New York State of Mind

First, let me preface this entry by saying that I was originally keeping a little notebook of all the things we did, because I have the worst memory of anyone I know. But the notebook was lost somewhere in the shuffle. So I will try to remember as much as I can off the top of my head. Brace yourselves, this will be kind of long...

DAY ONE: I had my "New York Moment" as soon as we arrived in the city. It was Thursday at 5:30 in the morning. We grabbed our bags and waited in line for a taxi. It was cold. And it was raining. The cabbie started heading toward the Manhattan/Midtown area. He was quiet most of the ride, but then started playing Michael Bolton and singing and whistling along to the music, which was cracking me up. Then, no joke, New York State of Mind started playing. I wiped the fog from my window, pressed my face against the glass and looked out to see the Chrysler building and the lights from the big city. I sighed and realized immediately that I was going to love New York. Just as I was completely wrapped up in my moment, the driver rolled down the windows and the cold knocked me right out of my haze and back into reality. That breeze was no joke. It was FREEZING! And he left the windows open for like 5 minutes. Do they not have a defrost button for the windshield??

We arrived at the hotel a little before 7am and woke up the other couple traveling with us. They had arrived the night before and I'm sure were just cozy in their beds when we barged in. Hubby and I laid down and swore we'd be up in a few minutes, we just needed to rest for a bit. Three hours later, I think we finally rolled out of bed and got ready to see the town. We immediately hit a Dunkin' Donuts for some breakfast treats and walked over to Times Square. Our hotel was just 5 or 6 blocks away so it was really convenient and easy to get everywhere.

Times Square was pretty much the way I imagined it, except for all the rain. And it did not stop all day. It rained long into the night, past the time that our jeans and shoes were soaked through. But what are you going to do? We only had 3 days to see everything, so the rain did not stand in our way! We walked through Bryant Park, the NY Public Library, the Empire State Building, the enormous Macy's (I have never seen a bigger shoe section in my life!), Jekyll and Hyde's - and eventually wound up at Rue 57 for a yummy dinner with my cousin. He was super nice and paid for ALL of us and it was fun to see him after so many years. After dinner, we ran over to FAO Swartz and then decided the rain had sufficiently kicked our butts and it was time to go back to the hotel. We still had a little ways to walk, so we got to see quite a bit of the city at night with all the Christmas decorations everywhere. We also thought it would be a good idea to invest in ponchos in case the rain didn't stop - luckily, we never even had to open them. (That always happens!) We had some good laughs in the hotel room that night, kind of like one of those slumber parties where you can't stop giggling. And it was just nice getting caught up with some old friends.

DAY TWO: We got to move all our stuff over to the apartment that was very generously offered to us by some relatives of my girlfriend. The apartment was located in the Financial District and had the most awesome view! Just beautiful. And it was small, but that made it all the more cozy.

First, we got bundled up and walked a couple blocks to Ground Zero. It sure doesn't look like much because there is so much construction going on. But it was very sobering to see all the dedications and memorials hung up around the area. I wish I had seen the towers before they fell because its hard to imagine how tall they were. All the buildings around it are tall, but the towers apparently dwarfed them all by a lot. They are in the process of building a few new towers with one extra huge "Freedom Tower" in the center of it all. That will be such a sight!

We had to stop for hot dogs from a street vendor and even though its just a hot dog, its so darn good! Then we walked a couple more blocks to Wall Street and the NYSE, all the while bracing ourselves against the freezing wind. The tall buildings almost act as a wind tunnel and it sometimes takes your breath away with how cold it is. We also saw Battery Park and got a little more familiar with the subway before heading to Radio City Music Hall and Rockefeller Center. We took an elevator up 70 floors to the Top of the Rock Observation Deck and that was amazing! You could see the whole city and it was just so beautiful. Then we took an NBC Studios tour and got to see the SNL set as they prepped for Saturday's show. We went down to the front of 30 Rock and saw the ice skaters and the Christmas tree. Across the street was Saks 5th Avenue and St. Patrick's Cathedral. We ended up going down into Little Italy for dinner and got totally stuffed on all you could eat pasta and bread. We took a cab back to the hotel and didn't last long before our exhausted bodies just knocked out.

DAY THREE: We knew we had to see Liberty Island and Ellis Island, so after a quick breakfast, we bought our tickets and waited in line for an hour and a half to get on the ferry. At this point, I can honestly say I have never felt more cold in my entire life. When the wind wasn't blowing, it was barely tolerable. And whenever there was a gust, it would just go straight through to your bones. I was initially worried I'd be sweating under all my layers, but I am fairly certain I did not lose one drop of sweat during the entire trip. Thankfully, we got a seat on the INSIDE of the ferry and took the short cruise to the Statue of Liberty. It sort of gave me chills seeing it for the first time (unless that was from my frostbitten toes) because its just sort of surreal. Seeing all the iconic symbols that you've heard about your whole life. So rad to actually experience it. Ellis Island was nice too. I didn't really know what to expect but there is a cool immigration museum and lots of history contained in one building.

By the time we returned from the islands, it was already getting dark. We ran back to apartment to add more layers and then took a subway ride over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (or just The Met). That place was enormous and I know we barely saw any of it in the hour and a half that we were there, but it was really cool. Very beautiful also. We had dinner reservations at Ruby Foo's in Times Square so we ran back just in time for a delicious meal and then took a Carriage Ride through Central Park. Our driver was slightly insane, but if nothing else, it was an experience. I remember that he really liked blondes, so he was in luck with my girlfriend and I, but otherwise I just remember laughing at all the weird stuff he would say. We got some hot chocolate and shopped for a few little souvenirs, walked back through Times Square again and took a subway back to the apartment.

The next morning, we were on our way home. We slept quite a bit on the plane - just exhausted from the whole trip. I mean, we walked the heck out of that city and were all over the place for 10 hours every day - and I know we still only skimmed the surface. There is SO MUCH to see and do there. We didn't even go north of Central Park! I had no idea how big it all was. Thank goodness my husband really loved it too, because I know we will be going back. Then we can see what the rest of New York City has to offer. I'm sure we won't be disappointed.

I truly do Heart NY.

To view a whole butt-load of pictures, click here:
www.peepsonline.com/fotoalbum/NYC08
To hear another blondie's perspective of the trip, click here: Treen's Blog