we got a jump on the subway our first night in nyc to try and figure things out. we wanted our first full day to go a little bit more smoothly if possible. as soon as we got underground i was in love. we have a train system here in dallas, but it's not anything like the subway of nyc. the subway is old, and dirty, and dark, and gross. and i love it. using it makes you feel like a real new yorker, and once you figure it out (which wasn't too hard with a handy app) you can pretty much go anywhere you want. we mostly rode it during down times, but being on it during rush hour was quite an experience.
our second day we headed to soho and saw the flatiron while walking. it was cold and rainy, so the building didn't photograph well. next time. we happened upon a darling little coffee shop that i don't remember the name of with a wonderful little bookstore attached. i picked up a few of my favorite independent magazines. we also stopped in a 2 story madewell and i bought a pair of boots i'd been lusting over for months. on sale! we walked around some more, grew hungry, and headed over to chinatown where my sister suggested we eat at dimes. she'd read a lot about it and highly recommended it. and i do too, it was very delicious and VERY tiny. probably 8 tables in the whole place. after lunch, we headed up to the lower east side, stopped for coffee because let's face it, my ass is not used to walking 8 miles a day and i needed constant breaks and caffeine. we happened to be down there when a big 7 alarm fire and building collapse happened. it was very odd timing.
