On my recent trip to New York, My parents and I saw an Easter Day parade. I mean wow, it was spectacular. We saw heavily decorated hats and enthusiastic drag queens, some of which were just spirited Christians wanting to spread happiness on Easter. I took pictures with countless ladies who had everything from birds to flowers on their hats and even got to pose with two adorable Easter outfitted puppies. Everything about the parade was so characteristic of New York. And that is the reason I love New York. It was such a cool experience and I wish that we had something like this in Richmond!
New York is one of my favorite places to visit and thankfully, i've been able to go many times. Throughout my countless trips, I've been to The Statue of Liberty, The Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, Times Square, Central Park, the 9/11 memorial, done a food tour, experienced Broadway, shopping, and much more. However, my favorite part of New York is the environment, especially because of the metropolitan energetic atmosphere. With everything from life sized Disney characters mingling around to musicians playing on the Subway, New York definitely has a special place in my heart and I believe it always will.
The Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, and Top of the Rock: If there is anything that represents New York City, it would be The Statue of Liberty. A few years ago, my dad and I climbed to the pedestal and the view was spectacular. Once renovations are over, I hope I can climb to the crown.The Empire State Building is another attraction that people plan to visit in NYC. I remember going numerous times with my grandparents or aunts, uncles, and cousins and having another view of the city. The Top of the Rock is another skyscraper from where there is a view of NYC.
Times Square: Times Square is probably the most magical area to visit in NYC. The bright, eye-catching billboard signs are a must see and are even more amazing at night. Everything is huge and there are usually adults dressed up in cartoon character suits ready to take pictures with anyone.
Central Park: Central Park is a great place to relax after a long day of site seeing. There are lots of benches to sit down, ice cream trucks, and just a calming green space to take in the magnificent city. My mom and I usually sit down for sometime with coffee and other snacks after a long day of shopping, visiting a museum, or just walking around Times Square.
MOMA: Last summer, my mom and I didn't have any plans for one of the days we were in NYC and so, we decided to visit the Museum of Modern Art. We didn't expect to enjoy it as much as we did since we usually get bored of conventional museums quickly. It was really cool to see the different types of artwork and appreciate how versatile they all were.
The 9/11 memorial: Three summers ago, mom and I visited the 9/11 memorial with my grandparents. It was wonderful to see how they commemorated the lives of those lost and the incident itself. The memorial is engraved with the names of each person whose life was lost which I thought was really cool and there were flowers, showing how much their family and friends loved them. The museum itself was set up very well and interesting to explore. I thought the firefighters were especially heroic. They were apart of the long list of those whose lives were lost, simply because they were 100% committed to doing their job and saving the lives of the helpless and those trapped in the twin towers.
Food tour: My mom and I joined my dad on his work "fun day" (basically, team bonding), where they went on a food tour. It was really cool to try a variety of New York City classics and we all had a lot of fun walking around the city and getting to visit different restaurants. We enjoyed it so much that my mom wants to do another tour!
Broadway: I saw my first Broadway musical the summer before sixth grade. My friend suggested Wicked and to this day, it's still my favorite musical. So far, i've seen Wicked, The Lion King, Matilda, Aladdin, Frozen, Anastasia, and The Rockettes. Each one has been spectacular and i've yet to be disappointed! In my opinion, everyone should see Broadway at least once in their life. It's an experience like no other and the flawless acting, dancing, singing, and set up capture you from the moment the show begins to the last second.
Shopping: I love to shop and anyone who knows me well, would agree. New York has some of the largest stores, many of which are not in Richmond, like Zara, Bloomingdales, and other unique shops. Mom and I will almost always roam through Times Square and pop into any interesting looking shops on our way. It's a lot of fun and I would expect to come home with some shopping bags if you like/ love to shop because NYC has a lot to offer.
New York is so much fun and is one of the best places i've ever visited. I hope that everyone gets to go one day because it is an experience you will cherish for a lifetime.