NYC Sightseeing [picture heavy post]

Hubs and I will be sharing our birthday presents and taking another trip to NYC in November. Earlier we heard rumblings that one of my favorite actresses, Emma Stone, might be taking a role along side Alan Cumming in Cabaret on Broadway. Once the rumors were confirmed we knew we had to go back. With our next trip to New York booked I figured I better get on with finishing up my original NYC posts.

In the week we were in New York we tried to get in as much sightseeing as possible without overly exhausting ourselves. In the end I think we saw pretty much everything on our list of NYC sights.

We didn't do much sightseeing on our first day in New York. We mostly familiarized ourselves with the subway system and caught a matinee of Cinderella.

We hit the ground running on our second day in New York by going to the top of Rockefeller Center as soon as they opened. It was a nice clear day and we were early enough to beat the crowds allowing us to really enjoy the breathtaking views of the city.

L to R: city view and central park view from Rockefeller Center

Then we were off to a boat tour around half of the island of Manhattan with Circle Line Cruise. A friend of mine who lives in New York highly recommended doing a boat tour which gave us a pretty nice overview and some history behind some of the sights we planned to see later in the week.

top L to R: Lady Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, and Empire State Building from Circle Line Cruise
bottom L to R: Staten Island Ferry and lower Manhattan skyline

After the boat tour was over we rushed over for our Daily Show taping. After that we were off to see Avenue Q off-Broadway.
Before the end of the night we stopped by the Rockefeller Center one more time to take in the view with the city lights on. Again we were lucky to go late enough that there wasn't much of a crowd and we could enjoy the view without all the hassle of waiting in line or having people photobomb our pictures.

L to R: night view of Central Park and the city from Rockefeller Center

The next day we spent window shopping in SoHo. We also went to check out Eataly, an Italian-style market in the Flatiron District. So many people had mentioned we should check it out when we were getting suggestions for our New York trip. I thought it was so strange that people would recommend visiting a market, but once we entered I totally understood why it was so highly recommended. It really was a sight to see unto itself.

L: flat iron building
R top to bottom: handmade pasta and huge cheese selection in Eataly

That evening we went to our Tonight Show taping.

The following morning we spent in downtown. We started with our trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We spent some time at the Statue of Liberty where we were able to go up to the pedestal and visit the museum. But we just briefly got off the ferry to snap some quick photos of Ellis Island...since none of our relatives would've immigrated through there it wasn't really a point of interest for us.

L to R: Lady Liberty up close and personal, windy stairs up to the crown, replica of the torch

Once the ferry brought us back we headed to Wall Street to check out the financial hub of the United States.

L to R: rubbing the bulls balls for good luck, New York Stock Exchange on Wall Street,
and Trinity Church at the end of Wall Street

We then made our way to the 9/11 Memorial. Unfortunately for us we weren't able to go to the museum since it was scheduled to open a couple weeks after our trip. Although we were really disappointed that we couldn't go to the museum I'm glad we were able to pay our respects at the memorial. It's such a beautiful and peaceful place with such a tragic history behind it. I definitely got a little teary eyed being there.

L to R: 9/11 memorial pools and Freedom Tower

Then we made the long track across the Brooklyn bridge which provided a pretty awesome view of the Hudson River.

walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

We finished the day off with A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.

We spent Thursday morning wandering around Central Park. Even though it was a gloomy morning it was impossible for me to day dream about how lovely it must be to live close enough to stroll the park every day. We even had a Gossip Girl moment as we sat on the Met steps.
That afternoon we strolled around in Grand Central Station. It's amazing to think how many trains stop there and go through New York everyday.

top L to R: hanging out in Central Park on a rainy day, Bethesda Fountain, and spotted on the Met steps
bottom L to R: outside and inside Grand Central

We ended the day with Rocky.

On our last day in New York we walked along the High Line which is a park built on a historic freight rail line above the Lower West Side of Manhattan. We took one last walk through Central Park and then made our way to FAO Schwartz for some window shopping. Our last stop on our trip in New York was MOMA where we learned that we aren't huge fans of modern art. But since we got in free for Uniqlo's Free Friday Nights so we couldn't really complain.

L to R: strolling along the High Line, of course we had to check out the Lego displays in FAO Schwartz,
and enjoying Van Gogh's Starry Night

We sure had a ton of fun playing all over the city. Next up I'll be sharing some of our favorite eats from the trip.