Mar 19, 2009

NYC Day One (Part Duece)

Welcome back to another exciting update about our recent trip to New York City. If anyone has ever been to New York you know there is no way to sum up a four day trip in one post. I am aiming to hold it within six and am confident you will agree that much was needed to cover everything. Yesterday I left off with us using our time wisely while we waited for our room to be ready. So we arrived back to the hotel around 2:45pm to get our luggage and room keys. By this time we had already been walking around NYC for a good two hours and were wondering what we got ourselves into. We were definitely ready for a little break as well as anxious to see what our room was like.

Ashley had been reading reviews about the Wellington that said many first time visitors received a free upgrade to a suite. Needless to say, that with four adults, we were crossing our fingers for that luxury. While Ashley and I waited in line for our keys we heard the lady tell the group in front of us that they had been upgraded to a suite. We both looked at each other and hoped we would hear the same. Unfortunately she forgot to utter that same phrase to us as we got up to the counter. Dejected, Ashley, Kim, and Mom went up to the room while I waited for the valet to bring our luggage. Our sorrow was short lived as Ashley returned to help me with the luggage and informed me we indeed had been upgraded. Do not get me wrong, we were not staying in some fancy penthouse, but just a normal room that happened to have a second room for the extra bed, two tv's instead of one, and a couch. As you can imagine though, every extra square foot helps when you are in NYC.

We finally got all settled in and refreshed then decided it was time to venture out again. By this time we still had a few hours until our Broadway show. Since our hotel was only several blocks from Central Park, that was the logical choice. We knew Central Park was rather large so we only went about a quarter of the way in. The famous Mall area of the Park was the first great thing we came across. It was breathtaking to see even without leaves on the trees and hundreds of people sitting on the benches. Along the way to "The Mall" were ball diamonds, playgrounds, and statues of famous authors. As we continued on we came upon the "Angel of the Waters" fountain. The weather was still cold and dreary so the fountain was not running, but we could imagine it is quite the site during the warmer months. After that we just kept following one of the many paths across the bridge you will see in the pics and onto the other side of the park. It was cool to see a different perspective of the busy city from the quietness of Central Park. Very surreal to say the least.

Our dinner prior to the show consisted of lunch leftovers and the saltiest pretzel you could imagine. No one cared though because we were all pretty excited to go to our first Broadway show, Chicago. None of us had seen the movie previously so there were no preconceived notions of what to expect. As soon as the show started we were blown away. The story line was easy to follow, the dialogue was entertaining, and the songs fit perfectly. Not once did you find yourself bored or looking at your watch wondering when it would end. The humor the actors brought was essential in engaging the audience to make you feel like you were also part of the show. Even when it ended we all stood around for several minutes hoping they would come out and continue on. As we all filed out the doors we remained outside under the bright lights of Ambassador Theater for a little while longer. Who knows why, but we were glad we did. The nice couple from Eastern Europe sitting next to us found us to ask if we could take a picture of them in front of the sign. Then they were kind enough to return the favor.

It was now around 10pm and time to check out Times Square again, this time under the backdrop of darkness. As you will see in the pics, it looks like a whole different place at night time. The lights really pop out at you and you can not help to be looking a hundred different directions trying to catch everything. As we were heading back to the hotel the lights of Radio City Music Hall caught our eyes and we ventured over to 6th Ave. When there we realized that the NBC Studios/30 Rockefeller Plaza was right around the corner. The timing of this worked out great as we were the only people around. It was nice to be some of the few people around these sites and not have the sound of a thousand cars humming in your ears. So we checked out the building and looked at the ice rink for a bit. I could tell Ashley was wishing she had her skates so she could sneak on and play around some. The day started catching up with us around 11pm so we continued north back to the hotel, but then saw St. Patrick's Cathedral.

It was great finding these places at night time so it gave a sense of where to go the next day, but without the craziness that day time in NYC brings. We stood on 5th Ave. for what seemed like a long time just taking everything in we had done up until that point. In just less than twelve hours in the city we managed to cover more ground and see more things than we thought would be possible for Monday. Originally all we had scheduled for the day was a site seeing cruise and the Chicago show. The weather did not cooperate for the cruise, but in the end it was a blessing in disguise. Continue to check out the amazing photos Ashley and Kim snapped off and if you thought this was a lot, just wait until I start covering Day Two. My fingers are tired just thinking about it. So until tomorrow...Enjoy!


1 comments:

Anonymous March 20, 2009 at 9:57 AM  

Thanks for giving us the play-by-play of your trip - I hope I can go someday soon!!

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