Day 172: Staten Island, Rooftop BBQs, and Carnegie Hall

I went with my latest kiwi friend to Whitehall Terminal to take a free ferry ride by the Statue of Liberty, onward to Staten Island.

We got a bit lost on the metro on the way and had to backtrack a few stations until we finally got to where we wanted to be. There's no tickets to be reserved, you just arrive at the ferry terminal and congregate in a large crowd until they open the flood gates and everyone flows on board. The ride to Staten Island takes only 25 minutes.

Jersey City, Manhattan, and Brooklyn from the Staten Island ferry terminal

After arriving on Staten Island, I got the sense that the ferry ride was free in part to help inject some money into the area via hungry and bored tourists. The ferry terminal looks like a mall and is easily the most lively part of the city. In stark contrast to Manhattan, Staten Island feels like any other small sized American town -- boring, quiet, and poor.

We bought a few snacks from a convenience store and consumed them in a nearby park before catching the next ferry home at 1:30pm.

I went back to the hostel while the kiwi went to see the Brooklyn Bridge. I was planning on going to the Museum of Modern Art, which I heard was free from 4 to 6 that day, but by the time I got food inside of me it was already 5pm and I was too jet lagged to go out. At 6pm there was a barbecue put on by the hostel atop their roof. The trains running by every few minutes and Empire State Building in the distance made for a really great vibe.

I had to leave the BBQ early to go to Carnegie Hall for tonight's concert. Fortunately it only took me 20 minutes to get there from the moment I walked out of the hostel front door.

The recital that night truly was an eclectic mix of old (like 16th century old) English music, minimalist pieces like Philip Glass, and self compositions by the performer. 

In general, I have an active dislike for minimalist piano pieces, but felt like the quality of the concert hall and piano this time were able to do the pieces more justice this time around (opposed to when I had to sit through an hour of minimalist piano performance in Belgrade). Overall, it was a tolerable recital, but not, for me, worth the $30 student tickets I purchased.

After the concert I went directly back to the hostel to get some sleep.