Trump Tower (Panoramic)

Upon leaving Central Park, we walked through the city towards the Rockefeller building.  Our first stop was the Trump Tower where the show is filmed.  Everyone (except myself) got Starbucks from inside Trump’s building.  Everything had a golden look to it, was odd.  After that, we came across Saint Patrick’s Cathedral which was amazing inside.  I figure that is what the churches in Rome must look like.  They only let us hang out for a bit since they were getting ready for that evenings mass.

30 Rock

We finally made it to Rockefeller Center and I was actually surprised at how small the area was.  I figured from TV it was much larger than it really was.  Either way, it was still neat to see the people ice skating in the center.  I don’t see where they have space for the Christmas tree or anything.  From there we walked past all the NBC studios and Radio City Music Hall on our way to Time Square.

Time Square

Time Square was pretty insane.  I had never seen somewhere so busy and full of lights everywhere.  There were lights and signs on every surface available. One of the really nice things was they left he ball from New Years still up so we got to see that.  Additionally they had some bleachers you could sit on that was relaxing to enjoy after so much walking.

Empire State Building going up into the clouds

We next departed for the Empire State Building but was unsure of what we could see due to the low clouds in the city.  When we made our way to the building I was surprised because it didn’t look that big but we could only see half way up the building because of the fog.  We went inside to see it, but it is all under construction.  It cost $20 to go up to the observation deck as well which was insane.  It would have been worthless to go up there due to the heavy clouds and we wouldn’t have been able to see squat.

Kristine trying to eat Calamari at Carmines

After the Empire State Building, we headed back to Time Square to find some food.  A friend of mine (who actually told us where to go in NYC) recommended Carmines which was an Italian restaurant that served family style portions.  We first ordered Calamari which I like OK.  The plate got there and it had to have 100 to 150 little squid parts on the table!  Kristine wouldn’t eat the ones with tentacles still on them though.  We also ordered stuffed mushrooms, which were amazing, a sampler plate and meatballs.  The meatballs were amazing and had to be the size of a baseball.  The sampler plate was huge!  It easily had 4 servings of the 4 items it had on there.  Needless to say we took home a ton of things in a box.

From there we took the train back to Trenton and drove back to Kristine’s brothers place where we rested and saved up our energy for our Tuesday trip to DC.

Buildings of New York

Saint Patrick's Cathedral (Panoramic)

NBC Studios

Too much food!!

Time Square at night (panoramic)

Chrysler Building

As we rolled through New Jersey, I was actually in shock with the amount of filth and trash that was visible along the train tracks. I had never seen anything like it except on TV! Additionally, every square inch of available surface was covered in graffiti as well. Now I understand this is the train tracks but still, it was a bit shocking. When we finally pulled into New York, I realized how busy and insane the city was just from Penn Station. From there we took the A/C/E train downtown to World Trade Center. I was amazed at how little had been done in the way of building the Freedom tower but it was a great reminder of what happened on 9/11 and made me a bit emotional. I was also a bit disappointed that it was so overcast we couldn’t see tops of the buildings due to how overcast it was.

From there we turned east and headed towards Wall Street where we got to see the stock exchange and the Merrill Lynch bull. We continued on to Battery Park where we hoped to see the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately it was so overcast we could barely make her out! From there we walked up to the South Street Seaport for lunch.

From there we took the A train up to Central Park for a nice walk. Central Park was amazing with all the wildlife around and the huge rocks sticking out from the ground. There was also a guy playing the sax in the park who was amazing.

Kristine on her first train ride

Kristine on her first subway ride

World Trade Center

Buildings in the low fog in New York City

New York Stock Exchange

Panoramic View of Wall Street

Merrel Lynch Bull

Lady Liberty in the fog

Kristine at the South Street Seaport next to the Helen McAllister

View of the Brooklyn Bridge

Mike and Alice next to the Brooklyn Bridge

Joel and Kristine next to the Brooklyn Bridge

Rocks in Central Park

Man playing sax in Central Park

Panoramic view of Central Park