Archive for March, 2010

I don’t remember how old I was when I last climbed up the steps of Lady Liberty. I think I was definitely in elementary school. My boyfriend mentioned a few times that he’s never been to the Statue of Liberty and that he’d like to when the weather nice. Early last week, I decided that since the weather was being predicted as “nice” for the weekend, we would venture to one of the biggest tourist traps in NYC. I was interested to see the Statue of Liberty and perhaps even climb her. I did my research online and found out that in order to climb up to the crown, I would need to book those tickets like 1.5 months in advance. I was disappointed, but I was able to book tickets to the pedestal (which was free). I then did further research and the Statue of Liberty website recommended to spend about 4.5 hours to do both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

On Friday, Jeff and I went down to the Financial District and had a leisurely early lunch at Tajin. We both had huge yummy burritos. We then walked down to Battery Park. The weather was indeed beautiful. To my shock, I saw a HUGE line wrapping around the park. I got in line assuming it would be for the ferry. I checked with the tourists ahead of me and they confirmed it was for the ferry and that it’d be about 1.5 hours before we boarded. I let Jeff roam around the park and take photos while I waited. I didn’t really mind since the weather was so nice. About 45 min later, we got on board for the ferry. The ride was really nice. We saw some amazing views of the NYC skyline as well as the Statue of Liberty. We arrived at Liberty Island just in time for our 2pm reservation to climb up the steps. I put my bag in a very high tech locker (they asked for my fingerprint) and we rushed to climb the 156 steps. First, we walked through an informative display of the history of Lady Liberty. It was pretty interesting. I got to sit on a model of her foot. It’s huge! Haha.

I was surprised how fast it is to climb up 156 steps. It’s really not much at all. We walked around and took more photos. Then we came down to the ground level outside and took even more photos. It was fun! We then headed on the ferry to Ellis Island. We were both a little disappointed with Ellis Island because it was really just a bunch of rooms with displays. You can listen to these audio interviews of Ellis Island immigrants, but I guess I would probably have enjoyed it more if I paid for my own audio tour or if they had a tour guide. Also, I wanted to look up Jeff’s family in the library, but it closed at 4pm. It was sad, but I read that we can do all our research online anyway.

After taking our last ferry back to NYC, we headed to Jeff’s favorite pizza place, Lombardi’s. It was pretty early for dinner so there was no line. We ordered a large pizza for two. We’re probably the only couple who dares to order a large. I only eat about 2-3 slices and I think Jeff eats 3 too. We took the rest to go so Jeff could feast on the leftovers later. After our lovely dinner, we headed towards the Kips Bay movie theater to watch Shutter Island. We were still early so we stopped by Red Mango for a nice light dessert. Strawberries and blackberries are delicious!

I was under the impression that Shutter Island would be really scary. It wasn’t as scary as I expected. Also, I really enjoyed it. It was a bit confusing to follow, but I think I understood what happened at the end. It helped that Jeff already read the book so he could clarify some details after the movie. We of course shared a medium popcorn which just made the movie even better for me. All in all, it was a long and wonderful Friday. I was so lucky to spend it with my baby!

Besides gorging myself with unhealthy carbs, I spend the rest of my time at the gym. Lately, I’ve been focused on indoor cycling (Spinning). I just realized that I’ve been spinning ever since I’ve graduated college, which would mean almost 6 years! It’s amazing how time flies when you’re just working in the real world. I’ve been spinning with this one instructor, Jess, for over 3 years, but she only started to chat with me at the end of last year. I saw that there was a fancy spinning studio that just opened a few blocks from NYSC and I asked if she had tried it. She said that their bikes are nothing special and that their thing is that they use dumb bells while spinning. She recommended that I try Ride The Zone because their bikes are different and actual “move” while you’re spinning.

I went to their website and was definitely interested. I asked my friend who is also obsessed with spinning to go with me. We both reserved our bikes online and paid $30 (yeah it’s a bit EXPENSIVE) for our ride. I rented bike shoes because I heard that it’s just THAT much better. Wow, the bikes were like no other. Our instructor, Nicky, had to help me get clipped into the bike since the whole bike moves. I was under the impression that only the handle bars move, boy was I wrong! My first ride was a bit petrifying. I was glad I got bike shoes because at least I wouldn’t fall out off the bike. It was really difficult to stand and ride because you have to balance your entire body. Also, I had trouble doing the “turns”. The rest of the students seemed to be professional riders and they were pedaling so fast. I had a feeling they had almost no resistance on their bikes. There’s no way they could be spinning so quickly without sweating!

I went back to the studio once more because I thought that it was only $15 if you do a walk-in. To my disappointment, this only applies to classes before 7:30am and after 4:30pm. I had a different instructor who did more hill work (my forte) and I did get better with balancing on the bike. Soon after, I purchased a pair of Pearl Izumis for less than $40 on Sierra Post. I even found a special coupon so I could save even more. When my shoes finally arrived, I literally ran to the bike shop around the corner (right before they closed) so they could install the clips. I must agree, spinning with cycling shoes makes a big difference. It seems that I can pedal faster than when I wore regular sneakers. I heard that by wearing these shoes, you work more muscles. Who knows, at least I feel cool in my class since the majority of the spinners wear regular sneakers.

Less than 12 hours before my next spinning class. Hurrah! I need to find people who will go spinning with me at Ride The Zone. It’s just much more fun that way. I just don’t know how many of my friends are willing to pay $30 for a 45 min class. I guess we can go to an evening class to save 50%.