I chose to park in the Central garage. All along, I planned to park in Economy, but for 2 bucks more a day, why not? Plus I didn't want to wait on a bus to get me to the terminal either.
So GSO is not the most efficient airport in existence. The ticket counter line was moving brutally slow line. The usually efficient bag drop line was more of a bag drop/rebooking line. We did get through and actually got the last two seats. Terry standby passengers didn't make it on. One thing's for sure, I don't miss flying regularly on the smaller American Eagle planes.
Flight was smooth, luggage no issue. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Astoria. Thankfully, they do offer a free shuttle from the airport. Unfortunately, our room was not ready at 10:30 am. So after an hour of sitting around waiting for word that it would be ready, we left our luggage at the front desk and headed towards the One Bite Pizza Festival on Randall's Island.
We had to take the M60 bus west into Harlem and then connect to another bus back east to get to the island, which is located between Manhattan and Queens. It was supposed to be the X80 express bus, except it never showed up. So instead, we and about 40 other people took the M35 bus, which still got us to the festival.
Now there were about 40 pizzerias in attendance, from New Haven, Boston, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York City, New Jersey, Chicago, Michigan, even Hot Springs, Arkansas and Garland, Texas. All the Pepsi was free, and I got through 1.5 cherry Pepsis before I was dying for a sip of water. Unfortunately, each 16 oz bottle was 4 bucks; I do think a filling station would've made sense. They also had a few other food samples like sausage and nearly raw green pepper on a stick, pesto pasta, and a mozzarella stick with marinara. Oh and I also scored two free containers of Italian seasoning and green Chile flakes!
But back to the pizza. I'm pretty sure I tried 20 pizzas. After about pizza number 9, they start to blend together. But my 3 faves were Frank Pepe from New Haven, Prince St from NYC, and Lupo from Pittsburgh. I was incredibly let down by Modern Apizza from New Haven though. I'd heard a lot about it, but it didn't come close to Frank's.
I did grab a free cherry Italian ice and Ferrara's cannoli on my way out too. The challenge was getting back to the hotel. First, it was hard enough finding the Uber spot. We did not want to take the bus back into Harlem just to take another one in the opposite direction to Queens. Besides, our hotel was only three miles away from the festival site. How hard could that be?
Here's how hard. 4 Uber drivers canceled on us and we canceled on one other because he took at least 6 wrong turns in 20 minutes. With each cancel, my answer was rising and rising. Finally one guy picked us up and took us back to the hotel. I was just drained. I was so happy to get in the hotel and just take my shoes off.
After an hour so of rest in the room, we headed for dinner. We chose a Greek restaurant that mom found called Lokoumi Tavern. We got a table near the street, to paraphrase Billy Joel. A basket of fresh pita bread with some oil and vinegar for dipping. I came to realize that these restaurants give out the pita bread so you'll order a dip for it like tzatziki, or hummus, or eggplant.
We ordered the chargrilled octopus. I liked the smokiness, but it was a touch dry. I used some of the provided lemon wedges and that did help. But octopus is hard to cook just right, where it's tender. We never have found octopus on the level of Costa Rica. The Greek salad was very refreshing; I needed some veg after all that pizza! Tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, black olives, triangular pieces of feta cheese over some shredded greens. Good stuff. I still don't know if our waiter was a man or woman. The voice was deep, the haircut was masculine, the name was Jeannie...I have no clue. And the other thing, why is the BO so pronounced? I'm sorry, but it's really a thing!
And so came Saturday. I got a quick lift done in the gym. Allie, one of the hotel clerks, was so cute. And she's from Greensboro. She's planning to be an actress. all the best, because she was a sweetheart.
Anyway, for breakfast, Mom and I wanted some real NY bagels. So I found Brooklyn Bagels on Ditmars Blvd and they have several locations throughout the city. I took 15 minutes to walk there and another 15 to walk back. Much to my disappointment, they got both our sandwiches wrong. They left the American cheese off one sandwich. On the other sandwich, I got an everything bagel when I wanted a poppy bagel. The sandwiches still tasted wonderful, but despite me ordering online, they still weren't made as we requested.
We streamed church from the hotel room. I then left and took the Q19 to Citifield for Mets vs Rangers. Unfortunately, Mom stayed in the room to work on tour prep. I think I left in the seventh inning, once the bullpen started to give the game away. Thankfully, the Mets did win in extra innings. Foodwise, I loved the pastrami sandwich; I never go to the stadium without getting one. The Nathan's hot dog with mustard was just right. And I took down 2 huge spiked Arnold Palmer cans.
For dinner, we went to another Greek restaurant, this one was Telly's Taverna. We had a table on the street, just just near the street. We split the whole red snapper, which they served with a bottle of lemon infused olive oil. And that was really it. A little overly crusty bread, but that was good. Sure I could've eaten more, but I felt content. Until they brought out the eight free donuts drizzled with honey and cinnamon, or loukoumades. Yes I said free. I think I took 6 of them down by myself. We also split a carafe of Greek red blend wine. So it was fish, wine, bread, and donuts. Very Biblical meal.
Mom had to leave early on Monday to catch her plane to Boston. So once she left, and I had everything to myself, I used the elliptical for about 3 miles. I'm not even sure why, considering how much walking I knew I'd be doing that day. No, I knew I could use a little cardio after all I'd been eating. And my right Achilles is still tighter than I would like, so I don't plan to run again for a couple of weeks.
After breakfast and a shower, I took the W line to the Battery, the southern tip of Manhattan. If the weather is good, I always ride the Staten Island Ferry. Two free rides, about 25 minutes each. It's an easy hour to kill with plenty of great photo opps. Bridges, the Statue of Liberty, the NY skyline. And more than that, after spending two days in such crowded congested neighborhoods, the feeling of traveling in the water was so freeing.
I then took the W line back to Canal St to the Feast of San Gennaro. I started with a chargrilled Italian sausage and peppers sammich from Lucy's. About a footlong too! This is pretty much a rite of passage at this festival. Not getting an S&P is like going to New England and not getting seafood. I also got a bowl of meatballs with a little bread for $10. They were good, but really, they needed some extra grated cheese, and maybe a little fresh basil. I also took down a fresh Arnold Palmer for ten bucks. I really only spent a little over an hour at the festival. Once I was done, I was gone. My issues were there were very few places to sit and eat and I also could not locate a single restroom. And I had a good 32 oz of Arnold Palmer in me. So when I did eventually get to a men's room in Bryant Park, let's just say I was very relieved.
Then came trips to the NHL store, NBA store, and MLB store. And I wound up buying nothing at any of the stores. After getting a new hat at the Mets game the previous day, I decided I'd made enough 40 dollar purchases. I did see a nice Rangers 3/4 zip pullover, but no way was I spending 120 dollars for it.
As I referred to earlier, I always enjoy stopping by Bryant Park, sitting down, and doing some people watching. I took a seat in front of the fountain and just took it all in while playing some music.
With all the crazy going on in the city, meaning the car horns, the random yelling, etc, I felt a need for a little quiet so I walked into St Patrick's Cathedral and spent some time in a pew in prayer. I may not be Catholic, but I'm thankful to be able to go into a church like this and refocus and recalibrate.
Before exiting Manhattan, I had to stop by Junior's in Times Square to have the best cheesecake on earth. I sat at the bar and opted for the apple crumb cheesecake. Just remarkable, especially with those cinnamon streusel crumbs on top. I also ordered a turkey and pastrami sandwich for the road. I didn't think about it at the time, but I should have asked for Swiss cheese on it too. And sadly, no pickles in my order. But the man working the bar was super cool, he gave me some good recommendations, he kept my beverage glasses full.
Then came 30 minutes back to Astoria and a 15 minute walk back to the hotel. Sadly, Ally was not there. So I took the shuttle early and got to the airport much sooner than I needed to. I think I was through security around 4:45, so I had about 3 hours to kill before boarding. And I swear I wanted a drink to help my relax and to help pass the time. Maybe it's a good thing I'm tight with my money because I can't justify spending 14 bucks for a Coors light.
Thankfully I got a first class seat on the plane and had a nice Woodford bourbon and ginger ale. As I type, I'm waiting for the gruff flight attendant to ask me if I want a second round.
Update: I did get a second round, but it happened right before we began the landing process. I think I managed to get half of it down.
