Photo Friday: Central Park Zoo

Central Park Zoo

New York City

December 2013

Photo Friday: Liberty Island, New York City

 

Liberty Island, New York City

December 2013 

Photo Friday: New York City

New York City

December 2013

December in New York City Part II

Last week I posted about my first few days in New York City in December. Here's how I spent the rest of that glorious week:
Monday my husband had to return to work so I began my week of sightseeing solo. I had an amazing day returning to Bryant Park to go ice skating. Then I walked next door to the New York City Public Library to explore and visit the massive reading room.

New York Public Library

Tuesday I had tickets to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I walked out of the hotel in the morning to see large snow flakes coming down. It was a really wet snow, so I was happy to have my umbrella with me. The snow and fog caused a short delay for the boat. When I booked my ticket, the crown was completely sold out for the day but I managed to snag a ticket to the platform level. Due to the snow and delay I was the first person of the day to make it up to the platform. It was pretty peaceful having the space all to my self. Unfortunately with the fog I wasn't able to see the NYC skyline. As I'm told the platform is great place for a skyline view on a clear day. 

 

Next stop Ellis Island. The museum reopened less than two weeks prior to my trip after under going renovations needed following the hurricane that tore through a year before. The main halls were open, although many of the smaller exhibits had yet to reopen at that point. It was still an interesting visit for me because I believe some of my ancestors may have traveled through here at some point.

Ellis Island

After I returned to the Manhattan, I walked north a few blocks to the 9/11 Memorial site. There is an unbelievably long process and several checkpoints to pass through before you actually get to the memorial. There are two identical pools, one for the south tower and one for the north tower.

9/11 Memorial

On my last day in New York I decided to just walk through the streets and take in the city. At the end of our trip we stayed at a hotel in Times Square so I started from there and headed west to Fifth Avenue. I walked over to St. Patrick's Cathedral to take in the architecture. Unfortunately the cathedral is under massive construction to preserve it, so there wasn't much to see. Afterwards I continued north Central Park. My first visit to the park was during our trip to New York City in May. December in the park is a much different scene, but equally beautiful.

Central Park

 

What's your favorite part of New York City?

December in New York City Part I

It has been about a month now since I flew to New York City for a week of sightseeing and fun. My sister-in-law currently lives there and my husband had a business trip scheduled during the week. So we elected to fly out the weekend before to spend time with family. I was lucky enough to stay the week, sightseeing on my own after everyone else had to return to work. 

The fall semester was a tough one for me, probably the most difficult semester I've ever had in school. Nothing seemed to go as planned. Add in the stress I felt from several different aspects in my life and I wasn't in the best of places. In fact, I almost decided against going on the trip even though the tickets had been purchased. A week before I was scheduled to leave for New York I couldn't decide what to do so I chose to throw caution to the wind, take control over my anxieties and follow through with my trip that I had been thrilled about only two months before.

I am so glad I did! The moment I arrived in New York I knew it was the right decision and every worry I had about the trip, school or life in general all melted away. New York City is such a fantastic place and I just soaked up all of its glory. 

 Saturday was our first full day of vacation and we couldn't wait to get started! My husband is studying to be an engineer so he is fascinated by structures like the Brooklyn Bridge. Walking across the bridge was a must for him and due to rain, we missed the opportunity on our last trip in May. Although the weather was cold, the sun was shinning and we had a beautiful walk across the bridge and learned some interesting facts about the construction along the way.

 

Brooklyn Bridge

After our scenic walk across the bridge, we had lunch in New Jersey then took the subway back to Manhattan. In the afternoon we took a tour at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. The museum hosts several different walking tours that recall experiences from 19th and 20th century immigrants. We weren't allowed to take photos inside the museum, but the Hard Times tour was fantastic. Our guide told a compelling tale of two families that lived on the second floor before the building code laws forced the owner to close the residential portion of his property.      

Sunday we explored a different part of the city. On my must see list was the Christmas tree and skating rink at Rockefeller Center. Over the weekend we stayed in the West Village so we took the subway up to Times Square, walked through the Christmas market at Bryant Park and up Fifth Avenue to 30 Rock.

Ice skating rink at Bryant Park

Ice skating rink and Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center

 

After we checked out the tree, we bought tickets to the top of 30 Rock to check out the view of the city which was pretty spectacular.

View from the top of 30 Rock

We then continued our walk north on Fifth Avenue all the way to Central Park to check out the famous window displays and Christmas decorations. We finished the day by walking the High Line all the way back to the West Village. 

Fifth Avenue shopping

New York City

I just booked my ticket to New York City in December and I could not be more excited. Although we were just there in May, I can't wait to return. I'm looking forward to visiting around Christmas and viewing the decorated tree on display at Rockefeller Center along with all of the amazing displays in store windows. Planning for our trip to come, I'm looking back at the fun we had and deciding what adventures await.

One of my favorite stops during this trip was to Eataly (I don't have a photo). I am excited they will be opening a location in Chicago very soon!

 

Ride on Staten Island Ferry to view the Statue of Liberty

 


Statue of Liberty



Central Park

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Brunch at Café Cluny

 

Movie set near the Flatiron Building

Movie set

Movie set