A look behind my eyes

Once I got into Manhattan I emerged onto 34th Street and got my first glimpse of the city I have been dreaming of. It’s almost like being in a little snow globe, like the buildings encapsulate you; a city completely in a world by itself. New Yorkers were bustling past and tourists walked slowly looking at everything possible and taking pictures every few feet. It was instantly easy to tell the tourists from those who actually lived in the city. I let myself look like a tourist for a while and just soak in the buildings, smells and uniqueness of it all.

Next, I headed to my hotel in Jersey City to grab some food and drop off my bags before my tattoo appointment. I stayed in Newport, which is a really nice area of Jersey City close to the water and a beautiful view of Manhattan.

After taking the PATH to Grove Street, I spent about an hour just walking around Jersey City. It was a much older part of town than Newport, full of little mom and pop shops and older buildings. And then the fun began…

If you ever want to get a tattoo in the NYC area, you must go to Adam at Jersey City Tattoo Co.! He is an amazing artist and can come up with the perfect custom tattoo. I had sent him a bunch of pictures of elements I liked and he managed to come up with exactly what was in my head. Three and a half hours later I walked out with the most beautiful tat I have ever seen!

I was exhausted after my day, but still got on the subway and headed back into Manhattan for dinner (yes, I was staring at the photo of my tat on my phone the entire time!). Adam recommended a place called Red Bamboo on West 4th and MacDougal Street. I am a vegetarian and it is hard to find places in Indy to eat that have more on the menu for Vegies than mixed vegetables and potatoes, so this place was one I definitely wanted to check out. Needless to say it was amazing! I had crab rangoons and ribs and although I have no idea what they were made out of, they were amazing.

There you have it, day one of my trip to NYC. It was an eventful day and I slept well when I finally made it back to the hotel. Sorry I didn’t take that many pictures, I was so busy soaking it all in that sometimes I forgot I had my camera. Check back tomorrow to hear about day 2 and see more pictures!