New York State of Mind

After recovering from the embarrassment with tipping yesterday, we were ready for our epic adventure in New York.  Here was our proposed itinerary for the day:

• Chrysler Building
• Empire State Building
• Statue of Liberty
• 9/11 Memorial
• Brooklyn
• Times Square
• Plaza Hotel
• Central Park
• Broadway Show

You may think that seems like a lot.  Well, yes, yes it is.  However, if you read my post about Boston, or some of my posts from Europe… you’ll know how capable we are of marking everything off our checklist.  Sure, we didn’t get to go inside all of these places, but we did get to see them.  That was our goal this trip… “see all the things.”  It gave us a broad overview of all that NYC has to offer, so that in future trips we can actually go in and see some of those things in more depth.

We were able to see all the things on our list, including taking The Staten Island Ferry to see Lady Liberty, and walking the 1.1 miles across the Brooklyn Bridge.

We also had the great honor of visiting the 9/11 Memorial.  As is often the case when visiting sites such as this, the sorrow and solemnity of such a place, of such an event washes over you.  Walking around the base of where the towers once stood, and reading all the names etched into the memorial was a very somber experience.

After visiting the 9/11 Memorial, we made our way toward the Brooklyn Bridge, and despite being 80 some degrees with probably 90% humidity… we decided to walk the 1.1 miles across the bridge.  We were hot, sticky, and sweaty by the time we made it, but what a worthwhile trek it was.  The views from the Brooklyn Bridge are absolutely stunning!  Once across the bridge, we ran into some troubles trying to find the nearby Subway to get back to Manhattan.  Unfortunately, there were several closures on the Subway, but we finally found one that was open and made our way back to Manhattan.

Once back in Manhattan, we headed to Times Square.  We took in some of the sites, and had brief stops in The Disney Store and M&M World.  We also were on the lookout for some discounts on a Broadway Show.  We had attempted (and were not successful) to get lottery tickets to Hamilton.  We were disappointed that didn’t work out, but I am going to see Hamilton next month in Seattle and I couldn’t be more excited!  We did manage to get a flyer with a discount to see Fiddler on the Roof, so we were pretty excited about that!

From Times Square, we made our way to Central Park to find the famous Balto statue.  Ever since watching the movie Balto when I was little, I’ve always wanted to see that statue.  We found it relatively easily and took a few pictures.

Afterwards, we were on our way to Laduree… our favorite Macaron store in the world!  We first discovered them in Paris, and couldn’t wait to have these tasty treats again, but here in NYC!  Let me tell you, these are pricy, but so worth the price!  I think a box of 6 will cost you about $21.  I highly recommend the Marie Antionette if it’s available.  The Lemon is also delightful!

After our snack stop, we walked about 10 minutes along Central Park to get to The Plaza Hotel.  Home to Eloise, my favorite picture book character!  The Plaza has a great lower level with shops and a food court area.  The Eloise Store is small, pricy, but amazing.  If you are an Eloise fan, you can find things from playing cards, bandaids, hair clips, towels, and stuffed animals.  A stop at the Eloise Store is always guaranteed to make me feel like a little girl again!

We found an Irish Bar off of Times Square to eat some dinner (and get out of the summer rain) before we headed to The Broadway Theater to check out my first show on Broadway: Fiddler on the Roof!  I’m a huge fan of Broadway shows, and have seen at least 50 in Seattle and Portland.  But this was my first one in NYC on Broadway, and I was beyond excited.  Let me tell you, it did not disappoint!  I can’t wait until Fiddler on the Roof goes on tour so that I can see it again!

Whew.  What a day.  I told you it was epic!  After our show, we joined the 1000s of other theater goers making our way through Times Square to the Subway, ready to turn in after our long days.  Every time I’m in NYC, I love it more and more.  It’s such a great city with so much to see and do!