Forza Italia! (pt. 2)

So Italy came through, as I, um, predicted. Yeah, I totally did. Though I hate hate hate penalty kicks to decide a match, let alone the championship of the world. It's just so unsatisfying. But I loved this Italian team, and I think the cursed Frenchmen are a bunch of a brutes. Seriously, head butting someone in the chest?

I got up a little after 7am this morning and headed out towards Central Park for a good run. I ran up the Great Hill along West Dr., going south until I pulled off onto a sidewalk past the tennis courts. Then I realized I was at the running track for the Jackie Onassis Reservoir. Oh. My. Gosh. It's my new favorite place in Manhattan. The reservoir stretches across a good quarter or so of the park, and at the north edge, the skyline of New York is arrayed before you, with the grand apartment buildings of 5th Ave. and Central Park West guiding your eyes to the whole of Midtown, Hell's Kitchen, and Gramercy. I loved the view so much I took a second lap, and then came back to watch the Wimbledon final.

After the first set I felt very sleepy, so I came back up to my room and listened to the BBC feed while resting (I love a good 10am nap). I watched the final set with Kristina who is way super cool, and then set out to find a barbershop to follow through on my decision of last night. It felt so good to get rid of all that stuff and get back down to my 1/8th of an inch; I need to remember that my hair looks much better as a Wimbledon court, not a fairway rough.

I got some juice and a big cookie to hold me over until lunch, which I was going to eat with some classmates while watching the World Cup final. When I found out they were going to the other side of the isle, I said that I was going to be fine right here. I got a crappy beef burrito across the street, which barely lasted through regulation, let alone overtime and penalty kicks.

Afterwards came the highlight of my weekend (MoMA excepted). I went down the street to Le Monde, a "student-priced" brasserie, in the words of the Not for Tourists guide (I actually found the restaurant on my own the first week I was here, and then looked it up later). For $28 it may not sound all that spectacular for a burger and frites with a beer, and some vanilla ice cream for dessert, but it was truly sublime. I can't wait to go back next weekend for a true brunch.

Now I'm in for the night; I'm supposed to be doing a homework assignment tonight, but there are a lot of us who never got the assignment on Friday (which should have been expected, considering that everybody couldn't wait to get out of that building after being stuck there for an entire week). I'll just read and listen to the internet radio station from P.S.1, a MoMA-sponsored museum/center in Queens; they play great techno-lounge music, and I hear the museum is fantastic. Just another listing for another weekend.