Tri my world: New York, New York

New York ~ Milan ~ Rome I and Rome II ~ Prague ~ Amsterdam ~ Tokyo

The first stop on our around the world trip was New York City. Our flight to Milan left on a Monday morning so we decided to fly up early to enjoy the weekend in the city. I have never been to New York city (I drove though it to catch a cruise which does not count). How un-American of me right? No worries though, that problem has been resolved.

The city is so so big! We had a great view from our hotel room on the 32nd floor.

We planned to see Les Miserables Saturday night so we just wandered around for a few hours. We passed through Bryant Park which had an ice skating rink set up for the season.

We also passed though Grand Central Station, which true to its name, is grand.

I really loved the newly married couple that was taking pictures smack dab in the middle. Those pictures will probably turn out pretty cool. We continued wondering and came upon Rockefeller Center. Can I just say one thing about it? It was way smaller than I realized. Way. I was really taken aback because I've seen plenty of concerts and holiday specials that have been there on TV. I was totally dooped. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't disappointed, I was just really surprised. They were still constructing the big Christmas tree but it was pretty cool to see what an undertaking it is...and I have no idea how it stays alive.

Really no idea because it is chopped up and clamped back together. That pile of seemingly scrap branches...yeah...that's still going on the tree. Mad props. I struggle just to keep thee little 7 ft. tree in out house alive.

Les Miserables was amazing in case you were wondering. Funny story though, they had a minor pause in the show due to some set issues (i.e. two pieces minorly crashed). It was handled very well though and I loved going to a show there.

The next morning we ventured back to 30 Rock and headed to the top. We picked it over the Empire State because it was cheaper and you had a great view of the Empire State from 30 Rock. You really understand how big Central Park is when you see it against the rest of the city. It is huge. We spent a while up there picking out different buildings and landmarks,

We then headed south to see the 9/11 memorial. I thought it was so well done. There is a pool where the foot print of each of the towers stood. I thought the design preventing you to see the bottom of the inner pool was really unique and fitting.

It was really humbling to stand there and imagine what it was like when the two towers fell. Amazingly, there was a tree that survived. It is still a little lopsided today, but what a trooper.

He was also refusing to loose his leaves like the rest of the trees.

The new World Trade Center One is impressive, and I love the design olf opposing triangles because if you are on a side with the point on top it looks like the building goes on forever.