Final day in NYC

Ok. So V and I had gotten back to the hostel after 2:00am early Monday morning. We slept till 9:00 or so. Annoying we had to go down 2 flights of stairs to use the mirror at the stairwell b/c they don't have them in the bathrooms.
Ate at the restaurant next door again for breakfast; we both got pancakes. The fruit cup was disappointing... not fresh, probably was in the fridge since yesterday.
Then we were off to MoMA. It was a quick (1.5 hr) visit, but we saw famous paintings, like Van Gogh's "Starry Night," and ones by Gaugin, Picasso, Chagall, and Kandinsky. I'll have to go again with an audio guide.
I went with V to the bus station, and we said our goodbyes. She may be back in the States next year when her friend will be studying in Philadelphia. From there, I took the subway in the wrong direction, but decided I'd explore the W side. I just walked.. without direction. Asked a policeman Lau the best way to get back to the E. Managed to take a bus in the wrong direction, farther west instead of across Central Park. At that point, needed a bathroom. The French resto "Alouette" I saw was closed, so I went to Hunan something or other. Was a mistake to order taro bubble tea: it was just gross. The scallops I ordered came pan-fried and seasoned, pretty good, with brown rice and vegetables. I hate eating at restaurants alone! Then I caught the bus in the right direction, thru Central Park, and went back to the hostel. Took the subway to Chinatown, and figured I had time to get some Chinese snacks and dragonfruit. When I asked a Chinese woman on the street where to buy fruit, she thought I said "food." Then I said "shuiguo." The dragonfruit were $3.00 a piece (could I have negotiated?), and to my dismay when I peeled one a few days later, not sweet. So I thought I was set, waiting for my bus. Guess I was there 4:30. That was a mistake right there, because I remembered afterward how they have two locations, and try to fill up the bus, which they did, without me. I don't see how they can't not keep track of online and on-site purchase of tickets. I kept hearing buses for Philly. Then they said there wasn't room for D.C. -Richmond bus. I asked when the next D.C. (mistake) bus was, and was told in an hour. So I listened to my iPod and watched people go in and out of the gross bathroom. At 6:00 when the next D.C. bus came, I asked about Richmond, and was told frantically, "No, not til 11:00pm." That was a blow right there. I had dropped V off at 12:30. I had expected to be home after 11, and instead wouldn't be leaving til then. I was upset, and called my mom, starting to cry. Then I decided to make light of the situation: I was in NYC, afterall, albeit with a backpack. So I decided to go to Top of the Rock, which V and her friends had done last time. They didn't have a coat check, so had to carry backpack thru there. Unfortunately, my sis' old dig cam with me isn't great, so couldn't take good photos of the city. Then the battery started to die on me. I heard a father and daughter, about 18, speaking French, and spoke with them briefly. I'm rusty, and didn't "stay" with them b/c was intimidated I wouldn't know what else to say. I think they were happy to speak to a francophone American, nonetheless.
Then I had the goal of going to Serendipity, the ice cream parlour after which a movie was named. Don't remember how now, but in my wanderings, came to an across the water "subway" cable car ride, which was good fortune. While waiting, I got hungry. I had read the sign in big letters "NO EATING, DRINKING, SMOKING on this platform" a minute before, yet took out my Chinese snacks and starting munching. Better yet, I was standing against the sign. Great short-term memory I have. Hey, when the need for food arises.. I wondered why a woman kind-of glared at me. The cable car went to Roosevelt Island, where they had an outdoor movie screening of "Hairspray," which I saw in D.C. 2 years ago and didn't care for. French tourists also on that cable ride. I didn't feel like talking anymore.
I made it to Serendipity, but there was a wait line, and since it's a small place, would feel funny eating alone. Viviane joked that I could meet the man of my dreams at the parlor and more chance of that than grocery shopping in Chinatown.
From there I walked a LOT with my backpack, making my way south. I regretted not having bought the unlimited subway pass for $.25 more because I had to refill it multiple times that evening due to my unanticipated extended stay. I found a huge Whole Foods not too far from Chinatown, where I knew I could use the bathroom, brush my teeth, and take out my contacts before the bus ride. Instead of ice cream I could have had, I got Wallaby pear yogurt and cinnamon-flavored water.
The bus ride back was better than the way there.. the guy next to me got off somewhere before Baltimore, and I slept most of the time. We got to Richmond around 5:00am. My dad wasn't there yet. An African guy waiting said his phone didn't have service and asked to use mine. He left VMs with two people who were probably sleeping. I felt bad leaving when picked up, like maybe we should have offered a ride. I got home and slept til 10. The end.