31 Days Travel Photo #7

I have a super busy weekend including: studying, a wedding (vow renewal), an open house at University of Baltimore, and fitting 30 hours of work into two days.  So, I have no motivation to blog, unfortunately.   So, I will just leave you with a travel photo.

In honor of John and Kayla's Vow Renewal this weekend: 

Best Friends in NYC

Time Square, NYC 2009

Bucket List: Ride A Subway in NYC

Today I am going to talk about another item on my bucket list: 

I think this is one of those things that everyone has on their bucket list.  Well, I am here to tell you, it's not worth being put on your bucket list.   I would much rather walk everywhere then take the subway!  It is dirty and confusing and totally not worth it.  I am glad that I got that experience over with and that I was with a group who was able to figure it out.

Though I don't really like the subway, we made the best of the experience.  For example, my friend, John and I had a really long sarcastic discussion about the sign in the first picture.  Also, I bet him and the other John $5 that they wouldn't moon the other train.  They almost did it but their women shut that down :(  I guess it saved me $10.

NYC 2013

Before I begin this post I would just like to say congrats to my (future) Brother-In-Law, Frankie who is graduating from Basic Training today in SC.  I am sad that we can't be there with the family but we are so proud of his accomplishments and everything that he is doing for his family.

Kayla (step-niece), Frank, Maria (SIL) and Alaya (Niece)

I will start this post by saying that though I had a good time, this day really tested my patience and made me believe that there is definitely something to be said for solo traveling. 

This trip was my third time to NYC but it was Josh and Amy's (my sister) first time.  We were dropped off right by Penn Station and made our way down to the Flat Iron Building.  It is one of those buildings that I just wanted to see just because.  We stopped by, took pictures then made our way towards the Empire State. 

The Flat Iron Building

*Frustration #1*  I had been wanting to go up to the 80th floor of the Empire State for a while now but my sister refused to stand in the "long" line.   I was a little annoyed but figured that I'd just do it next time and we could do Top of the Rock at Rockefeller Center later in the evening. 

Then we headed over to the area of Grand Central Station.  We passed by and headed down to see the Chrysler Building and the UN Building before making our way back up to have lunch at Grand Central. 

We got lunch at Grand Central and looked around for a bit. 

Hummingbird Cupcake

After lunch we began to make our way towards central park.  On our way, we passed the Nike store which Josh wanted to spend some time in. After checking out the Nike store we continued to Central Park. Although we didn't spend as much time in central park as I had originally wanted to, I was still glad to be able to see areas that I had not seen before.

Bethesda Fountain

The Boathouse

The Alice in Wonderland Statue

After Central Park we headed to Rockefeller Center, which we ended up skipping all together after me and my sister had a little "squabble".  This was perhaps the most frustrating part of my day, but we left the area and headed to Time Square for the rest of the day.  We rode the Toys R Us Ferris wheel, went to the Disney store, shopped at Forever 21 and ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe (which I do not recommend).

Our "cart" on the Ferris Wheel

This little day trip turned out to be okay and I did end up having a good time.  Next time, Josh and I are planning to go see the 9/11 Memorial as well as the Statue of Liberty.

Bucket List: Alice in Wonderland Statue

First, I am guest posting here today about my travels in Costa Rica!

Anyone who knows me knows that Alice in Wonderland is one of my favorite books.  I like the Disney movie as well but the book is better, obviously.  Anyways, I have been to NYC several times but have never really gotten the chance to explore Central Park.  Once I found out that there was an Alice in Wonderland Statue in Central Park, I was all over it!  I researched where it was got directions and put it on our list of must see things for the day. 

We went to NYC this past week and although we didn't spend as much time at the statue (or in Central Park) as I would have liked, I am still glad I got to see it and am glad that I now know a quicker way to get to it for my next visit. 

Me and the Statue

For those who don't know much about the statue: 

This statue was donated to Central Park in 1959 by a publisher and philanthropist named George Delacorte.  The statue was both a gift to the children of NYC and a tribute to his late wife.  The sculptors name is Jose de Creeft who was a Spanish-born and french-trained sculptor.  Also, the face of the Mad Hatter is actually a caricature of George Delacorte.  For those who would like to check out this statue, it is located on East 74th Street, North of the Conservatory Water.

Travel Tuesday: NYC 2009

My second trip to NYC was almost a year after my first.  I have a very close group of friends and we were having a rough year with the loss of a friend, so we decided we needed a trip, even if it was just for the day!  We headed up to NYC which have of us had been to and half hadn't so it was a fun and interesting day and I got to see sites that we missed on that first trip!  Also, though the tree wasn't lit yet, they had started decorating for Christmas (we went at the end of November). 

When we got to NYC we headed straight to the nearest subway (after stopping at Starbucks, which our bus happened to drop us off in front of) and headed towards the Brooklyn Bridge.  None of us had been down this way before, so we made it our first stop. 

Our first subway trip!

Heather, Kelsey and I on the subway

After walking halfway across the bridge, we headed in the direction of the WTC site.  This was an emotion experience for me, having known three people in the towers and only one getting out safely. 

Looking out on to the site

After that we headed into China Town where some people may or may not have gotten purses (sorry no pics from China town).  We then randomly just walked.   We ran into the Irish hunger memorial and were able to get some decent pictures.   Also, my friend John was very confused by this memorial and I still remember him saying "yeah, lets not feed them, we'll just give them a memorial".

"We'll just tell people she's in Ireland"

Friends

(you may notice in some pics I have my sweater on and in some I don't ... it was a weird day where I wasn't warm and wasn't cold, I couldn't get comfortable so I kept taking it off when I got hot and putting it back on when I got cold).

Next we walked to an area where we could see the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

Kelsey trying to throw me in

The sign said no standing anytime .... so John stood there

We got hungry after this and happened upon a little pizza place called Pomodoro Pizza.  I have no idea where it is, but it was really good and you could pretty much get anything on your pizza. 

After lunch we did the upper NYC things such as Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Macy's ect. 

Empire State

Central Park

Girls and John

Girls

Me and Kels

Me and John

We ate dinner at Bubba Gump.  It was ok but I can't say I would eat there again.  It wasn't bad but I wasn't impressed either.  Not worth the money, but we had fun.

After that we walked around Time Square, spent too much time in Toys R Us, went in St. Patrick's Cathedral and just aimlessly walked around until we had to catch our bus and go back home (sad).

Our Group

Can I live here!

Me and Heather are behind the Barbie Sign

And that was our trip to NYC in 2009!  I can't wait to go back in less than a month and show Josh and my Sister around! And see a few new things!