I'm back

and New York City was just as amazing as I thought it would be! I will not miss the crowds or the continous honking from hundreds of taxis, but hand me another plane ticket & I'm on my way again. Now I thought Las Vegas was the "City that Never Slept," but in NYC you can step outside at midnight & start your evening. Every shop, every deli, every restaurant is still open. Hotdogs & pretzels, knockoff purses & celebrity photos are still being sold by street vendors, local artists are playing instruments & singing, and the men in creepy Statue of Liberty costumes are still posing for pictures. It was incredible! And the lights! The lights of Time Square seemed to fill every corner of the sky. I loved it! Mom & I started our NY experience by going to the top of Rockefeller Center to view the NY skyline at night. It was beautiful & we eagerly planned all the places we wanted to go over the next 6 days. We didn't make it to everything, but here are a few of our highlights. A tour of Radio City Music Hall, (believe it or not, a 2 mile tour.) where we met one of the Rockettes, St. Patrick's Cathedral, NBC Studios, the ice skating rink at Rockefeller Center & Trump Tower. A sightseeing cruise on the Hudson River where we sailed around the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, the United Nations, the Empire State building, Wall Street & Ground Zero. There was, of course, shopping & window shopping at FAO Schwarz, Toys 'R Us, where we rode a 3-story high ferris wheel, Tiffanys, the M&M store, & the biggest Disney store I've ever seen. Then there was the food! The first night, Mom & I wandered away from our group & found a tiny Indian restaurant that had been in business in that location since, I think, 1918. It was called "Bombay Masala" & the food was delicious! Then there was "Ellen's Stardust Diner" where the 50's decor & singing waiters & waitresses made every meal pure entertainment. Next, thanks to one of my visiting teachers, Mom & I found "Junior's," where we ate some of the best raspberry swirl cheesecake & coconut lemon cake ever. Our last day there we found a little basement Italian restaurant where the smell of fresh baked cheese bread greeted you when you opened the door. There were so many other foods I wanted to try, but we didn't take a lot of time for meals, (I know, I know, what were we thinking?) so the millions of corner delis with their soups, pastries, pizzas & salads, became our friends. Mom & I even attempted to ride the subway. You see, we had decided that we wanted to go to the Manhatten temple. So we got specific instructions/directions & made our way to the nearest subway station. It was only 2 stops from where we were, but somehow we got on the wrong line & 2 stops later we stepped out into Harlem. Yea, that was a bit unnerving! We asked for directions again & made it back to within 7 blocks of the temple. We walked the rest of the way, including back to the hotel. There was no way you were getting me back on that subway without a guide! Out of all the experiences, however, my favorite was the Broadway shows! The first one we saw was "Wicked" & though an understudy played the part of Elphaba that night, she absolutely blew us away! It was wonderful & turned out to be my very favorite of the plays we saw! The "Lion King" was next, then "Phantom of the Opera" & last of all "Mary Poppins." They were each incredible with gorgeous costumes & sets that were mind-boggling. I could have gladly spent all my vacation in the theatres. There was one afternoon where our group met with one of the actresses in "Wicked" & had nearly an hour of asking her questions, hearing about the play & what it took to get into show business. Very enlightening. Hmmmm.....maybe someday it will be me up on one of those stages. Anyway, the trip was fantastic & I would gladly go again & again! Check out below my very amateur video (with my newly acquired digital camera) of Times Square. It was around 11:oo at night when I took the video. Also, click on the title of this post, "I'm back" to see futher pictures of our trip.