Hysterical for Harry Potter

Well, I think I’ve visited heaven. I mean, if you’re a crazy-obsessed Harry Potter fan (like myself), then I’m guessing being at the NYC Premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One may be your idea of heaven as well. Hopefully…or am I the only one? Anyways, I knew I had to pay a visit to the Alice Tully Hall (two blocks away from the Lincoln Center Campus) when some of my Fordham friends mentioned there was going to be a Harry Potter red-carpet premiere in New York this year. Now, there were HP premieres in the city before, but I was always too young to either spend hours waiting for the stars to turn out, or be in Manhattan so very late at night. But not now. Now I’m 18, a college student…things change. And, seriously, I left at like 9 p.m…not that bad at all! So, there I was, waiting and waiting for hours amongst other HP fanatics, who I befriended because we all shared that one HUGE common interest. I met about 13 new people, and caught up with some Fordham classmates. It almost neared 6 p.m. and we were all going crazy at the thought of seeing Harry, Ron, Hermione and company right before our eyes! It was a dream come true! Tom Felton (aka Draco Malfoy) was the first to turn up, and he happened to be the only one who was on time. Everyone was screaming, I mean EVERYONE. We all see the crazy fan girls on T.V., right? But it was NOTHING like live in person. Even I, someone who is normally quiet, screamed and screamed until I thought my voice was going to quit on me…and I still kept screaming! The screams weren’t even annoying as I’d imagine it would be. In fact, when you heard a group screaming in the distance, you knew that meant a star had arrived. I must say, I was a bit disappointed in the trio (Dan Radcliffe -Harry Potter, Emma Watson - Hermione Granger, Rupert Grint - Ron Weasley). Rupert only did a bit of signing for the fans, Emma went straight from her SUV to the press and skipped the fans altogether, and I can’t even remember what Dan did…but I wasn’t keen of it. For goodness sake, Ralph Fiennes, who plays Voldemort, autographed fans’ items more than the trio did. But they all looked lovely. Later on, Emma and Rupert did come back out though, and took pictures with fans who stuck around until the movie premiere was over. I blame the event planners for the Emma, Daniel, and Rupert not standing around signing autographs when they first arrived. Why? The event planners didn’t obtain a permit to shut down the street, meaning the stars would’ve had to dodge cars and NYC traffic to get to where we were standing. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret going at all. I absolutely loved every minute of it. I met new people, saw the HP cast, Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Joey Fatone (NYSNC), Rob Thomas, Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious), etc. I even got Tom Felton’s autograph!!!!! Definitely, DEFINITELY one of the best days of my life. Hope everyone enjoyed the movie!

Tom Felton - soo close!
Draco Malfoy's my favorite Slytherin.
He has lovely handwriting...
NYC traffic trying to get in our way!
For Ronald Weasley and all the red-heads out there!
From left to right: Ralph Fiennes (Voldemort), Dan Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), Rupert Grint (Ron), and Tom Felton (Draco).

Haunted New York City

New York is a city of history. So many famous people have lived (and died) here; so many important events have taken place. With all of this, it's not surprising that the city has its fair share of ghost stories. In honor of Halloween, I went on a "Ghosts of Greenwich Village" scavenger hunt with Watson Adventures. It was a great way to learn more about New York - the city and its stories. I didn't know all the people who lived there - Washington Irving (author of Sleepy Hollow), Mark Twain, and the fictional cast of Friends.

plaque honoring Twain and Irving: credit

For the hunt, we were told to meet in Washington Square Park to receive our clues for the hunt. My friend and I took the D train to the Village, and met around 25 other people also participating in the scavenger hunt. We named ourselves Harry's buddies because we were dressed in our Harry Potter Halloween costumes. We were also the only ones dressed in costume - where was all the Halloween spirit?! Each team was given a map, two hours, and a list of hints, each leading to a specific haunted location. (Example: one clue told us to go to a church with a famous painting. When the artist of the painting died, the painting fell from the wall and crashed to the floor. Who was the artist?) Each hint had an answer that could be found in the specified location. The plaque in the picture above actually contained the answer to one of our clues. However, it wasn't as easy as it might sound. Some of the questions were tricky! My team wound up with 13 correct of 20 and we placed in the middle of all the teams.

The same company has scavenger hunts all around New York. Some of my friends did a murder mystery themed one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and had a great time. I would definitely do another one. It's one of the best ways I've found to learn about the city in a non-traditional, non-touristy way. And it was an awesome way to celebrate Halloween!

A Little Boat Ride in Central Park

Just a few weeks ago, when the weather was a bit warmer, my friends and I decided to go to Central Park and go row boating! We had been talking about boating in central park since last year. Finally, we had all gathered and took the Ram Van to Lincoln Center. It was a beautiful day for a walk in the park. We passed people playing ball and tossing frisbees. We enjoyed some musical acts along the way and the typical Central Park scene. When we got to the Boathouse on 72nd street we anxiously lined up for our long-awaited boat ride. Each row boat is only $12 for an entire hour. We split into groups of three and went in two boats. I have to say, as a first time rower, it was quite the experience. After a few minutes of rowing in the wrong directionand hitting other boats (oops!), I finally started to get the hang of it. We had little races withour friends around the lake. It was a really fun experience, that was inexpensive and easily accessible. I would recommend it to everybody!

Biking NYC

Photo courtesy of Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Everything was looking up when the day started. After my music class at Lincoln Center (in Manhattan), I walked down to Central Park Bike Shop and rented a four-hour bike for $30 (only $5 cheaper than renting it for the entire day!). I then proceeded to walk my bike to the Hudson River Greenway, a charming path next to the Hudson River on the West Side. A word to the wise: if you are ever biking in NYC, this is a beautiful place to do it! You can even check out the gorgeous boats on the Hudson as you whiz by!
You can check out the scenery, that is, unless you're me and you're terrified (as your life is contingent on the mere two wheels on which you're not balancing well). And if you're decent at steering. And if you're not bothered by constant visions of yourself drowning pitifully in the Hudson. Maybe I'm offering a little too much detail here, but I can't be the only one with these biking concerns, right!?!?

Needless to say, my four-hour rental quickly dwindled to two hours. I rode past 104th St, then back down to 45th, then I walked the bike back to the shop because, alas, I could bike to no more. Surprisingly, even my halved biking time bore benefits. There were occasions when I dismounted and actually enjoyed the waterfront view. I also slept remarkably well that night (though I'm still in mild pain). In the end, I would even recommend biking in NYC, as long as the biker is slightly more agile than I am. Chances are, this applies to you. Because, let's face it, just about everyone (everywhere) is more agile than I am.