saturday in NYC – top of the day to ya

St. Patrick’s day in NYC was unlike any I have had before. I suppose that goes without saying when you’re in the self-proclaimed greatest-city-ever. The day started with E and I putting on our best green gear, and truckin’ through the neighborhood to the subway. Needless to say, if we didn’t stick out like the whitest-white people ever before walking these streets, dressing up for St. Patties day really made us stick out.

On the subway, we were happy to see a big guy wearing an all green track suit with a buddy wearing more green. A little bit into the ride he leaned over and asked if we were Irish. We laughed and said no, he said E really fit the bill {the goatee really did him in I think haha}. He just wanted to know if it was “top of the day to ya” or “top of the mornin’ to ya”. We told him the correct slogan and he punched his buddy in dismay, since apparently his bet was the wrong one. We had some good laughs as they wandered off the train at the next stop.

We had quite a few subway transfers on our way to the parade on 5^th Ave. We took a few minutes to eat our breakfast sandwiches. Lemme just say, oh.em.gee. They were amazing! Even the drunk students across from us said something about how great they looked. Cinnamon raison bagels + 3 eggs + swiss cheese = bagel sammy perfection!

Closer to Manhattan, the city was jam packed. Lots and lots of green people. We found our way through the crowds towards the central park wall. We snuck between some girls with neon green tutus, flasks and St. Patrick’s day Mardi Gras necklaces with green shot glasses attached, stealing their spots to sit on the wall. It was a pretty prime seat, but the wall was pointed so my butt took a beating and my legs kept falling asleep. I spent most of the time people watching instead of parade watching…so entertaining. We left before it was over to avoid the crowd that we knew would be inevitably stressful. Next we planned to go to St. Patrick’s Cathedral {nice timing, ay?} But it turned out to be a bust since the entire front street of the church was barricaded off due to the high demand I suppose. 

{Soon I would yell, cars!}

We made our way through the streets back towards the Washington Square Park area. It was complete madness. People were just walking through the main streets, which is not supposed to happen normally. A plethora of drunk teens, middle aged ladies and old men in cute green suits.

Finally we made it to the park {adding some fresh cut mangos to our possessions from a street vendor}. The park was wonderfully crowded. I love this time of year back home when everyone spends every minute they can in the sunshine, crawling out of the winter caves full of seasonal depression…and this need for vitamin D was even more evident in this grand city. Somehow, I stupidly forgot to bring a Frisbee, so E brought a Frisbee golf disk along to toss. It was not as great as a pretty ultimate disk, but still nice.

Next we hit some bars for afternoon holiday brews! The first place we went to, gave us a free round on the house! We think it’s just cause we’re cute, but who knows.

One of my favorite parts of the night was when E almost grabbed a random man’s hand on the sidewalk. When we are walking in a crowd, being the gentleman he is, he always holds his hand back for me to grab. At one point we got a little more separated than he thought and when he reached back, it was right in front of a very metro looking man wearing all black. His face was priceless - a little confusion – perhaps a little intrigue. I just sped up, grabbed E’s hand, giggled and said sorry to the guy.

Top of the day to ya :) 

See more from my NYC trip here: 1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6