Things I would do if I ever went to New York City:

1. Ride the subway
2. Visit Central Park
3. Go to a Yankees game and root for the opposite team
4. Visit Wall St. during trading hours
5. Check out Times Square, possibly say “hi” to Al Roker
6. Go shopping in shops I can’t afford to shop in on 5th Avenue
7. Stop by the location of the WTC
8. Go to one of the many museums and art galleries
9. Go bar hopping in a trendy “village” in Manhattan
10. Eat somewhere with small portions and large bills
11. Visit the Empire State Building
12. Visit the Statue of Liberty
13. Buy fake designer goods from a street vendor
14. Throw risk to the wind and eat a hot dog from a street vendor

Things I didn’t do in New York City and neither should you:

1. Take pictures of the poor bums on the street, while attempting to appear concerned
2. Pose for pictures in front of Ground Zero with smiles on your face

Things I did in New York City that I would not recommend doing:

1. Walking 2.9 miles in downtown Manhattan when the 2 train would drop you off a block from where you need to be
2. Visit Queens, even if it saves you $30 on a cab ride to the airport
3. Staying on Wall St. on a weekend, it’s lifeless and boring
4. Go to Central Park with a.) no plan of attack and b.) no blanket

Things that surprised me about New York City:

1. It wasn’t nearly as dirty as I thought it would be
2. The people were, for the most part, nice and helpful
3. The NYPD does an amazing job of keeping bums and rif raft out of Manhattan. I counted about 5 bumbs total, which is about 300 less than I counted the last time I visited Fisherman’s Warf in San Francisco.
4. Wall St. is a complete ghost town on the weekends
5. The subway system, despite its legendary status, is largely a pile of crap

Overall, I had a good time in New York City. I can honestly say, though, that I don’t understand what draws people to the city. It smells, and wasn’t extremely exciting. Though it doesn’t smell as bad as New Orleans and is infinitely more exciting than Ypsilanti.