As you could have probably guessed from my Weekly Winner set that I belatedly posted yesterday, I recently spent some time in NYC. Hubby and I have both always wanted to go and finally decided to put something on the calendar. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time – and, this probably won’t be a surprise, I was looking forward to New York because I knew that not only would there be a lot to do and to see, it would also be an amazing city to photograph.
I wasn’t wrong.
From the moment we drove into the city (yes, we drove – it was about twelve hours by car from Michigan to NYC – not counting the stop in Pennsylvania at 4 a.m. to nap for an hour because BLEH, driving all night suuuuucks), we were overtaken by sights and sounds and, yeah, it’s kind of a sensory overload of sorts.
We managed to park, get semi-settled at the hotel (we were very early for our 3 p.m. check in), grabbed some lunch at Dos Caminos on 3rd Street (BEST CARNITAS EVER), before wandering around the city a little. We visited Dylan’s Candy Bar because The Princess and I had seen it on one of those cake shows and I knew she’d dig a souvenir from there (and uh, so would I… I brought home the Everything but the Kitchen Sink Bar).
And then? Central Park.
I loved Central Park. I kept recognizing spots from movies. It’s amazing – this bit of tranquility in a city so large. I was overwhelmed with calm and happiness being there. I know, I know… CHEESY. But, yes, I loved Central Park.
We took in a lot of sights over the weekend – purchasing weekend passes on one of those double decker tour buses seemed like a kind of corny thing to do, but we used it like a taxi cab. We’d hop on the bus near the hotel, go through some of the tour stops, get off the bus where we wanted to visit more, and jump back on the bus when we were done. Sure, the bus moved A LOT SLOWER than a NYC taxi, but… what’s the hurry?
I wanted to see the site of Ground Zero as well as the new WTC construction. We wanted to go to the Statue of Liberty, but didn’t (a 90 minute wait for tickets, and then a 90 minute wait to get on the boat – we weren’t in a hurry, but we weren’t in the mood to stand around for three hours either). Instead of actually going to the Statue of Liberty, we hopped on the (FREE!) Staten Island Ferry where we got close enough to Miss Liberty that I got some snaps with my lovely zoom lens. She was short. Why did I always think she’d be taller?
Saturday evening, we took in a performance of “Phantom of the Opera”. It was breathtakingly beautiful, but… I don’t love the music of Phantom. While the performers were brilliant and their voices amazing, and the production of the show was unbelievable… I realized that I’m not really a fan of the music (I know, I know… ).
A lot of time was spent wandering aimlessly – to FAO Schwarz, Toys R Us, and other assorted random places. Yes, we spent an awful lot of time in toy stores considering we were travelling sans kids – but holy cow, that huge T Rex at Toys R Us was worth seeing, and it made for a fun picture to send Pumpkin.
I had an UNBELIEVABLE time in New York. Sure, I felt frumpy and midwestern among all the black legging-clad women (it’s the standard uniform, it seems – black leggings or very-skinny jeans, neither of which are very flattering on MY midwestern shape, but OH WELL) — there’s nothing like walking around knowing that everything about you screams “tourist!” (and not ’cause I was holding a map, because I promise there was no holding of maps).
I know things now, like: I need to be careful of who I take restaurant recommendations from because someone’s rave review is my “OH MY GOD THAT IS THE GROSSEST SANDWICH EVER”. Like, the cupcakes at Magnolia aren’t really that fabulous. You only think they are because the FROSTING is phenomenal and you are so goo-goo over that supah-smooth frosting that you maybe don’t notice that the cupcake itself is only mediocre. I learned that walking around New York in high heels is painful, and I am calling shenanigans on Carrie Bradshaw and the rest of her Sex and the City friends. I know that New York bagels really are that good, but that I still am on Team Chicago as far as pizza goes.
And that really, it’s a nice place to visit… but I’m glad to be home.
Where You’ll Find Me