Saturday, October 25, 2008

Here is my trip in brilliant technicolor. If I remember wrong or mistakenly label something wrong, Please tell me so I can fix it. Thanks!



Friday morning, on October 17, 2008, I flew Delta Airlines from St. Louis, MO to Cincinnati, OH to New York City, New York. The excitement was unbearable and eating me alive. I could not sleep the night before and letting you know from the experience, my body had an adrenalin rush that lasted until Sunday after I left JFK. Then it was all down hill and I still have not recovered emotionally from the trip. It was that wonderful and great and awesome...Need I say more???



I was amazed at how beautiful the city was from above.



I could see Central Park from the air but the Statue of Liberty was too tiny for me to make out. Until later....



From the airport I went on the Air train to Jamaica Station and boarded my first NYC subway, the E Line into Manhattan. I got off at 42ND Street. The lights, people, and excitement is almost too wonderful to imagine.




I walked down the blocks of 42ND Street with my luggage still in my hands, amazed and thrilled that I was actually in the city that I had only seen on TV. Elmo was in the street taking pictures with people. There were actually two of them. Two Elmo's in the same street. Told this one to stand still and that I'd have to take the picture for my daughter. He waved and I was on my way to my hotel.



I heard rumors about NYC having a Starbucks Coffee House on every corner. They were not kidding!



I encountered a lively jazzed up version of McDonald's. Lights flashing, people dancing...it was a sight to see.




A few more shots of Times Square at night




Walking down 8Th and Broadway.



Finally, here is the subway stop I need to get off to head to my hotel. It was either 103rd and Broadway or 96Th and Broadway and construction was hampering 96th so the majority of the time, we took 103rd. We waited for a few minutes and then had to rush to get on so we would not have to wait again. It was the Red Line Number 1 running the west side of Broadway all the way down to The Staten Island Ferry. It was very convenient for what I had planned on my sight-seeing itinerary.

I should have taken a picture of my hotel but I forgot in all the excitement. I checked in and saw the room. I stayed in a hostel (shared a room with 7 other strangers) but that was fine because I wasn't planning on spending to much time in there anyway. Sleep, take shower and then leave again. So it was fine. Plus the price could not be beat. $38 a night 10 minutes from Midtown Manhattan. Dream come true and it was so worth it. I was going to stay over near JFK in a Comfort Inn and have to pay for transportation and $150 a night. I changed my mind twice before deciding to go for the hostel. I 'll never regret that change in plans. The doorman, Julio is this big brawny guy who has the heart of a marshmallow. He and I hit it off quite well.
After I got into the room and settled, I called my NYC friend, Stef who informed me that my other two companions, Kate and Lena were on their way to my hotel to pick me up. I had only seen them in pictures and online so I knew what they looked like, but meeting them was going to be a weird experience. It took them close to an hour to get to me but when I saw Julio open the door for them, I recognized them immediately and ran into their arms in friendship. It was such an amazing experience finally meeting poeple that you had only talked to online. They flew in from Germany so English is their second language but their grasp of the english language was so extensive, it would have been hard to tell that they were not Americans. We took off together to see the sights of New York, and that we did.

We first went to a nearby Starbucks and sat down and got to know each other a bit. They had been there since Tuesday and I wanted to hear about what they had experienced so far. It was a wonderful conversation. We left after about a half an hour and then went for a "stroll around town". We took the subway down to 42nd Street and they showed me the real 42nd Street. Apparantly I had not seen it all. We walked past Broadway theatres and then walked some more down to Columbus Circle and then up again. I figure we had walked about three hours at a fairly brisk pace so when we got in at midnight, I was done for the night. We planned to meet up the next night after they did some shopping and I took in the sights that I had always wanted to see. We said our good byes and I went up to my 5th floor hotel room.




.......TO BE CONTINUED....

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You're a very adventurous woman! What was the inspiration to take a trip like this? How did you handle your husband and kids?

How was the hostel? What made you decide on this one? Were the 7 people in your room all women? What were the bathrooms like?

I am always curious to hear people's reactions when they first come to NYC. It's amazing, isn't it? We New Yorkers sometimes take the city for granted because we are in it so much. Sometimes it is great to step back and see everything through another's eyes. Times Square is the most stupendous place on the planet. It wasn't always as wonderful. Back in the 70's it was full of prostitutes and perverted sex shows. You literally took your life in your hands just to walk down 43nd street. Now, it's as safe as can be, and so glamorous. We all have Mayor Rudy Guiliani for that! And Mayor Bloomberg has kept up the tradition (and the safety).
If you want to know what 'old New York' was like in the 70's there's this new show on ABC called 'Life On Mars' it shows NYC back in '73 and today, 2008.
Glad you had a wonderful time. Looking forward to seeing more photos. Did you see a broadway show????