NYC!
As a first time visitor to New York City, you could certainly say I mostly went to the most touristy spots in the city. With that said, I had a very action packed day in New York City.
Navigating
We made parking reservations ahead of time at a garage northeast from Times Square and other attractions in that area. Once we parked, we headed down to the subway to go to toward Battery Park. The subway experience was new to me, but pretty simple. We did get a little bit of help from a worker when she saw us staring at the map for a while. She gave us good directions though, and we were able to get on the right train.
First Thing's First
The first area we visited was the World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial. The new World Trade Center is is beautiful work of architecture. Its appearance does a wonderful job of serving as a symbol of rebuilding post-tragedy.
There is a 9/11 museum here, but we did not go to it. However, we did spend time at the memorial. Like the World Trade Center, the memorial is nice. Two giant pools with the names of those lost engraved around the sides memorialize the tragedy. To me, the pools, which have water running in them but are fairly empty, represent a hole which can't be filled. It's a somber sight, but one that is thought-provoking and meaningful. The memorial makes you recall where you were on 9/11. It makes you think about the fact that 15 years ago, this very spot was rubble where so many innocent lives were lost.
Lady Liberty
Moving on, we briefly checked out the New York Stock Exchange building. Then we made our way to Battery Park. From Battery Park, we got on the ferry to go to the Statue of Liberty. We bought tickets ahead of time online. We wanted to get tickets to go up to the crown, but they were sold out of those. The ferry was fun in itself. I loved getting to see the city from out on the water. Although the ferry goes to Ellis Island as well, we didn't get off there simply due to the lack of time.
Once we got to Liberty Island, we wandered around for a while looking at the statue from various angles. The trip out to the statue was definitely worth the money.
Moving On
We took the ferry back to Battery Park and got on the subway heading back north. St. Patrick's Cathedral was our first stop after that. This place was very cool. You can definitely enjoy it whether or not you are a religious person. The windows are beautifully painted and the architecture is grand.
Next, we went to Central Park for a while and saw some girl freaking out and getting arrested or something. It was getting to be evening time, so we were getting hungry. What food do you get while in NYC? A pizza of course! Unfortunately, I can't remember what restaurant we went to. It was just as tasty as most pizzas though.
An iconic New York location, the Rockefeller Center, was not disappointing. It was fun seeing all the signs for NBC and various TV shows that are shot around there. It would have been cool to get to see the big Christmas tree, but it was still a neat spot. The statues there were very unique as well.
We walked around the area for a while, taking in all the sites we could. The Radio City Music Hall was one of these sites we happened upon.
Finally, we got to Times Square. I was astounded by all the people there of all sorts of nationalities. You hear all kinds of different languages and see a wide variety of characters. It was just starting to get dark when we got there. The sky was still light enough to be able to see all the features, but dark enough that the lights still popped. I could really see why this spot in New York is so well-visited.
Conclusion
Our day in New York City was wrapping up. We were able to see the Empire State Building from afar, but did not make the effort to walk all the way over to it. Instead, we took the subway one last time and went back to the car. My first time in NYC was awesome. I feel like we really maximized the day and saw a lot of iconic sites. As with most of my city day trips, there were plenty of things that I didn't get to see. Someday I will go back and see more of New York!
Navigating
We made parking reservations ahead of time at a garage northeast from Times Square and other attractions in that area. Once we parked, we headed down to the subway to go to toward Battery Park. The subway experience was new to me, but pretty simple. We did get a little bit of help from a worker when she saw us staring at the map for a while. She gave us good directions though, and we were able to get on the right train.
First Thing's First
The first area we visited was the World Trade Center and 9/11 Memorial. The new World Trade Center is is beautiful work of architecture. Its appearance does a wonderful job of serving as a symbol of rebuilding post-tragedy.
There is a 9/11 museum here, but we did not go to it. However, we did spend time at the memorial. Like the World Trade Center, the memorial is nice. Two giant pools with the names of those lost engraved around the sides memorialize the tragedy. To me, the pools, which have water running in them but are fairly empty, represent a hole which can't be filled. It's a somber sight, but one that is thought-provoking and meaningful. The memorial makes you recall where you were on 9/11. It makes you think about the fact that 15 years ago, this very spot was rubble where so many innocent lives were lost.
Lady Liberty
Moving on, we briefly checked out the New York Stock Exchange building. Then we made our way to Battery Park. From Battery Park, we got on the ferry to go to the Statue of Liberty. We bought tickets ahead of time online. We wanted to get tickets to go up to the crown, but they were sold out of those. The ferry was fun in itself. I loved getting to see the city from out on the water. Although the ferry goes to Ellis Island as well, we didn't get off there simply due to the lack of time.
Once we got to Liberty Island, we wandered around for a while looking at the statue from various angles. The trip out to the statue was definitely worth the money.
Moving On
We took the ferry back to Battery Park and got on the subway heading back north. St. Patrick's Cathedral was our first stop after that. This place was very cool. You can definitely enjoy it whether or not you are a religious person. The windows are beautifully painted and the architecture is grand.
Next, we went to Central Park for a while and saw some girl freaking out and getting arrested or something. It was getting to be evening time, so we were getting hungry. What food do you get while in NYC? A pizza of course! Unfortunately, I can't remember what restaurant we went to. It was just as tasty as most pizzas though.An iconic New York location, the Rockefeller Center, was not disappointing. It was fun seeing all the signs for NBC and various TV shows that are shot around there. It would have been cool to get to see the big Christmas tree, but it was still a neat spot. The statues there were very unique as well.
We walked around the area for a while, taking in all the sites we could. The Radio City Music Hall was one of these sites we happened upon.
Finally, we got to Times Square. I was astounded by all the people there of all sorts of nationalities. You hear all kinds of different languages and see a wide variety of characters. It was just starting to get dark when we got there. The sky was still light enough to be able to see all the features, but dark enough that the lights still popped. I could really see why this spot in New York is so well-visited.Conclusion
Our day in New York City was wrapping up. We were able to see the Empire State Building from afar, but did not make the effort to walk all the way over to it. Instead, we took the subway one last time and went back to the car. My first time in NYC was awesome. I feel like we really maximized the day and saw a lot of iconic sites. As with most of my city day trips, there were plenty of things that I didn't get to see. Someday I will go back and see more of New York!
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