NY trip Day 2

Grand Central Station



The sign reads "Clothing Bargains For Millionaires"







Acting silly on the docks under the Brooklyn Bridge



Ready to begin day 2!



Picture with the bull in the Financial District



Riding the Staten Island Ferry



Shopping in Chinatown...wonder whats in the black bags???



The Brooklyn Bridge


We woke up bright and early at 6:00am. We got dressed and grabbed some yogurt and fruit at Euro-pan. While eating breakfast, we get our game plan on. We figure out how to get to the subway and we're off! We get a little confused, and Aimee asked 3 people for help. Well, nobody can speak English. So, we just start pointing, screaming "That way? This way?" Ugh... Well, we found it and bought a ticket. Just our luck, here comes an empty subway car.... (note to self: empty subway cars signal a problem..) so we hop on. As soon as the door shuts behind us, we inhale the most awful odor you can imagine. Can we say pooey smell??? Body odor smell???? We both look over and there lies 2 naked bums. Lovely. It was more than my sheltered mind could imagine. I have been ruined for life. Its just not something you want to see....naked booty at 7:00am. Aimee and I are standing up holding the metal pole for dear life. Aimee's other hand is gripped onto my arm. We are praying to God to just let us survive this trip. Well, after 15 minutes, we finally get off the subway and arrive at World Trade Center. Not much to see, just a construction zone. But, it was scary to imagine what that day must have felt like. It made everything very surreal for me. At times I am so mad about Jason being deployed again in this war on terror, but after seeing that site it was a reminder to me why it is necessary. As we were walking toward the Trade Center site, Aimee said Good morning to a lady and the man in front of her, turned around and gave the dirtiest look. We forget sometimes where we are. We head over to Century 21 to shop. Well, this is a great place if name brands are what you are after. I really see no need in paying $200 for a shirt just because it says Marc Jacobs on the tag. But, whatever fits your fancy. I am a Kohls kind of girl. So, we head off to see the financial district. This is a neat place. Lots of business men, all obviously worried about their investments. Blah,blah, blah. We took pictures with the bull. We keep walking and head down to the Staten Island Ferry. We took the ferry ride across. Its was beautiful. It does not get close to the Statue of Liberty, but it is a free ride and it gets close enough. I would recommend this if you go to NYC. Once we got back across, we head over to City Hall Park and take some pictures. After this, we head over to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I think Aimee and I ranked this as one of our favorites of the trip. This is a must if you visit. Once on the bridge, you can see the entire Manhattan skyline. Its just gorgeous. There are lots of people that walk the bridge, we even saw a bride having pictures made on the bridge. When we got to the other side, we go under the bridge to eat at Grimaldi's. OK, not joking, this is the best pizza I have EVER eaten. We got there just in time and didn't have to wait. By the time we left, there was a huge line outside that curved all the way around the block. We ate an entire pizza (it was a small). We ordered: extra cheese, black olives, and ham. YUM! Little Ceasar's will never be the same.... After pizza, we walk down to a dock that is under the bridge. We took lots of silly pictures here. So, we walk back across the bridge and head towards Chinatown. Chinatown is an absolute must see! I think we ended up staying for about 3 hours there. If you could have seen us, we were wearing a big smile the entire time! Everywhere we looked, there was little Chinese girls. Aimee asked me if she could kidnap one. JK. (well...am I kidding????) We would just look at each other and smile. I am just as excited as Aimee is about Lily coming home. OK....on to the shopping. I will try to paint a picture for you... Here's how it goes.... Aimee and I walk down the roads in Chinatown, little Chinese women and men come up to you and whisper...."prada prada prada, coach, coach. coach," It is hilarious. I wish you all could hear Aimee and I do our impression. So, you nod yes to them and they take you to a back room. (Sorry, everyone, we got caught up in the prada moment) The lady does a secret knock pushes on the wall, and it magically goes into a secret room. I know you all can imagine our faces. We also were taken down an alley, up a small hallway and into a room and were locked in, uh, dead-bolted. That was a little creepy. Yep, we went into 4 secret rooms. Sorry, it was way too much fun. Aimee got 4 purses, all for less than $30 each. And I got 2. Great deals on our illegal purses :) Thanks to our moms for the extra spending money! Aimee and I couldn't stop laughing. Aimee bought HG and Lily matching red Chinese outfits, a pair of Chanel sunglasses, and some NYC shirts. I bought a pair of Coach sunglasses, some I love NY shirts, and Madeline a pink Chinese outfit with matching shoes. We didn't eat in Chinatown, there were lots of raw fish and ducks hanging out.
After Chinatown, we went to Little Italy and ate amazing pastries. Canoli and Bavarian Creme something... Heavenly. I ate like a pig. After Little Italy, we get back on the subway (much better this time) and ride it to Grand Central Station. It was so beautiful there, and so busy. We then walked down to the NYC library. This is no local library, the ceilings look like Michelangelo painted them. It was breath taking. We asked to use the computer, but you have to make reservations. We were disappointed because we really wanted to update our blogs. Guess it was a good thing because we really did not have time on our itineraries. Well, then we went back to Times Square and looked around. Then we walked back towards our hotel to get our Lion King tickets. We buy great tickets, 12th row and center. This is a must too, but more about that tomorrow. So, as we were leaving the ticket counter, all of the sudden someone screams, "Mario, Mario!". We turn around and honey, we are looking right into Mario Lopez's eyes. Yep, Slater from Saved by the Bell. I am looking like a total do-do and I can't even speak. I was scrambling for a camera and before we could get it, he heads into the theatre. (He is starring in Chorus Line on Broadway). Wow, Mario Lopez looked at us.
After a short little break (15 min). we head off to grab a New York hot-dog. OH, can we say delicious?????? I think I ate it in 3 bites. YUM!! As we are walking to the Empire State Building, we check out Macy's. It is so pretty and big! The empire state building was so amazing. My knees got weak and I felt kinda dizzy at the top. We took lots of pictures and tried not to look at all the couples getting some sugar up there. Gross! Actually, we just both wanted our hubby's. :( After that, we are nearly delirious. Get a map and see, we have walked 10 miles today. Our legs were jello and we took a taxi home. It was a good experience for our first taxi ride. We had a good driver, but he would not tell us which celebrities he has had in his cab. We got back to the room and we started laughing so hard, we both couldn't breathe. Aimee fell on the floor laughing. I was talking to Jason and couldn't even speak. I know he must have thought we had completely lost our minds. But remember we walked for 14 hours straight! 10 MILES in one day!!! We were so tired, we were loony. We popped 3 Advil's and went to bed. What a day. More about Day 3 tomorrow. I can't wait to tell you about Paula. Ahhhh!!!