We just got back from our long weekend in NYC. Thursday night found us frantically looking for how we were going to get into the city. Luckily the logistics this time were a bit easier than last time, Z and I are now living in the same state! My sister recommended we go out of Iselin NJ, into Penn Station. Okay! Friday morning we found the train station without any issues (phew) and a very helpful man told us how to buy the tickets and find the correct track to go in on. We took the New Jersey Transit train in as a competitor was going to be $200 each one way. $20 each round trip was much more pocket friendly. We got on the right train and off at the right stop. Yay us! Not too bad for our first solo trip into the big city!
This led to our first solo cab ride, which also went off without a hitch. My parents, sister and brother-in-law were close behind, having arrived at Grand Central.
We were able to check in and drop off our stuff in the room - we stayed at the Four Points Sheraton at Times Square, which is a great hotel. Just ignore the stores with shaded windows so you can't see the rated X merchandise - the pizza place down the street far makes up for those OTHER places (Two Brothers, $1/slice!).
Once the rest of our party arrived, we headed out for a day on the town. We had all competed in a NASCAR pool, my sister M had won. The prize was to have a meal at the restaurant of choice - she picked Daisy Mae's BBQ in NY. Daisy Mae's, watch out! Apparently my father was giving the counter guys a hard time about the Patriots - great. Lunch was delicious, we all ate to overflowing. After that we headed over to 30 Rock, to do the NBC Studio tour. No such luck, but Z and I did walk away with a lovely picture of our faces super-imposed onto the bodies of Rick and Evi from The Mummy. Mine will be living on my desk at work. His will probably be going in the trash. We did buy tickets for Monday's tour, which was the only time we could get in.
Ever been to a candy bar? You should, at least once. We hit Dylan's Candy Bar for a snack, and to get wedding ideas - and I'm not telling, you'll have to be surprised! A few dollars later we headed back to the hotel. We split up, the guys and the girls. We had a pretty uneventful cab ride back, a very friendly driver gave us info about the city, maybe he noticed that we were tourists, I don't know HOW he knew though. The guys, on the other hand, had a very excitement filled ride back. Apparently an SUV had tried to cut off their car - what was he thinking! - and there was an attempted demolition derby and F-Bomb throwing fest.
Saturday morning we headed over the the bus station for some breakfast - just wait, there is practically a mall in the bus station. LOTS of options. Then we headed over to Battery Park, to take the Staten Island Ferry over to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We had instructions that we needed to arrive 30 minutes early to go through security. The security rivaled the airport! All our stuff had to go through the metal detector, as did we. Z had steel toed boots on, so those had to come off. My boots also had to come off, most likely because they were kick-@#% boots and they were all intimidated. We rode the ferry over to Lady Liberty, and had to go through another security check and again remove our shoes. Some people were even checked for bomb making materials on their clothes. Eeks, not us.
Z, B and I all climbed the 156 stairs to get up to the pedestal at the Statue of Liberty. Everyone else took the elevator. Going back down the stairs was a lot easier! Back on the ferry to Ellis Island - Z and B both have relatives that came through Ellis Island, so that was really cool. We saw the process how the people were checked in, and how some were sent back, if they applied for public assistance, or had medical conditions, or were here for cheap labor.
We headed back on the ferry and walked over to Ground Zero, where there is all kinds of construction going on. They're busy building the Memorial. We couldn't see much, they had up chain link fences with big posters covering them. I couldn't believe how small the area was. You hear about a NYC block, but it doesn't really sink in until you see it.
Time for lunch! We took cabs over to Lombardi's, which is the first place in the city to offer pizza. Cash only! We walked in and put our name on the list and proceeded to be squished in like a can of sardines. The "waiting area" was the very small front of the restaurant and the bar area. We were standing with about 50 of our closest (physically) friends. Luckily we didn't have too long to wait. Pizza was pretty good, came out very quickly.
After lunch we all headed back to the hotel. Z and I ventured out by ourselves and walked over to Times Square, where two of my favorite stores are located. Who needs 5th Avenue? I'm happy with the M&M and Disney Stores! As Z puts it, I bought all kinds of things! The cashier at the Disney Store rang up our sale on her iPhone, which was kind of neat. We didn't have to wait in line.
Dinner for Z and I was take out pizza from down the street, $1 a slice! 4 slices and 2 bottles of soda for $8! Can't be beat - and really yummy too! Everyone else had frozen yogurt delivered.
Sunday morning found us back at the bus station for breakfast. We had been trying to get tickets to do the Yankee Stadium tour, so after eating we walked back to Times Square to the Yankees Store - unfortunately the tour tickets were all sold out and we couldn't get in there - it's a sign! We split up after that, 4 of us went to Madame Tussauds wax museum, also in Times Square, 2 of us went to the Museum of Modern Art - you can probably guess which one I did. It did not include the cultural side of the city.
Then back to the Disney Store and M&Ms! It's possible that I bought some more stuff. Z will tell you I spent a million dollars - I didn't. We wandered around for a bit after that, we tried to get a tour of Radio City Music, but they were closing. Instead we split up again, 4of us headed for dessert and 2 of us continued to wander.
Dinner that night was delivered, as we had to watch the Patriots lose. M&B had Cuban food, the rest of us ordered from a wings place.
Monday morning we headed over to the Carnegie Deli for breakfast. Another cash only place. There were pictures all over the wall of the famous people that have eaten there. Z had a pastrami and egg sandwich, I had french toast, along with my mother. M had a bagel and fruit cup - we were not able to figure out why the bagel was $1 and the cream cheese was $2.50 until we saw it - it was an entire package of cream cheese, or at least seemed like it. My father had a bagel and omelet, B had a bunch of stuff that I just don't know about.
While we were there the ATM was jammed, and three men fixed it. One of our party told the owner on the way out that he could take the extra money off their hands, if they wanted. The owner proceeded to walk said party over to the table of NYPD officers - great.... The discussion turned to sports. After a few minutes the owner asked if we paid our bill - yes. His response was "then get the f#&@ outta here!" Ok then!
After our exciting breakfast we headed back over for our NBC Studio tour, which was pretty cool. The sets they film on are REALLY small, so much smaller than they seem on TV. We saw where Jimmy Fallon, SNL and Dr Oz are filmed. Small facts we learned about Dr Oz - he runs 5miles a day, has over 500 published articles, films 2 shows a day and is still a practicing physician. Where does he find the time!? Back to the hotel, where we checked out and headed our separate ways. We found our way back to the train station and found the right track and train back to NJ. 40 minutes later we were back to the car! It was a very eventful trip, I think we all had a lot of fun. I highly recommend that everyone visit NYC, at least once.
