Adventures in Traveling: NYC

After leaving Hershey, Pennsylvania (see blog here), we continued on our journey towards New York City, booking our hotel room on the way.

We chose a room at Pod 51, a modern and very efficient hotel in Midtown Manhattan. The rooms were tiny but clean, and the hotel had a hip vibe.

To my surprise, we were staying right across the street from the Armenian Prelacy.  My beloved maternal grandfather was half-Armenian, and I grew up learning the stories and legends of my ancestors' escape from Turkey shortly before the Armenian Genocide in the early 20th century (more on the Armenian Genocide here).  I lost my grandfather about a year and a half ago, and seeing the flag made me feel like he was right there in New York with me.  :-)

After getting settled into our hotel room, we cleaned up and were ready to hit the town.  I packed my suitcases with versatility in mind, and my blue moto jacket definitely worked overtime on this trip! 

We walked over to Times Square and around Midtown, and of course, enjoyed a slice of New York pizza!

Jacket:  Forenza by The Limited
Blouse:  Forenza by The Limited

Pants:  The Limited
Shoes:  Target

Purse:  Target
Earrings:  The Limited

We ended our night at the rooftop bar of our hotel.  The bar had a relaxed feel and offered a fabulous view of the Manhattan skyline.

The next morning, we headed back to Times Square.  Times Square was fun and interesting at night, but it was much more alive during the day. 

Necklace:  eBay

Blouse:  Forenza by The Limited
Jacket:  Forever 21+

While certainly geared towards attracting tourist dollars, Times Square offers a cornucopia of personalities, sights, and smells.  We had a blast walking around and observing lots of interesting people.

I was familiar with Naked Cowboy before our trip, but I didn't realize that there is actually a Naked Cowboy franchise now with multiple street performers adopting the Naked Cowboy moniker.

Blouse:  The Limited
Jacket:  Forever 21+

Former stripper, Sandy Kane, also represents for the ladies as Naked Cowgirl.  She is not affiliated with the Naked Cowboy franchise.  She's also more bawdy and vulgar than her male counterparts, which some people may not appreciate.  I found her to be pretty funny and was laughing in all my pictures with her.
 
My favorite experiences at Times Square involved a dancing troupe and an amazing drummer.

After leaving Times Square, we walked around some more, snapping pics by Radio City Music Hall and a fountain in front of the Chase building.

Purse:  Target

We walked over to Central Park and spent a while enjoying the various performers and random interesting sights.

Sandals:  Kohl's
Bracelets:  The Limited

Kung Fu in the Park

We then decided to head down to Lower Manhattan to the 9/11 Memorial site.  We walked back to Times Square and hopped on the Subway down to the site.

Going down to the memorial brought back memories of 9/11/2001.  It was nice to see the efforts to commemorate those who lost their lives on that tragic day and during the aftermath.

Union, baby!

We walked from Lower Manhattan back to our hotel, enjoying the various neighborhoods along the way.

We stopped in a vintage shop in Soho, took a short rest in TriBeCa, took a quick peek into the Museum of Sex and walked through Washington Square Park.

We were sore from so much walking, but I loved getting to experience the different feelings of each neighborhood, the vibe often changing from block to block.

We left New York the next morning headed towards Philadelphia.  This was my second trip to New York, and I can't wait to go back.  So much more to see!!!

Philly pics coming tomorrow!!!