A major highlight of my spring break was spending time in Manhattan for the St. Patrick’s Day parade. Being from Philadelphia, I’m used to the traditional strutting Mummers in their wild costumes, so this parade had to live up to my expectations. My day started in Brooklyn, where I was staying with my boyfriend. We got up early (10 am), and ran out to get bagels before we left on the train to Midtown. FYI, New Yorkers are right; their bagels are definitely the best. After we hopped off the train, we ended up across the street from St. Patrick’s Cathedral and squeezed our way into the hordes of people to try to see the parade. I’m a below average height of 5’2”, so I was trying my best to get closer to the barrier. Luckily, enough people left and we eventually got up there.
Schools and band groups from all across the nation came to perform in the parade. Georgia, Connecticut, and many more travelled just to participate in this Irish Catholic tradition. There were bands led with bagpipes and percussion, and dancers and flag twirlers from various schools and clubs. There were several groups of young Irish dancers that were dressed to the nines in their costumes and it was extremely adorable. I felt really bad for some of the performers though, because it started getting really windy and chilly and some of their costumes were not warm enough for that kind of weather.
After a while of standing around, my boyfriend and I decided to grab some lunch at TGI Friday’s, where we split a bunch of appetizers. What I was really excited about was going to DŌ Cookie Dough Confections, a bakery that I saw on Facebook from one of those Insider food videos. I have a massive sweet tooth, so this was a perfect treat to end my day. Unfortunately, luck was not on my side and the line to get inside the café was across the street and stretched down the block. It looks like everyone else saw the Facebook video, too. A guy sat outside the store with a walkie-talkie to communicate with a guy across the street. The wait was about 45 minutes to an hour, so we decided it wasn’t worth the wait. Fortunately, I planned ahead and found a cupcake place a couple minutes away. It is called Georgetown Cupcake, which originated in Washington D.C. They definitely did not disappoint with their amazing cupcakes, and added a sweet ending to this long day.