The New York Series. Day Two.

The New York Series. Day Two. June 21st, 2015.

Day two in the Big Apple was crazy, jam packed with activities and sight-seeing. To start the day we woke up at our hotel on The Upper West Side and walked to the local Starbucks which was right around the corner, then we proceeded to sit on some benches right outside Theodore Roosevelt Park over by The Museum of Natural History. Lucky for us there was a mini-Farmer's Market going on right there on the sidewalk by the Park so we just sat and people watched and admired all of the fresh produce. One thing I was absolutely amazed at was the number of children walking around and in strollers being pushed by their nannies. It was just like the movies, but there were just as many kids with their mother's. These little kids always surprised you as they zoomed by on their Razor scooters with all the confidence and vibe of "I run this city." You can't help but smile and think "man, I wish I were a kid again."

Our main mode of transportation while we were in the city was the Subway and walking. We walked soo much (almost 70 miles in 6 days, not wearing tennis shoes), but hey it was a great work out. After we finished our morning coffee we took the Subway to Brooklyn so we could check out the pier. I was going crazy with the pictures this day, my parents and Lexy were definitely getting annoyed because I kept stopping and making them pose for me, but you know who has all the best pictures from NYC? This girl, right here. When we got to the pier I was totally fangirling (Can you do that for a city? I don't care, it was totally what I was doing.). This was the first time I really got to see the city skyline and it was the best thing ever. I just kept looking at it, like it was such a surreal moment. One that I will definitely never forget (ha, maybe I should have titled this post "The New York Love Story, Madison and the city itself..."). Nevertheless, I was in love the moment I saw the World Trade Center and the rest of the buildings towering into the sky. It was everything I hoped it would be.

Okay, okay, enough of this sappy stuff. After my parents and Lexy were finally able to drag me away from the pier, we went to eat across the street at this absolutely amazing restaurant called Grimaldi's. (Side note- The way I felt looking at the city skyline is how I would describe someone staring at a piece of art in a museum for hours upon hours, just admiring it and taking in its every detail. For me, art is super cool and walking around museums is fun, but I'm kind of like okay I see you Mona Lisa, now time to move on. But looking at the skyline in New York, or other landscapes and architecture, those are the things I could sit and stare at for hours. Just to be in the presence of something so beautiful. That is just an amazing thing to me.) Grimaldi's is a coal brick-oven pizzeria. The restaurant was located under the Brooklyn Bridge and the whole place had such a cool atmosphere and a lot of character. I, of course, was obsessed and taking pictures the whole time we waited for our food. I was even able to sneakily snap a pic of our waiter (if I was super hardcore and had more of a "rebel without a cause" vibe, that waiter would totally be my dream guy, Brooklyn accent and all #swoon). Anyways, our pizza was mouthwateringly amazing. Like, best pizza I've ever had pizza.

After our pizza we raced back to the city and headed towards Broadway to see our show, "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" starring Darren Criss (a.k.a. Blaine from Glee). We casually strode through Times Square (wasn't expecting that) and then we got to our show just in time for it to start. The show was super cool, it was not what I would typically picture for a Broadway Show, and that made me love it even more. It was edgy and entertaining and all around a really great show! (It doesn't hurt that I have always been super in love with Darren Criss and seeing him play Hedwig was awesome!) Also, come to find out, my cousin Andy who lives in New York City is actually friends with the guy who wrote the show (added bonus if you ask me).

So after our whirlwind day of Brooklyn, the pier, and a Broadway show we decided to go on the Circle Line Cruise which is a boat cruise around the Island of Manhattan and you get to see the whole city from the water. It was a really cool experience and I would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to see the whole cityscape. (Of course it's also great for pictures, I think I took about 400 if not more that day alone). Some of my favorite pictures from my trip are the ones I was able to capture of the city while I was on the boat tour.

Well, as you have probably gathered, my second day in New York was just as great and fun-filled as the first and I have plenty of pictures to prove it. Check them out below! Hope you've enjoyed reading about day two in New York, I definitely loved reminiscing and writing about it. I suppose that is all for now, can't wait to share day three with you.

Love always,

Madison

p.s. I love New York more than I love pizza, and I really love pizza...