Let me just start out by saying our trip would not have been near as fun if we had not talked to my cousin Emily and her husband Ryan at Thanksgiving dinner. They live in the city and gave us tons of great recommendations. Emily suggested the app HopStop and it was a LIFE SAVER! If you are going to NYC (or pretty much any other major city) download this NOW! Justin and I ended up riding the subway 17 times and only once did we end up confused and had to walk a couple extra blocks to get where we were going. My dad asked me if riding the subway was easy and I told him extremely, but if we hadn't have had that app I would probably be singing a different tune!
We only had 2 things planned for this trip - go to the 9/11 Memorial on Monday and go see The Performers on Broadway on Saturday. Well the Performers closed after only 7 performances (and 20 something previews). We were disappointed but decided there was nothing else we REALLY wanted to see (we are going to see The Lion King & Book of Mormon in Austin next year) and we have both seen shows on Broadway so we didn't want to go just to go. I'm glad we didn't schedule anything because we would have ended up missing out on all the other fun stuff we did! Oh and we brought our student IDs for student discounts at the museums and I'm so glad we did...the perks of looking young!!
We only had 2 things planned for this trip - go to the 9/11 Memorial on Monday and go see The Performers on Broadway on Saturday. Well the Performers closed after only 7 performances (and 20 something previews). We were disappointed but decided there was nothing else we REALLY wanted to see (we are going to see The Lion King & Book of Mormon in Austin next year) and we have both seen shows on Broadway so we didn't want to go just to go. I'm glad we didn't schedule anything because we would have ended up missing out on all the other fun stuff we did! Oh and we brought our student IDs for student discounts at the museums and I'm so glad we did...the perks of looking young!!
Saturday morning we got up bright and early and grabbed some Dunkin Donuts coffee and headed into Manhattan. It was only about a 20 minute ride downtown and there was a train that came about every 5 minutes so it was really nice.
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| I actually drank coffee! It was a peppermint mocha - Justin said it barely tasted like coffee but I would beg to differ! |
We started our morning at Chelsea Market...in Chelsea of course. It's this neat indoor market with all kinds of food & shops.
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| Pretty church in Chelsea |
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| Chelsea Market |
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| Pretty Saturday morning |
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| Chelsea Market |
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| Google was right across the street |
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| Inside the market |
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| All of the shops/restaurants |
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| Lots of hustle & bustle even at 10am |
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| Pretty architecture |
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| Spice Market |
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| Justin & the well inside |
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| Fun boutique |
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| Pumpkins for sale!! |
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| We split a bagel with enough cream cheese to feed a family of 6....don't worry we scraped most of it off! |
After eating our breakfast and walking through the market we headed up to High Line. Both Chelsea Market & High Line were Emily/Ryan's suggestions and I am SO glad we did them. High Line was probably my favorite thing we did the entire time!
High Line is a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side...To learn more about the park visit their website
High Line starts at Gansevoort street (is it sad that the only reason I know about this area is from Kourtney & Kim Take New York???) and ends at West 30th street. We started one entrance after Gansevoort at 14th street (where Chelsea Market is).
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| Love the view! |
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| View of High Line from the street |
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| View of the street from High Line |
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| Some of the pretty plants along the walkway |
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| There was stadium style seating where you could watch the traffic |
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| Lots of pretty trees |
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| Interesting...and seemingly uncomfortable benches/loungers |
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| View from High Line |
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| Justin enjoying our walk |
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| Me LOVING our walk! |
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| Some of the vegetation incorporated into the old tracks |
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| Interesting art on the side of a building |
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| Old building...New building |
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| Pretty red brick |
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| It looks like something from outer space! |
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| City view |
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| More brick! |
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| Old & New architecture mixed! |
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| Super cool mural! |
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| Up close! |
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| More brick :) |
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| End of High Line |
After High Line we walked to the subway and went to the Museum of Natural History. Justin and I had planned to watch Night at the Museum before going here but we just ran out of time. Even though I haven't seen the movie in a long time I really was just expecting the exhibits to come to life! Unfortunately they did not but I still think they do at night :) We started out by visiting the planetarium...it was SO cool! It was a 45 minute show and it completely boggled my mind. I have a hard time wrapping my mind around our universe/galaxy let alone other ones! It was super informative and interesting. After resting our feet we set out to explore the rest of this massive museum.
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| American Museum of Natural History |
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| Scary dinosaur! |
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| I don't even know what this is! |
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| GIANT sloth...like the size of a bear |
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| Poor guy only has a head...but man he would be BIG |
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| Pretty view of Central Park |
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| Another view |
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| And one more...it was just SUCH a pretty day! |
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| More dinos...this one looks like it's ready to charge! |
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| Good ol' T-Rex |
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| Happy little (I mean BIG) turtle! |
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| OWLS! |
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| Whooping Crane...They were whooping for Johnny Manziel & the Aggies |
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| Christmas Tree decorated in origami |
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| Really cool ornaments |
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| The biggest tree I've ever seen!! |
After the museum we had some time to kill before our dinner reservations so we walked around Central Park for a bit. We even felt/saw some snow flurries!!
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| Justin in the Park |
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| Me in the Park |
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| A wintry looking day |
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| So many runners! I was a little jealous but would not have been out running in that cold! |
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| More pretty leaves/trees |
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| Pretty pond |
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| Skyline |
While we were at the museum Justin and I were discussing dinner (we are always concerned about our next meal hehe) and we ended up making early reservations for Guy Fieri's American Kitchen & Bar. It's his new restaurant near times square that received AWFUL reviews in the New York Times a few weeks ago. We decided it was probably some stuck up food critic that wanted fancy food and not "American" cooking so we gave it a shot!
Guy's American Kitchen & Bar
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| Vegas Fries...French Fries tossed in a Buffalo sauce with Wasabi dipping sauce |
We ended up sharing 3 appetizers and each had a drink...the food was good - not great and the service was pretty bad (we were even there before the dinner rush so there was really no excuse). I think it was over priced for what we got but not more-so compared to any other restaurant in Times Square. So I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to people but I also wouldn't tell someone NOT to go.
After dinner we walked to Rockefeller Center and waited in line at Magnolia Bakery for some cupcakes!
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Some of my favorite Christmas decorations ever!
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Since it was so late they were out of a lot of flavors (including Snickerdoodle which sounded delish) so we got a chocolate with chocolate buttercream and a vanilla with chocolate buttercream. They were super yummy and we ate them while we watched A&M BTHO Mizzou so all was good :)
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| mmm Cupcakes |
Looks like you guys got a lot done! I think you are so brave for coming to visit during that weekend... it makes me crazy with all the crowds for the holidays sometimes but you did have some awesome weather!
ReplyDeleteHopStop is a godsend. YES. I have been using it all the time, and it's just a necessity for me since I lack all direction skills.
Boo. I'm sad you guys didn't end up seeing a show. You could have used your student IDs for that too! But I guess it does make sense to save up for the bigger shows. I still think it's a once in a lifetime experience with some shows, especially since no one does it like NY.
Long comment, I know. Hopefully next time you are in the city, we can double date with our husbands or something. Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving!
Yeah I normally wouldn't want to come to NYC on Thanksgiving weekend but with no vacation time that's what worked this year - and it actually wasn't near as bad as when we came 2 years ago (the first weekend in Dec was SO BUSY)!
ReplyDeleteGood to know you can use student IDs to see Broadway shows - I will remember that for next time!
Yes next time let's for sure meet up!! And I hope to see you when you come visit Austin!!