Day 4 - NYC

Monday, (Memorial Day) was our last day in NYC.  Mom and I had several last things to check off our list so first up was a subway ride uptown to hit 5th Avenue.  Our first stop was FAO Schwarz.  The store was a lot smaller than what I imagined it to be but still really fun and cute. 

FAO Schwarz

The Big Piano

 

Leaving the toy store



I got a new pendant at Tiffany.  I mean you have to right?? When in Rome... :-)

Absolute cutest.note.ever. in the window at Tiffany's



Quick pic with the blue M & M before heading to the airport

So long NY!  How cool does Central Park look from the sky??

An added bonus on the way back.. Mom and I both got upgraded to First Class! 

Day 3 - NYC

Sunday morning we decided to do another tour on the double-decker since it expired that morning.  We did the uptown/Harlem route.  Here's some sites along the way:

Time Warner Building

Dakota Building

Ghostbusters anyone???

Can't remember name of this church...

Riverside Church

Brownstones in Harlem.. this just screams "New York" to me

Guggenheim

 Once we finished the bus tour I had to twist all 4 of mom's limbs to get her to go to Central Park.  I really just wanted to stroll through the park and enjoy the greenery.  Central Park is such a cornerstone of the city and in soo many books, movies and TV shows.  We decided the best way to see the park was to hire one of those drivers who pedals around on a bike while you ride in a cart attached to the back.  We had a knowledgeable guide who told us some history and pointed out all the famous movie scene spots.  I LOVED the park - it was so lush, green, calm and laid back.

My favorite picture of the weekend

The Plaza

The famous mall at Central Park

The Boat House!!

I think my mom wanted to shove her in her purse and run

The Friend's fountain

Once we finished at the park, Mom and I made our way back over to Rockefeller Square for lunch and then had tickets with the rest of the gals for a behind the scenes tour at NBC studios.  We saw Dr. Oz's studio (really small!!! Cameras must work wonders), where they film Saturday Night Live and Jimmy Kimbal and some other stuff.  Pretty interesting. 

Radio City Hall

 Mom and my next stop was Ground Zero.  Unfortunately, we got there about 10 minutes after the last tour of the day stopped (it was Memorial Weekend and in the early afternoon?!? Why don't they have tours all day?!).  So, we missed the tour and had to show ourselves around.  It's still so saddening to stand there and imagine what it must have been like for those people.  You really can't even begin to imagine.  There is a lot of construction going on in that area now - here's a picture of the "Freedom Tower" - it's supposed to be finished and open this September.  

St. Patrick's Cathedral

 From Ground Zero we headed back across town to the Empire State Building via Subway.. where we took the wrong line and ended up across the river.  It seemed like we waited forever for another Subway and I'm pretty sure we spent a good hour underground.  We finally made it to our pre-Empire State Building destination.. Macy's!  Anne and Lisa told us about a wonderful shoe sale they were having so we had to check it out - I did anyway.. I think Mom could have passed.  After searching for about an hour I only found 1 pair that I had to have.  Great deals though, just nothing really in my size and it was mass chaos in there.  I do love that Macy's though - it's amazing!! 

On to the Empire State Building.. our NY Pass covered an attraction called "Sky Ride" which is also in the Empire State Building.  Word of advice.. it's a waste of time and money!!  We definitely wanted that hour of our life back.  Then it was on to wait in the very very long line to get up to the observation deck.  After over an hour, no dinner, and being really tired and somewhat grouchy, we made it to the top.  I've decided I'm ok if that's the last time I go up to the deck.  Between there and Top of the Rock - Top of the Rock is a MUCH better view. 

Empire State Building

We came down around 10pm, grabbed some pizza by the slice, and drug ourselves about a mile back to the hotel where we crashed! 

Day 2 - NYC

We met up with everyone in Times Square to start out on our adventures.

Saturday morning we got up and headed over to Rockefeller Center.  On the way there we noticed that Fox was outside filming live coverage for their morning show.  I made my Fox news debut :)

30 Rock

On our to do list was "Top of the Rock."  I must say I believe the view from the top of Rockefeller is 100 times better than that from the Empire State Building.  We had an awesome view of the city, water and Central Park.  I can't imagine how beautiful it is on a clear day. 




Central Park from Top of the Rock






My travel buddy

Awesome view of the city and Empire State Building

Mom and I split away from the group to see some things that no one elsereally wanted to and our first stop was Grand Central Station.  Several comical things happened here.. (1) I knew that there was supposed to be a "famous" clock and staircase at the station but wasn't sure which ones it was.  Well, we went to the tourist information booth and the guy had no clue!  He points to a random clock and goes "Well, there's a clock?"  (2) I wanted to see the front of the terminal (we entered from a side entrance) so we asked a security guard which direction was the front of the building, aka the main entrance...her response "I dunno.  Check with information."  REALLY?!?! You work there and don't know where the main entrance is?!? 

I found the main entrance.. no thanks to the kind people that work there!

After Grand Central it was on to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  We really would have liked to have gone up in the crown but we didn't know you had to book tickets like at least a year before you go because they are in such demand and they only allow a couple hundred per day to go up in the statue.  Even though we had bough a NY Pass to cover attractions, we still had to wait in line for a ferry to get out to the islands.  We waited about an hour in the sweltering hot sun.  As if waiting that long wasn't bad enough, we had some rude foreign people behind us that were COMPLETELY in our bubbles.  But alas, we made it.   

 

 

Isn't she majestic?  Plus, a lot bigger up close than what you'd think.

Our next stop was Ellis Island.  By this point we were running short on time and didn't really get to spend as much time there as we would have liked.  Waiting for the ferry to get to and fro really cut into our time.   



Immigration Building on Ellis Island



Basically the whole reason for the trip to Ellis Island was to see my great-grandfather's name on the "wall."  I think Mom was disappointed because what the family paid for isn't what is actually there as the display/memorial.  I still think it's pretty cool. 

Once we got back to the city we had to hurry back across town to get ready for our dinner reservations with the group at Sardi's.  From there it was on to Wicked!  I had no clue what to expect with Wicked and I have to say I was really pleased with the play.  I thought it was a lot of fun, easy to follow and very funny.  

Playing catch up

So yes, I have been slacking in getting some posts up!  It seems like May has just flown by.  Actually, the whole year has.  I can't even believe that June is just around the weekend.  To celebrate the long weekend, Mom and I are going to NYC tomorrow evening along with some of the HR girls I work with.  We will be there Thursday night through Monday evening.  I haven't been to NYC since I danced in the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in 2003, so I'm anxious to get back and sightsee.  Plus, when I was there before, I was in dance practice the whole time except for like a day and a half so this time will be a lot more relaxed (and warmer).   

On a side note, Dad, Chip and I got Mom and iPad 2 as a combined Mother's Day/Birthday present.  It is sooo awesome.  Adam and I got the first iPad in October but the new one (of course) has a 2-way camera so you can FaceTime with other people who also have iGadgets.  I went to WV 2 weekends ago for a quick trip and to help Mom get her iPad set up.  Adam was in MI that weekend so we got to FaceTime and see each other :-)  From then, I was hooked!  My loving wonderful boyfriend surprised me with an iPad 2 when we got back!!!  He had bought it in MI over the weekend and had it all set up and ready to go when he got back to TN.   Isn't he the best?!?!?  So, all week we've been facetiming with our moms and my friends :-)  For some reason, he doesn't think it's as cool as I do haha