New York Trip Day 3 (July 31st, 2011) Living it Up in the City
Where did the morning go? At around 10:30 AM I woke up in one of those "what time is it" sort of panics. My two guesses were either 2 AM or 7AM but never did I guess it was actually close to 11 AM. Jenn was nice enough to let me sleep in while she surfed the web and continued to tweak our itinerary for the rest of the trip.
We ended up getting out of our hotel room at around 11:30 and took a Taxi to Time Square where we planned on picking up the double decker bus to use to tour the city. The mass chaos that is Time Square was pretty surreal. You see it in in both Movies and TV, but you don't realize how chaotic the square can really be until you just stand and look around at all that is going on. We did manage to make our way to the double decker bus and got a great seat up top to take us around the city.
Our First Time in Time Square
Hanging Out on the Double Decker Bus
Our first destination which we decided on the fly was the Empire State Building. Jenn had bought us the City Pass before we got to NY so we literally skipped all of the lines and made our way through security and straight up to the elevator to take us to the top and boy was it crowded up there. Jenn in her amazing ability to weave through crowds got us some great spots to sit and take in the amazing view from the 86th floor. We got some great photos, enjoyed our time up there, and then made our way down and back to the entrance.
Awesome Shot of the Empire State Building
Jenn Looking Gorgeous Right Inside Empire State Building
The Skyline from the Top of the Empire State Building
Us Checking Out All of the Sights From The Top of the Empire State Building
Beautiful View from Central Park
By this time we had become extremely hungry and found a great place right next to the Empire State Building called Heartland Brewery. Originally they sat us downstairs which was empty outside of a family with 3 little kids so we asked to be sat upstairs and just decided to sit at the bar and I am glad we did. Jenn got this awesome kind of Rum Punch and I got their own Empire Brew which was really good. We split some mozzarella sticks and a burger and called it a meal. It was just such a laid back experience and it came at a perfect time in the day.
Jenn Enjoying Her Rum Punch
Enjoying the Nice Local Brew
From the Empire State building we hoped back on the Double Decker Tour bus and made our way further through the city. Our next destination on the bus was the construction site for the new World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) which looks gorgeous. It is still a surreal experience to be standing in the same spot where all of the devastation happened almost ten years ago. We both really appreciated the beauty of the new building and the memorial they are building to never forget what happened there.
The Beautiful New Freedom Tower
From there we were back on the bus and literally took it to the end of the downtown loop to Central Park about 8 blocks from where we are staying. We walked our way back getting Jenn an Ice Cream Sandwich along the way. We got back to our hotel room and took the hour or two gap in our schedule to relax and get ready for our play Cirque du Soleil: Zarkana which was playing at Radio City Music Hall.
As I mentioned earlier we got a Taxi to Time Square which Jenn nailed right when we walked out the door of our hotel. She once again nabbed one with no effort at all to get us down to Radio City Music Hall. Radio City Music Hall itself was absolutely stunning. It was really everything you would imagine from this historic site. Jenn got us amazing seats for the performance and we enjoyed every minute of it. We have seen a Cirque du Soleil performance before in Vegas and this one managed to live up to our high expectations. It was just a lot of fun to see all of the various talents that the performers had and I can't count how many times Jenn and I would look at each other and say did they just really do that?
Jenn Looking Amazing Right Outside Radio City Music Hall
Inside The Beautiful Radio City Music Hall
A View of the Stage at Radio City Music Hall
Once the performance let out at around 10PM we decided to walk our way back from 49th to 76th street hoping to find something to eat. One of the bummers of seeing the performance on a Sunday is that a lot of the restaurants in the area closed well before the end of the performance and the same to be the case as we walked closer and closer to our hotel. We ended up not finding anything that really hit either of our fancies so we made our way back to the hotel and ordered room service.
Chicken Quesadilla from Room Service
Jenn's Pasta from Room Service
By the time we got our food at around 11PM we were pooped but starving. Jenn got her goto Spaghetti Bolognase and I had a Chicken Quesadilla. The food although extremely pricey was really tasty. We ended up sending the remaining time of the day talking about the rest of the trip and falling asleep to an episode of The Office and Everybody Loves Raymond. Truly a fun filled day.
New York Trip Day 2 (July 30th, 2011): Hot Dogs, Rocks, and Wine
There is of course only one first time, and I am so blessed to be able to say that my first time seeing NY out of the corner of the window in the airplane was sitting next to Jenn and marveling at the city we have seen so many times in movies, television, photographs, but for the first time seeing for ourselves.
We made it into the Laguardia airport without any hassles. My bag was checked so we had to go pick it up and made our way to the taxi line to hitch a ride to The Surrey hotel where we will be staying for the entire trip. The Surrey is located on 76th street near Madison and Central Park in the upper east side. It's not your typical 30-40 story high rise hotel but actually is a modern small boutique hotel. We got to the hotel in twenty minutes, paid the taxi and proceeded to check in. We got to the hotel at 11am far before their designated check in time (3pm) but were lucky enough to upgrade our room and get our room right away. Jenn and I took an hour or two to lie around, rest up, and then get out on the road and take in New York!
Jenn in the Taxi From the Airport to Our Hotel
Jenn made us an absolutely beautiful and comprehensive itinerary and for the first time followed it down to the very last detail.
We walked from our hotel down to the Guggenheim Museum about a fifteen minute walk from where we are staying. For both of us the museum is memorable from the movie The International and the epic shootout that happens in that movie in the museum. However before we got to the museum we stopped at one of the many hot dog stands got a Hot Dog and a drink and kept going. The guys in the Hot Dog stand were the prototypical New Yorker a bit rude and short with words however the hot dogs were delicious.
The Front of the Guggenheim Museum
Beautiful View Inside the Guggenheim Museum
Sitting on the Steps of The Met Eating Hot Dogs
We got to the museum and were taken away by the beautiful of the circular architecture of the building. Jenn and I have visited many art museums in the past and so we are accustomed to the very abstract nature that comes along with them. One of the exhibitions going on at this current point is one that involved these massive rocks/boulders and their dimensions with paintings. It was sort of a weird exhibition and often times I would look at Jenn and ask well what's the point with all of these rocks. Another thing about the Guggenheim is that since it is all circular you can get a bit dizzy from walking around the infinite loop to the top. We spent a little over an hour walking around the many different levels and taking it all in. Throughout the whole experience Jenn was constantly poking me saying can you believe that is a so and so. She really has an appreciation for the arts that I wish I had. The museum did have some pretty big names though like Matisse, Monet, Van Gogh, and Picasso.
From the Guggenheim we made our way to The Met which was incredible. We had the City Pass so got to skip all of the lines and literally walked in, got our pin to show we had tickets and were into this massive museum. Although Jenn and I have traveled all throughout Europe it was still incredible to take it all in one big building. We walked through the Ancient Rome and Greece rooms, made our way through the Asia & Pacific room, the US, European, and even Egyptian room as well. The Met was quite the experience and I could totally see how people just get totally lost in there. There is a ton to see and do at The Met and you couldn't ask for a more stunning way to take it all in. The building itself is intimidating to say the least with its massive rooms and structures and literally never ending maze of art, sculptures, and artifacts.
The Beautiful Met Museum
Jenn Checking Out the Egyptian Room Inside The Met
The Day Is Beginning To Catch Up With Us and we are Hungry
As we neared the end of the road in The Met you could tell right away that Jenn and I were ready to throw in the towel. I hoped on my iPhone and looked up Yelp reviews of near buy Italian Restaurants and found the Caffe Grazie a small eatery on 84th street a few blocks away from where we are staying. We had a fantastic time at the restaurant. I had a glass of wine (they were out of Pinot Grigio so I went with their recommendation) and Jenn had water. Jenn had pasta bolognase for dinner and I had lobster ravioli. We split a capachino ice cream dish for desert. It was a very small and intimate setting but we really enjoyed our meal.
Jenn Sitting at the Restaraunt for Dinner
Enjoying a Great Glass of Wine
Lobster Ravioli
Jenn's Spaghetti Bolognase
Jenn Chowing Down on Some Ice Cream
The Outside of Caffe Grazie
From Caffe Grazie we ended up hitting up a Starbucks getting me my goto Grande Mocha and picking us up some breakfast for the next morning. We walked back to our hotel at around 6PM and by this point we are nearing exhaustion and literally have no clue what each other are even talking about. We got back by 6:30pm and by two episodes of Seinfeld later we were gone for the night.
Enjoying Some Late Night Starbucks
After a red eye and a full day of touring what more could you ask for then a great meal and an extremely comfortable bed to come home to sleep to. It was a great way to start off the trip.
New York Trip Day 1 (July 29th, 2011): The Battle of the Red Eye
Lets face it life goes by far to quick. Days, weeks, months, and even years go by and we can sit here wondering what happened to them all. Jenn and I on the other hand are doing everything we can to live in the moment. Enjoy the many blessings that God has provided for us and enjoy the wonderful world He has created. So only months after our recent trip to London Jenn and I are back on the road for our first ever trip to the Big Apple.
This trip is many years in the making in fact. We have talked about going to New York for years but have instead gone to Europe or other destinations. However this year we said we really need to make our way to the big apple and see what all the fuss is about. So Jenn a few months back got us an amazing deal to come stay in New York over our birthdays and tour the beautiful sights and sounds of this massive city.
In order to maximize the amount of time in New York we booked a red eye on a Friday night out of the Orange County airport. We booked a complimentary car through our apartment complex to come pick us up at 7PM to take us the 10 minute drive to the airport. We were told he would call us when he arrived. So 7:10 came and went and I told Jenn I would go check in the circle to see if he was already there which he was. So we picked up our stuff and headed down to the car and off to the airport.
Jenn and I at the Orange County Airport
We got to the airport in ten minutes and went through security without any major hassles which if you have read our trip updates is a huge win. Our first flight was to Atlanta which is about a three and a half hour flight and went super smooth. One thing I liked about the Delta flight to Atlanta flight was that each seat had access to Satellite TV so I got my Sportscenter fix in while Jenn attempted to sleep throughout the flight.
We made it to Atlanta on time and had a tw0 hour layover before our flight to Laguardia airport. The layover was a bit brutal it was really the middle of the night for Jenn and I so sitting in an empty airport for a few hours isn't really what you want to do at the point but we made it through and made our way on our second and final flight of the day.
Jenn Taking a Nap in the Atlanta Airport
It's always a surreal feeling to be one place one minute and a few hours later literally across the entire country. You really couldn't ask for a smoother journey across the country.