Written by Ashley:

My genius big brother is getting his PhD and moving back to TN, so Nisheet and I decided we better take advantage of one more trip to New York while we still have a free place to crash. Plus, we hadn’t seen him in forever!

We planned to spend the first day just exploring central park. We walked through most of the northern part of it, but a large portion of the park was actually closed for some concert/event. The park is much larger than I originally thought. The ponds/reservoirs are huge. There are dirt trails that meander next to little streams. There are open fields with kids running around. There is the largest tennis court area I have ever seen. And, there are little cafés hidden around the corners.

Since our Central Park venture was cut short, we decided to walk around the city and take in the tourist sights. We saw the Brooklyn Bridge (didn’t walk it though), wandered through China Town, ate a cheesy pasta lunch in Little Italy, and saw the 9/11 memorial. I don’t personally know anyone that died or was injured during the 9/11 attacks, but it is a day that I don’t think anyone living in America at that time will forget. For me, the memorial brought back memories of being surrounded by classmates, watching the news, and being utterly horrified at what was happening. It was a very sad experience to walk around and see all the names of those whose lives had ended.

We ended that day on a brighter note by eating some of the most delicious sushi.

The second day, we decided to go to Chicago The Musical on Broadway. Since we are cheap, we got up early and stood in a super long line to get discounted tickets. You can’t get tickets for the major shows this way, but it is a great way to save some money if you don’t mind watching one of the less popular shows.

By the time we got out of line, we were getting hungry for lunch, so we went and ate NY style pizza with Nisheet’s cousin who is in the city for a medical internship. Huge slices, greesy cheese, cracker thin crust. Yum!

The weather was pretty crappy when we left the pizza joint, and we still had a good chunk of the day before the play, so we took the Staten Island Ferry to get some great views of the Statue of Liberty and the New York skyline. This is a great attraction if you are on a budget because it is free! You don’t get to stop and walk around the statue of Liberty, but you can’t beat the views of it. Also, the ferry is a great way to avoid rain.

By the time we got back and started walking towards Broadway, it had started raining pretty hard. We ducked into a quintessential little deli for some dinner. It didn’t look like there was any seating, but my brother showed me that these deli’s have a little stairwell in the back that leads to seating on the 2nd floor. Whew! I didn’t want to eat my sandwich in the rain.

We headed to the show a little early, but there was already a long line down the sidewalk, so we got a bit of people watching in. Once inside, we found out that we had evidently bought out an entire row just for us! (In the back, and only 3 seats, but shhh!)

The next day, Ben took us on a little tour of Columbia (where he attends) and then we headed to Greenwich Village and East Village. We heard musicians in a neat little park, ate a yummy burrito lunch, and just walked around and enjoyed the sights. There were so many unique little stores, restaurants, and homes. It is definitely worth a walk around the area even if there isn’t anything specific you want to check out or do.

We then headed back north and tried to explore Central Park some more, but once again failed. The gods must have been against us. We set up a cute little snack on top of a huge boulder, and it started to pour, so we ended up eating under a little covered area with 40 other people until the rain died down.

After the rain stopped, it was time to make our way to Top of the Rock. We wanted to be at the top for sunset, but we couldn’t really see it due to the clouds. The view in the daylight is great, but let me tell you, the view at night is amazing. I know a lot of people go to the Empire State Building for the views, but we chose Top of the Rock instead because (1) it is cheaper and (2) the Empire State Building in the view. I was not disappointed by our choice!

Nisheet and I had to head back to Chicago the following day, but before we left we went to a Regis and Kelly show. Unfortunately, Regis wasn’t on the show, but we still got to see him in the building. He looked at us and said “Hey, how ya doing?” Eeek! I was like a star struck teenager girl.

After the show, we FINALLY got to see the rest (or more) of Central Park. We got to see a lot of the famous parts such as the pond with paddle boats and the castle. It was great, but the last stop on our trip was to my absolutely favorite place in New York, T-Magic. I made my brother and Nisheet go there every single day we were there. I don’t think they minded too much though. 😉