Week 42 - New York

It seems like so long ago, yet it's only been a week since we arrived back from our amazing trip to New York. Having never been to the States before, except LA airport, we were overwhelmed to begin with. But we managed to settle in and before you knew it, we (okay, more like Pete, I just followed) had sussed out the subway and where certain things were and had set out to explore this concrete jungle.

Saturday we arose early to check in for our flight that left at 10am. Mum and Dad's flight left at 12:30pm, so they had a bit of a wait before they could board their plane. The flight went by without any hassles. They were yet to come. We landed in New York and without much fuss found the shuttle we had booked that would take us from JFK Airport to Newark Airport. We managed to save $400 by flying into JFK instead of Newark. Our plan was to take the shuttle to Newark to meet Mum and Dad. We boarded the shuttle and discovered that the traffic was terrible. Naive me thought it being a Saturday we would be fine. After an hour and a bit, we arrived in New York. We were amazed at how many people there were and how crazy it all seemed. To cut a long story short, the driver forgot we wanted to go to Newark so he dropped us at another shuttle stop that would take us to Newark. Worried Mum and Dad had left as we had kept them waiting, we eventually arrived frazzled, yet intact. We then hired a cab to get us to our apartment. Within no time, we had arrived. What greeted us was a gorgeous apartment that had stunning views of New York. As we were all pretty tired, we called it a night fairly quickly.

Sunday dawned bright. As we had no set plans that day, we made our way into the city to explore a bit. We arrived in Times Square to huge crowds and lots of lights. We then made our way to Bryant Park. With seats all around, we ordered water and had a rest. Mum was then drawn to the Merry Go Round, so Dad, Mum and I went on it while Pete took photos. I picked the rabbit and got strapped in. Meanwhile, a little girl wanted what I had. She told me she wanted the rabbit. I politely told her I had it first and she sulked off. There was no way she was getting my rabbit. :-)

After that we wandered the streets and found we weren't far from Grand Central Station. So we took a few shots and grabbed more water. Side note: NY is awesome for having water fountains everywhere.

The station was massive, so after taking a brief look around, we decided to move on for food. We grabbed some food at a market and then made our way back to Bryant Park to eat and relax more in the sun. As the public library was right next door to the park, we made our way there. Unfortunately we couldn't see the main room in all its glory as it was closed for renovations. But the rest of the building was pretty impressive. As we were feeling the heat, we decided to make our way home. There we relaxed more and then decided to take the owners advice (owner of the apartment we were renting) and go to the local Mexican restaurant. It was amazing. Fresh gaucamole was made right in front of us. The views of the city were spectacular as well. So with full tummies, we made our way home for bed.

Monday we decided to tackle our bucket list. First stop was the 911 memorial and museum. I learned a lot about the events of that day. The monuments (see below) were huge (1 acre) and very impressive. There was a presence of sadness there. But the way in which each life was remembered was so well done.

After the museum, we stopped for food at the Amish Market. It was awesome to sit and eat. Especially as we had decided to walk towards and across the Brooklyn Bridge that day too.

Pete was estatic to be walking across the bridge. We had all watched a documentary about the bridge prior to our trip and he loved seeing it in the flesh. Mum and Dad walked halfway, but we decided to walk across the bridge (1 mile I think) and back again.

As Mum and Dad had done their dash, we decided to carry on to the Converse store while they took the subway home. We walked all of Broadway (I think it went over 50 blocks). The converse store was a let down, but we did manage to find an awesome coffee shop for a breather on the way. By the time we hit Times Square, it was dark. So we marveled at the lights for a bit before boarding the bus to head home.

As the weather was average the next day, we decided to head to my beloved Target on Tuesday. Mum loved it as much as I did, so after 2 (okay maybe 3) hours, we called it a day. As we had walked there, we decided to take a taxi home. Best $8 we ever spent. We then decided to have a quiet night in.

Wednesday we had the Statue of Liberty booked, so we made our way (via subway) to the bottom of New York to catch the ferry where we could see Lady Liberty in all her glory. Pete and I decided to take the stairs to the top, and I managed to handle the height pretty well. It did help that there was a shoulder high border. We then ate and did what Mum and I did best. Shop in the gift shop! Before we knew it, the island was closing. So Pete and I dashed about in a mad rush to get photos of Lady Liberty from the front.

After the Statue of Liberty, we took the subway to Times Square. There we went to M and M World. I loved it. Mum did too. Then we took more snaps of the bright lights before heading home.

Thursday we decided to hit Central Park. As Mum and Dad had booked a carriage ride, we decided to bike it. We managed to ride around the whole thing in an hour and a half. It was beautiful.

We then headed off to the Empire State building. Mum, Pete and I decided to head to the 80 somethingth floor. Dad opted for the first option. I was pretty good with the heights. And thank goodness the very top was enclosed.

After the Empire State trip, we made our way home to spruce ourselves up for a Broadway show that night. We were seeing Chicago. It was magnificent. We then headed out afterwards for a spot of desert before making our way home.

Friday Pete and I left the house early in hopes of visiting another Target. To cut a long story short, we arrived at the right street, but the wrong end. As we were due to meet Mum and Dad at the Museum for the Native Americans, we quickly jumped on the subway. The museum was great. It was free (a huge deal in NY) and full of information. We were told off quite a bit though. Maybe us Smith's are what some may call rebels. I would more likely say the security guards were bored. We then grabbed a bite to eat before heading to do the Sky Walk. As it had clouded over and started to rain, we decided to leave it. So Mum and Dad made their way home, and Pete (being the amazing husband he is) lead me to the Target store we had originally looked for that morning. I found a few items (as did Pete) and arrived home a very happy girl.

As that night was our last night in the big city we had planned to get dressed up and head out for dinner and cocktails. However, as we were pretty tired from all the sightseeing, we decided to hang out with the owners of our apartment and their friends.

Saturday Pete and I got up at the crack of dawn to cram in one last thing before we made our way home. We made our way to the Sky Walk. We found the best coffee shop ever (I'd say on par with New Zealand) to refuel, and then walked the Sky Walk. It was awesome to see so much green.

We made our way home to finalize packing before being picked up by a cab. As we were departing from different terminals, we were forced to say a quick good bye before heading in to relax before checking in.

There you have it. Our week in New York. It was overwhelming at times, but completely amazing. Will we be heading back anytime soon? Probably not as we have the rest of Canada and the US to explore. But we had the most amazing time and feel so blessed to have seen it all with our parents.