Tuesday, June 22, 2010

NYC Trip from Heaven and Hell


Getting to Germany was an adventure all by itself. I took the $16 Bolt Bus up to NYC to visit the beautiful Chrissy Anderson for what I though was going to be a total of 24 hours. We had a great dinner at a French Restaurant called DB Bistro Moderne on Monday night. On the menu was quite possibly, the best burger I have ever eaten, although, I’m not sure it should be in the same category as a Big Mac or Whopper. It is described on the menu as: "Sirloin Burger Filled with Braised Short Ribs Served on a Parmesan Bun, Pommes Frites or Pommes SoufflĂ©es. Needless to say, it was DAMN good!

My flight left at 6:30pm the next day from Newark, NJ, so I woke up on Tuesday morning, packed up my carry on suitcase, ate breakfast, and said my goodbyes to Chrissy, then took the $15 bus to Newark Airport around 3:30pm and arrived about an hour later.

I then found myself standing in line for the Air India Counter in Newark, after hauling about 300 lbs. of luggage from Manhattan to Jersey, looking down at my itinerary and noticing a discrepancy between my scheduled departure date and the date on my watch. I then double and triple checked the date on my watch, my phone, and my itinerary, and came to the very annoying conclusion that I had arrived 24 hours early for my flight. That’s even stretching it a bit for my father, who is the king of arriving at the airport EXTRA early!

I then schlep my 300 lbs of luggage back to Manhattan, to the Upper East Side, where Chrissy’s Aunt Gerri, graciously offered me a place to stay for the night in their family’s apartment. After arriving, I open my very large suitcase to get more clothes because I did not pack my carry-on suitcase for 2 days in NYC. I open it up and find that 90% of my clothes are damp and smell like mildew! My best guess is that something spilled in the storage compartment of the Bolt Bus from Baltimore to New York, and since I never opened my large suitcase, I never even noticed (I guess you get what you pay for). So not only am I staying in Chrissy’s Aunt Gerri’s home on 30 mins notice, I also have to trouble her with my smelly, mildew laundry. But she, of course, was great and told an (almost) equally embarrassing travel story from the past, which made me feel a little better.

The next day was not nearly as eventful. I woke up, ate a great NYC diner breakfast (again), relaxed, and then said goodbyes (again). Then hoped on the Newark Airport Bus at Grand Central Station (again), and arrived at Newark Airport around 4:30….(again). When I made it past security and into the terminal, I took an Ambien, drank a few pints of beer, got on the plane, and fell asleep. Next Stop: Frankfurt, Germany!!

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