NYC Sightseeing

This past week, we had a friend in architecture from Germany visit us in New York City.  He's been here for 11 months and on his last hoorah before he heads back to Munich in a week.  So I took the opportunity to tag along as he visited the must-sees on his NYC list.



This is also when we got scammed by the street performers.

The first thing on his list, since he's also an architecture major, was the One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill -



It's really nearing completion.  We're still not sure about the round thing at the top which was probably done more for potential profit than design, but we will note that it looks better from further away.

Cornelius wanted to see the museum, but we realized by the time we got tickets and through the long line, it would be late in the evening, so we wouldn't be able to do everything.  He looked at the hotel adjacent to the site and suggested that instead, we go inside and see if we can't get a better view from above.  I wasn't sure if this plan was going to work, but we were able to go to the fifth floor of the hotel where they have a public lounge/bar, and see the site from there.













We walked from the World Trade Center to Battery Park.  It's a short and simple route, and there are maps along the street.





Then took the subway to Times Square.










We got a little lost trying to find Rockefeller Center, but realized that we just hadn't gone far enough - what did we ever do without smart phones (umm... ask someone)?













It was a productive day of sightseeing, and I'm glad I took a break from shopping to do it (I'm sure you are, too, Dad!).

NYC Times Square

The only other time I've been to New York City, I remember spending a good amount of time on Times Square.  Our hotel, the Westin, was adjacent to Times Square (we were supposed to stay at the Marriott Marquis, but there was some mix-up with the reservations... which ended up being fine because the Westin was super nice with Heavenly beds), and we rode the Ferris Wheel at Toys R' Us.  Anyway, when I think about New York, I think about Times Square.  Which is why it was incredibly weird for me to have been in NYC for five days, having yet visited Times Square (though I did see the Westin we stayed at when catching a cab one night).  So today when I had some free time, I decided that it was time to make a visit to Times Square so that I'd perhaps be able to better wrap my mind around the fact that I'm in New York City.



Okay, okay.... the real reason I was dying to go to Times Square is because since I last visited New York City, Disney has opened a store there.



The downside is that it seems to be encouraging these freaky Disney character IMPOSTERS....



Who does he think he is????  He's definitely not fooling anyone with that costume... Mickey has yellow shoes.  Hmph.

Anyway, the Disney Store has super cute NYC merchandise...





I need to go back and take more photos of the merchandise.  There is an adorable collection of I (Mickey) NY tees, mugs, and keychains.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find another antenna topper with the Statue of Liberty crown on it.  We had purchased one at the old Disney Store in NYC, but it was taken from our car years ago.



There are only two levels to this Disney Store.  The old store was actually a "World of Disney" Store and had I think 5 levels.  I suppose they had to cut back when moving to a more ideal location.

I was disappointed to not see a lot of adult merchandise.  I also think that souvenirs such as the build-your-own Mr. Potato Head would do well there.  Hopefully, Disney will be able to expand the store in the future.

However, as Dad already knows, I didn't walk out of the store empty handed (I had to use my Disney Visa to get the 10% discount!!) - but if it helps my cause, I did buy something just for you, Dad!



But my bed was empty, and I needed a friend!!!