Busy day in the City...

Yesterday, Rob and I took an adventure down to the City (aka NYC). I was able to check off a couple things from my New England Bucket List, which I thought was pretty cool. Yesterday it was such awesome weather, so why not spend it outside?!

The morning started out pretty rough, though. I am not going to lie. I took too long getting ready, and so we left the house a little bit later than I had planned. I had thought about catching the 850am train, but since we left the house late, I figured we could catch the 930am train. We hit massive traffic trying to get into New Haven for some reason. So by the time we got over to the train station and attempted three times to find parking we both were just stressed. Rob was to the point that he just didn't want to go...but it was what I had planned and I was not going to let the morning get the best of me. We hiked up to the train station (had to park about 10 blocks from the station), purchased our tickets and Rob thought we would still be able to catch the 930am train. Just as we neared the steps to the 930am train platform, we heard the train pull away, so we caught the next one which left at 1010am. No worries...we just had to wait.

Just before noon the train arrived at Grand Central Terminal. Rob asked if we could go find some lunch at like a McDonald's. So we purchased our subway tickets and caught the shuttle train to Times Square. I knew of two McDonald's there in Times Square and so I went to the one that was the closest. After lunch we went back to Grand Central and took a different train down to Wall Street. Now for my fellow friends who know the subway, you are thinking, "well why didn't you take this # train down to Wall Street from Times Square?" Well we would have but I forgot my handy-dandy laminated subway map at home (it is packed and I need to really find it!) and so I was going off the hand written directions I had from the night before provided from Google Maps. We made it down to Wall Street and we were able to see the outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). I am pretty sure there was formal enterance, but we didn't bother looking for it. Just seeing the building was enough for Rob and we also saw Trump Tower.

After walking down Wall Street we took another subway up to Central Park. I wanted to see a few things there as I had never been to Central Park. Items I wanted to see yesterday were, Bow Bridge, Bethesda Terrace, and the Boathouse. We got into the park and I was trying to follow yet again the hand written directions that I wrote down from the night before. Well...once you are in the park though...there are no street signs! Oh ya...and no maps available to pick up and know where you are. After wandering around we did find a map on a pole and found which we needed to go. It was pretty hot...and wanted to find something cold to drink, as well. We first saw Bow Bridge. Bow Bridge is one of the famous bridges that you seen in a lot of the movies that are filmed in Central Park. It is near the Boathouse and so you tend to see people in row boats rowing under the bridge. After that we walked over to the Bethesda Terrace. Yet another famous area that you tend to see in movies as well. Remember the scene in the movie 27 Dresses  where Tess tells Jane that she wants to get married at the Boat house? Well that is Bethesda Terrace!! The fountain was not turned on yet, but the whole area was just so pretty. We did see a bum sleeping in the underpass of Bethesda Terrace...but the tile work on the ceiling is just gorgeous!!! After that we went and sat on a park bench for awhile. We actually found a slightly shaded bench! We sat and talked about what we should do next and decided to walk over to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Rob had never been there and so it was perfect to go, too. I just loved Central Park! There were quite a few people there since it was such a nice day. I would love to see more of the park!!

The MET was, well the MET. They did have a new Modern Art exhibit, which was cool to look at. Some of the stuff I could go with out seeing again if I went back to the MET (like the Egyptian stuff). After strolling through the MET we decided to go find some dinner. Since Rob chose where we ate for lunch, he let me choose where to eat for dinner. I chose to eat at ESPN Zone down in Times Square. I kind of thought about eating at the Boat house, but 1) we were not dressed for a place like that and 2) I didn't want to spend tons and tons of money for dinner! ESPN Zone had awful service and I will probably never eat at one again. We waited close to 10 minutes after being seated at our table before our server came over to ask us for our drink order. Now yes they were a little busy, but not slammed! It just seemed one thing after another with dinner. I am glad we ate there...but after dinner I kept thinking of other places that we could have ate at. *sigh* I guess I need to ask some friends where to eat next time. hahaha.

After dinner we walked through Times Square, saw where the New Years Ball drops from, and walked through part of the Fashion District. I was able to see where Parson's was since I am a fan of Project Runway. I can not sew to save my life...but I love that show. By the time we were done with that we walked up to Grand Central. We walked past Bryant Park (which was cool too!) on our way up to Grand Central. Bryant Park is smaller than what I had imagined it...but can see why it is used for Fashion week.

Once we got to Grand Central, we bought our tickets and caught the 804pm train back home. It was a pretty full train as it was the first non-peak train from the City. All in all it was a good day. I am glad that we went and I hope to get down there one more time or so before I leave!