Last night I got back from a trip to New York City. There are so many sites in DC to see but I thought that I should at least check out the Big Apple while I am so close. I was able to take off work on Friday and take an early train that arrived at Penn Station, NY at around eight o’clock in the morning. I met my cousin who works in Midtown for a couple of minutes and then off I went to explore the city!

My first stop was the Empire State Building. I wanted to see the views and get an idea of where I would be going. I bought my ticket before going to bypass the lines. I was up there for over thirty minutes just admiring the growth of NYC and the massive buildings. I left the tallest building in America to hop on a subway train into the lower side of Manhattan.

I arrived at Ground Zero and saw the construction of the memorial. It is a huge undertaking to construct buildings in a city like New York. So many people are rushing by with thousands of taxis and construction trucks zooming by. The site wasn’t as good as I thought it would be so I took the bridge over the major roadway to the waterfront and escaped the hustle and bustle for a few minutes. Grand yachts and ferries were floating by taking people to the Statue of Liberty. I continued to walk along the water from the World Financial Center next to Ground Zero to Battery Park. I had a great view of Liberty but knew I only had a short while in the city so I hopped to the next stop.

I wasn’t sure what to expect at Wall Street. It was positioned with narrow streets and high columns, representing power and strength. The New York Stock Exchange and famous banks lined the street. I took several pictures and continued towards the Brooklyn Bridge. I have always been impressed by its revolutionary suspension design. It was the first of its kind. By this time I was getting fairly hungry so I wanted to sit down and give my legs a break from walking.

I love Italian food so I made sure to stop in Little Italy and grab lunch. I saw fresh made Italian pizza and knew it was perfect for me. I also stopped at an Italian pastry shop to grab a couple cannolis. They were delicious!

After getting a couple minutes or rest, I took the metro up to Times Square to see the famous advertisements and billboards. Nearby is the theater district and I happened to stumble upon the Phantom of the Opera and other theaters. I soon headed East towards the Chrysler building to take a few more pictures of the famous architecture and grand scale of the buildings. It was now two o’clock and needed to meet up with my cousin.

We met at his office on the 23rd floor. Met some of the New Yorkers in his office and headed to Rockefeller Center, the TV center for America. Walked around the city a little more and came to Bryant park. A nice, large park where we watched the city move with the thousands of footsteps passing by.

Next, we headed to the train station and caught a transit into New Jersey where we jumped into his car and took off for home. I had a terrific time with my relatives and saw the busiest city in the world. The trip was a huge success. I highly recommend anyone in living on this side of America to hop on a cheap train into New York City.