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| One of those Embarrassing Pictures |
Kerri, here! I just got home from the BEST spring break trip a teenage girl could ever ask for—a trip to New York City! I always knew I was a big city girl, but this trip was absolutely incredible.
For one thing, our view from
our hotel room was wonderful. We stayed at the Hilton in Times Square, on the
43rd floor, right above all of the action! As you could probably
imagine, I bugged when we got there! The very first thing we did was go down to
explore. I couldn’t resist trying one of those famous hot dogs from a stand on
a corner, and I must admit, it was one of the best hot dogs I’ve tasted!
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| Ground Zero from Helicopter View |
The first full day of our
trip started with a late start, much to my dismay. We got to it at about 10 AM,
getting Starbucks and a cab down to go see Ground Zero. Unfortunately, the line
was extremely long, and it was ridiculously cold outside! Mom ended up just
giving a donation, and then we were on our way to check out the Statue of
Liberty! A couple of embarrassing pictures that my mother forced me to take
later, we were on our way to Wall Street when a man approached us and asked us
if we would like to take a helicopter ride. We said yes! Due to the hour-long
wait, Mom and I warmed up in a sub shop called Lenny’s, and the next thing we
knew we were in the air! The ride was breathtaking. I don’t think I’ve seen
anything more beautiful in my life. We flew from the Statue of Liberty all the
way up to Central Park and then back down in fifteen minutes!
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| Our Helicopter |
We saw each
magnificent building from the sky. Mom and I were in a panic trying to find
memory on our cameras for these once in a lifetime shots! Have no fear, we
found enough room to last us the trip.
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| Lenny's Sub |
After the ride, we walked
halfway up the Brooklyn Bridge, which was close to the top of my list of things
to do! Then we snagged a few slices of pizza at an Italian place outside of
Little Italy, which was fantástico! After that, we walked from one of the best
parts of the day to the worst—China Town. I loathed my experience at China
Town! At the wretched corner of Canal and Lafayette, we encountered this
sketchy woman who talked on her sketchy phone and made us stand in this sketchy
elevator. Soon, we took the subway back to Times Square, which was terrifying
but exciting at the same time.
We were exhausted by the time
we got back, so we took a bit of a breather in the hotel room for a few
minutes. After that, we decided to get a little shopping done, and then we
stood in the huge mob of a line to get tickets for a Broadway show! We decided
on Once, at the recommendation of a seatmate on the plane, and it ended up
being my favorite musical I’ve ever seen! (Being a drama nerd, I’ve seen quite
a few musicals.) Although we were almost spent for the day, we made one last
stop to Planet Hollywood to check out some authentic movie props! Once back at
the hotel for the night, Mom and I snuggled up to watch Big with Tom Hanks to
prepare us for future adventures.  |
| Carriage Ride |
On day two of our glamorous
trip, Mom and I woke up and hopped down to a little diner called Junior’s in
Times Square and I enjoyed their griddlecakes while Mom stuck to coffee. We
then headed down the famously fabulous Fifth Avenue. Although Mom had the time
of her life browsing through the expensive racks, I felt very much like a hobo
in my oversized army jacket and combat boots. Next stop: FAO Schwartz toy
store! Like any other seventeen-year-old girl, I fell in love with the enormous
pink dog, Penelope that flopped over an entire platform. Due to my limited
seventeen-year-old funds, however, I ended up settling for a much smaller
version of Penelope. Watching the movie
BIG came in handy because it was here that I encountered Zoltar and the BIG
PIANO! After we shopped till nearly dropping, our next adventure was with a
beautiful white horse that carried an elegant red carriage! Mom and I huddled
for warmth as we learned about the history of Central Park while we got the
grand tour!
The next grand tour we
experienced was the Rockefeller Center, where
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| Top of the Rock |
Even though Mom might have
been done shopping, I sure wasn’t! I hauled her down to SoHo where we took a
minor pit stop at the low-key SoHo Café, and then I hit up my stores! Despite roaming the racks of chic stores such as Top
Shop and Kate Spade New York, the only purchase I made was at Anthropologie. I
so badly wanted to check out
The Phantom of the Opera
definitely lived up to its standards, in case you were wondering. I mentioned
earlier that I was a drama nerd, so you can imagine my delight to the
out-of-this-world effects that the musical offered. I was in complete shock and
almost in tears at the end! Although I could see why it was the longest running
show on Broadway in history, I still liked Once just a teensy bit better!
Unfortunately for you, this is not a Broadway review site, so I’ll stop with my
nerd-talk for now!
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| Time Square |
After the magnificent show,
Mom and I caved to the recommendations and grabbed a bite of post-show dessert
at the infamous Sardi’s! I loved looking at all of the caricatures of Broadway
stars, and the Kermit the Frog one was adorable! I escaped the embarrassing
photos this night due to rain. On our 5
block walk back to the hotel, in the rain, mom gave our umbrella away to an
elderly couple we encountered without one.
She said she would hope someone would help our grandparents in a similar
situation. Needless to say, we got
soaked, but it was fun running in the rain through the streets of New York
City.
Two huge days in New York =
one tired girl! I was beyond ready to hit the hay after a trip like this! But
no matter how much pain I was in or how much exhaustion I had, leaving the next
day was tragic. We took a final lap around Times Square, and said our goodbyes
to the wonderful city. The plane ride home is always the worst flight—but
that’s a completely different story – and a separate blog!
