Okay, so I totally fell in love with New York.
This is the first thing Charlotte and I did when we arrived just after midnight on November 7th. (Technically the 8th). New York style pizza! It was everywhere.
We were dropped off a couple blocks from Madison Square Garden! Hadn't even been there for a whole hour and we were already seeing the City that never sleeps.
First glimpse of the Empire! Isn't she beautiful?!
I thought it was so funny that it said "dip" your credit card. Maybe it is just a New York thing.
Definitely not in D.C. anymore!
This is the Subway station we entered in an attempt to make it to Chinatown.
Our tentative schedule for the weekend.
Oh my goodness! Our hotel room was the tiniest thing I have ever seen. (I am standing with my back flat against the door to the hall). I have never regretted my housekeeping eyes as much as I did that night. It was almost 3 in the morning, freezing, and I was terrified of bed bugs and cockroaches, not to mention the hair and stains all over the bed. It made for a long night.
Our tiny shower curtainless bathroom. At least the soap was new....
Cute Charlotte unpacking. (I'm standing against the bathroom door and the door to the hall was literally just out of the frame on the left).
Our wonderful hotel.
We got up bright and early to make our way to find breakfast and happened to pass Mullberry street. Dr. Suess anyone?
We got bagels and one of the things you could put on it was chopped liver. I had to take a picture for all the times my mom told me that was what we were eating for dinner.
Grand Central Station! It was beautiful and enchanting with all the hustle and bustle of people going in and out of the Subway and finding their trains.
Just under that American Flag was a model photo shoot. Kinda crazy it seemed to me with everyone there.
Had to get a pano.
All I could think of looking at this clock was Melvin the Giraffe from Madagascar getting his head stuck in it. So I had to take a picture.
The Chrysler Building! It sure did shine.
The outside of Grand Central Station. And what a cold morning it was.
What you see when you walk into the basement of the Empire State Building! It was surreal that I was there.
The whole place was just so classy.
My favorite picture from the top.
I took a picture from every angle. If you look closely you can see Central Park hiding!
I could just faintly see the Statue of Liberty from this shot.
The beginning of Times Square!
I was overwhelmed that I was actually here and couldn't believe the rhythm that I felt and heard. It is all true, what they say.
It wasn't until after that I realized I was actually facing actual Times Square.... *face palm*
But a nice man trying to sell tickets to a comedy show took my picture.
I also took a picture with Woody and Hello Kitty.
Note: Don't take pictures with them or get the free hugs, they all just want money...
I was mostly taking this picture because I thought it was cool with Mockingjay ads in the back, but couldn't bring myself to erase it because the look on this lady's face was exactly how everyone feels walking down the streets.
Had to for my dad. BSA Pine Wood Derby on Times Square!
#Selfie #TimesSquare
I was so so so excited that I go to see Phantom of the Opera on Broadway!
My ticket! Ahhhhh!
There might have been a month and a half left until Christmas, but Radio City had their tree up and it got me in the Christmas Spirit.
The Rockefeller Center looking up.
Beautiful sculpture of balloon art.
They were already beginning to trim the branches on the infamous tree at the rink at the Rockefeller Center.
I stopped to get soup and cocoa before I saw Phantom and got a quite minute to read my scriptures.
I didn't have too shabby of a seat. The stage before it started.
It was so elaborate, it felt like I was actually in the opera. Most amazing thing I saw. Broadway was totally worth it. I wished immediately that I had bought tickets to see Les Miserables too.
It was just starting to get dark as I came out of Phantom and Times Square looked amazing lit up at night.
What?! The Trump Tower! (Not necessarily a fan, but hey, it was still cool!)
That is the official Trump Tower Clock.
Supposedly one of the best views of the NYC skyline. I think I would have to agree. I was above the Trump Rink in Central Park.
I found the Manhattan Temple and some missionaries! Absolute best part of my whole trip.
I wondered if I would be joining these missionaries in serving the Lord any time soon.
Little did I know that this would be the temple in my mission.
I love to see the temple and feel the peace it brings even in the middle of NYC.
Couldn't resist. Do you think I would have gotten a meal free for sharing a name?
Cool globe.
Central Park. At the other end. It is a HUGE park!
Carnegie Hall! Oh how I wish I could have seen a performance there. It was breathtaking!
It was a must....
Van Gogh's Starry Night! #MoMA
A very intriguing painting that Charlotte and I stared at for a while.
Monet! I think he is my favorite by far.
That mad has been security in the Monet room for years and was more than happy to answer all our questions and tell us cool facts.
Charlotte and I went back to the Rockefeller Center so she could go to the top. I decided to sit it out and got to watch people ice skate at the rink from inside.
The Rock lit up.
One more look at our Chinatown sign Saturday night right before bed.
On our way to breakfast Sunday morning, we passed this beautiful restaurant in Little Italy and it was just adorable!
Decided to take a picture of what the subway tunnels look like... kinda scary.
4 World Trade Center. In the reflection you can just see the top of 1 World Trade Center.
Cool statue with beautiful yellow trees that caught my attention. Was always looking for the beauty in a stinky, trash littered NYC.
1 World Trade Center. It had just opened up for tenants the week before.
9/11 Memorial. There were two of these. One for each tower.
I can't begin to describe to you the vastness of the memorials and the sadness for the thousands of people who lost their lives that day.
Charlotte and I went to the museum as well. These were some support beams from one of the buildings.
The last standing beam. When it was removed, there was a huge ceremony. That wall to the left in the picture is the original retaining wall that was designed to keep water from compromising the structure of the buildings.
These were actually the steel supports that were located on floor 96 of the South Tower. Where the first plane hit.
This wall was enormous. Behind it were remains of unidentified people who lost their lives that day.
The Survivor Stairs. These were the original stairs that people fled down before the buildings collapsed. Once they got to these stairs they knew they would be safe.
First response vehicles were placed throughout the whole museum. The feeling of destruction and loss coming from them broke my heart.
This is a picture of all those who evacuated congregating. I didn't realize what World Trade Center was... basically a community. It was a moving picture for me.
"We came as individuals and we'll walk out together."
-Joe Bradley, Operating Engineer and Recovery Worker at Ground Zero, May 2002
We weren't allowed to take anymore pictures. The whole rest of the museum was a timeline. I had no idea how much had happened. It was humbling and very hard to walk through and read, hear and see everything that happened. But what a phenomenally done museum and monument to that fateful day. I am glad I had the chance seeing as when it happened I was only in 2nd grade.
This was my delicious, overpriced lunch on the coast.
It was here that Charlotte and I decided we were just going to go back to Times Square instead of going to the Statue of Liberty.
The colors were spectacular!
This is the other side of that path. I couldn't get over the colors.
1 World Trade Center from the coast.
There was some kind of movie being filmed here! Kinda cool though we had to walk down to Wall Street to get on the subway because they were blocking it...
I never got tired of looking at skyscrapers as a skyline.
One of the last buildings we passed before getting some cocoa and jumping on the bus back to D.C. was the New York Times building.
I had the time of my life and was so sad I was leaving, though I couldn't wait to get warm again.
Little did I know....
