Visitors!

Last weekend my Tio Martin and I had 2 visitors, my Tia Patty and her boyfriend Taco (more or less my Tio too). It was SO nice to have family in town, especially because they were the first visitors I’ve had since I moved to NY in February. They arrived Friday night, but unfortunately I had a work thing so I had to miss their welcome dinner, but I made up for it on Saturday. All 4 of us spent the entire day together. We started out with a shopping trip in China Town, then had lunch in Little Italy, then headed out to celebrate Taco’s 41st birthday. Now, those of you who know Taco know that his birthday celebrations are never insignificant, and this one was no exception. We went to the bar Seven to have a few cocktails then we headed to Park, a huge 3 story restaurant/bar/club. This place was huge, not even for Manhattan, but by Kansas City standards. It used to be an old Taxi Garage which explains the name Park and it offered a great atmosphere. We had some apps, then headed to the lounge area for some drinks and dancing, then headed upstairs to the club area where we danced the night away. About 4:30am rolled around and we decided we should probably head home, not only because we were about to close the place down, but because we had tickets to a Broadway show on Sunday afternoon. By the time we cabbed it home, it was past 5 and let’s just say none of us were feeling any pain! With that being said, you can imagine how much we were struggling come Sunday late morning when we had to wake up and get ready for the show.

Lunch in Little Italy

Waiting on our calzones!

At Park

Birthday shots!

Dancing the night away

We made it through the morning and headed to Times Square for a 3:00pm showing of West Side Story. It was amazing, I mean truly entertaining! It had a little bit of everything to keep your attention, great singing, awesome dancing, humor, drama, everything you could possibly want in a show. For those of you who don’t know about West Side Story, it’s set in New York City’s Upper West Side in the mid-1950s. It’s about a rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The members of the Sharks are first-generation Americans from Puerto Rico taunted by the Jets, a working-class white group who consider themselves the true Americans. Tony, one of the Jets, falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks and the drama unveils. With dialogue and songs in both English and Spanish, it was really a great show that someone like me, a Mexican-American could appreciate. The focus on social problems and the non acceptance of Hispanics in America made the show not only entertaining, but educational and eye opening. For people who are a bit closed minded, it provides an alternate perspective and I would hope those type of people walk out of the show with a new point of view. Needless to say, we all loved it! My Tia Patty and I even almost bought shirts that said Sharks on it because we are obviously not Jets, aka white girls! ;)

Times Square for West Side Story

Following the show, we headed to Arriba Arriba for dinner and margaritas. I know what you’re thinking, we all finally got rid of our hangovers and then we go and drink more? Well, if you knew anything about Arriba you’d know it’s impossible not to order a marg as they are delicious, and a Zarate tradition. As Taco said, it wouldn’t be a trip to NYC without dinner and margs at Arriba Arriba.

By the time we left Arriba it was already 8ish so we called it a Sunday and Taco and Patty headed back to their hotel to pack their things and get ready for their flight Monday morning while my Tio and I headed back to the apartment to do laundry and get ready for work on Monday. Overall, it was a great weekend in the city! Thanks Taco and Patty, I had a blast! :)