The Big Apple!!!

Remember how I won airline tickets at my work Christmas raffle?  Well...Brady and I have been so busy with work and school that we decided to take the opportunity during our break between semesters to use the tickets and go to...New York!  Brady had never been, and I hadn't been forever, so we were WAY excited!  The weather was so nice and we had such a blast! Is there anything better than getting away with your sweetheart? I think not!  So...without much further ado...here's our trip to NYC!


Day #1

We took the Red Eye flight on the 4th and got to NYC super early on the 5th.  We couldn't check into our hotel right away, so we had breakfast at a cute little diner, picked up our trusty Metro passes, then walked around town to get our bearings.  Then, we headed back to our hotel for a looong nap! Our hotel room was hilarious...the entire thing was probably smaller than our master bathroom!  But the location was phenomenal so we can't complain. :)  After we rested up, we headed off to the Empire State Building to take in the views of New York.  It was breathtaking!  Then it was off to Chevy's for a little Cinco de Mayo food!  That place is one of my faves!  They used to have one in Orem, but they got rid of it, so I was thrilled to get me some spicy chicken floutas!  After we had our fill at Chevy's, we took a short jaunt down the street to the Majestic theater to watch The Phantom of the Opera!  Phantom is a definite favorite for Brady & me, and we just couldn't get enough!  Finally, we ended the night with a little perusing & ice cream-eating in Times Square!

P.S. The pic of the shoes is because Brady wouldn't let me bring any of my fun shoes! After the Las Vegas disaster, he knew I'd be dying if I didn't wear comfy shoes during our miles of walking.  So...as a compromise...I got cute walking shoes.  I was grateful that Brady won out on this one, because even with the comfy shoes, my feet were dead at the end of each night!  Also, don't mind my ugly socks poking out of my shoes in every pic! I normally try not to dress so dorky, but Brady also made me wear these to prevent blisters...so I had to look like a 65 year old tourist the whole time! Ha ha ha!

Day #2

Day 2 consisted of a TON of site seeing!  We took a subway ride down to the financial district where we saw the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Battery Park, Ground Zero, Wall Street, and Trinity Church...which was probably Brady's favorite site given that National Treasure is his favorite movie! (We weren't lucky enough to find our own Templar Treasure in the catacombs though...shucks!)  This was an interesting day to be on Wall Street since it was the day the market crashed by 1,000 points!  There were reporters everywhere & people were going nuts! Funny story about Ground Zero...we walked around the entire block for probably 30 minutes in search of the huge gaping hole, only to find out that it was the ginormous construction site right in front of us!  Apparently they've decided to build on the site, so there's not much to see of the tragic loss except the World Trade Center globe in Battery Park.  Towards the evening we were dead tired!  We headed back to our hotel to change & get some delicious sushi!  By this point, our adrenaline boosted our energy because it was time to see Wicked!!!  If you haven't seen this show...you MUST!  It is one of the best Broadway shows ever!  I've seen it 3 times now and it never gets old!

Day #3

Day 3 was a little more chill.  We spent most of the day walking & shopping along 5th Avenue (my version of heaven).  Eventually we made our way to Central Park and spent some time relaxing & enjoying the atmosphere.  There were all kinds of bands, sidewalk booths, and even a zoo!  It is seriously one of the most beautiful places.  I wish I could spend every day there!  As we made our way back to Times Square for dinner, we hit Rockefeller Center and Radio City Music Hall.  I'd say a day well spent!

Day #4

Our last day was one of the best!  Brady was super excited to see the Museum of Natural History...since another one of his favorite shows is Night at the Museum. I wasn't as excited....I wanted to see the Met. But, it ended up being a lot cooler than I thought!  Plus, Brady had never seen dinosaurs before, so I was glad he got to see all the cool fossils they have there.  We ate lunch at Serendipity...yes...the restaurant from the movie.  It was one of our favorite places! It was so whimsical and fun...kind of like Alice in Wonderland.  The food was also delicious...particularly the frrrozen hot chocolate!  Then, we saw some more of Central Park & finished out the day with one final shopping spree!

We were very sad to leave New York, but it's also kind of nice to be home.  It's definitely a trip we'll never forget, and I hope you all get to go very soon!  It's totally worth it!!!