New York City is a really fun place. It's very fast-paced, and it makes DC seem slow in comparison (shocking since DC is crazy to me). I could never live there but it would be fun to spend a summer there. So many buildings, so many taxis, so many people. We went to Times Square, the top of Rockefeller Center to see the skyline, 5th avenue, the awesome Whole Foods in Columbus Circle, Central Park, Chinatown, Little Italy, and Ground Zero. It was a ton to see all in one day. Times Square was great with billboards everywhere, and people walking around in crazy outfits promoting shows:
It was expensive to go to the "Top of the Rock" but it was worth it! The NY skyline is beautiful!
5th Avenue has amazing shopping. This store Bendels has the cutest stuff. Too bad I'm not filthy rich to afford the things in these stores (unpaid intern life). We went to Whole Foods which was a pretty exciting experience for me haha. I've actually never been to the Whole Foods back home or even in DC. The one in NY is supposed to top them all though. They have a ton of food that you can buy and eat right in the store, like a little buffet, pizza, sandwiches, etc. And it's all really good and relatively cheap (for NY standards at least).
Next was Central Park, my favorite. It's so beautiful there, and GREEN. As an AZ native, I'm accustomed to a lot of brown. That's not the case in Central Park. The weather was great and we walked around and explored. We came across the boathouse and saw people rowing out on this little lake/pond. It was only $12 for an hour- sweet deal! Next step=rowing in Central Park. Well Dana did the rowing, I did the sitting. But... it was awesome!
So green!
WE'RE ON A BOAT!
Chinatown and Little Italy are interesting. I was a little overwhelmed at first. It felt like Mexico a little bit with people trying to sell you stuff. I did buy a few cheap souvenirs though. The Subway system is not my favorite thing in the world to put it nicely. The DC Metro is like paradise compared to it, and that's not saying much. The first subway trip was so packed I could barely move. The subway stations aren't air-conditioned like metro stations are. And it feels 10 times hotter because you're underground and all the heat is trapped in like a volcano waiting to erupt. We got on and off the train a bunch of times because the trains weren't going downtown so we had to come up to go back down again. So inefficient. In fact, we even ended up in Brooklyn ("That's the brooklyn bridge." "Oh, you're right- that's cool I've never been there." "Well we're going there now." "Wait what, shit!") . Welcome to the NYC subway system....
We finally made it to the Ground Zero site. It was a lot different than the first time I went back in 2003. Back then, they still had the catwalk set up so you could literally walk over the site, and all these pictures/flyers were posted looking for missing people. Heartbreaking. Now, there is a preview site located in a small building down the street. It depicts the memorial building process, and the events of 9/11. The memorial looks like it will be amazing- 2 reflecting pools where the towers used to be, and a museum dedicated to the events of the day. It's supposed to open in a couple months on the 10th anniversary. Wow 10 years already? You see kids at the preview site that weren't even alive when it happened. I guess that's why they call us the 9/11 generation. There's an eerie mood to the place, even 10 years later. It's almost as if people are afraid to smile/laugh when close to a place that suffered so much destruction. Moving experience.
Ground Zero construction- lots of progress
On Sunday, we hung around New Jersey in this town called Hoboken. Alright, let me clarify something: Jersey isn't as bad as everyone makes it seem. The trashy Jersey Shore kids give it a bad rep. Sure, Newark is industrial and not that attractive. But there are some really nice places. Hoboken is one of them- not NYC, but very close. It's right across the water with a beautiful view of the skyline. There are really cute shops and restaurants, and it has a small town feel while still being super close to one of the world's biggest cities. I liked it there.
Hoboken
My trip wasn't long enough. I would have loved to have seen the Statue of Liberty, gone to a Broadway show, and seen other big things. We still did a ton in the time we had though. Thankfully, the bus ride back was more timely. It turns out, the fun didn't even stop when my trip ended but followed me home. That's for another blog though.... :)
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