Paul and I arrived in New York City on Tuesday April 27th. We took a taxi to our hotel, which ended up costing us the same amount as a week-long metro pass ($25). We followed our urge to explore and went downtown to times square. It took us about 45 minutes to get there.
On Wednesday we went downtown again to walk around and see what we could see. We wandered into the Empire State Building, but we decided that we didn't want to wait in line or pay the money to go to the top. But here's a picture that proves we were there.
We accidentally waited in line to get tickets for West Side Story that night, until we realized that the tickets we were waiting for were for the matinee. And we had a baseball game to get to. We bought me a Mets hat and took the metro up to Citi Field.
The game was fun, and we had nice seat in left field. However, it was incredibly chilly because of the wind. We enjoyed NY hot dogs and nachos as we watched the Mets beat the Dodgers.
After the game we walked around a nearby park and tried to get a better glimpse of the US Open stadium but didn't have much luck. We eventually made it back downtown and had a cupcake in Grand Central Station. Then we wandered some more and came across Rockefeller Plaza.
We went in early that night to rest up for our 8:30 ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We both thought the statue was cool, and of course you have to see it if you're in New York, but it was just a statue.
The Ferry took us to Ellis Island next. I really enjoyed it there. But I like museums. It was cool to read up on immigration and read some stories. We ate lunch at their cafe and it was delicious.
We were tired that afternoon but spent most of it walking around Wall Street. We saw the bull, bowling green, federal hall, the actual wall street, and even some protesters.
Then for fun we decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. The views were cool and it was fun to people watch. I liked looking at everyone's shoes. We actually got lost in Brooklyn trying to find our way to a Metro and we were exhausted from walking all day.
On Thursday night we went to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. It was so good. One of the best that I've seen. Paul even liked it too.
On Friday morning we went to the UN Building for a tour. We go to go into the general assembly and listened to an audio tour. I liked it a lot.
After our tour we walked some more. We saw Park Avenue and then went back to Rockefeller Center for our tour of NBC studios. The tour wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be since we didn't meet Tina Fey or Tracey Morgan, but it was still neat. Then we did the "Top of the Rock" thing and went up on the roof. That's the Empire State Building.
Some old ladies asked us if this was Central Park. duh ...
On Friday night we went to eat at Carnegie Deli, a suggestion from Paul's Aunt, and it turned out to be delicious. We shared a sandwich that was about a foot high. And of course ate cheesecake too. Then we went to Carnegie Hall to hear the Yale Philharmonic Orchestra. The hall was really pretty and we spent some time in the museum. But the concert was painful. The orchestra was doing a tribute to some modernist composer. I don't remember his name, but we were giggling at the beginning and then clapping with relief at the end.
On Saturday we went to central park and walked around. Then we went to the Museum of Natural History and spent all day there. I don't know why I didn't take my camera out, but we both really liked it there. Then we went downtown again and hit the Toys R Us and relaxed and people watched.
We saw Marry Poppins that night. It was delightful.
On Sunday we hit central park again. We were a little out of sorts because our internet at the hotel hadn't been working and we didn't have a reliable map to work with. The park was fun though and we got yummy popsicles.
We went to NYU in the afternoon, and saw China Town and Little Italy. China town was funny because it really was so much like China. Paul got pushed as we got off the metro and the guy mumbled in his ear "whatchu want? bags? gucci?" and on and on. We watched some performers at NYU who were very unimpressive. We ended up hopping on the Staten Island Ferry that night to rest our feet.
On Monday morning we took the metro all the way down to coney island only to find this:
The place was deserted and foggy and creepy. The bums asked us for money and we couldn't even see the beach. We walked along the boardwalk imagining what it was like when the place was up and running.
We still didn't have internet so we went towards where we thought the temple was and eventually found it. Cool.
We hung out at Rockefeller Plaza that afternoon waiting to get into the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. We ended up being able to watch him practice his monologue which was coooool. And then we watched the show and I met Sarah Silverman afterwards.
We left for home on Tuesday afternoon and made it home safely. Our only souvenirs were 2 t-shirts that we bought at the NBC studios shop, and my mets hat. And about 300 pictures.
On Wednesday we went downtown again to walk around and see what we could see. We wandered into the Empire State Building, but we decided that we didn't want to wait in line or pay the money to go to the top. But here's a picture that proves we were there.
We accidentally waited in line to get tickets for West Side Story that night, until we realized that the tickets we were waiting for were for the matinee. And we had a baseball game to get to. We bought me a Mets hat and took the metro up to Citi Field.
The game was fun, and we had nice seat in left field. However, it was incredibly chilly because of the wind. We enjoyed NY hot dogs and nachos as we watched the Mets beat the Dodgers.
After the game we walked around a nearby park and tried to get a better glimpse of the US Open stadium but didn't have much luck. We eventually made it back downtown and had a cupcake in Grand Central Station. Then we wandered some more and came across Rockefeller Plaza.
We went in early that night to rest up for our 8:30 ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We both thought the statue was cool, and of course you have to see it if you're in New York, but it was just a statue.
The Ferry took us to Ellis Island next. I really enjoyed it there. But I like museums. It was cool to read up on immigration and read some stories. We ate lunch at their cafe and it was delicious.
We were tired that afternoon but spent most of it walking around Wall Street. We saw the bull, bowling green, federal hall, the actual wall street, and even some protesters.
Then for fun we decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. The views were cool and it was fun to people watch. I liked looking at everyone's shoes. We actually got lost in Brooklyn trying to find our way to a Metro and we were exhausted from walking all day.
On Thursday night we went to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. It was so good. One of the best that I've seen. Paul even liked it too.
On Friday morning we went to the UN Building for a tour. We go to go into the general assembly and listened to an audio tour. I liked it a lot.
After our tour we walked some more. We saw Park Avenue and then went back to Rockefeller Center for our tour of NBC studios. The tour wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be since we didn't meet Tina Fey or Tracey Morgan, but it was still neat. Then we did the "Top of the Rock" thing and went up on the roof. That's the Empire State Building.
Some old ladies asked us if this was Central Park. duh ...
On Friday night we went to eat at Carnegie Deli, a suggestion from Paul's Aunt, and it turned out to be delicious. We shared a sandwich that was about a foot high. And of course ate cheesecake too. Then we went to Carnegie Hall to hear the Yale Philharmonic Orchestra. The hall was really pretty and we spent some time in the museum. But the concert was painful. The orchestra was doing a tribute to some modernist composer. I don't remember his name, but we were giggling at the beginning and then clapping with relief at the end.
On Saturday we went to central park and walked around. Then we went to the Museum of Natural History and spent all day there. I don't know why I didn't take my camera out, but we both really liked it there. Then we went downtown again and hit the Toys R Us and relaxed and people watched.
We saw Marry Poppins that night. It was delightful.
On Sunday we hit central park again. We were a little out of sorts because our internet at the hotel hadn't been working and we didn't have a reliable map to work with. The park was fun though and we got yummy popsicles.
We went to NYU in the afternoon, and saw China Town and Little Italy. China town was funny because it really was so much like China. Paul got pushed as we got off the metro and the guy mumbled in his ear "whatchu want? bags? gucci?" and on and on. We watched some performers at NYU who were very unimpressive. We ended up hopping on the Staten Island Ferry that night to rest our feet.
On Monday morning we took the metro all the way down to coney island only to find this:
The place was deserted and foggy and creepy. The bums asked us for money and we couldn't even see the beach. We walked along the boardwalk imagining what it was like when the place was up and running.
We still didn't have internet so we went towards where we thought the temple was and eventually found it. Cool.
We hung out at Rockefeller Plaza that afternoon waiting to get into the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon. We ended up being able to watch him practice his monologue which was coooool. And then we watched the show and I met Sarah Silverman afterwards.
We left for home on Tuesday afternoon and made it home safely. Our only souvenirs were 2 t-shirts that we bought at the NBC studios shop, and my mets hat. And about 300 pictures.
