After that we headed to Greenwich Village for our afternoon. We walked around and really just enjoyed the scenery and people. I really enjoyed the environment of the village because of its laid back atmosphere. It didn't feel like it was downtown NYC and that was a nice change. We stopped at this small pizza place to eat lunch and it turned out to be very good. It was authentic Italian pizza, accompanied by an Italian staff. I loved the atmosphere and Clarissa and I decided that we definitely liked that pizza better than American style pizza.
Especially near and dear to my heart was a small visit we made to Greenwich Village. As you may know, this year marks the 40th anniversary of Stonewall. (The beginning of the modern gay rights movement). It was really surreal to stand in the place where it all began. I had to take a moment and reflect about what happened there 40 years ago and how my life might be different had it not happened. Thanks to the many people who fought long and hard back then to make things better for those of us today. You were truly pioneers and we wouldn't be this far had you not sacrificed so much long ago. After Stonewall we walked near to the Washington Square park and saw the fake Arc de Triomphe as well as a big fountain. It was a very nice park and full of happy locals as well as tourists. Later in Greenwich we met up with Mike Glazer who joined us from NJ. We got on the subway and headed to Pier 17 where we shopped around for a bit and looked for a t-shirt for Clarissa's sister Andrea. It was a fun experience especially because Mitchel got to take some cool pictures of the Brooklyn Bridge. After the pier we headed to a comedy club that Mike got us tickets for. It was a really good experience and the two comedy troupes that performed were really funny. It was all on improvisation and the first group did a phenomenal job. After the club we headed to Times Square which proved to be a fulfilling experience. It was amazing to stand in the middle with so much going on around us. Right now, they have the street blocked off for some project that the mayor started but it is still very cool.
We then headed to a restaurant to eat dinner. It was a nice place and the food was great. We looked down and it was time to head to the train station to catch the train back to NJ. Don' worry, we had to run three blocks to get there. And so began our cross city sprint. It was funny and I think its something that I'll remember the rest of my life. Well thats pretty much the end of Day 1...tomorrow should prove to be interesting. haha
