NYC Day Three!!!

We started off our last day with a delicious brunch at The Smith. It was divine! Second favorite meal while we there. This didn't include the monkey bread I devoured before my meal.

While we were eating, we saw these people lining up on the street dressed as Santa. Now I had 'heard' (via a taxi commercial) about an event called Santacon, but had no idea I would be in our part of the city. Nor did I realize the depth of this event. Lined up for blocks! I asked our waitress about it and she said, "The best way for me to describe it is St. Patrick's Day in December...with red...and Santas." Okay...sure.

Today was 9/11 memorial day! We decided it was a little too long of a walk (5.6 miles), so we decided to conquer the subway. Now, let me explain something. I have taken a subway in San Francisco. This was NOT something I wanted to check off my list. This was me being cheap.

So we stood and studied the map. Like studied it as though my paycheck depended on it! So we finally figured out we need to take the N train to Cortland.  I got this. I was confident. Just call me a true New Yorker. So we buy a one-way ticket for $3 each. We swipe our cards and stand to wait for the N train. John starts to get a little nervous. He gets out of his phone and checks the compass. Yep..we are standing waiting on the train that is traveling NORTH. We need to go SOUTH.  So we walk back out to the street, go to the other side, buy a metro card for $9 because this time I am SURE I know what we are doing and we can go there and BACK for the amount of money it takes to ride in one taxi. Again...I got this.

So we watch two trains go by before we finally see the N train. We jump on and actually find a seat. Then, Charlie Brown's teacher gets on the intercom and says, "blahmumbleblah construction blahmumble train closed blahmumble downtown mumblemumblemumble the 345 train."
I start literally freaking out. I said out loud to EVERYONE on the train, "Wait...what?? What did she say? Literally, WHAT did she just say? Anyone???" John calmly looks at me and says, "we need to get off this train." I make him ride one more stop while still asking everyone what the eff she just said. Finally, the lady beside me says, "I only ride the train this far, but if I were you, I'd get off."

Well....crap....

So we paid $15 to ride the subway about 500 yards. We hailed a cab to take us the rest of the way. $15 later we were at the 9/11 Memorial.

We walked around the gorgeous pools and fountains. It was quite surreal to see the exact spot the towers went down surrounded by all the names of the people who passed in this tragedy.

We didn't go into the museum because of a two-hour OUTDOOR wait. Both John and I are southern fried and weren't handling the winds on Saturday very well. We decided to just walk around the grounds of the memorial.

This is the new One World building. It is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.

We decided to get warm in this building. We didn't know what it was but saw people going in and out. Come to find out, it was a mall. Inside was this little candy shop, sugarfina. OH my! We brought some of those luxury candies back to TN. 

It was late afternoon by then, so we got a taxi back to the hotel for me to shower and get ready for dinner. We walked, by accident, from our hotel down to 51st street. That's 27 blocks for those of you who are counting. It was cold...I mean cold. We planned on getting a taxi. The problem was, so was everyone else. I had to keep walking to keep feeling in my feet. And legs. And body. So half the time one of us walked backward trying to hail and taxi while other one faced forward. It got so crowded at one point we decided walking was going to be faster anyway. The great thing about walking is you get to take in all the sites!

When we got there we found a little pub. We were seated pretty quickly for there being so many people. Both of us just wanted warmth. With renewed energy and feeling back in our extremities, we headed to see the tree! It was phenomenal. Words, pictures, video...nothing can do it justice.

We then popped over to St. Patrick's Cathedral. My good friend Judy asked me to light a candle for her if I went. Again, I wasn't ready for the breathtaking beauty. 

After our long walk back we decided to stop in Eataly and treat ourselves to the Nutella Bar before calling it a night.

Our trip was certainly a memorable one. I am so glad I was able to piggyback on John's work trip especially during the holiday season. It was magical and so memorable. I can't wait to go back!!!