There's No Place Like Home

I will never forget my trip to NYC with Chrissy. This trip was awesome to the degree that words cannot describe. The morning we left for New York, I woke up with a knot in my stomach. I was so nervous about flying. I have only flown one other time and that was in 8th grade for the Washington, D.C trip. I was completely fearless then. As I have gotten older, the more fears I have. Our plane left as scheduled from Memphis International Airport, which I was actually impressed with. We landed at LaGuardia Airport as scheduled, after the security breach had been cleared up from earlier in the day, which we learned about upon landing. We got our luggage and proceeded to the Taxi line to get a taxi. The guy in front of us turned around and said "What part of the South are you from?" We had just gotten there and already had been pegged as Southerners.
OMFG!!!! This taxi ride was horrifying. They drive like maniacs! But, we safely made it to the hotel. We put our bags in our room and headed out. It was probably 7:30 or 8:00 pm by then. We walk a few blocks and what is up ahead....Times Square, all lit up and spectacular! Out came the cameras, and we were officially tourists. We walked around amidst the crowds and popped in any and just about everything that was open. We ate at Ray's Pizza that night to have some real New York Pizza. It was pretty good, but honestly I like good ol' Bartlett's New York Pizza Cafe better. We head back to the room late and hit the sheets, except I couldn't sleep. It was after 5 am when I finally fell asleep. (the alarm was set for 7:30 am) I was in a strange place with noise outside and still had anxiety about the flight because I knew I had to get back home the same way.
Day 2: First things first. Starbucks!! We decided to just walk through the city with plans on stopping at the Empire State building, the Statue of Liberty, and Ground Zero. Well, we ran into the Empire State Building and saw the city from the 86th floor observatory......amazing!!! We kept walking south from there to get to SoHo to do some shopping. By then we had walked about 3 miles and determined we couldn't make it for another mile and hopped on the subway, which BTW was fun! We thought we had gotten on the wrong one and when we got to 53rd St. decided to get off (Our hotel was at 55th and 7th, so we thought we were going uptown instead of lower Manhatten). Okay, we get off the subway, start walking, noticed the Hispanic and Asian population and thought something wasn't right. Chrissy: "Um, I don't see any tall buildings." Damn! We.were.in.Brooklyn. We hightailed it back to the same subway station and finally made it to Battery Park where you can see the Statue. (We had gotten off the subway too early, not realizing there was a 53rd street in Brooklyn also. The subway had just not circled back to lower Manhatten yet). We are quick learners though. We figured out the subway system and rode it several more times after that. In Battery Park we looked at the Statue of Liberty, took a few pictures and headed off to the WTC site, but not without buying our fake kate spade and Coach purses. We saw the memorial that was dedicated to the victims of 9/11 (the sphere that was in one of the towers). We saw the WTC site. It was very powerful to me to see that. In the subway station below, there were paintings done by children of the victims of the WTC. It will bring the coldest of hearts to tears! We walked up Wall St. also that day. That night, we ate at Hard Rock Cafe. Food wasn't anything to write home about, but Chrissy and I had Appletini's, which were delicious. We crashed when we got back to the hotel. Up and at 'em early the next morning, we decide to walk 5th Avenue.
Day 3: WOW! Barney's, Bloomingdale's, Rolex, Gucci, Versaci, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's, Trump Tower......It blew my mind. I wanted to buy something in Barney's just because, but I thought it to be outrageous for a pair of socks to cost $38. There were 7 or 8 floors in both Barney's and Bloomingdale's. Of course, Chrissy was dying to buy something at Tiffany's, but I'll let her tell you about that. We walked through part of Central Park and saw the famous fountain from Friends. We finally found FAO Schwartz and saw the big piano. That night, Chrissy's mom told us to have dinner on her so we went to The View, the revolving restaurant in the Marriot at Times Square. Dinner was very nice and a relaxing change from the hustle and bustle of New York. Cool thing is, we had gotten dressed for dinner and was walking there when this lady asked if we were from there. Did we really look that confident?! A compliment, yes, but I am actually glad I don't live there.
Day 4: We got up and crammed our suitcases full of souvenirs and other clothes and headed for China Town. What an experience. Once we figured out the system, it was fun. The Coach, Gucci, etc purses and wallets are kept in a secret place in these shops. We would go into the small rooms to look. One lady actually locked the door behind her (they go in there with you). Haggling over prices was fun too. I just bought a fake Tiffany's necklace. Chrissy got another Coach bag and a Rolex for her hubby at $35 each. Hey, she talked them down from $45. We ate lunch at a cafe in Little Italy. Then, our trip was coming to an end. We took the subway back to the hotel to get our bags and a taxi. To Laguardia we went. This time, the taxi driver was very nice and drove a lot better. He actually talked to us and showed us things! Our flight, again, was on time. We landed back in Memphis at 6:20 pm, actually 9 minutes early! Though we didn't want to leave NYC, it was good to be home. Home where if you want to, you can walk down the sidewalk without fear of getting run over by a taxi, or without half the city walking with you. The streets seemed so empty here, and the lack of activity was welcoming. New York really is 'the city that never sleeps.'
The trip was so much more than I could ever write about. I had an amazing time. The feeling I got seeing the Statue of Liberty from the plane is indescribable. The co-existence of so many cultures and backgrounds was astounding. It didn't matter who you were or where you were from, you were just another person. Seeing the WTC was humbling. The experiences of getting lost and ending up in Brooklyn and also Hell's Kitchen (we were looking for the Museum of Modern Art) are unforgettable. I would love to go back, but I really don't like flying!

Oh, and pictures are soon to come!