I'm not even sure if I can do this trip justice because we had such a good time but I will try to give you a little taste of it mostly for personal journaling purposes so I can always remember the things I did while I was in NYC!
First, I will say that my advice to anyone who is planning a trip with friends, especially to a big city like NYC is to make sure you are going with the right people. For me this go around? Mission accomplished. Seriously.
Good friends+NYC= Good times and great memories. I don't care if you've known your friends for a year, or 10 years... go on a trip with them across the country and you'll learn something about each person that you didn't know before. It's so fun.
Day one-
We knew that taking the Red Eye flight and arriving in NYC at 6 in the morning basically meant that we wouldn't be getting any sleep and boy were we right. But don't worry. It only helped us adjust to the New York time that much quicker. Despite the lack of sleep [I think I managed to fit in maybe an hour on the plane] we were still chipper as we got off the plane and headed for the subway. That is until we heard Cole say, "Wait, where is my back pack?"
SUPER long story short.. we figured out that he must have left it on the air train at JFK. At this point we had left the airport and were ready to board the subway and only had 1 hour to get to Manhattan, leave our bags at the hotel and make it to the Top of the Rock for the time we had purchased our tickets for. Not gunna lie, I had a mini heart attack. Not because his jeans and new Nike's were in the bag but because his passport was in there. And since he only has his Canadian license still (since he hasn't taken care of that yet) he needed that passport to get home at the end of the weekend. Nieko, the rational one, assured us that there was nothing we could do until we got to the hotel and we could make the phone calls then. We, I mean I, did just that.
We were able to rush to the Top of the Rock even though the guy at the hotel said that getting there in 15 minutes was pushing it. OK, maybe it was pushing it for someone who didn't know where they were going but we had Nieko with us who seriously was our personal tour guide around town. The kid's got skills and he got us there just in time. I was dripping with sweat from rushing and panicking about the lost luggage and such but I was able to breathe when we finally got to the top and saw this--Our first real view of NYC:
The Empire State Building... the City...
..Central Park. It was all breathtaking!
We spent the rest of the first morning making a stop at the Today Show [Al is so short and we didn't see any celebs. but it was really cool just being there] checking into the hotel, handling the back pack issue (THANK GOODNESS it was turned in), eating pizza, and riding the subway all the way back to JFK for the second time to pick up said bag. Even though I was tired and super frustrated with the whole situation, I couldn't help but be grateful for people who are honest and turn things in and for patient friends. We really didn't let that put a damper on the rest of the day. The boys and I decided that we would make a stop at Grand Central Station just so we can say we'd been. It really is so big and hello! Do you know how many movies have scenes that take place here? Idk an exact number but it's a lot. So that was cool!
**Intermission** Sorry. I had to stop for a while for a break and to shower. We did so much day one.
Day two-
We got up early (not early enough for Easton to get his free continental breakfast at the hotel. Sorry, Easton) and headed across the Brooklyn Bridge. Walking across the bridge was so cool! I just loved seeing all of the buildings, the statue of liberty from afar, the water.. it was all so neat. But the bridge was super long. I'm pretty sure I pulled a muscle in my leg on day one and it wasn't just a little ouchie. It KILLED. I know I complained about it a lot on the trip but that's only because I really felt like I really wanted to cut my leg off. haha. Not kidding. But I pushed through it. I mean, it's not like I was going to let that stop me from seeing everything. Get real.
We got across the bridge and found Grimaldi's pizza. omg. The food is so good and popular that we got there at about noon and had to wait in line for like 30 minutes or more just to get seated inside the tiny restaurant.
We then hopped on the subway that spit us out right where they are building the new World Trade Center Buildings. Even though we couldn't get tickets to see ground zero, it was just really cool being there and looking at the new building being built and the new preview site and taking some time to remember what happened there only 10 years ago...
The main part of the rest of the day was spent in China town. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a little weird when it comes to things like drive through windows, yard sales or dealing with certain people or weird situations. It's like the DI. I just try to avoid it because I know I will feel uncomfortable. Not sure why. I just do. I knew that China Town was going to be interesting for me because, well, you can't have any of those issues when it comes to China Town. It's strictly business there. It's everything I expected it to be but not how I expected to react. I honestly didn't think I would be able to let myself purchase anything because I would be too uncomfortable. I even told the boys that's how I would be. Yes, I was uncomfortable a few times. I mean, being led into a Dunkin' Donuts in China town so some guy can bring in Rolex's for you to look at or looking at knock off purses on paper and having it ripped out of my hand because the cops were passing by... yeah, it got a little interesting but I surprisingly didn't have a panic attack! Yay me. But I found one lady that I kept handing money in exchange for some sweet jewelry, which I love. Next time, now that I know what to expect, I would probably be able to buy more things! But I'm proud of the little bag of jewelry I walked away with; it was a big step for me:) haha
I must have breathed the fumes in a little too much or something because when we got back to the hotel I was a little cuckoo. But I wasn't the only one. The rest of the night consisted of dancing and joking around, laughing really hard and me, Easton and Nieko making funny noises. Well, Easton fell asleep really fast when we got into bed and I had to explain to him the next day that he didn't understand sleep over rules because you have to warn people when you are going to fall asleep so people, (ie-Nieko) don't try talking to you when you are already asleep! omg. So funny..
Day Three-
We will just call this the day of shopping because we really did shop the entire day. We walked around 5th avenue, went into a bunch of fancy stores..it was great! I'm so glad I went with boys who like to shop. Yes, it was a different experience being the only girl in the group but I love shopping for boys and giving my opinion so it was a good time even though it would have been more ideal in a wheel chair. jk. My right leg just KILLED!
I really loved our stop in Central Park. We sat on top of a huge rock and just looked around and took it all in. You know how I am with trees and plants.. I'm super weird and I just love them. So the whole sight was just breath taking. I really think that if I lived there I would go to Central park often and just walk around or just sit and think. It was a perfect sunny day too which added to the greatness of it all!
haha. Just kidding. But really. Forget Toys R Us.
We decided that we would go to Little Italy for dinner on our last night in the City. We took the subway a little too far and boy was that an interesting experience. Creepy a little. You know those movies where they show how some of the people are on the Subways? Well, they don't really exaggerate. People really are that crazy. One day we saw a man that was completely doped up and passed out holding this big wad of cash. Weird. And on our last night there (when we went a little too far on the train) there was this old women who had this fugly hat pulled down over her eyes that was so drunk she spilled her beer on a bunch of skate boarding kids and the old asian boarder man that was with them. haha. It was one of those moments that you want to just bust up laughing but you aren't sure what will happen to you if you do so you just look away. omg.
Getting a little turned around in China town that late at night was a little unsettling. Note--Don't smile at the random guy in the white BMW in China Town. He'll probably creepily stare you down until you are out of sight. *shiver* haha. But when we finally found Little Italy I felt much better. We ate some yummy pasta at Da Nico's and stopped for some gelato on the way out. SO good :)
Again, coming back to the hotel at night after another exhausting day was interesting. It was just like a slumber party. Going out late to get candy, Nieko crawling because his feet hurt, the boys making me put on my H&M "onesie" (as they call it) and snooki glasses and having me wear it all the way up and down the elevator with them. HA! Embarrassing. And then eating so much candy that we laugh so hard and then crash.
Day 4--
Needless to say, we slept in a little on the last day. For some reason my alarm clock didn't go off which means that no one got up because I was on wake up duty all weekend. BUT I did get a great night of sleep and was ready in time to check out of the hotel to finish up our last day.
We decided to get our souvenir shopping done and to check out Wall Street to wrap up the trip. We really only had a few hours but it was cool being on Wall Street and seeing some of the things that we hoped we would see but weren't sure if we would have time!
When it was time to get our bags to head back to the airport, it was a little sad. I mean, my body was tired but I had such a fun trip that I didn't want to come home and back to real life and to COLD Utah. I also didn't want to sit on another 4 hour plane ride where I wouldn't get any sleep. But actually the plane ride home was so much fun!
There was a guy sitting in front of us that still had the piece of cardboard in his hat that is meant to be removed when you purchase it. How did we know this? Because it was completely hanging out the side of his hat!! Nieko and I were dying. It was so funny. Like, how do you not feel that thing inside of your hat? Nieko kept making me take pictures of it. haha. He even took Cole's hat and stuck a napkin in it and was having me take more pictures of him with the guy. I was dying. And this was just before take off! Even the two male flight attendants came up and saw it and were laughing. Of course we laughed too and showed them the funny pictures we took. I must have forgotten that I was wearing my snooki sunglasses with the chain (I had a headache from the lights) and one of the guys kept saying "omg, those are the fliest glasses I've ever seen!" and then proceeded to take them and give me his glasses to wear. haha it was so funny! Later he came back, kneeled next to me and asked "How old are you hunny, and don't lie!" I told him and then he asked how old Nieko and Easton were. My first thought was, "Oh great he likes one of them.. but instead he asked if we wanted free cocktails! Seriously. Leave it to me to make friends where ever I go. hahaha jk. But really. The same guy even came up to serve drinks to the guy with the hat and said, "Oh, is that a new hat!?" I was thinking that he would tell him about the cardboard sticking all the way down his neck but he then said, "Oh wow! It's nice!" and then walked away busting up laughing.
Omg. It was a fun flight home. We were even able to watch most of the Jersey Shore we missed and real Housewives of NJ and the movie Scream. I feel asleep for a little bit of scream but was woken up by Nieko turning up my TV volume. He told me it was an accident but later confessed that he just wanted me to wake up so he could guess the killer. haha oh, Neiko.
I know this post was super long and that I left out a lot of the little funny happenings but I wanted to make this post more like a journal entry so I could remember all of the details because honestly, this was such a good trip! I'm so glad I was able to go with such great friends and my brother. I can't wait to go back. Or just on another trip.
Bahamas anyone? haha.
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