Catch up on our NYC vacation here:
G&D (& JayZ) in NYC: Day 1
G&D in NYC: Day 2
Our third day in NYC was a full one! We started the day on a Gray Line double-decker bus exploring NYC’s Downtown Loop. We saw Greenwich Village, Times Square, the Empire State Building, the Flatiron building, Union Square, Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy, the Lower East Side, the East Village, Rockefeller Center and hopped off at one point to visit the 9/11 Memorial and Wall Street, and had a fantastically memorable experience with a “true New Yorker” who sold us our slices of pizza for lunch.
This was pretty much the only time this whole trip that I busted out my “big camera” so here you go – NYC through this tourist’s eyes!
Starting off our Gray Line Downtown Loop in Times Square.
(Times Square is like being surrounded by 5,397 jumbo screen TV’s all flashing and vying for your attention at the same time. It’s basically an ADHD diagnosis waiting to happen.)
Sadly, the ball that drops from the center of Times Square for New Year’s Eve wasn’t there at the time – it was down for cleaning.
The Empire State Building peeking out between buildings and the sun.
Macy’s in Herald Square boasts that its the World’s Largest Store, but our tour guide informed us that as of 2009 it’s actually surpassed by a store in South Korea. Considering it covers an entire city block, you certainly could have fooled me!
The side of Macy’s that faces 34th Street – the site of Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade! I got a little nostalgic thinking about that and the classic old movie Miracle on 34th Street.
One the few buildings I recognized in NYC without a tour guide pointing it out – the Flatiron Building.
The Flatiron Building
Kate Spade on 5th Avenue
The Woolworth Building, one of the oldest skyscrapers in the U.S.
The newly built One World Trade Center (a.k.a. The Freedom Tower). At 1,776 feet, it is now America’s tallest building.
About to enter the (still under construction) World Trade Center Plaza to view the 9/11 Memorial.
I have nothing to say that hasn’t already been said – only tears as I think back to the day and the details.
One of the pools of the 9/11 Memorial.
A white rose is placed in each victim’s name on their birthday in remembrance.
After a harrowing visit to the 9/11 Memorial, followed by a stressful and confusing jaunt to find Wall Street (and the Bull, which we didn’t see until later when we were back on the double-decker) we hopped back on our bus and returned to Times Square, where we stood in line for discounted Broadway tickets at TKTS under the red stairs.
You know how babies get overstimulated by their surroundings and eventually they lose their shit and just start screaming to get you out of their face?
Turns out that happens to adults, too.
It was at this point in our lovely little vacation that I hit Baby Overstimulation Mode. After 3 days of cigarette smoke being blown in my face, miles of walking, countless bumps, endless traffic, endless noise, almost zero breaks or opportunities for relaxation, and the bajillion ADHD bombs that is Times Square piercing into my brain…I was fried. On our walk to TKTS I swear I felt every slight raise, bump, or wad of gum on the sidewalk below my feet. Every screech of a car’s brakes pierced into my brain, chipping away at my soul. All adult coping skills were null and void as I turned to G and said: “I am going to punch THE NEXT FUCKING PERSON WHO INVADES MY PERSONAL SPACE IN THE FACE!!”
To which G calmly and casually replied, “Oh look, there’s a Starbucks right over there. Want to go grab a drink while I wait in line for us?”
(Example #1,597 of why I married this man.)
Eventually I got a Starbucks, we got our tickets, and I got even more acutely aware of EVERY SINGLE annoying person, car, and thing all around Times Square. As we left our line G cheerfully said, “Oh, look – a Toys R Us. Want to go in and find something for Kate?
“NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” I roared.
(And not in a Katy Perry empowering kind of way. It was more like a King Kong ‘I’m going to eat this f-ing city’ kind of way.)
The best thing you can do for an overstimulated baby is to eliminate the commotion and LEAVE THEM ALONE.
Turns out that’s the same remedy for an over-stimulated, over-caffeinated, thirty-something NYC tourist.
We returned to our hotel where I almost instantly crashed, and surprisingly enough, so did G. Turns out we were both over-stimulated and over-NYC’d, and a little nap is exactly what we needed.
We woke up with just a short amount of time to spare before our Broadway show, which we decided to spend walking to Kate Spade’s flagship store on Madison Avenue. (More on this coming soon!)
G&D on the balcony of Kate Spade NYC, overlooking Madison Avenue.
After Kate Spade we enjoyed the Rock of Ages Broadway musical followed by a much quieter stroll back to our hotel – with a quick detour to the Magnolia Bakery for a cupcake, which we brought back to our hotel to enjoy with our champagne and chocolates.
On Wednesday (our last day in NYC) we slept in, relaxed, and pretty much did nothing besides get our picture taken by this sculpture near our hotel in honor of our 10th wedding anniversary:
After that it was time to pack up and head to the airport to return home!
Overall we loved our NYC vacation! It was a thrill to see the Big Apple and so many things you can only imagine before actually experiencing. For those of you planning you own trip, here’s a couple of things we’ll do differently next time:
- Pre-plan a few places to eat before arriving.
- Build in sensory breaks.
Punch at least one person in the face.
New York City is certainly a great city to “wing it” but we wish we would have been more planful about our meals. Next time we’ll do our research ahead of time and make reservations instead of resorting to hitting up the pizza place on the corner for nearly every meal.
We’ll also make sure to slow down a little bit, try not to cram so much in, and build in times to relax and enjoy a little peace and quiet. That’s a hard need to admit, because even though we were all go, go, go this whole trip there was still SO MUCH we didn’t get a chance to see or do that we really hoping to. (I’m looking at you Grand Central Station, Central Park, Ellis Island…the list goes on.)
Until we meet again, NYC! Thank you for the memories!
Hey that’s my city’s LOVE sign.
You guys did a lot and I get like that in NYC sometimes too! Here’s the rest of our trip if you are interested!! We did get to Central Park, Grand Central, the MOMA and Eataly (among other places) but you got to a lot of things we didn’t!
http://ourlifeinaclick.blogspot.com/2013/07/travel-nyc-with-my-girl-day-2.html
http://ourlifeinaclick.blogspot.com/2013/08/travel-nyc-with-my-girl-night-2.html
http://ourlifeinaclick.blogspot.com/2013/08/travelnyc-day-3.html
So happy to hear you had such a wonderful trip, Heather! I wish we had made it to more places but there’s only so much you can do in a couple of days. Next time!
This is a great post! I often become an overstimulated baby in Vegas… I totally get it.
Oh yes, Vegas is another one that will sneak up on you! So true, Kelly!
I lived in NYC for 18 months 10 years ago. I felt that overstimulated feeling every day. It’s why I moved back to Chicago!!!
Ah, Chicago…it’s still my favorite city of everywhere I’ve visited so far. Great choice, Heather!
I’ve been to NYC 3 times now and haven’t even scratched the surface – there is NO way to pack it all in so definitely best to just pick a few highlights each day and know that you’ll have to go back! Surprisingly, there are some places to find calm in that city, you just have to make a point to seek them out
And yes to planning meals – that is my biggest regret from our Chicago trip a few years ago – we totally wasted our meals with a lot that were totally forgettable!
Don’t you just hate wasting your meals when you’re on vacation? Ugh! We were so disappointed that we didn’t plan out our meals better but we decided to spend our time seeing the sights versus doing nice, sit-down meals (in hindsight though those nice, sit-down meals are probably exactly what we needed to take a break and unwind). Oh the irony!
Really enjoyed your NYC tour! It’s my dream to visit there for our 10 year anniversary!
Thanks for sharing:)
Thank you, Brooke! I hope you make it there for your 10th anniversary as well!
Your post is offensive. How would you feel if people came to Madison and left wanting to “punch people in the face?” Don’t come back. Stop trying so hard.
Calm down and learn to take a joke
Thank you for sharing your NYC trip — it’s definitely got the itch back in me to get there sooner rather than later. And sounds like your hotel stays were pleasant! Good info. to keep in mind.
Glad you made it back safely!
Thank you so much, Carla! Maybe after Baby #3 arrives and gets into a good routine you can sneak off for a little NYC getaway! #fingerscrossed
I LOVE New York City. You should have taken some breaks in some of the amazing parks. Nothing better than Central Park and the High Line!
I know, you’re totally right Steph – I wish we had. We barely saw Central Park and totally missed the High Line. Next time!
Love this recap!!! Funny, I felt the same way by my second day, too. I remember loving NYC when I went in high school, and thinking I could totally live there. But this time all I thought was, ‘How do people live here?!” The sounds, the smells….loved it all, but glad to go home!
I agree, Cassie! I love visiting new places, but it always feels so good to be back home. G and I got back on a Wednesday and went for a walk with Kate that afternoon and G remarked, “We’re the only ones on this sidewalk.” Ahhhh, so nice!