New York City

New York City... what an amazing city. Thursday Laura, Sally, and I hopped on a bus from Hartford to Manhattan. It was a great day- full of laughs and LOTS and LOTS of walking!!!! I had never been to NYC before so all I really expected was what I have seen in the movies or on TV, and my expectations weren't too far off. I plan to go back for sure- whether to just visit or maybe take an assignment.. we will see!!! As usual- I'll explain the day with pictures!!

 We traveled into the city on the MegaBus- Which travels all throughout New England down into DC. We met at St Francis in Hartford at 5:30AM... which by the way is TOO EARLY... the bus left Hartford at 6. We were into NYC by 8ish.. and off the us by 8:30. The bus ride was pretty uneventful- beautiful as usual... This part of the country really is gorgeous. I cannot wait for fall!!!

Laura and I on the bus.

As we were driving into the city I remember asking Laura where we were- just because it looked sort of "rough"....  we were driving through Harlem. I was happy to be in the bus. :-)

Our first stop was Dunkin Doughnuts for some coffee and a muffin... and then we headed downtown to Ground Zero. I wasn't sure what to expect seeing ground zero in person- but it was different than I expected. They are working on the memorial now so it's mostly a lot of construction and gated off areas at this point. It will be interesting when the memorial is done, the models we saw looked like it's going to to be amazing.

Even though most of what we were looking at was the construction- I still got chills being there. It was a surreal feeling- being at "Ground Zero".... and it was crazy to try to imagine what the city was like 10 years ago.... The memorial is coming up below- right behind the flag.

Hanging across from the Federal Building by Ground Zero. We were looking for the original cross they pulled from the wreckage but couldn't find it... I'm not sure if this was redone in place of that or if this has always been standing...?

Looking at the memorial while standing in front of the cross- The Federal Building on the right.

St Paul's Chapel- Across from Ground Zero. St Paul's had been spared from the destruction of the WTC... except for a layer of ash. Walking through the chapel was amazing...

They ring the bell every year on the 9-11... I would love to be there. We will see.

Walking into the chapel.

Brought tears to my eyes and goosebumps to my skin- I can't even imagine how the families and friends of those directly involved felt. I cannot imagine if my dad (who is a fireman) was involved in the rescue team.. and went missing- kind of brought it closer to home a little bit- put things into perspective.

In front of the Chapel.

After Ground Zero we walked... next up was City Hall Park.

And then the Brooklyn Bridge. LOVED it.

Laura and I on the Brooklyn Bridge.

 The Skyline from the bridge.

 The Empire State Building from the bridge.

 After the bridge we walked to a subway station.. this was my first subway experience.... Laura and Sally laughed as I posed... quickly shot the picture.. and then pretended not to know me!! Ha!!

It's almost sort of a creepy, claustrophobic feeling... walking into a subway station. Maybe because it's underground? I know there are rats down there bigger than Rosko....? It's super dirty... crowded? Not my favorite part of the day-the subway rides.. but an experience none-the-less. :-)

 Battery Park.

 Next up was Battery Park. We decided not to go to the Statue because we didn't have time. AND... when we saw the ferries rocking back and forth I was OK not getting on one. The waters were ROUGH!! They had to hold people on the boat at one point because the boat was rocking so hard they couldn't connect the walkway to let people off. The statue looked so small from where we sat.. someday soon I'll get over there.

Laura-Sally-Jessica
Battery Park

The East Coast WWII Memorial in Battery Park.

 The squirrels and birds are very friendly.. you can tell they are very used to having people around- and this squirrel was excited to be fed by this little boy!

 In battery park they had this little garden- I think they were growing pumpkins?? I have no idea- the garden didn't compare to Tom's garden!! :-)

This was one plus to the subways- the entertainment. The Ebony Hillbillies. Laura said there is always some kind of fun entertainment in the subway stations. We left Battery Park to head to Times Square.

 Times Square reminded me of the strip in Las Vegas....

Thirsty?

 We ate lunch at the Pig 'n Whistle in Times Square.

We drank martinis.. in Manhattan. As my cousin Shannon said- Sex in the City...? Super fun!

After lunch we walked..and walked.... and finally rested. On to Rockefeller Center. We had to stop along the way for a little break. Our feet HURT!

And I bought new sunglasses... NYC style. :-)



How cool are those!!!!? Especially cool because they were $5!!!



 There is a farmers market everyday in Rockefeller Center- lots of yummy looking home-made stuff and arts and crafts! Fun!

 Someday I want to be there when they have the skating rink up with the Christmas tree lit....

 NBC.. we thought about going for the today show but it didn't work out.

 From Rockefeller we headed to central park... back into the subway and into the West side of the park. I loved Central Park. It feels like a little forest secluded area inside of this huge city!! You almost forget where you are... we all were ready to rest.



Jessica and Laura- Central Park



We found this huge line of rocks that we decided to sit on for a while...

Laura mapping out our next stop...

Sally enjoying the view...



Me... doing what I do best.. napping. :-) My view while napping.....

 

 The brownstones are exactly how I pictured NYC. I loved this street....

Sometimes when I'm in a city like this I forget that people actually live here.. and raise families here. For me it's this huge crazy place to visit... but they do have schools. :-) On that note... I would NEVER EVER want to raise my family in NYC...

 Crumbs was up next... for our afternoon snack!! Delicious cupcakes!!!!!

Laura and I couldn't decide so we both got one and split them... and we both liked the cookie dough one better.

 After our snack we caught a cab to China Town....

 I had to take this picture because every time we would get into a cab- I would ask the driver- Is this the cash cab!!!!??? And usually I would get a look back that either they didn't understand English well enough to answer or they thought I was stupid for even asking... but I'm not going to lie- the first cab we got into that had the TV in it did get me a little bit excited.....!!!!

 I'm not going to go into details about what happened in China Town on this blog... but so I remember- I took this picture to remember the lady in a light blue top- walking very quickly in front of us... and purses and watches and wallets.. AND cops. If you want the story ask.... It was quite the experience!!!! (and if you have been to NYC and specifically China Town you probably have an idea what we did..)

After our shenanigans in China Town we headed to Little Italy to get some supper.... and it was amazing!!!

We ate at Puglia



Pizza and beer in Little Italy... need I say more?!



ha ha... still cracks me up! We had so much fun....

Downtown Little Italy at night...

 Ok... the next set of pictures make me laugh so hard... and it might not be funny to anyone but Sally, Laura, and I... but we laughed SOOO hard. We were in the back of the cab trying to get a final picture of the three of us- after dinner- heading back to the bus stop. We were all exhausted and I put Laura in charge to get one... these are what I got.....


The first one actually is the best... we should have just stopped here!!



Starting to laugh...

"And 50 pictures later in the back of the cab...." -Sally

What a horrible picture... but this tells you how hard we were laughing... oh my... SO stinking funny.

After we got out of the cab... A final picture. :-)

  After our 2ish hour bus ride home... we walked the block or so to the parking garage where we had parked our car. We were all three exhausted, dirty, and ready for a shower and bed!!!! As we approached the garage I noticed the gates were closed... the whole garage had closed and Sally's car was inside. We were stuck. I didn't really know what to do other than laugh... Laura just said over and over- Oh my gosh!!!... and Sally held her hands over her mouth- speechless.  Just to explain the irony of this situation... we were in downtown Hartford. It was 1230 AM.... we were exhausted, Laura's phone was dead, my phone was dead, and Sally didn't have her phone. Hartford is not a "safe" city to be walking around in especially in the middle of the night... but we didn't have a choice and we started walking.... as we were walking I noticed a man walking towards us.. then running towards us. I said to the girls...do you guys see that man running at us?!?!? We all three got a little spooked- and as he approached us he said, "Are you trying to get into the garage!?" We said yes... apparently he was in an office watching the security cameras. He said he was just getting ready to leave to go home when he saw us trying to get in. He ran all the way from his office building to us so he could open the gate for us- and we left. Sally and Laura said it was luck, I think it was God. It could have turned into a really bad night....walking in downtown Hartford at 1230AM.... He's always watching out for us!!! 

This picture is very blurry but you can see Laura's face as we approached the locked garage....

 We had so much fun together- discovering NYC.. I think as travelers you learn to just adjust and make the most out of everyday. It was great to spend this day with Laura and Sally. Unless you are a traveler you really do not know what it's like to live so far away from home and everyone you love- but they understand. I always wish I was with family- that I could have traveled to Block Island and now NYC with them... no matter who I'm with there will always be that void because I miss all of you! However, with that being said- I am so glad that I got to spend my first day in NYC with these two- I'm thankful for them.  I'm thankful that God puts amazing people in my life who understand what I'm going through when I say I'm homesick... or when I say that traveling has changed me. They understand because they are changing, too...growing as people, and nurses. Meeting new friends... but understanding that new friends will never replace those we love and miss so much at home.  I have been so very lucky to find great friends at both assignments. The life of traveling is what you make it.. and I love every new adventure- discovering this country..and laughing.. lots and lots of laughing. :-) I loved NYC.. I may even, someday, become a....

You never know....