NYC Week 6!

So, it's been a while since I should have posted this but again, better late than never!!

This past 6 weeks have absolutely flown by and I can't believe my time in NYC is coming to a close.  I try my hardest to enjoy every moment that I have here in the city and this week was no exception.  Outside of working roughly 8:30-5 plus the one hour (or more) commute, during the week I don't have the energy to do much more than a little shopping or exploring, and dinner. This week, as always, there were some notable events.

On Wednesday night, at the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center occurred.  Unfortunately, when I got there a little before 7pm (the event officially started then with a number of performers) the place was filled with people.  The sidewalks were packed, the crowd must have been in the thousands.  I would have loved to have gotten there sooner, however work comes first and the commute after work didn't get me back to Manhattan until 6:30, I grabbed a bite to eat and suddenly the event was about to start.  I couldn't even get close enough to see the tree so in the end I gave up and decided to go back to my apartment and be warm while watching the event on TV.  It was a great show to watch with performers including Cee Lo Green, Mariah Carey and the Rockettes, and while it would have been amazing to be there, it was nice to be able to sit in the warmth of my apartment, away from the mass of people and relax.

Heather and I at the Bryant Park Christmas Tree

Friday, I wasn't feeling great so I spent the day working on our project report from home and trying to relax my body so as to not get sick.  Friday night one of my best friends, Heather, came to visit and explore the city.  We went to this little Italian restaurant near my apartment where I ate some delicious spinach and cheese ravioli with pesto sauce.  It was the perfect size meal and best of all it was reasonably priced.  We then went to Bryant Park, where we saw a Christmas tree, the Empire State Building and Macy*s.  It was (I hope) a great start to seeing NYC without being overwhelming.

Saturday on the other hand, I packed full of all the things she just HAD to see in NYC.  We started with breakfast at Pershing Square, aka the busiest and best breakfast place in New York City.  It certainly lived up the the 'busy' aspect with every table filled and a line that never went away.  And while the food was great, I doubt it is the BEST in the city.

Angel Mo - Swarovski Crystal

After Pershing Square, we went to Rockefeller Center to see the ice rink and Christmas tree.  It was great to see people starting to get in the Christmas spirit!  Across the street from the tree is a small Swarovski Crystal store (the star at the top of the tree is Swarovski). While most of the ornaments and decorations were traditional, there were some, such as Angel Mo in the picture, that were... a little more unique! Apparently, there is a whole collection of Mos that are created a few times a year. From there we went to 53^rd Street between Madison and 5^th Avenue where there is a segment of the Berlin Wall (the same segment that I first saw about a month ago with my dad.  We also went to Central Park and stopped by Serendipity 3, which is known for their Frozen Hot Chocolate, but the wait was between an hour and an hour and a half so we didn’t stay and instead went to a small cafe to grab a bite to eat.  We decided at this point to take a small break and get a little warmer back at my apartment. 

After a little while, we took the subway to the Wall St area where we took pictures with the “Charging Bull.”  The line to see the bull was probably 20-30 people long and went along the right side of it.  However, all too often, a group would walk along the left side to cut the line and get a picture with the bull.  It was irritating to see people doing this so once we got close enough to the front, we made sure these individuals were made aware of the line that was formed on our side.  All of the people seemed utterly shocked by this and apparently “didn’t realize” there was a line. 

Ummm, HELLO!!! No, I just like standing in a line of 30 people and looking at this side of the bull. DUHHH.

Anyways, after that we went to see the New York Stock Exchange, where they were in the process of setting up a Christmas Tree in the middle of the road and Federal Hall, the place where George Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States of America.  As if this wasn’t enough, we then went to Tiffany & Co. and browsed all of the sparkly pieces of jewelry.  Upon attempting to exit, the doorman began to chat us up.  He asked us how we liked Tiffany's, and being a college student with no current income, I responded that it was on the upper-end of my price range.  The conversation lasted for fairly long, with occasional interruptions of him saying "Hello, welcome to Tiffany's" and "Have a nice day!" to customers walking in and out.  At the end of our conversation, he suggested that Heather and I apply for part-time jobs at Tiffany's particulary because of the great discounts employees receive.  Maybe I will!

Eventually we were able to leave and make our way to the Ground Zero memorial.  It was a great moment to reflect on how lucky we each are for another hour and even minute on Earth.  

With a few other stops, we eventually went to see the Rockettes!  Neither of us had seen them before but it is suck a New York holiday thing to do, so it was impossible to pass up!  

Early the next morning, Heather headed back to Worcester and I tried to catch up on sleep.


The next day was quite interesting, as I'll write about next!!