NYC - Day 2

After our fun cab ride back from the club and stopping by a literal hole-in-the-wall pizza place, we managed to make it back to our hotel room in time to get about 5 hours of sleep.

Our plans for Saturday included visiting the 9/11 memorial and cashing in our Top of the Rock tour, since we were so kindly left behind in Little Italy the night before.  Saturday was a much more relaxed day, which we all agreed was much needed!

Our memorial tour was scheduled for 10:30 that morning, so we gave ourselves plenty of time to get some breakfast and catch the subway down to the Financial District.  Our memorial tickets included very explicit directions on which train to take and which streets to walk down - if you had asked me, it would be our easiest adventure to navigate all weekend.

But, alas ... oh, E-train.  If only you had been in operation that beautiful, blustery day, my friends and I wouldn't have found our way onto the C-train and across the river in Brooklyn.

It was about the time we spent an uncomfortable amount of time in a very dark tunnel that we began to give each other questioning glances.  We may or may not have been on top of our game, thanks to the previous night's adventure, but we eventually figured out that the subway system had let us down.  No one told us that Charlie Brown's teacher would be taking the place of the conductor that day, and surely no one understood her when she announced that our stop was closed for construction.  So, to Brooklyn we went.

Rockaway, to be exact.

By the time we actually made it off the subway and learned where we were, it was 11:00.  My Type A-ness went into overdrive and I just knew we would miss our chance to visit the memorial.  It was noon once we finally made it back to Manhattan and walked our pretty little toes to the memorial entrance.

I was relieved to find out that we would, in fact, still be able to visit such an iconic place, and saddened that it was even a place to visit in the first place.

I cried as we were flying into Laguardia the day before, imagining the terror those folks must have been feeling.  The tears didn't come again while we were at the site, but there was most definitely a cloud of somberness hovering over me.  It was wild to go from the bustling, noisy streets of the city and into such a relatively still and quiet place.

The new tower with the Survivor Tree.

We hung around the memorial for a while, then decided to head over to Chelsea Market for lunch and some gelato.  Pretty much everything that went into my belly during our time in NYC was excellent - the food did not disappoint!

My friend, Brian, picked out another great place to meet us for appetizers and NY-brewed beer, but I'd have to say that the company far outweighed the cuisine.

By late afternoon, we found our way back to the hotel and got ready for our night out.  Brian had encouraged us to stop by Magnolia Bakery for some out-of-this-world cupcakes, so we took his advice.  Too bad I left mine and Brandi's cupcakes at the hotel on Sunday.  And it's really too bad that the bakery charges $45 to ship 6 cupcakes.

While we waited for our Top of the Rock tour to start, we walked over to Times Square to see the lights.  No matter how hard I tried, I could not figure out the best camera setting to capture just how bright it was out there! I imagine it may have been the inspiration to this song - or, I could just be making that up.

Then, it was time to truly see the lights.  From 872 feet in the air, we got an incredible view of the city! I wasn't too excited about the elevator ride to the top, but my fears were quickly eased.  Many of you know that I'm terrified of heights (just ask Jeramie about our ride on the Ferris wheel...) but I was completely distracted by how beautiful everything was.

And, cheesy photo of us falling off a skyscraper beam?

Check.

We flew back home the following day, lamenting the fact that our trip was over, but ready to see our families.  I knew we would have a great time - we always do when we're together - but I'm a little surprised by how much I miss the city.  Never ever could I imagine myself living there, but visiting is an entirely different story.

So long for now, NYC.  I will be back.