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Today I was in New York City all day. I wasn’t able to get to eat at the Hello Deli yesterday because it was closed, so I went back up town, and none other than Rupert Jee was at the cash register! Rupert Jee has been involved in all sorts of David Letterman bits over the years in which usually Letterman tells him to annoy random people. I ordered the “Letterman” which was a tuckey and ham sandwich and was very good.

For the rest of the day I walked around NYC making my way from the Hello Deli on 53rd Street down to Battery Park looking out to the Statue of Liberty. I went by Times Square, the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, and Ground Zero, and then found myself outside of Battery Park when it started to rain very hard. Luckily there was a woman selling umbrellas for only $5, and I think this was the most useful $5 I spent on the entire trip. I made my way into Battery Park in the rain to try to see the Statue of Liberty, which was visible, but a little hard to see details because of the overcast and rain. Even still a very impressive sight. On the way back up town I went past Wall Street and the location where George Washington was first sworn in as President.

For New York City, Foodio54 recommended Lupa, I took a cab to get there on time for my reservation and I arrived a little early so I had a beer at the bar. When my table was free the waiter went over the specials and I could tell that this place, in terms of service, was really leaps and bounds better than anything else on the trip, the guy was extremely knowledgable. I looked over the menu and decided on the linguine with a salad. The salad was excellent, and in just the opposite of Maryland where I had to steal silverware, when they took away my salad (with the fork), someone appeared moments later with a new fork. I never had to ask for more water or anything really the wait staff were always available, but not in a bothering way which really good. The linguine itself was also fantastic, and while I did really love the lasagna at Bella’s in Savannah Georgia, I have to hand it to Lupa for the best Italian food of the trip, and the service was competely unrivaled.

After eating, I walked back down to Ground Zero. Without getting into a long story the first time I saw Ground Zero it was only a week and a half after 9/11. I went back to Liberty and Broadway to a big red cube structure where I had been back in September of 2001. It’s always an odd feeling being here, because in 2001 it was very difficult to get to the World Trade Center site because of the police and national guard barricades, and this was the first complete look I was able to get of Ground Zero, although in retrospect I believe that I did see rubble that was probably building 7 or the North Tower, but it was difficult to determine. Broadway was closed off, and so I was able to get down Nassau St and I could go down the east-west cross streets to Broadway (but not along Broadway). I turned the corner on Nassau and Liberty and then walked down to Broadway where I could clearly see the South Tower with firefighters spraying water down into the ruins. Also I should mention I didn’t sneak past any other barricades or anything. Whenever I return to NYC, I always come back here.

Tags: Big Road Trip