June 9th, 2010 - Seattle, New York City

We left Seattle early on June 9th and got to NYC around 5pm.We both bought these hats at Folklife and swore to make them useful in Puerto Rico. Since we didn't want to crush them, we ended up wearing them whenever we were moving our baggage around.

Here's an awkward in-flight photo! You're right there with us!

For those not acquainted with NYC's subways, they are old and grody and kind of creepy. This photo doesn't do them justice. However, it was pretty cool to be able to navigate Manhattan by ourselves on the subways. I even got a metrocard.

We rested our hats at Pink Hostel, which was very comfortable and welcoming. I recommend it to all female travelers going to NYC. Since we were hungry, despite the delicious plantain chips served on Jet Blue (a preview of cuisine to come???), we went out to a little Mexican joint in the neighborhood called Las Delicias Mexicanas (The Mexican Delights).

It lived up to its name. I had a yummy chorizo burrito. A quick hop on the 6...

and we arrived at the community center, El Taller Boriqua, one place we knew had salsa dancing that night. Conveniently, it is also Puerto Rican; the name means "The Puerto Rican Workshop," with "Boricua" being the native name for the island.

Frankie Vazquez and Los Soneros del Barrio were playing ("sonero" means the improvising lead singer in a salsa band).

They were very good. The dance hall was filled in middle-to-upper aged dancers and it appeared to be somebody's birthday. The owner's son bought us drinks, and one of the musicians schooled us in how to dance the cha cha cha. We felt welcomed, if not a bit out of place.

After a while, we left and headed to another salsa joint, but it was closed so we ended up wandering around the NYU area. Despite being a Wednesday, the bars were very busy. We went down some stairs into Cafe Wha?, which had this creepy head mounted on the ceiling:

But we forged ahead anyway. Beneath, there was a band playing covers of various types of music, including Alicia Key's "New York." I have to say, it felt so touristy but it was quite amazing to be in New York for the first time listening to a deft singer belt that song out. Here's a terrible picture of her singing to help you visualize it a bit:

After a while there, we went home to sleep so we could fit in a bunch in the next day.

Tune in later for the continuation of this thrilling travel series. 

Chapter Two: New York City During the Daytime!