This Veteran's Day weekend, my husband and I flew across the country to visit New York City. It's not somewhere I ever really considered going, but when the opportunity came up to get tickets to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway with most of the original West End cast, I couldn't pass it up. So, we hopped on a flight and started our adventure.
On our trip, we flew on Alaska Airlines. A few months back they merged with Virgin America. The merger on paper is complete, but we were still in a Virgin plane and some amenities hadn't been updated yet. Overall, the flight was good, though I will always miss the days of free food on the plane.
When we arrived at JFK, it was raining and cold. We hopped in a cab and set off for Manhattan. To all of you wondering if the traffic is really that bad, the answer is yes. I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want to drive in New York City given the option. Most of the roads are one way, making things simple and predictable to pedestrians, but not so much for anyone else.
When we finally arrived at our hotel, we were pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. We stayed at the Courtyard Herald Square on the corner of 35th and 6th. Check in was easy and even though we arrived late, we still had a great view from our 15th story window of both Macy's to the right and the Empire State Building to the left. The room was small by Los Angeles standards, but a decent place to sleep with comfortable beds in a prime midtown location.
Night 1 we had TGI Fridays for dinner. Yes, a chain restaurant. But in our defense, it was late and we had been up since 4 that morning. The food was typical TGI Fridays, but at about $20-$25 per plate, about $5 more than the same food in L.A. We also found a Target nearby. Yeah, I've always said I can go anywhere as long as there's a Target nearby. So, I'm good. And it was a good thing we found Target because our suitcase got slashed somehow between L.A. and New York and we had to replace ours.
Day 2, morning. After picking up breakfast at a nearby deli (New York bagels are to die for) and eating in Herald Square, we decided to head up to Bryant Park to check out the famous winter village, boasting pop up shops, good food, and ice skating. We chose not to skate since we didn't want to hurt ourselves, but it was really fun exploring and finding little gifts, tree ornaments, and treats to try. The ramen, somewhat pricey at around $15 per person, was an especially nice treat as it was 40 degrees outside with windchill cooling it to around 24 degrees at one point.
After our morning passed, it was time to head to the theater. As I mentioned, we had tickets to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway. To get to the theater, we had to walk to Time Square. It was very commercial. Honestly, though it was visually stimulating, it didn't do much for me. It felt synthetic, like walking through Universal Citywalk in L.A. So, if we ever go back, we may skip that area as much as we can. It was touristy, crowded, and just not that special when you've grown up near a big city with a large entertainment industry.
Harry Potter is a 2 part play, so we saw the matinee, which ends on a cliff hanger, then had to wait 2 hours to see the second part at night. We had street food for dinner, including spicy hot links and salted pretzels. Healthy? No. But when you're in NYC, you have to try it just once.
Seeing the play was just one of the highlights of our trip, but it was easily the part I looked forward to the most going in as I didn't expect to enjoy Manhattan as much as I did. I can't give away the play because it just wouldn't be right (#keepthesecrets), but it was definitely worth the trip. The delivery, humor, and acting in general were all superb. The man who plays Scorpius easily steals the show. And the stagework is something completely...magical. As a sidenote, the theater is partnered with a group called Popcorn for the People that employs people with autism in making popcorn. And I have to say, it was some of the best caramel corn I've ever had.
Sunday was our busiest day. We grabbed Starbucks for breakfast since it was easy. There's literally, like, 5 Starbucks within walking distance of the hotel. So, our plan was to head up to Central Park, but we got sidetracked by St. Patrick's Cathedral. We aren't catholic, but nearly getting trapped for mass was worth it to see the gorgeous architecture of this building. I was in love with its style.
Finally, after walking past Trump Tower, Fox News, and several other unintended sights, we made it to Central Park. Now, the park is huge, so we couldn't see everything, but we explored the south half extensively. From old bridges and ornate statues to fall foliage, there was more than enough to do. We could have easily spent days just exploring the park. As it was, I pictured myself in another life, another timeline, if you will, living in Manhattan and people watching in the park on a quiet Sunday.
From Central Park, we braved the subway to get down to the southern area of Manhattan. The subway was an interesting experience. It was cleaner than expected and far superior to the Los Angeles version of rapid transit. Honestly, once we figured out the importance of numbers vs. letters and how to read the signs for which platform, it was pretty easy. The number of stairs was a bit daunting, but doable. I can't imagine having a physical disability or being a kid in the city though. Only some of the subway stops have elevators, so it's not the most wheelchair accessible city in the world. On a sidenote, our only somewhat stereotypical weird big city experience happened on the subway when a guy got on at one stop, performed a choreographed dance involving poles, double joints, and a miniature version of a portable boom box, asked for money, then got off at the next stop. Locals just keep their heads down, so that's what my husband and I did, but several tourists gave the guy a few bucks. It was entertaining, I'll give the kid that much.
We wanted to see the World Trade Center memorial since it's such a big part of modern history. It was a moving experience, especially as someone alive during the terror attacks. The area still is rebuilding and renovating, but in general, it's all bounced back, stronger and better than ever. Seeing the gaping holes where the two towers once stood made it all feel so real. The attack on 9/11 was one of the most defining events of my generation. Everyone remembers where they were when they found out, where they were when they watched the planes hit and the towers fall. But, unless you lived nearby, it all seemed so far away, so unreal. There are still areas being rebuilt. Whole buildings have been cleaned out, remodeled, resurrected. The entire area is alive and vibrant though 17 years later, the marks of the attacks remain. Cities can be rebuilt, but the terrors of that day will live on forever in the hearts of the people. Those who died will never come back.
The experience really put life in perspective. The reality is you are never truly safe anywhere. But, you cannot live in fear, you cannot let it destroy you. While we were out of town, my hometown nearly went up in flames...twice. A few days before we left, there was a mass shooting just one town over in one of the safest cities in the United States. An entire city in northern California went up in flames, displacing thousands and killing more than 20 people. Bad things happen. But life goes on. Manhattan is proof.
After our moving experience, we decided to have a quiet lunch of Mexican food sold by people who spoke less spanish than me at Brookfield Park, which was a weird experience coming from a southern California upbringing where almost everyone speaks at least a little spanish, we walked down the waterfront to see the Statue of Liberty from afar. We didn't plan on getting close anyway, but we're overheard on the subway that there's no point getting tickets to go up close because there's generally around a 4 hour wait. It was nice enough from afar. Big for a statue, but ultimately not as big as it looks on TV.
From there, we headed to Wall Street. My husband wanted to see the bull statue. I went for the U.S. Customs House. All were quite remarkable to see, but nothing to write home about, just really beautiful, rich pieces of our ongoing history of the U.S.
Finally, we took the Subway over to the east side to visit Rockefeller Center after taking a quick side trip to Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building. We even managed to catch the tail end of the largest Veteran's Day parade in the United States. It was pretty awesome. Rockefeller Center itself was pretty cool. They were setting up the Christmas tree that will be lit after Thanksgiving, but it was hard to see through all the scaffolding. We experienced the Nintendo Store, which was a highlight for my husband as he's been a gamer since the 90s. They had a lot of amazing merchandise, including some imported from Japan, but the real highlight was the collection of consoles throughout time, especially the Gameboy that survived the Gulf War in the 1990s.
Our night ended with some pizza from Kiss My Pizza, a literal hole in the wall with some of the best pizza I've ever had, and some hideously sweet oreo donuts from Dunkin' Donuts because, why not? I don't really care for Dunkin' Donuts coffee, which I know is supposedly sacrilege, but the donuts are pretty impressive. It was amazing to just look out over the skyline and see so many skyscrapers decked out in red, white, and blue for Veteran's Day. Patriotism is really a thing in New York.
Finally, our last adventure was getting back to JFK. We chose to ride LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) through Brooklyn and Queens, which connects to Airlink, which is a train directly linked to every terminal at JFK. It was an amazingly easy experience, and a lot cheaper than a taxi. I was most amused to discover that there's a town in New York called Hicksville, which is hilarious if you live in my hometown, which is commonly referred to as Hicksville to people who grew up there from my generation as there's not much to do there for young adults. I don't know if the real Hicksville is as boring as our town, but the name was just priceless.
Overall, it was a great trip and I'd love to return someday, possibly in the winter so I could enjoy the snow. It was an expensive trip though and realistically, I'm a teacher, so big opportunities to travel are limited. Even with cutting costs by not going into any of the pay-to-enter attractions, food, board, airfare from LAX to JFK, tickets to a double feature Broadway play, and souvenirs cost about $4000 for just 2 of us for a 4 day, 3 night trip. Comparatively, Disneyland for 3 days 2 nights in a suite at an onsite hotel for a family of 6 only costs us a little over $3500, probably because we don't have to fly across country to do it. I might have to consider in the future whether we want to explore more of the world or continue our Disney obsession.
Aside from the suitcase getting a hole in it and the street performer doing his act literally in my lap on the subway, it was such fun though and money well spent. Early November is a great time to visit New York as it's cold by L.A. standards (40s during the day, 30s at night, with windchill about 10 degrees cooler) and slightly rainy, but not snowing or icy yet. I wouldn't necessarily encourage this location as a place for kids or anyone with physical ailments, but teenagers, young to middle aged adults, and those free of physical disabilities who like cities, shopping, architecture, and want to experience a true city that never sleeps, would love Manhattan.
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