I spent yesterday in New York. Check out some of the pictures I took on my New York 2006 photo album.
We left Toronto by a charter bus on Friday night at around 10:00 PM and arrived in New York around 7:30 AM Saturday morning. After a hearty breakfast at Pom Pom's (which was delicious), a group of us thought that we would brave the New York subway to take in some shopping at Century 21 - the discount department store which was recommended. Of course, we took the wrong subway and lost about an hour or so and had to backtrack, but we finally made it. I must say that I was really disappointed in Century 21. To me, this was like Winners - except bigger and not as clean. My friend bought a pair of running shoes for $50 and a pair of Micheal Kors sunglasses for $10, but I didn't buy anything while I was there.
We then went to see Ground Zero, which is just across the street from Century 21. There were a lot of people walking around and seeing the big empty space where the Twin Towers once stood. That was one of the highlights of the trip.
Another highlight of the day trip was going up to the 86th floor of the Empire State building. This was one of the best parts of the trip. It was super windy up on the observation floor, but a must-see if you are going to New York. The views were amazing, as you can see from some of my pictures posted. It only cost $16 to go up, or you can pay an additionally $14 to go to the 102nd floor. Being up 86 floors was high enough for me. Part of the walk-way was closed, as it was just too windy and cold, but most was open to the public. There was also a store on the 86th floor and I picked up some Empire State building souvenirs.
After a few hours at the Empire State building (there were lots of people going up, and there was security everywhere, but the lines moved along really fast), we then walked around Times Square and took in all the fascinating billboards and interesting shops. Walking along Broadway Avenue and 5th Avenue was great!
For dinner we went to a local TGIF's - they don't have that chain here in Toronto. Wow, was it ever pricey but I guess that's because the restaurant was located near Times Square. But, the food was really good and we enjoyed ourselves.
We ended up at the Social Bar and Restaurant on 8th Street and had a great time relaxing and socializing before we boarded the bus on the way back to Toronto.
Although the weather wasn't the greatest - it was a little cold and windy, we all were impressed by the lack of homeless people on the street. I think we only saw two homeless people the whole time we were there. Plus, there were no altercations on the street or mugging incidents or anything like you hear about. There were lots of tourists, that's for sure. Since we stayed around the downtown core area, we didn't run into any problems. If you go off the beaten path though, then perhaps it wouldn't be as safe. Oh, and we were also very impressed by the cabs and cab drivers. Taking a cab from the Brooklyn Bridge to Times Square only cost us $11 total. That's quite a bargain!
My first trip to New York wasn't very long, but it sure gave me a taste of what New York has to offer and I can't wait to return to spend more time there.