the best that you can do is fall in love

And so we bid adieu to New York City. Our last few days were not the best, but they wrapped up our extended stay there nicely.

Our second to last day was the most touristy of them all. We booked a bus tour of NY movie and TV locations. It was early, so we decided to get breakfast near the pick up site in Times Square. Knowing how much I hate Times Square, my fiance asked several times if this plan was OK with me. I said yes, figuring we didn't really need to eat in actual Times Square. Unfortunately, this was the only day it actually rained. Cold and miserable and without an umbrella, I agreed to eat at the first place we could find that was either close to the subway station or close to where the bus would pick us up. The bus was picking us up outside Ellen's Stardust Diner. Did you know the wait staff sings between serving up pancakes and chicken strips? Somehow I missed the sign out front announcing this fact. The concept is kind of cool, but the volume on the speakers was way too loud, especially for 10am.

Then on to the tour, which mercifully was in a fully inclosed bus. (Despite the rain there were still many people on the open top double decker bus tours. These people truly understand the YOLO motto.)  Our tour guide was funny, and the tour itself was quite good. We passed famous buildings, parks, and monuments featured in television and film, and watched accompanying clips on the bus' TV screens. The highlights: the apartment exterior from Friends, the firehouse from Ghostbusters, and Washington Square Park featured in everything from When Harry Met Sally to I Am Legend. And speaking of When Harry Met Sally, after the tour we did some extended movie site seeing, and ate lunch at Katz's Delicatessen. The fake orgasm jokes have already started on Facebook...

Then came our final day. My fiance is a huge baseball fan, and couldn't leave without seeing a Yankee game. Literally, he couldn't leave. He added an extra day in New York onto the trip because the Yankee's had been on the road the previous week and a half.

I don't particularly like baseball, but visiting Yankee Stadium was actually quite fun. We did the stadium tour, which is surprisingly cheap ($20 per person) and pretty cool. The new stadium has a museum of team memorabilia and a monument garden. Both are open before games, but you have to fight the crowds to get in. Good luck getting decent photos when you do. The tour gives you better access, with a much smaller group. Plus, you get a friendly and knowledgable tour guide to answer all your questions, and lovingly poke fun at other less decorated teams. Then the part you've paid for: sitting in the actual Yankee dugout.

At this point I'd like to apologize to my father. He is a Red Sox fan. He will surely blame my presence at Yankee Stadium for any Sox loses this week. Somehow by entering the House Directly Adjacent to the House That Babe Built, I disrupted the heavens and cursed the Sox. Unless they win, and then I will be strongly advised to attend a home game next year.

And that was New York. We woke this morning to clear skies, but cold temperatures. Getting the rental car out of the city was easier than I anticipated, and I can now check "drive a car in New York city" off my bucket list.

Do I love New York? I think I might. Could I live there? Maybe, but I might be kidding myself. It's fun to imagine myself visiting museums on the weekends, jogging through Central Park, and finding new eateries. But short of winning the lottery, it's just not fiscally possible.

So on to Boston, where I plan on giving the fiance a lesson on the Revolutionary War. Should be interesting.