it and marvelling at the amount of welding that must have gone into all of those green folds. We spent more time on Ellis Island. My favorite bit of information that I learned was about the fiances who would get married upon landing because women weren't allowed to leave the island with a man who wasn't related to them. I also can't help but mention that I had a surprisingly good and cheap cheeseburger from the island's cafe.

Soon after landing in Manhattan again we headed to Canal Street and quickly left it. I suppose that everyone should experience at least once the chaotic maelstrom of haggling and aggressive venders that is Chinatown's Canal Street, but I stringently avoid it unless I need art supplies from Pearl Paint. From what I know, if you head farther east towards the Manhattan Bridge it becomes a lot more bearable. Also, to Canal Street's credit, Beth did find those cotton pajamas that I loved so much when I was younger and bought two pairs for her boys.

Anyway, Little Italy is just north of Canal so we ate a lovely dinner there and sat for the better part of an hour just people-watching. Then it was home for the night and some much needed foot resting.

Sunday

At this point Beth and I were just done. We ate breakfast at Bergen Bagel, rode to Penn Station, and bid each other adieu. Thank you dear sister for wanting to go places I might not have gotten around to going to and especially for paying for most of it. I appreciate it, and so does my student budget.