So I thought it was about time that I blogged about the last
two months of my tourist activities in NYC. I am here on business and about
every two weeks, I stay over the weekend instead of traveling home to Chicago.
The company pays for me to stay (hotel and meals) and all I have to do is pay
for any activities I participate in. Pretty damn cool!!
So here is my recap of some of the things I did over the
last few months here in NYC:
·
State of Liberty/ Ellis Island
o
You pick up the boat to State of Liberty and
Ellis Island near Battery Park (taking the South Ferry subway stop). If you
order tickets online in advance (highly recommended) it is $25 for the ride to
both national parks. The parks themselves are free. I highly recommend doing
this tour. It was sooo cold the day that I did this tour (in January)! You
basically have to go through two airport type security to get onto the boat and
also once on the island. But well worth it. Really an iconic thing you have to
see if you are in NYC.
·
Broadway shows:
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Kinky Boots: Cannot say enough great things
about this show. There is a reason this won the Tony award. Do yourself a
favor; spend the money, buy the tickets and prepared to be completely
entertained!!
o
Chicago: I had seen the movie and this show is
even better. Slight differences than the movie (of course) and I really enjoyed
the humor that was put into this show.
·
Wall Street/Financial district/ Trinity Church:
o
This is one of those things you go see once, and
then you are good. It’s another tourist area that is on everyone’s list. Really
not much to “do” but you go, you see, you take some pics and then you move on.
I would have liked to go into Trinity Church and the adjoining old cemetery,
but it was Sunday morning when I was there and they were having their church
service.
·
The Metropolitan Museum of Art:
o
There is a reason that this is a highly rated
museum. It is incredible. Tons of stuff to see, from paintings, sculpture,
photographs, even dudes wearing armor on horses. I spent about 4 hours here (including
my lunch that I had in their café) and anyone who knows me knows that for me to
spend 4 hours in an art museum it must have been a great museum. It was! And as
a bonus: free admission for military if you ask!
·
Grand Central Station
o
Yes, I know talking about a train station is
kind of weird. But this station apparently just went through its 100 year anniversary
renovation. And I was surprised as how lovely it was. And there are quite a few
shops within the station area (although I seemed to get there during
non-business hours! I highly recommend you just stopping by and looking. And
don’t worry, everyone takes pictures there! So go ahead and be a tourist!!
·
World Trade Center site:
o
A must see. Here’s the thing: I expected it to
be emotional. I expected there to be many layers of security to get there. I
expected it to be a bit of a walk as it is still under construction. All of
these things are true. What I didn’t expect was for it to be honestly so
incredibly beautiful! I know that this is hallowed ground. But for it to be so beautiful
it almost brought tears to my eyes. Go. Just go.
·
Lower East Side Tenement Museum:
o
This was a small museum that many New Yorkers I
spoke to (at work) did not even know existed. It is a wonderful find (thanks,
TripAdvisor!)! This is a restored tenement
building that was actually used in the 1860’s through the 1930’s. I won’t go
into all the history in case you visit but it has several tours that you can
take (about $25 each, about an hour long in each case). I took the Hard Times
and the Irish Outsiders tour. The cool thing is that the tour guides are more
like history teachers and are really passionate about their work. Some of the
restored rooms are furnished with help from decedents of the real life
residents. Very, very cool! Be warned, not really for small kids, you can’t
touch and there are a lot of stairs. Buy your tickets online in advance to
reserve a space (small tours of 8 folks only) and I think the age limit is 8
and up.
So there you have it! My visit so far in NYC. Just a few
highlights! I am grateful that I have the opportunity to stay in the city on
the company’s dime and want to see as much “touristy” stuff as possible. Why
not? It’s travel, even if it is in our own backyard!
