The End

Monday morning, bright and early, my great-aunt and I were dropped off at the train station, and headed into the city. My aunt has gone into the city at least twice a trip since they started going down in 2001 (I think). So she is as familiar with Manhattan, if not more than, her kids.

At Penn Station, I dropped off my other piece of luggage. Not that great to be walking around for 6 hours with 20lbs of baggage attached to you. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't fit down the busy streets with the pack.

First stop, Macy's, the world's largest department store. Did you know that some of the upper floors still have the original wooden escalators? They are scary, but really cool at the same time.

Outside Macy's we caught a cab to head up-town. There was a cabbie strike going on, but we didn't have any trouble catching a cab right away.

Second stop, Carnagie Hall. Sadly it wasn't open yet , so we couldn't go in and look around. I'm sure we could have waited the 20 minutes until it opened... but we had a busy schedule... had to keep moving.

Third stop, Fifth Avenue. I wish I wasn't so cheap. All I bought was Lindt Chocolates, and only cause they were a good deal. But we walked by all the luxury brandname stores, and even walked through Saks Fifth Avenue.

Fourth Stop, St. Patrick's Cathedral.

It was beautiful, much like the cathedrals I had seen in Ireland, though a bit more modern. Something I'm not used to in American or Canadian cities, police officers everywhere. They were lined up every 10 feet around the cathedral. I've seen that in Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam, something you would expect there, but not here. Kind of weird.

Fifth Stop, Time Square. Talk about sensory overload. I've never felt so bombarded with advertising than I did there. Usually I am not affected by what I see on live or in print media. But something about that place made me crave Coke, chocolate and Corona. Molding young minds much?

Sixth stop, Radio City Music Hall, on the way to Rockefeller Center. I had miscalculated where we were, so we ended up having to backtrack a bit. The Christmas tree wasn't up yet, but the skating rink was! Maybe it runs all year... I don't know, but it was fun to see anyways.

"I believe thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs" ~ John D. Rockefeller

Last stop, Empire State Building.

We would've gone to the top, but there was a 90 minutes wait, and we only had 90 minutes before I had to catch the train back to the airport.

Total time to tour Manhattan, 6 hours. I had trouble keeping up with my aunt! She moves fast! A lot of ground was covered. In general, I think I like NYC, but only to visit. Too many people though. I obviously don't know much about the city, but it's history and origins seem very fascinating, so I'll have to learn. I'm sure I'll end up there again. Any one up for a girl's week away?