Last week I spent a couple of days in New York City.

I was there to submit my student visa application to the Spanish Consulate so I can study abroad in Barcelona next semester and avoid another nasty State College winter.

The Spanish government requires people applying for a visa to present their application in person. I don't know why this is so because, to my knowledge, other countries like France and Great Britain don't ask for a personal visit when applying for a visa.

I know a couple of Barcelona-bound people I talked to were kind of peeved they had to make the trip to Manhattan. My buddy, with whom I'll be going to Barcelona, was also frustrated with having to go.

But I was pumped. I was going to New York City -- the greatest city in the world.

Now I should mention that I'm from Pittsburgh (or should that be Roethlis-burgh now?). I love the City of Steel with all my heart. My mom's side of the family has had Steelers season tickets since the 1950s when the Black and Gold used to play at Forbes Field. My all-time favorite Pirate is Andy Van Slyke. Primanti's sandwiches (you know, with the fries and coleslaw piled on the sandwich), while a severe risk to your health, are unmatched. And, gentlemen, the ladies always enjoy a date at the Waterfront.

But I digress.

As the date for our road trip to the Big Apple neared, I could hardly wait. Even though I've only been in the city two times -- once in ninth grade to see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and the other time, three weeks before September 11, to check out NYU and Fordham -- I had fallen in love.

Maybe it was my man Frank Sinatra's rendition of "New York, New York" that got me? Maybe it's Rockefeller Center at Christmas time? Or maybe it's because New York is at the center of it all -- finance, media, sports, fashion -- and I just love being where the action is. Really, I'm not quite sure what it is.

Anyway, I figured, when I go to New York, even though it'll only be for a couple of days, I'm going to enjoy myself. With our appointment at the consulate on Friday at 9 in the morning, my buddy and I decided to live large and spend Thursday night in the city.

We checked out Orbitz.com for hotels closest to the consulate, which was on East 58th Street. Although we almost decided to be high-rollers for a night and drop an exorbitantly large amount of money for a room at the Plaza Hotel, we settled for more reasonable four star accommodations at the Melrose Hotel.

We left Thursday afternoon around 4 and came out of the Lincoln Tunnel into the city around 7:30. We drove right up to 42nd Street and cruised across Midtown and then went up 3rd Avenue en route to our hotel. Driving through the city, you realize just how huge the city actually is. Everything really is bigger in New York.

We pulled up to the front door of the hotel, with valet service, of course, unloaded our bags and checked in.

My buddy and I were starved so we found a burger joint a few blocks away. We sat down and ordered.

When we got our food and started eating, an older man, alone, sitting next to us told me to roll up my sleeves so I wouldn't get them dirty. A little miffed at his concern for the cleanliness of my sleeves, I thanked him and continued eating.

Then for the next 45 minutes this gentleman proceeded, uninterrupted, to tell us how a young child saved his life by warning him to look both ways when crossing the street, how he had eight lawyers on his behalf ready to sue the federal government for reasons still unclear to me and how he had this elaborate plan to bring down the mafia that used the FBI, the CIA, the Secret Service, and the police using a "secret" telephone book and a "secret" newspaper.

I am not kidding. He was nice guy, but something was certainly missing.

My buddy and I finally left the restaurant and crashed back at the hotel. We got up early the next morning, checked out of the hotel and got a quick juice-and-donut breakfast at a little deli on Lexington Avenue before heading to the consulate to submit our visa applications.

And that was that. Our little excursion to New York was short but sweet. But when we got back to State College, a place that once seemed so big to me, I realized how small it really is relative to the world around us.

It's incredible to imagine how much of the world there's still to discover and I can't wait for the spring when I begin my "global journey" in Barcelona.