New York Recap: Part 3

Adventures in the City

Saturday morning we awoke to the sight of snow still lingering on the ground. The weather was not warm by any means, but at least there was no precipitation in the air. We woke early because we had a big day ahead of us. There were many sights yet to see and we were determined to try and get in as many as we could.

We started our day of adventure by descending the steps into the unknown world known as the SUBWAY. None of us had ever been on a subway before, much less in NY City. I have heard friends who have visited NY talk about the subway, so I had an idea in my mind of how it would work out. We had picked up a subway map on Thursday and studied it the night before to determine where we would need to begin our journey. As we descended the steps, a little bit of anxiety began to spread through our group. Scenes from all those thriller movies began to replay in our minds as we tried to figure out how to navigate this new form of public transportation.

I stopped to ask the gentleman working in the booth how we needed to proceed with the purchase of tickets and how to work the system. At first we did not get much help...but true to what we had been told, once he figured out that we had no clue what we were doing, he talked us through the process and suggested that we purchase a $15 metro pass for all three of us to make our three stops that day. Upon receiving our ticket, we each scanned it at the gates and began to make our way down into the subway. At this point, we really began to feel the panic as thoughts of getting shot in the subway surfaced. You could cut the tension with a knife as we waited on our first train. Thankfully, we did not have long to wait and the platform was not very crowded. Once on the train we were able to sit down together and enjoy the ride. I am so thankful that the first train was not crowded...we might not have ever made it onto another train that day!

Our first stop was the World Trade Center site. We walked along the side of the site and went into a building whose sky bridge looked over into the site. I expected to see something different, but at the time we were there Ground Zero was a construction site. If you hadn't known that there was something special about the place it would not have jumped out at you. Once we exited the sky bridge, we walked past the fire department who were the first responders on 9-11. There is a beautiful tribute on the side of the building which will move you to tears...but what really got me was a small handwritten sign in the front window that said, "No tours, no t-shirts...ring bell in case of emergency." Here we were among a decent sized crowd viewing a piece of history, and yet those firefighters just wanted to be able to continue to do their job. True heroes!

The World Trade Center site was a somber place. Everyone spoke in hushed tones. You could overhear quiet conversations of people who were there that fateful day as they walked along with friends or family members who were visiting. There were those who shed tears as they toured the site and those who wanted to share their conspiracy theories...but in most people there was a simple reverence as each person experienced the moments in their memories once again. I am glad we went, but it is such a personal experience that it is hard to describe to anyone else. We had trouble even sharing it with one another while we were there together.

Upon leaving the WTC, we walked back down into the subway to catch the next train over to Brooklyn. We planned to have lunch at Grimaldi's Pizzeria Under the Brooklyn Bridge. Zagat's calls it the best pizza in New York. It was well worth the trouble and the wait. It was unlike any pizza I have ever eaten before...but it was delicious. I will admit the first slice we all were wondering what the hype was all about...but once we folded that second piece and took a bite, we knew that this was some good stuff. The pizzas are made in a brick oven right there in the middle of the restaurant. (You have to pass it to get to the bathroom.) It is a tiny place with tables lining the walls and then placed in rows through the middle of the restaurant. But let me tell you every seat was filled when we arrived and as soon as someone left there was someone new waiting to be seated. The hospitality was great and we were asked to visit the new location that would be opening in Sugarland this spring. We plan to make a girls night of it and wear our subway t-shirts when we go. We feel the need to make sure it is as good as the original. (Ha! We just look for an excuse to get together!)

From Grimaldi's, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge back into Manhattan. It is amazing to me that something built in the late 1800's is not just still around...but used by thousands of people everyday. It is truly awe inspiring to walk across the bridge and take in it's architecture and the amazing view. We saw the Statue of Liberty and admired the Manhattan skyline as we took our time walking. It took us nearly an hour to get across...and the temperature was 31 degrees. We decided not to do the ferry to the Statue of Liberty because we just couldn't imagine being on the water when it was so cold outside.

Once back in Manhattan, we headed for Chinatown. Word on the street is that you can pick up really cheap (in other words, knock off) designer bags in Chinatown. Robin just wanted to find a store with the whole pigs hanging in the window so that she could take a picture of it. We found half a pig, and upon inquiring with a shop owner were told that you have to arrive early in the morning to see the whole pig because they carve off of him all day! This was the most crowded area we had encountered. It was busier than Times Square had been. As you walk down the street amongst the crowd, you hear people talking about handbags and watches...but they come right up to you so that you are the only one who can hear them. It was a little freaky at first. At one point, we found ourselves on a side street when a lady walked out of an apartment building across the street from us. In the middle of the street she answered her cell phone and continued to walk to where we stood. To anyone else, it looked like she was just having a conversation on her telephone...but she was actually trying to get us to follow her to a shop which had a back room with fake handbags!

After we finished our exploration of Chinatown, we continued over to Little Italy. As most of the locals pointed out, it is now hard to tell where Chinatown ends and Little Italy begins. We were told that the older people are selling their places and the Asian population is expanding into that area. I don't know about all of that, but there is definitely a mix of businesses in the area. There were some beautiful storefronts with apartments above them that had been around for a hundred plus years. You could almost imagine horses and carriages instead of cars traveling the streets. We were told that to experience the real flavor of Little Italy we needed to go to Brooklyn.

By now we thought our feet were going to fall off if we kept walking, so we caught the subway back to the hotel. This time the platform was full and there was no place to sit...and hardly a place to stand on the train. The closer we got to Grand Central Station, the harder it became to stay close together and to keep from getting whisked out the doors at a stop. The majority of people exited at Grand Central, so the rest of the trip was not too stressful.

We returned to the hotel and freshened up for dinner. The concierge got us reservations at Smith and Wollensky that evening. Being from Texas, we had been eagerly awaiting the opportunity for a good steak and they did not disappoint. We shared a wonderful appetizer platter of steamed seafood. They had the biggest shrimp I have ever seen...and I have seen some pretty good sized ones around here. I had a marinated Cajun ribeye that was out of this world good! During dinner our waiter happened to mention that we had celebrities dining at a nearby table. We looked over to see Vince McMahon, Triple H, Undertaker and several of the other wrestlers from the WWE. As it turns out, they were having dinner before heading over to Madison Square Gardens for a boxing match. Stacy and Robin even got pictures with some of them. What a fitting end to our day of adventure!

Subway, WTC, best pizza in NY, Brooklyn Bridge, Chinatown and wrestlers! What else could us girls hope for?