New York City.... the town that truly never sleeps....

New York City.... the town that truly never sleeps....

I had the pleasure of traveling to NYC with one of my good friends recently.  Her daughter's show choir group from the High School was going and her husband didn't want to go, so I got to go. :>)   I love NYC.  I had only been 2X before so I was looking forward to going again.  We had talked about it for months.  This was going to be my friends 1st trip to NYC so she was very excited.  ALTHOUGH, we were not so excited when we got the itinerary and saw that we would be leaving on the bus from the high school at 1:30am!  Now y'all know me..... I like to get my 7-8 hours sleep every night.  I had no idea how this 1:30am crap was going to work out. :>)  

I tried to sleep for a couple of hours before leaving my house to greet the 1:30am bus, but sleep didn't happen.  I tossed and turned.  So I hoped I'd be able to sleep on the 2 hour bus ride to the airport or on the 2 1/2 hour flight to NYC.  That didn't really happen either!  So basically when we arrived in NYC right before lunch, we had all been up 24 hours +..... YIKES.  Our rooms were not ready at the hotel so they told us we could go enjoy NYC a little bit and come back.  All I wanted to do was get in the room and crash on the bed. LOL  We were starving so we stopped at the first place we came too.  It wasn't that great and it was EXPENSIVE.  My lunch was $60!  Here's a picture of my lunch which was supposed to be red fish over veggies with spinach.  

Did I mention it was COLD! The high on Thursday when we arrived was 31 and the low 17! Here we are all bundled up..

Thankfully our room was ready by 2pm and we were able to get in and freshen up before our show that night.  I had no idea what the show was going to be about.  We would be going with a big group of the kids.  Everyone had picked the show they wanted to see so there were several groups of us going in different directions.  The show Kate, my friend's daughter, had picked was sold out so she picked this one.....

The stage at the start of the show... it starts with a young kid sitting on his bed..  The play is about suicide.  The message was pretty good about how you just never know what is going on in a person's head.  We should stop and notice people around us, etc.  It's not a show that I personally would go see again.  I prefer more of the upbeat fun shows.  This one made me depressed and sad.  

Here we are waiting on the show to start.... still looking pretty tired ... hee hee  I was SO ready for my bed that night.  We had an early morning the next day with a tour to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.   Boy it was hard to get up that next morning.  It was a cold ride on the ferry.

Before when I've seen the Statue of Liberty, I saw it from a boat on the Hudson river.  This time we had tickets to climb up in the statue.  I couldn't wait to do that.  

Giving the kids instructions before we leave on the Ferry.

This use to be the town protection.... cannons were shot out these windows.

There she is as we approach on the Ferry.

 Looking down from the Statue... oh and did I mention it's like 200 steps to climb up in the pedestal of the statue? I forgot to take the first picture on the first floor.  This picture of the 108 steps shows where you are at and that you have 108 steps left to go.  Krista basically ran up the steps!! My legs were feeling the 200 steps when we finally got to the skirt of the Statue of Liberty... ha

 Here you can see the ice/snow still on the ground in places.  This is looking down from statue back towards the town. 

Next up... Ellis Island

Leaving and now heading to the 911 memorial, wall street, china town, little Italy, etc. 

                         Just look at that snow still on top of those buildings.  

 Pictures of our walk to 911.  These buildings are amazing!  You had to throw your head way back to look up to see the top of them.  It's like they literally reach heaven they are so tall! 

The Bull on Wall Street.   ... There is an old wise tell that if you rub the balls of the bull, you'll have good luck!  There were people lined up for days just to do that.  I quickly grabbed this shot before the person walked up to take their turn.  As you can tell the balls are a different color.  Our tour guide said due to so many people rubbing them that with the oils that come off your body that over time it has changed the color of the bulls' balls.  

We finally made it to the 911 memorial.  This is where the twin towers did stand. 

This building is new since I was last in NYC.  It's the One World Observatory.  It's huge! The empire state building is by far no longer the tallest building in NYC. 

We took the subway to China town & Little Italy after leaving 911.  This is the world trade center mall where we took the subway.  It looks like a huge dove... check out it's wings.... it was designed to let light flow inside the transportation center.

The Subway... you must travel the subway if you visit NYC.

 We ended up eating in China town.  It was way after my lunch time and we were starving!! The group split and some went to little Italy and some to china town to eat.  Our kids wanted to go here so this is where we ended up.  I was a tad nervous about the food, but it was AMAZING.  It was either really good or it was just that I was starving. LOL 

 Before heading back to catch the subway we had to stop at a bakery in Little Italy and get some snacks to take back to our room. :>)  OMG they were DELICIOUS!!

 Time Square was packed as we walked back to our room.

We rested our feet for just a little bit and then back at it we went.  Now to Empire State building.   We had tickets to go up inside and view.  I'm so glad we got to ride the elevator this time.  No more 200 steps.. ha 

I will say that I got a tad nervous while looking down from the Empire State Building.  I started thinking about 911 and how anything could happen and here I was so far up in the sky.  It was beautiful looking down at the city lights, but I was also ready to get down to ground level. :>)  

We left there and headed to find the Stardust.  Someone had recommended it to Krista.  They have singing waiters. We walked forever, but we found it!  Oh and did I mention it's now like 10pm! and we are still going.... 

It was so much FUN.  We finally made it to bed around midnight.  Boy I was EXHAUSTED.  The kids had a workshop on Saturday morning so I had already found a map of Central Park and planned a run.  But at the moment laying in the bed, I was wondering how the heck I was going to run.  I was so TIRED>  

I got up and got ready.  I was excited to get out of the city somewhat and run.  I LOVE central park, but I've never ran there.  Me and my husband have went and walked around and it's so nice to be where you see green grass and trees.  It's right there in the city, but feels like you're out of the city.  It was still very cold but I LOVED it.  I felt so good on my run.  Yes, my legs were tired from all the standing and walking, but overall my run felt great.  There were so many people out running or walking dogs.  It really was my highlight of my trip. :>)  AND there was still snow all over in Central Park.  It was so pretty.  I got in 8 miles.  The fountain was frozen!

There was 2 hockey games going on. 

I saw the horses as I was leaving.  Our plans was to come back later this evening with the girls and ride. 

I could have stayed in the park all afternoon, but it was time to go shower and meet the kids after their workshop. 

We grabbed lunch at The Shake Shack... I was starving after that run and no breakfast.  I never eat this stuff.  LOL 

The went on to see the St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, Trump Tower, Sack's, Tiffany's, and several other places down 5th avenue ended back up at Central Park for our carriage ride.  :>) Oh we visited the Hershey store also. :>) 

 This church is AMAZING.  I lite a candle for Drew. :>)  March is his bday month.  This will be his 2nd bday in heaven. :( 

I have laughed and laughed at these cards!

This horse didn't think ours was going fast enough so she passed us. 

Central park was still pretty that night, but I enjoyed my run way more that morning.  It was just a tad chilly in that buggy. LOL  

When we were in Tiffany's I asked one of the sales guys if there were any good places to eat close by.  He told me about one on 6th avenue that was just a couple blocks when you come out of Central Park so that's where we headed.  It was by far the best food we had the whole trip!  It was AMAZING.  I don't even know how to say the name of the restaurant, but I took a picture so I could remember for future reference.  

My dessert to go. :>) 

Well that was the end of our 3rd day.  Another LONG day. ha  Sunday was calling for 100% chance of rain so our plan was for the girls to sleep in while Krista and I went to the Peloton studio for a ride and then we would try to shop a little that afternoon and hopefully get tickets to another broadway show.  Krista and I were both so excited to get to go to peloton and meet Matt one of our favorite instructors!  He is amazing! and boy he is just a doll in person.  So sweet!  We meet him on the street as we were walking up and he gave Krista a big old hug.  I so wished I had my phone out for a picture, but it was in my pocket zipped up due to the rain.  She was grinning from ear to ear. :>)  

We made it back to the room to clean up and go have lunch.  Of course the girls were starving and didn't want to look around much for food so we went directly across the street to Juniors.  We wanted to try their cheesecake anyway. :>)  It was good. 

I took them to see Grand Central Station before we began our shopping.  I don't think the girls were impressed.  They were over walking and sight seeing by this point and only wanted to shop. :>)  The weather was NASTY.  It rained off and on all day.  The WET and COLD don't mix well.  Krista and I did stop in the Rum Room Lounge (a scene from the Godfather was filmed in here) for a hot toddy while the girls were up in the room while we had went out to stand in line to try to score discount tickets to another show.  The toddy was SO GOOD.  I got a hot buttered rum... YUM YUM 

We also ended up getting tickets to Kinky Boots.  I was so excited.  We had heard nothing but good reviews.  Our seats was right up on the stage!  It was an AWESOME show.  Not what I expected at all.   The dancers and costumes were AMAZING>  It was really a fun show which is EXACTLY what I LOVE.  

I could touch the stage!

Another long day in NYC.  By now, my legs are really feeling all the walking, standing, climbing stairs, running in central park, etc.  I was ready to go home.  But first we had a long travel day on Monday. I hoped to sleep on the plane or bus ride....but only got in about an hour sleep.  The lady on the plane next to me had to get up a couple of times to go to the bathroom.  Each time I would be just dozed off and she'd shake my arm and need out. :<>)  Krista and I talked mostly on the bus ride home about our wonderful trip.  It was very busy and tiring, but I loved every minute of it.  and Yes... NYC never sleeps.  I'm glad to not be hearing the constant sound of car horns! LOL  I could never live in a big city.  I like my quiet time too much.  I love to visit and hope to take my daughter back to some shows.  I think she'd love it.  And I LOVE mother / daughter trips. :>) 

Bye Bye NYC.... until next time.

 On the bus ride home. :>) 

and that's a wrap.  I could have post a million more pictures.  LOL  It was FUN.  Matter of fact, I'm still tired from the trip.  I went straight back to work and workouts on Tuesday.  I slept in my office at lunch today because I couldn't hold my eyes open.  Wish I had a rest day off work and workouts at the same time... hee hee 

Hope you are doing some traveling with your family or friends.  Enjoy life to the fullest! 

D

P.S. Krista wore her garmin watch the whole time and it said we walked 33 miles in our 4 days in NYC! Plus my 8 miles I ran.... that gives me 41 miles in 4 days! Not to mention the time change and we lost an hour!  No wonder I'm so freaking TIRED. :<>)