First Time for Everything

In December, I finally had the chance to visit New York City. Yes. I've been to cities in Europe and many in the United States but never to NYC. We took a redeye, which I don't recommend, and landed 3 hours later. Gratefully, we were able to change and clean up a bit when we got to our hotel.

First stop was getting in line for student rush tickets of How to Succeed in Business... with Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette. Half of us sat in the cold while the other got breakfast. Hot chocolate never tasted so good! After we got tickets (Yay!!), we headed to lower Manhattan to see the 9/11 Memorial. The memorial was quite sombering. You began to get a sense of the size and scope of the devastation. TVs and documentaries don't quite seem to capture it. Battery Park, the Bull, and Wall Street were next. Kind of geeked out in the financial district. I wanted to see a few more historical sites, including Trinity Church, but the rest of the group wanted to leave. So doing what I did best, I said, "Go ahead. I'll meet you for dinner." Gratefully, my friend Allison came with me. It was nice to break from the big group for a while and mosey at my own pace. Al and I stumbled on some cool buildings and parks, and Trinity Church was breathtaking. Met up with the group for dinner and then went to the show. It was fun to see Daniel Radcliffe in a non-Harry Potter role. Such a fun play!

Day two was a little bit less intense than the first. Everyone slept in but me who wakes up to the light. So I got up and walked down toward the UN Building. I hadn't fallen in love with NY yet. All the buildings and people made me feel a bit claustrophobic and I kept comparing it to other cities. My walk back from the UN changed that. I realized how unique each city is in culture and style. The goal is to embrace the diversity of each city and find its hidden treasures. That epiphany opened my eyes to the beauty of the city. I absolutely loved walking around, taking in all the city had to offer me. For lunch we went to Little Italy and had amazing Italian food. So good! Most of the girls wanted to shop but three of us wanted to check out Central Park. Once again, just walking around the park and absorbing the culture made for a relaxing afternoon. We met up with the group for some plays. Long story short, I decided not to see either of the two plays the group went to that night. Instead, Abby and I sat in Times Square and chatted. I think we both needed that conversation and I'm grateful for that time with her.

I wanted to sleep in the next morning, but I needed to get in line for general rush tickets for Anything Goes—got my tickets!—then met up with Sherstin and Amie to figure out the matinee. We finally found student tickets at Mary Poppins. After that, we went to Macy's, Bergdorf Goodman, and Tiffany's. Fun stores but I didn't buy anything. Then came Mary Poppins and a nap. I was exhausted! I needed to make it through Anything Goes. We met up for dinner at Qdoba, one of my favorite places, before we split up for our different shows. Both shows today were phenomenal! I loved them!

Our Sunday started out with a harbor tour of Lower Manhattan. As you can see from the pictures, we saw Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty, the financial district, the Empire State Building, the Sears Tower, the UN Building, and the Brooklyn Bridge. Very nice morning. Nice not to be walking anywhere. After the tour, we went to church at the Manhattan LDS temple. Fun story that happened here. I ran into a guy that I dated five years ago. It was really fun to know that even after all this time, I could still turn his head. As we were saying goodbye, he stopped and then invited me to a party that night. Made me smile, especially since my number was still in his cell phone! Met up with the group and we walked around Central Park and FAO Schwartz. The party that night was fun. Fun to meet new people. Fun to talk with Mark. Fun to know that I could still be on someone's mind.

Our last day was mixed with different activities. Most people slept in but I still wanted to see a few things. I walked by Rockefellar Plaza, went to the top of Rockefellar Center, walked by Carnegie Hall, and walked through the NY Public Library. We packed up and headed to the airport in a limo. 

I absolutely loved my time in New York. I'm planning on going back again and my friend who lives there said I could stay with her. I'm really excited because I missed a few museums and Newsies is opening on Broadway. So many fun places to visit, so little vacation time.