This past Saturday, I woke up at 5:30 in the morning to get on a bus with my boyfriend and his mom to travel to New York City for the day. Despite only being three hours away by car or bus, this was the first time I had ever been to the city. I was excited.
Everyone knows what the city looks like from the countless amount of movies it has been featured in, but being there in person is something else. Mrs. Andie acted as our tour guide for the day, as visiting NYC around Christmas time has become a holiday tradition for her. Our first stop was Times Square, and I must admit, I felt overwhelmed. There was so much to look at as thousands of ads flashed across the screens. I took a minute to stand still and stare at all the screens and chaos going on around me. After staring upwards, I began to take in everything that was going on around my level. The famous creepy characters were in abundance, luring tourists in for pictures and expecting money in return. We avoided all characters and handouts as we made our way through the square.
Our first stop was Macy’s on thirty-fourth street. Now, there is a Macy’s near my home, but it looks nothing like this one. Eight floors packed with people as they make there way through the many store vendors. It was like a mall inside of itself. Fully decorated for Christmas, the store was completely filled with tourists like myself. Our goal was to ride the wooden escalator, and we finally found it after asking one of the employees for help. The building was so massive that we had to ask a police officer which way we needed to go to get out.
After finding our way out of Macy’s we decided we were hungry enough to try some authentic New York pizza. We went to a place called Joe’s Pizza, which had a line out the door and down the block. The wait was worth it. Inside the small shop, there was a wall plastered with photos of celebrities who had visited the place, including Bradley Cooper, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Bill Murray. The pizza itself was delicious. I chose a white pizza slice with chunks of mozarella cheese and white sauce. We ate over in Bryant Park in the middle of the christmas market being held.
After enjoying our slices, we went to the Empire State Building lobby. The line to get to the observation deck was insanely long. Plus, Jonathan and I aren’t too fond of heights. Walking inside the building, I immediatley thought of the movie Elf. It was beautfiul with its Christmas tree and several window displays of the building made of different materials. One window showed a replica made like a gingerbread house.
Next, we went to the New York Public Library. The lions on the outside of the building were decorated with Christmas wreaths. I was blown away by the architecture of the building and how they can fit this style in such a modern city surrounded by modern buildings. The inside was even more magnificent, with its rennasaince styled ceilings. One thing I will say is that I expected the place to be filled with a lot more books. They only let tourists in one of the reading rooms, but even in the massive room there were not a ton of books.
If you don’t like crowds, avoid the christmas markets in the city on a Saturday. I enjoyed the market in Bryant Park, but we had very little room to enter any of the small shops set up and were pushed along with the crowd. We walked the perimeter of the park and got hot chocolate from one of the vendors. It was extremely chocolatey, so much that I could only drink about half of it before it became too sweet.
We left Bryant Park and walked along fitfth avenue where all of the high-end stores are placed. We browsed around the two-story Barnes & Nobles before getting dinner at Trattoria Trecolori, a small little Italian place. It was packed and we ending up sitting at the bar, but the food was absolutely amazing. I love pasta, and the cheese tortellini dish I got was the best pasta dish I have ever had.
We had time for one more event before we had to start heading back for the bus. That one event was the most important one of the day. We had to go to Rockefeller Center to see THE tree. And it was amazing. There is something to be said about seeing famous landmarks in person instead of television or the movies. Despite the massive crowds of people surrounding the tree, I was able to see it in all of its glory.
I will never forget my first trip to NYC. It is a beautiful city with so much to do and see. We barely scratched the surface on this day trip. I have yet to see Central Park or the Statue of Liberty, but that’s a good excuse for me to go back, and go back I will.
Cari's Corner 