AS we enter the summer months here in the Central Valley, the heat is reminding me of the cold weather we have left behind. My mind is wondering to the trip Eric and I took last December to New York. It was for my birthday, and we had never been to the Big Apple. Eric said I could pick wherever I wanted to go for a cruise and I knew the two places I wanted, a Bahama Cruise out of New York!
WE flew in and didn’t have much time for site-seeing that first day, since we were getting on a cruise ship in several hours. We decided to jump on the Staten Island Ferry and cruise around the bay. It was super chilly that day, but didn’t keep us from enjoying the sites of the city. It really is a fabulous place to go, as Manhattan has so much to see and do. We had purchased the City Pass but we saved those for the days after the cruise, when we would have more time to enjoy the several places the City Pass would take us to.
AS we were settled in our cabin on the Norwegian Breakaway that afternoon, we sat on our cold balcony leaving port, staring at the Statue of Liberty as we sailed by. It was a very surreal moment as we had seen this emblem of pride of our Country on so many medias, but never in person. She is quite a magnificent site to behold. As soon as she was out of site, we left the balcony to warm up. No better way to warm up in December than to travel to the Bahamas!
AFTER the 7 day cruise, we returned into the Manhattan Port early on a Sunday morning. We jumped in a town-car and traveled through the busy streets to our hotel room at the New York Marriott Marquis in Time Square. The sites and sounds were amazing. So many people crammed in the area. Our room looked right out on the Times Square Ball that would be dropping in just a few weeks on New Year’s Eve. We hurried down to the lobby and out the door into the maze of people. We walked a few steps and jumped on the Big Bus Tour and spent several hours traveling around the city and hearing all the tour guide shared about the places we were now seeing in person. It was amazing.
USING our city passes to tour Rockefeller Center’s TOP OF THE ROCK, traveled to the Statue of Liberty island, and Ellis Island, and spend time at the 9/11 Memorial, was a busy day. We walked around the city too, taking in the Christmas decorations and lights. The evenings in New York City were better than we could of even imagined, but the cold air took away our breath. The food we had was great too. We tried the pizza of course, had a sushi dinner, and had lunch at Tavern on the Green in Central Park, even getting a piece of birthday cake which I have to admit was amazingly good. It’s quite extraordinary how much is crammed in that city and the iconic buildings and places to visit are not to be missed.
THE magnificent history of the New York City seen in film was even more memorable now that we have seen it with our own eyes. I can’t wait to return someday, to see all the things we missed. You can never tire of that beautiful City! NEW YORK….
Shuman Travels 