I think this is probably the best trip I have been on thus far in my life. Okay, I'm not really a world traveler but still for where I've gone this has got to be my favorite. Curt had to go to New York for work and I somehow got him to agree to take me with him. I was so excited!!!
We left on the red eye flight on Sunday the 22nd. Curt did not have a great experience on the flight. He was in the middle of a really cramped airplane. I got the window (yay!) The there was a bigger guy on the aisle side who took the arm rests and another guy in front of him who decided to lean his seat back the entire way. With Curt's long legs the seat was constantly digging into his knees. Poor guy!
Anyway, we arrived safely on Monday the 23rd and got right to sightseeing. I have to say though, my first experience riding in a New York Taxi will be an experience I will never forget. They drive with different rules there! If there's an opening whether it's big enough for your car or not they go for it and just expect everybody to either get out of the way or make room for them! I was happy when we got to our hotel. I was surprised how small it was compared to other places that I've stayed but it was VERY nice and it was pretty pricey too since we were right in the heart of the city (which was nice for me since I would walk around while Curt was at meetings!)
So our first day we walked around and we got to see where the Today Show is filmed. It was already done by the time we got there but it was still fun to see.
Of course, Radio City Music Hall!
Here is One World Trade Center! It's amazing how you can see this building from almost anywhere in the City! Check out the building in the left corner. Isn't it cool how it's constructed?
Here it is all by itself! So cool!!!
Then one of my favorites...The Brooklyn Bridge! I really loved walking on this. It was just so surreal that I was actually there!
We didn't know what this building was but it looked neat!
One thing was were so awed by were all the amazing churches. This one was so old and it was awesome to see that people could do things like this so long ago!
Here's Wall Street! We didn't get a picture next to the famous Bull because there were so many people waiting their turn and we had ticket to see the Statue of Liberty. But here's some stranger...enjoy!
On the ferry to Liberty Island with One World Trade Center in the background
Here's Ellis Island
We just happened to be in New York the same week that the U.N. was meeting and the President was flying in on this airplane/helicopter thing. Lots of security everywhere we went!
This was the ONE sight that I wanted to see once I knew that I was going to be able to go to New York. I almost got teary-eyed when we got there. Isn't she spectacular?
We wanted to get tickets to go up in her crown but they were sold out. But we were able to get tickets to go up to the top of the base. This is the view from there.
Curt with One World Trade Center on the top of the base.
Look at the size of those nuts and bolts! Wow!!!
I love this picture because it shows the enormity of her with the teeny-tiny people down at the bottom.
I wanted to get a picture by a firefighter and a policeman but I was too scared to go up to them and ask or even to shake their hands for what they do. This is as close as I got. I need to be more brave in certain aspects of my life!
Tuesday we went to a Yankees game. It was fun to ride the Subway. I was a little nervous but thank goodness we didn't get lost and that we had people who knew how to navigate the subway system.
Look at all these people. Apparently it wasn't normally like this. They usually opened the gates way before they did when we were there. They were giving away bobblehead dolls of Mariano Rivera and the truck had a problem so it didn't get there on time. People were getting very angry and were getting worried there would be a Black Friday event happen in front of us. But eventually we got to go in and the game started soon after.
My favorite part of the game was the beer guy that walked up and down the stairs yelling, "Stella...Get your Stella!" I tried to get him on video but it never worked out. I still laugh when I think of him. He was the best!!!
Here's Times Square at night. I was so pretty. You know there's the saying that New York is the city that never sleeps? Well I don't know if that's true because while we were in Times Square our friend wanted some ice cream. It was almost midnight but we couldn't find a place that was still open that sold ice cream! So I guess parts of the city does sleep!
On Wednesday I decided to venture out on my own while Curt was at meetings all day. I found the New York City Library, the one that's in Ghostbusters where the librarian sees the ghost! That was pretty fun to see.
Then I found Rockefeller Plaza. This is in the LEGO store. They built a replica of the plaza out of LEGOs. It's amazing to see what they can do!
This is St. Patrick's Cathedral. They were doing rennovations on it but it was still amazing.
Later, after his meetings we all ventured out again to where I went earlier so I could show them what I found. Here is Curt at Trump Tower and me at Tiffany's.
This picture was for Kaylee. She loves American Girl Dolls
Then we found the best place on earth (or least what I thought was the best place when I was eight), FAO Schwarz!
Best picture ever!!!
For those as old as me hopefully you remember the movie Big. Here's the "big" piano they play in that movie! We didn't play it because you had to pay to do it...and it was more than I thought it was worth. So I bought a waffle from a waffle truck with that money later on!
We thought this was another cool looking building but we had no idea what it was!
This is the Plaza Hotel. They were doing renovations on it as well but what's cool is they have tarps or a covering over the outside that looks just like the building. So it's hard to see that there's scaffolding around the building.
That night we went to the Empire State Building. It was cool because it was around the time of sunset, my favorite time of day!
The view from up top!
Beautiful!
Again, One World Trade Center from the Empire State Building
Another cool building
Obviously the camera shook when we took this picture but I still thought it was a cool picture. Down below is when it's focused!
The Chrysler Building
On our last day we got to actually go see One World Trade Center up close. It wasn't finished yet but the plaza was and we could walk around. It was so reverent and peaceful there.
The reflecting pools are amazing
Before our flight we had time to go to Grand Central Station. It was so BIG inside! Makes me kind of wish for the days when everyone traveled the rails, back when it was the main hub for the City!
The iconic clock in the middle of the Grand Central Terminal
This is as close as we got to the Chrysler Building.
I love these. Has anyone seen The Sorcerer's Apprentice?
So cool how people did things back in the day!
We left that night on another red eye flight. This time I let Curt have the window seat. Unfortunately we had to sit on the plane for about an hour and a half while they did "maintenance". We didn't get home until around 3:00 am. But no matter what I still loved this trip and can't wait to go back one day! There's still so much to see and do!
