I recently visited New York City for the weekend and thought I'd share some photos. I hadn't been there since I was a kid in the 70s so I was very excited to get back to the big apple!
We drove towards the amazing skyline and had plenty of time to count the skyscrapers since it took about 2 hours to get through the Lincoln Tunnel!
Once we emerged on the streets of Manhattan we ditched the car and, other than a subway trip to see the World Trade Center, we walked and walked for miles to cover as much ground as we could in the couple of days we were there. It really was not enough time to even visit Manhattan, let alone all the surrounding boroughs but I feel I got a nice overview of mid-town!
I forced hubby and daughter up early to visit the Today Show which has been a part of my morning routine for decades. It was fascinating to see it 'live' and although I didn't get to meet any of the hosts face to face, I was pretty happy to see them a few feet away. I was really surprised how small the plaza is in real life and it was fun upon my return to watch the show and know exactly where everything is. Savannah Guthrie is absolutely statuesque and beautiful! A highlight for me was getting a photo with Lenny, the uber-fan who is always in the front of the crowd every single morning!
Central Park is a true oasis in the concrete jungle and since I didn't find a single blade of grass anywhere else in the city, I can appreciate the value of having this gorgeous park land available to the visitors and residents of the city. An immediate calm and 'ahhh' rushed over me as we stepped through the gates and walked along the paths. We visited Strawberry Fields as well as the Dakota building where John Lennon was murdered. Even after all these years (I remember the day it happened), it is still such a sad feeling to know he died from such a senseless act of violence.
While in NYC we enjoyed some pastrami on rye with the most amazing sour pickles, New York pizza, black and white cookies, roasted nuts from a street cart, and a very expensive bagel and fried egg! We would have loved to eat at the Rainbow Room (ran out of time) or Tavern on the Green (which is being renovated), among other landmark restaurants, so we'll just have to go back!
We saw two plays on Broadway - Chicago and Nice Work if You Can Get It, with Ferris Bueller himself, Matthew Broderick. He is just FANTASTIC, and as cute as ever. He really did a great job and the play was funny and very entertaining. We saw it on our last night and it really did end our visit on a very high note! Scroll down to watch a video overview of the play. We had a different girl in our show and she was even better!
Times Square was crazy and exciting and it was fun to see in person the New Year's Eve ball and all the humongous screens and ads. It is mind-boggling just how many people, vehicles, and buildings are on one small island but everyone was really well behaved, friendly, and polite and I was really amazed how the city handles it all.
It was an incredible feeling to be down where the World Trade Center towers were and to see the new One World Trade rising into the sky - newly topped with the last bit of height in the spire. And although we couldn't take a tour of Lady Liberty or Ellis Island because of the damage from hurricane Sandy, it was easy to see why it was the gateway for landing immigrants arriving to this fascinating city.
Scroll down to watch an excellent preview of Nice Work if You Can Get It!
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