The Big Apple

Last Saturday we made a trip up to New York City. It was Scott's first time there and I think he liked it. We only went for one day but we still managed to pack a lot in.

The first thing we did was take the subway to Ground Zero and sign up for the walking tours that are provided by survivors, family members of those who died, and others who were directly affected by 9/11. The tour wasn't too much, $15 each, but all proceeds go to families of those that died. Our main tour guide grew up in New York and happened to be jogging when the first plane hit. He immediately went to the building to help the emergency services with what they needed. He ended up running the morgue. The other lady who helped on the tour lost her brother. He was a firefighter who was in the first building that collapsed. It was sobering to see the enormity of the damage and that it has taken this to long to build anything. The new buildings are supposed to be finished in 2012/2013, so we're hoping to see them before we leave the area.
What's left of the centerpiece from the World Trade Centers. It's now in battery park.

We then wandered down to battery park to get a glimpse of Lady Liberty. We didn't have enough time to actually go to the statue but my camera has an awesome zoom.

Statue of Liberty

Next we hit Chinatown. The streets were packed! I was really excited when I went into a purse store and saw that they had a secret door. You know, the ones you hear about but rarely see. Well, Scott and I ventured down through fear of death and mugging but the purses I got are fabulous! Both Prada (sadly, not real. But who cares?) and both for only $70! That's just like buying two regular purses at a regular store. We walked a few blocks up to Little Italy to get dinner. The pizza I had was really good and, per Scott, authentic. The guy who owns the restaurant calls himself the cannoli king so we made sure to get a few.

Scott in Little Italy

Later we headed to Rockefeller Center, home of one of our favorite shows - 30 Rock - and THE Christmas tree. Well, within two blocks in every direction the streets were packed. You didn't really move, you just got pushed along. I snapped a few pictures of the tree in passing but we didn't get a glimpse of the ice rink. Oh well, maybe next time. They also had a lot of cool ornament/light displays. The one below was my favorite.

We quickly walked around times square and then headed back to meet up with our group. On the way home there was an ice storm. I counted at least 12 cars that had spun off the road. Luckily we had an awesome bus driver so we arrived home without incident.
It was a nice little trip before we head home for Christmas, and then to New Orleans for New Year's to watch the Utes play in the Sugar Bowl!