NYC Tourist Attractions

I didn't have anything planned for my first full day in New York, so I let Steve take the reins and lead me to all the classic NYC tourist locations.

We started off in Central Park, not far from our hotel, which is kind of an amazing place. One of Steve's main reasons for coming here was to photograph the Bethesda Fountain angel, so that was priority number one. After that, he took several more cute snaps of the squirrels in the park, and I marvelled at the feeling of being so far out into nature, while Manhattan was still visible beyond the trees.

After the park, we took the subway down and caught the ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, grabbing a couple of pizza slices along the way. We didn't stay long at either place. The Ellis Island museum was somewhat fascinating, but our exhaustion and aching feet made sitting on a wooden bench more appealing than wandering through all the various exhibits. This was the same reason we came back to the hotel afterward, rather than trying to do more exploring.


Our final big plan for the day was seeing Promises Promises, literally on Broadway. On the way there, we stopped in at the Stage Deli for sandwiches piled high with cured meat, then popped across the street to Lindy's for some thick wedges of their famous cheesecake. I'm not a big fan of musicals, but Steve chose this show knowing that a good performance can suck me in regardless. And it worked. Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth were both amazing, as was the rest of the cast. The show was funny and engaging, and I'm glad I saw it.

We left the theatre looking for a place to have a couple of post-show drinks, but nothing seemed to draw us in. Just before giving up and going to Applebees, we finally spotted an Irish pub (Emmett O'Something's) with a sign indicating pumpkin ale on draught. We started out tired, thinking we'd leave after one or two beers. Instead, the more we drank, the more we perked up, enjoying the live Irish music and spoon-playing of our recently relocated Boston bartender, Sean. After 4 beers, it was 2am. Since we didn't feel a need to take advantage of the 4:00 close time at the bar, a few blocks walk and a quick stop at the Halal cart took us back to the hotel, and bed.

The day was long, but felt even longer. While it was full of famous New York landmarks, it was taxing and still didn't really feel like we saw the true city. Luckily I have 2 more days for that.