New York, New York!

This weekend we took an adventure to NYC. Seven of my roommates traveled and five of us planned to stay at my roommate, Kristen's Manhattan apartment. We were so excited to get to NYC early, travel to the apartment, order take-out, watch a movie, and rest up for a big day ahead. Well, that didn't work. Instead, we caught the China bus in Chinatown, got a flat tire, waited for our non-English speaking bus driver to arrange for the tire to be changed, and just waited...and waited. It was freezing outside. Apparently, it is an unwritten rule that you need to BYOTP (bring your own toilet paper) on the sketchy China bus...so it was interesting to see the males file off the bus one by one in search of the woods. We were pulled over for about three hours on the side of the road somewhere in Maryland. We got out and had races. We were so bored and needed to move around (Carolyn, Wendy, Colleen, and possibly Susie and subsequently now sick). Have you ever played tag on the side of the interstate in Maryland? Didn't think so. Boy are we fortunate.
We finally made it to New York, traversed the scary subway (I have never been so grateful for the DC Metro in my life. There aren't as many sketchy people...or rats...in DC), and made it to the apartment. It is the most beautiful apartment! It is so cute and felt much more like a real home than our monstrous apartment, laden with laptops and high school text books. This apartment was really just beautifully decorated and look at this view! Imagine it at night. It is in Manhattan on Columbus and a numbered street that I can't remember, but we were so close we were able to walk to Times Square, Broadway, and 5th Avenue. It was so perfect and generous of the Clark's to allow us to stay.
We woke up the next morning and walked to Broadway to see if we could get any tickets. Kristen told us we had to see Mary Poppins. It was at the same theater I saw The Lion King at when I was in 8th grade. We got tickets for $30!!! What a deal!

Broadway

TIffany's--Any girl's dream. We explored. It was great.

We also got characatures made from a road side "artist." We might or might not all look exactly the same. Same eyes, same nose, same skimpy outfits he so graciously added. Haha--all this made possible for a small $2 fee :)

We are, we are...Teachers. Thank you for this discovery, Meggie.

And we couldn't pass up on the street vendor's pretzels and hot dogs.

I took this picture of Fox headquarters for my dad. He's terrified that I'm turning liberal. It all started when I started watching CNN instead of Fox. He thinks I'm a lost cause. Here's to you, dad.

Rockefeller Center
We wanted to ice skate...instead, we all decided we will return to ice skate when we are in love. Sigh.

The New York experience. New York paraphernalia, post cards, scarfs, and Starbucks cocoa. Thanks for burning my tongue, Wendy.

Carnaige Hall

Kristen's parents treated us to an amazing, fancy restraunt. Again, they were so generous.

Red Eye Grill, NYC
The Creme Brule Cheesecake was the best thing I've ever tasted in my entire mortal existence.

Times Square

Mary Poppins! She flys! and he dances on the ceiling!

Mary Poppins

Ground Zero, World Trade Center
Last time I was here, I was able to walk through the towers. Construction is still taking place. It is hard to imagine a plane dipping down through the skyline into the towers. It was hallowed ground to think of the many firefighters and police officers who gave their lives to protect innocent civilians. The American flag continues to stand, symbolic of a united nation.

Berlin Wall
We were so shocked to run into this on our early walk. We woke up early to see Ground Zero, the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island before church. It was really great to walk around and contemplate the meaning behind these symbolic places. Our nation has a rich history.

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
Wendy and I thought the island to the right (not pictured) was really Ellis Island. (I swear it was on Hitch). We asked the tour guides--we were wrong. This is Ellis Island.

New York Sky Line
Wendy, Kristen, and Me

We smelt pine as we walked down the road. Naturally, we decided to take a picture with it's source.

WTC Statue
THis statue was not ocmpletely ruined in the 9-11 attacks. It was in the lobby of the WTC and continues to stand as a symbol of the stable country in which we live.

Wall Street and Broadway

Manhattan Temple
The perfect way to end the perfect trip. We attended church upstairs in a building (across the street from Juliard) which also has the LDS temple on another floor. It was perfect.

After church, we returned to Kristen's apartment, tidied up, watched High School Musical 2 and prepared for our China Bus ride home.

Oh and don't worry...we got a flat tire on the way home too. Goo.