New York City Highlights Part One

It really was a great trip! I have to say 2 1/2 days is not enough and we crammed as much into every minute as we could. Friday afternoon was a meet and greet of sorts (not officially it just felt that way) as we waited for everyone to arrive. Then we headed out and walked around the city for awhile. I noticed a NY mommy glare at us as she rushed past us with her stroller as we huddled on the sidewalk (What? We are tourists.) We went to ground zero and I don't even know how to express that in words. It really brought it all back to me. I never saw the twin towers when they stood but the gaping hole in the middle of the city and remembering how that hole got there was difficult for me.

Saturday started with a tour of NBC which was so much fun! The tour guides were fantastic and it was just a good time! We saw the studio for the evening news with Brian Williams, Conan O'Brian and SNL. They were actually working on the SNL set for the night's show. We asked how hard it is to get tickets and he said VERY. Apparently there is a lottery in August where you put your name on a list. They then draw however many names and call you and tell you when you can come. He said if your name gets pulled you better get there because it's probably a once in a lifetime experience. I found that interesting even though I haven't watched SNL in over 10 years.

After the tour we scooted over to Broadway to enter the Rent lottery. Some of the girls wanted to see a show, and for Rent they have a lottery you can enter for a chance at first and second row seats for $20.00. There were 23 of us and we all entered the lottery requesting 2 tickets each. It was pretty exciting that we got the exact number of tickets we needed. It couldn't have been more perfect. While I someday want to see a show on Broadway (yes, I clearly must have another trip to NYC) I was more interested in seeing more of the city. So, those of us not seeing Rent headed via Subway (watch those Subways, they aren't kidding when they say hold on to the rail) to Chinatown and had the best Chinese food ever!!! There is more we did in Chinatown but I think I'll save it for it's own post... It is shocking (ok, probably not... but at the very least it is interesting.) Then after some shopping, we headed over to Little Italy (on foot it was close) and got Cannoli at a little bakery. I had never had Cannoli before but it was so so good. Then we rode the subway back to the hotel to meet up with the other girls. We hung around the hotel for a little while and then at 8 went over to John's Pizzaria for dinner. It was good! Do you get the idea this day was all about food? It was, and it was great! After dinner we went ice skating at Rockefeller Center and that was such a good time! Some had never ice skated before and others had been but not in forever (like me), but we all held our own and even gained some speed toward the end. Sadly, I fell. Only once but no one else did. That's about par for me though since I'm not known for my athletic ability. After skating we went to Serendipity 3 and a lot of girls had the frozen hot chocolate they are known for. By this time the cold had started getting to me and I opted to have peppermint tea instead. It was very nice! Everyone loved the frozen hot chocolates though... I'll have to try it some time but for this time the tea was just what I needed.