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More than one bite of the Big Apple

Contributed by: Erin Di Paolo on 7/1/2006

The Statue of Liberty. Ground Zero. Ellis Island. Grand Central Station. The New York Yankees. The Empire State Building. Central Park. Times Square. Broadway. The Phantom of the Opera. You get the picture. Mention any of these places and immediately one thinks of New York City, the Big Apple.

Two weeks ago my friend, Holly, and I embarked on a week-long, whirlwind tour of the City That Never Sleeps. And though we did, in fact, sleep, we managed to pack as much into our 16 hour days as possible.

There are multiple tours available in New York City, but Holly and I chose Grayline's 48 hour all loops tour. The tour takes place on a double-decker bus that has unlimited hop on-hop off stops. We toured downtown and Brooklyn, plus Brooklyn at night. Though the tour also had an uptown loop, we chose to opt out of this option and tour on our own for a few days.

After arriving on Saturday evening, we hit the ground running on Sunday. The first stop we made was Ground Zero where the Twin Towers once stood. This was an emotional time for us; we felt we were standing on holy ground. Across the street from Ground Zero is a church, St. Paul's, that housed relief workers during the 9/11 rescue and recovery efforts. Inside, there is a memorial to all those who gave of themselves during the tragedy...also a memorial to those who gave the ultimate: their lives. After we boarded the bus again we went past the set of Spiderman 3, which is currently being filmed in NYC. What an unexpected thrill that was! Next we traveled, by ferry, to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Standing in the same spot that our ancestors stood so many years ago gave us both chills! We completed the day with a trolley tour of Brooklyn, including a trip over the Manhattan Bridge with gorgeous views of the Brooklyn Bridge.

On Monday we ventured up to the 86th floor of The Empire State Building, New York's tallest building. What a view! After that, we toured the seven floors of Macy's Department Store, ate slices of pizza in Little Italy, chowed on cheesecake and soft pretzels in Grand Central Station, observed how the other half lives at the Waldorf Astoria, prayed at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and visited the observation deck at Rockefeller Center.

Tuesday was one of the most perfect, complete days we experienced. We allowed ourselves time to sleep in, then went to Au Bon Pan for coffee and breakfast. After that, we toured CNN and then toured Central Park's six miles in a bicycle-drawn cart. We saw where several famous movies were made, including Home Alone 2 and Independence Day. We also took in Strawberry Fields, home to John Lennon's IMAGINE Memorial. There is actually a man that decorates the memorial every day of the week and spends the majority of his time in the park, sitting by the Memorial. That evening we had an incredible meal at Tony Di Napoli's and sat in the second row for a perfect performance of The Phantom of the Opera. Incredible evening!

On Wednesday morning we jumped on the subway and headed out to the Brooklyn Bridge, walking approximately halfway across it. Wow! What breathtaking views we beheld! Afterwards, we toured NBC and then shopped until we dropped.

Thursday was an exiting day for me, one which I have waited for for many years! We hopped on the subway once again; this time our destination was Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. I was beside myself with anticipation. Even though the Yankees lost, it was an amazing day, one that I will never forget! Thursday evening we intended to go to bed early as we were to go home the next day, but we were given free tickets to attend a Gretchen Wilson concert at Radio City Music Hall. How could we turn that down? It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip.

Now that I am home, I am dreaming of returning. Yes, some of the things that are said of New York are indeed true -- the people are sometimes rude and the taxi drivers are crazed, but there is no place on Earth like New York City. No place at all.


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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments
Submitted By: Erin Di Paolo
posted on 7/14/2006 @ 9:42:21 PM
Rated Story
That was awesome! I wish I was there. while you were out partying i was at home missing you!
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Submitted By: Melissa Pascale
posted on 6/24/2006 @ 1:06:09 PM
(Not Rated)
Makes me want to see NY! You make it seem so easy to get around NY and definately packed it all in!
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Submitted By: Holly Kaiser
posted on 6/24/2006 @ 8:19:56 AM
(Not Rated)
Great story Erin! Of course it means more to me than most. I was looking forward to and very happy to finally read your story. Holly
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Showing 1-3 of 3 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Erin Di Paolo

Denver , CO

Erin Di Paolo has posted 61 stories and 6 comments since joining on 3/18/2006. Erin Di Paolo 's average story rating is 4.81.
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