Today's been a very, very long day. The flight was slightly
delayed taking off but we arrived roughly on time. However, it took over two
hours to get through immigration. The line just took ages to move. The US line
was moving much quicker – approximately half an hour from start to finish. The
people trying to get the lines moving even bought us water as they were concerned
we had been waiting so long and in such a hot environment. It was super warm in
there! After clearing immigration and collecting my bags, I got the AirTrain
($5) to Jamaica Station and from there I got the E line subway to W14th (the single
ticket costing $2.25). When I excited the station at street level, I struggled
to orientate myself so asked a few people if I was toward Jane Street and they hadn’t
heard of it (even thought I was just 4 streets away). I then decided to consult
my Google maps on my phone but that failed to load my current location. Finally
I asked someone if I was walking East or West and once I knew I was walking
West I knew I just had to head south to find Jane Street. The West Village is a
little harder to navigate initially as the blocks aren’t so strict in their
layout.
Once I found the hotel I was helped with my cases and the shown
the gadgets in my room. I was impressed with the hotel; my room was clean and
tidy as were the shared bathrooms. I didn’t hang around too long as I wanted to
head out and get something to eat for dinner. I grabbed my handbag and headed
out with no particular destination. I walked for 5 minutes or so and stumbled
upon the Bus Stop Cafe (corner of Bethune Street and Hudson Street) which I
remembered reading good reviews about. I got the last table in the restaurant
and had a beer and the pasta penne with broccoli ($17). The restaurant had a
nice relaxing atmosphere for a Saturday night with low lighting and candles which
allowed me to sit back, relax and watch the world go by outside.
Once back at the hotel I unpacked and watched a little TV before
sleeping. It felt like 2am so I slept pretty well as I was shattered.
