New York City ~

A couple weeks ago, I got the chance to travel to New York City and explore the city with my wonderful school friends. The first part of the trip was the torturous ten hour bus ride. Keep in mind that this bus was filled with other high school/college students busy yelling, talking, and playing their obnoxious music full blast {not me, of course}. So, my friends and I decided to stay the night before the trip together and stay up all night. This way, we could sleep the whole way there. This worked out pretty well and I slept probably eight out of the nine hours to New York City.

Phantom Of The Opera: Broadway Here We Come!

We stayed in a hotel located in New Jersey, just outside of New York. When we first arrived, we all hustled up to our rooms to get settled in and prepare ourselves for the first event: seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway! For this event, my friends and I decided to get all dressed up. In modern time, most people just wear semi-formal attire, but we decided we wanted to look amazing, after all we were in New York City! Seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway was a great experience. It was invigorating and magical all at once. The actors put on a great show and had me on the edge of my seat at all times during the show. While walking to the show, we saw many other shows that were also being performed such as Rock of Ages and Newsies! I would love to go see Rock of ages eventually!

After the show, we went back to our hotel to get some much needed rest after the long ride and all the walking we had done to get to the show on time. The next morning, we got right up and to it immediately. First, we went on a tour of the city that showed us all different locations that had been featured in many famous movies and shows. Some of the things we saw were the apartment used in I am Legend, and the apartment featured in Friends. One thing we learned was that Friends was actually filmed in another location but the directors used pictures of an apartment complex in New York for the opening sequence. Also, in real life the actual apartment they used didn’t have a large balcony and was not as close to the “fat guys” apartment as shown on T.V. And the Central Perk was not even an actual place! As you can tell from the pictures, the shop below the apartment complex is actually painted red and named something else entirely!

New York City Shopping Is Amazing!

Next, we went shopping! I loved finding a four story Forever 21, hello paradise! Also, if you ever go to New York City, you must stop by the Toys “R” Us! It contains a carousel! It was quite amazing. We found so many different shops and went frantic when we found out that we were running out of time and had only hit about one street! Sadly, the shopping was coming to an end for now, and it was time to head back to our rooms and get ready for yet another Broadway show: Mama Mia!

I have to admit, I was not that excited to see this show, but I was excited for the music that the play was based upon. But, much to my surprise, the show turned out to be great! It was really funny. Keep in mind that if you ever plan to see this as a family, it does contain some jokes and scenes that may not be suitable for a younger audience. Although I liked this show, it had nothing on Phantom of the Opera!

The next day, we headed out to see some famous sights. First, we took a boat ride to see the Statue of Liberty! Sadly, when arriving we saw that it was under construction and we were not able to approach it closely. Also, it was raining so I wasn’t able to get any great pictures. Regardless, it was breath taking to be able to see such a meaningful and popular monument that close!

New York City Places To See: Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum

 

New York City Places To See: Empire State Building

Next, we went to the Empire State Building. As it turned out, the weather put quite a damper on our plans for the day. When we got to the building, we found out that there was zero visibility because of all the fog. So, when we got to the top, we saw literally nothing but fog all around us. Regardless, I still enjoyed going up all the way to the top and getting the chance to explore the building for quite a while.

China Town! More Shopping!

The Last day was probably one of my favorite days on my journey. The reason for this is that we got to go shopping in China Town! I was excited for this the entire trip because I love shopping and I already had heard about the hagglers that would approach and practically beg you to buy their product. I found this to be very true, very fast. Right away, I had men and women approaching me from all directions asking me if I was interested in getting Tiffany Jewelry, Purses, Ray Bans, and much more. The great thing about this is that you can haggle right back with them and get them to lower their prices {bwahahaha}. For instance, we were in one store and I saw a NYC hoodie that I was interested in. The seller said it was for $30 and I walked out of the store with the hoodie and I had only payed $15 for it. That same seller tried selling me some Ray Bans for $40 and I got him to sell them to me for $12! The seller commented that I was very strong and hard to bargain with! It was extremely funny! One thing you have to be careful about, though, is the purses. Many women go to China Town thinking they are going to find name brands such as Coach and Prada at dirt cheap prices. This is not the case, most of the purses are knock offs and not worth the money. If you really want the purse, you should definitely inspect it closely and never buy on impulse!

New York City Places To See: 9/11 Memorial

After that, we went to the 9/11 memorial. This was something that I was very excited to see. This memorial is located where the twin towers used to stand. Where each building was, there are now two pool-type things that have the names of those who were lost during the tragedy. Even from the tallest building, the bottom of the pools can not be seen. This symbolizes how the lost ones will always be remembered in our history.

Lastly, it was sadly time to go home and endure yet another ten hour bus ride. Overall, I loved the trip and would gladly do it all over again. Sometime in the future, I plan on going back to New York City so that I may see the Statue of Liberty again and the view from the Empire State Building. I think every person should get to experience something like this at least once in their life. For a girl from North Carolina, it was truly a culture shock.

Have You Ever Been To New York City? If So, What Is Your Favorite Thing There?