New York

We kicked off our Greek vacation with a relaxing weekend in the Big Apple where we saw almost everything but a broadway musical. Not for lack of trying mind you. In fact, we arranged our whole first day around attempts at tickets in the lottery, fitting the Met(ropolitan Museum of Art) between two showings of Wicked. Our luck was so bad that our friends were 3 of 6 people who failed to win in a group of 20 vying for tickets to Hairspray. I know, it's almost inconceivable, but somehow we made it happen. Perhaps that's why we took matters of tourism into our own hands and tried to break into Carnegie Hall...legally. We merely acted like we had somewhere to go, which we did, and strutted right into--drumroll please--a random hallway. Yep. So we moved on. We walked around so much that day that our joints were screaming for vengeance...which we almost took out on the people who made us walk around in circles looking for a place to eat dinner. As a result, when McCall's old boss met us for lunch the next day in a car we seduced him...with our wit and natural charm...we may go to nude beaches in Greece but we're still good LDS girls. He drove us to see the Statue of Liberty and then Central Park. In return we bought him a hot dog. Him and the bum who demanded a papaya drink to wash it all down. In this day and age, beggars apparently can be choosers.

Bart wasn't the only one kind enough to take care of us. Of course none of this would have been possible if not for our sponser, Caleb, who sacrificed his room, his bed, his air mattress, his puppy, and his soul for us. He even made us an elaborate breakfast after we got in at 6:30 am that first day...not to mention dinner a couple days later. We gave him a cupcake.

We rounded out our visit with a trip to H&M where I managed to spend more than Stef despite buying one less item of clothing--which, if you know either of us, is indeed noteworthy--and Canal Street where I spent no money whatsoever. Then we bid adieu to the land of capitalism and reasonably sized showers and spent the next 9 hours on a plane vacillating between semi-conciousness and extreme discomfort.