X2: Times Square

Was chatting with Roxie and she mentioned this pizza place called Lombardi's that was one of the stops in the Amazing Race. Decided to try it out for lunch. Ordered a thin crust pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage, mushroom and spinach. It wasn't the best pizza, actually there's nothing really special about it. But with its claim to fame as the first pizzeria in the US, it was worth the try.

We then grabbed some dessert at Rice to Riches. The place serves nothing but rice pudding in various flavors. Pizza for lunch + rice for dessert. That's one very bad equation but what the hell! Haha. Shared a bowl with Candice. I got the Chocolate Chip Flirt while she got the Hazelnut Chocolate Bear Hug, I think.

Cands headed back home while I jumped on a train to Times Square. I wanted to hit the flagship stores that line the streets and my first stop was every kid's wonderland, Toys"R"Us. I completely lost track of time going through all three floors of toys, toys and even more toys. Was hoping to find my precious Pinkys on the shelves, but no luck. I did, however, found some One Direction merchandise that I could sell in Manila for double the price. Hahah.

Next stop was the Disney Store! First thing I grabbed was a 7" figurine of Mickey Mouse holding an apple! Sooo cute! It's a pretty small store but I think I spent an hour just rummaging through all the cute stuff there. Ended up with a bag full of magnets, keychains and baby clothes!

Off to the sweetest and probably the most colorful attraction in Times Square, the M&M's World store! Love the cool dispensers and the wall of tubes filled with M&M's in a rainbow of colors! The pastels are so pretty but I still want my candies in orange!

Just around the corner is the Hershey's store. Despite the huge candy bar signs that adorn the building, the store itself was very small and wasn't as impressive compared to M&M's World. Bought a Hershey's flavored lip balm just because I left my ChapStick at the hotel and my lips started to feel windburned. And being the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup lover that I am, I also got me some cups in dark and white chocolate!

Another sort of "attraction" in Times Square are the people wearing costumes that roam the streets and pose for a dollar or two. Most of them looked very different from the real thing, though. There's not-quite-Mickey and not-quite-Minnie with their slightly deformed heads, creepy incarnations of Elmo and Cookie Monster, and a group of retired superheroes who need to get back in shape. Hehe. But not everyone looked like cheap imitations. Like the Stormtrooper and Chewbacca costumes that I think were really cool!

Last stop was Grand Slam where I bought some souvenir items for friends and family. I then met up with Candice for another movie. Warm Bodies is a romantic comedy about a zombie who falls in love with a human and slowly regains his humanity. It was funny and creative and gory and sweet. R, the charming undead played by Nicholas Hoult, stole my heart with his undying promise: "Keep you safe." It also had a very nice soundtrack that'll definitely be on my iPod once I return to Manila. Hehe.

After the movie, we waited for a while to catch The Midnight Moment for the month of February. This month's artist is Tracey Emin. Her digital artwork entitled "I Promise To Love You" is a visual valentine that displays neon love notes on the billboards in Times Square. I thought ALL of the digital billboards will be synchronized and display only that, but it turned out to be just a few and you wouldn't really notice it unless you are aware of it.

"There's certain things in life I cannot take
And I will wait
I hope you know I care."
--- Yamaha, Delta Spirit