The Big Apple
- Bridget Rackley
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
My first time in NYC was in May 2003. I went with my mom and two of my cousins/best friends. I was 22 years old, and this city really loomed large, coming from a small rural community in North Carolina.
Our first stop was to the Empire State Building. At that time, one ticket to the top was $11.00. According to their website, a ticket in 2025 is $44 to go to the 86th floor observatory!!! Of course, the views of New York City and the Manhattan skyline were spectacular. We were able to see the Chrysler Building with its shiny top and the Manhattan Bridge. We could also see the Statue of Liberty in the distance. We went to Macy's department store at Herald Square, where I bought a tote bag. We checked out Penn Station and Madison Square Gardens.
On our second day (our first full day), we set out for Battery Park. The esplanade of the park offers stunning views of New York Harbor and the New Jersey coast, Ellis Island, and Lady Liberty. We saw the monument titled, "The Immigrants" in Battery Park. This monument celebrates the diversity of NYC and the struggles immigrants faced. The figures represent an Eastern European Jew, a freed African slave, a priest, and a worker. It is located at the south end of the park.
In the park, we found "The Sphere," a symbol of resilience and survival. The Koenig Sphere survived significant damage on 9/11 and became a symbol of peace and an emblem of hope. Since 1966, this sculpture was the centerpiece of the World Trade Center Plaza. After the attacks, it was erected in Battery Park in 2002. It was the first official memorial to the victims of 9/11 in NYC.
During our visit, we were not allowed to go inside the Statue of Liberty, but we got great pictures and views from the harbor. Lady Liberty came to America in 1886, which brought on a wave of immigration from parts of Europe to the United States.
We took a boat ride to Ellis Island and around the harbor with Circle Line Ferry. At Ellis Island, there is a museum dedicated to immigration history from the 1500s through the present day. There is also the American Family Immigration History Center where you can discover if you have connections to the island.
We walked around the Financial District, which is located on the southernmost tip of Manhattan Island. This area is known as the nation's economic hub and home to Wall Street and the "bull" of the trade. We also had a humbling experience at Ground Zero. Reconstruction was happening, slowly, as it had not been quite 2 years since the attacks when we visited.
South Street Seaport was a favorite spot of mine as it reminded me of beach towns in North Carolina.
We made a quick stop at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian and walked through Little Italy and Chinatown.
Day three took us to Grand Central Station, Times Square, FAO Schwartz, Trump Towers, Tiffany's, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City. Times Square really epitomizes the slogan, "The City That Never Sleeps!" It was a rainy, cool day, but it didn't stop us from seeing all of Times Square. At Rockefeller Center, we saw the GE Building and toured NBC Studios.
St. Patrick's Cathedral was a true marvel. I love seeing cathedrals and churches on my travels, and this one was a beauty!! It is one of the oldest churches in Manhattan.
Walking along 5th Avenue, we saw Sak's, FAO Schwartz, Tiffany's, and Trump Towers. We stepped inside Trump Towers, and it was truly a palace of marble and brass; the waterfalls spilling down the walls were really out of this world.
We walked by Carnegie Hall and ate a piece of cheesecake in the famous Carnegie Deli. At the time, a slice of cheesecake was $8.95-I imagine it is way more than that now!!
That evening we took a trip to Broadway and saw "The Lion King" at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Our tickets in 2003 were $100/person. Can you believe it? But I will say of all the Broadway shows I have seen over the years, this was my first and my absolute favorite. The costumes were amazing, really an awesome performance.
Our last day was spent in Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, with a little stop in Bloomingdales. A couple of my favorite statues in the Met were "Leap Frog" and "Boy with Duck."
Central Park: now that warrants one day to fully see it all. There is the clock tower that plays nursery rhymes on the hour and Strawberry Fields, a memorial to John Lennon. Strawberry Fields is a 5-acre landscape near West 72nd Street and includes the "Imagine' mosaic, where people pay tribute to Lennon. Then, there is the famous carousel and Belvedere Castle. The castle got its name from "beautiful view" in Italian and offers two balconies with panoramic views of the Delacorte Theater, the Great Lawn, the Ramble, and the Turtle Pond. Don't miss "Angel of the Waters" at Bethesda Terrace and Alice in Wonderland with the Mad Hatter, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. Look for Bethesda Fountain, Shakespeare Garden, and Romeo and Juliet. Carriage rides are a must-do in the park, and the four of us did not miss out on that. For lunch, we splurged and ate at Tavern on the Green, where I paid $18 for meat loaf, $5/veggie, and bought a t-shirt.
We flew home the next day from LGA, but not before we spotted Rob Thomas, the lead singer for Matchbox 20. Mom was the one who approached him because the three of us were too chicken!! He was really nice, and the only thing I could find for him to autograph was the cover of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. Perhaps that was the highlight of the trip!
One thing I will say about New York City is to be prepared for walking!!!!! The subway is an option, but for us, it was too confusing, and we ended up in Harlem one night. So, after that it was walk or take a taxi.
Links: https://www.centralpark.com/
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