New York City
So the city girl finally saw the ultimate city and spent all of yesterday there!! My take on New York:
I woke up at the crack of dawn (literally) and my family took a bus from Pikesville to New York City and while the continental breakfast was kind of lame, our driver was AWESOME--we were in NYC in 2 and a half hours flat!! The bus leaves us off at one of two stops: Times Square or Rockefeller Center. We chose Times Square, one of NYC's top sights...and one that I can honestly say I did not like. It was probably my least favorite part of the city...one word: trashy. It smelled, there was garbage everywhere, and none of the stores in that area did anything for me. Just a bunch of over-sized ads and flashing lights. Big deal.
We took a tour that took us around the city in general, just to get a feel of most of the city. We toured Midtown and Downtown and saw everything...the Empire State Building, Macy's, Greenwich Village (my personal favorite), SoHo, the Financial District (minus Twin Towers :(...), the Fulton fish market, Chinatown, Rockefeller Center, the Waldorf=Astoria (hahaha...soo me *wink*) and all. When we finally got off at Times Square we walked back to Rockefeller Center and ate lunch at this awesome eatery under the GE building (mmm...Ben & Jerry's!!) Then it was on to a tour of NBC Studios, which was cool, then time for shopping...serious Fufth Avenue shopping, not that Times Square crap. Ten stories of Saks Fifth Avenue, and every designer...shoo!! Personal favorite: Cartier, where I spent ten glorious minutes looking at gorgeous jewelry I can't afford. While the stones were obviously top quality (I had never seen diamonds sparkle like some did in that store), I personally prefer Tiffany's settings, particularly as far as rings go. And though we ended up close to Central Park (we were near the Trump World Tower and the Plaza hotel), we didn't actually get to see it. After this lovely window shopping and a stop at FAO Schwartz, we headed back to our eatery under the GE building, snacked on pizza and pretzels, then got the bus to go home.
All in all, NYC was the awesome city I thought it would be though, as I've already said, I could do without Times Square. We passed Bellevue Hospital on our tour...it's the cutting edge for medical technology and research. Can't say I'd mind working there one day, but I'm not sure I'd like to live in NYC...after all, it's a bit much to pay $2,000/month in rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan. Maybe if I win the lottery and can afford a townhouse in Greenwich Village...but otherwise, I think for living purposes, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC are beating its butt.
BTW...Harry Potter #6 is beyond good. I'm not sure if I said that yet...but I read it all the day I got it. SOOOO GOOD!!!!