I just want to start off this post apologizing for the poor quality of my pics. I didn't take my real camera so all of these are celly pics and ughhh I hate that!! So... sorry!
A few weeks ago an old friend of mine, Brian, was in town! He wanted to see a bunch of the things we hadn't marked off our bucket list, which was perfect! We met at Penn Station (which is sort of a nightmare of a place) and then hopped on the High Line on like 29th street maybe?!
So if you don't know anything about the High Line, it's a park that has been built around a historic freight rail line that once ran above the city. Its basically a walking path that weaves between the buildings! Its such a cool way to see the city! Not to mention, the view of the Empire State Building is UNREAL.
You can still see the original tracks in the gardens and even throughout the walking path! Its about 15 blocks long (15 of my favorite blocks), and if the view of the city around isn't enough for you, the beautiful gardens, interesting art pieces, and unmatched views into strangers' apartments are sure to captivate! I went for the first time when my friends were here, and I feel like I have to take everyone who ever visits to see this place! Its a MUST SEE!
Another one of the reasons I LOVE the High Line is that when you hop off at 14th Street, you're like two blocks from the Chelsea Market! OMG! The Chelsea Market! This place is tied (with the High Line) for my favorite place in the city!And not just because I saw JP from the bachelor there last week! But if you like food, you'll love the Chelsea Market! They have the biggest variety of artisan, gourmet, specialty, yummy places to eat! They have a place called The Doughnuttery.... Yeah! So you can just imagine what this place is like!
We had Thai food and it was obviously to die for! The people were the nicest, the food was amazing, and they had a window where Gunner could watch them cook! He stood smacking the window and yelling! I'm not sure who loved it more--him or the cooks! The Pad Thai was delish and I was stuffed, but ready for dessert! When I'm surrounded by so much yummy, my stomach makes room (usually in my hips or butt)! So, we got gelato... I could really just die...
We left the Chelsea Market and hopped in a taxi towards the One World Trade Center! As we walked we did the cliche thing and talked about where we were during Sept 11th, and how we heard, and we got all Patriotic and stuff. This is why I have a love/hate relationship with walking around this part of town! I hate it because I just feel so sick when I think about what happened there. All of the innocent people who lost their lives, and loved ones! It's a little eerie to remember the scenes I saw on the news and know that I'm walking on those same streets. Walking just outside of the new tower, its hard to imagine that that was GROUND zero, like it was buried under thousands of pounds of rubble.
That's sort of also why I love it though! If it weren't for the memorial you'd never guess such a horrific thing took place there. It has been built up and it is outstandingly beautiful. The new tower is absolute magnificent. The neighborhood is clean, and alive, and thriving! I am so thrilled to see that! Plus, I love it because its the DOWNTOWN downtown. All of the tallest/most famous buildings are here! If you want to feel tiny, go here!
From there we walked over to Wall Street to see the New York Stock Exchange. I hadn't done any research on visiting the stock exchange so I was surprised to find that you cannot even approach the doors. The entrance is gated off about 15 yards away and there is a police officer on duty 24/7. Luckily for us, this police officer was friendly and we ended up talking to him for literally 2 hours. We heard some pretty unbelievable stories and to be honest, it made me feel even safer in my city!
By the time we left the stock exchange, it was already 10pm, but there were a few things left to see! Obviously we had to see the Charging Bull on Wall Street. Oh wait, its not on Wall Street. Did you know that? I always felt like it was like at the entrance to the Stock Exchange... but really its on Broadway and over a few blocks. The officer we talked to said he gets asked about the Bull a million times a day. When he tells them its down on Broadway and over a few blocks they always say, "No, I'm looking for the bull on Wall Street." As if the NYPD officer assigned to guard the NYSE doesn't know about the Bull on Wall Street. We had some seriously good laughs with that guy!
Anyways, the Bull! We posed for a few pics! At 10:30 at night it seemed really funny to pose in/near the bulls butt crack and stuff, but looking back now, I'd really love a less creepy pic.
The last thing on Brian's check list was to see the Brooklyn Bridge! This is harder than it sounds! Well maybe its not that hard, but we were tired and it was dark and we ended up never seeing it. Instead we found ourselves wandering aimlessly towards the river. We lost track of time and ended up running through subways stations to get Brian on his train back to New Jersey (which he missed... oops).
We didn't get home until after 2 am. What were we thinking?!? I'm way too old for that! Luckily, Gunner fell asleep in his stroller at 9:00 and slept through the Charging Bull, the hunt for the Brooklyn Bridge, the subway ride home, diaper change, jammy change, and until 8 am! How did I get so lucky!?! Best baby EVER!!! We had a blast hanging out with Brian and catching up with him! I wish we would have taken a picture with him, but with our rushed farewell... haha it didn't happen! But, everyone should note that if you come visit us, we will take you all over the city and wear you out and keep you out all night! Promise!
XOXOX
SD
P.S. Thanks for the visit Benni!! And thanks for helping us cross off some bucket list stuff!! Come back soon!!
So if you don't know anything about the High Line, it's a park that has been built around a historic freight rail line that once ran above the city. Its basically a walking path that weaves between the buildings! Its such a cool way to see the city! Not to mention, the view of the Empire State Building is UNREAL.
You can still see the original tracks in the gardens and even throughout the walking path! Its about 15 blocks long (15 of my favorite blocks), and if the view of the city around isn't enough for you, the beautiful gardens, interesting art pieces, and unmatched views into strangers' apartments are sure to captivate! I went for the first time when my friends were here, and I feel like I have to take everyone who ever visits to see this place! Its a MUST SEE!
We had Thai food and it was obviously to die for! The people were the nicest, the food was amazing, and they had a window where Gunner could watch them cook! He stood smacking the window and yelling! I'm not sure who loved it more--him or the cooks! The Pad Thai was delish and I was stuffed, but ready for dessert! When I'm surrounded by so much yummy, my stomach makes room (usually in my hips or butt)! So, we got gelato... I could really just die...
We left the Chelsea Market and hopped in a taxi towards the One World Trade Center! As we walked we did the cliche thing and talked about where we were during Sept 11th, and how we heard, and we got all Patriotic and stuff. This is why I have a love/hate relationship with walking around this part of town! I hate it because I just feel so sick when I think about what happened there. All of the innocent people who lost their lives, and loved ones! It's a little eerie to remember the scenes I saw on the news and know that I'm walking on those same streets. Walking just outside of the new tower, its hard to imagine that that was GROUND zero, like it was buried under thousands of pounds of rubble.That's sort of also why I love it though! If it weren't for the memorial you'd never guess such a horrific thing took place there. It has been built up and it is outstandingly beautiful. The new tower is absolute magnificent. The neighborhood is clean, and alive, and thriving! I am so thrilled to see that! Plus, I love it because its the DOWNTOWN downtown. All of the tallest/most famous buildings are here! If you want to feel tiny, go here!
From there we walked over to Wall Street to see the New York Stock Exchange. I hadn't done any research on visiting the stock exchange so I was surprised to find that you cannot even approach the doors. The entrance is gated off about 15 yards away and there is a police officer on duty 24/7. Luckily for us, this police officer was friendly and we ended up talking to him for literally 2 hours. We heard some pretty unbelievable stories and to be honest, it made me feel even safer in my city!
Anyways, the Bull! We posed for a few pics! At 10:30 at night it seemed really funny to pose in/near the bulls butt crack and stuff, but looking back now, I'd really love a less creepy pic.
We didn't get home until after 2 am. What were we thinking?!? I'm way too old for that! Luckily, Gunner fell asleep in his stroller at 9:00 and slept through the Charging Bull, the hunt for the Brooklyn Bridge, the subway ride home, diaper change, jammy change, and until 8 am! How did I get so lucky!?! Best baby EVER!!! We had a blast hanging out with Brian and catching up with him! I wish we would have taken a picture with him, but with our rushed farewell... haha it didn't happen! But, everyone should note that if you come visit us, we will take you all over the city and wear you out and keep you out all night! Promise!
XOXOX
SD
P.S. Thanks for the visit Benni!! And thanks for helping us cross off some bucket list stuff!! Come back soon!!
I literally laughed out loud at the bull butt crack thing!! Haha! I did the same the other day on a tour after I had barely any sleep, and I wish those pics could be erased from existence. Yours truly isn't that bad. :o)
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