On Saturday, Program Board offered a New York City bus trip. I love the city, so after a little begging I had my friend, Leandra Rosencrance, convinced to tag along with me.
As soon as we made it to New York, we ate at Ellen’s Stardust Diner, which is a cramped, hipster-esque joint that had a singing wait-staff. In between taking orders and serving food, the waiters and waitresses would walk and dance around the diner as they belted some of their favorite tunes. My personal favorite was the girl that sang Pocahontas.
After filling our stomachs with food, Rosencrance and I made our way to Times Square. We had decided we would start downtown and then make our way uptown, but we would see a Broadway theatre and end up being distracted. We flailed and freaked out at the Gershwin theatre, then ran to the Belasco, then St. James, and then the Imperial. We’re both avid musical theatre fans, so just seeing the buildings made us happy.
Once we tore ourselves away from Broadway, we rode the subway to Ground Zero, the sight of the Twin Towers memorial. Seeing the memorial fountains and the parts of the Twin Tower buildings that were left gave me chills. I was blown away by the sight of the remaining piece of the building and moved by the memorial fountains. It’s a beautiful tribute and I suggest that everyone try to go see it.
After visiting Ground Zero, Rosencrance and I ventured to Central Park. Despite the slush on the ground, Central Park was gorgeous and strange. Central Park is gorgeous because it was full of families making snow men, statues and adorable little bridges that overlook some of the park. However, it’s strange because there are people all over the park playing with the squirrels. That was something that I never thought I’d see.
After Central Park, Rosencrance and I made our way to the Hard Rock Café for dinner. The place was decorated with guitars and clothes from famous musicians, and the setting was very intimate despite the loud music. Our waiter was funny and friendly and often joked with us about looking 15 and scolding us to finish a giant piece of cheesecake that Rosencrance and I shared. The food was amazing, arguably the best thing I’ve ever eaten in New York. We didn’t have to wait long, it was cooked and seasoned perfectly, and definitely fulfilling.
For a while after we ate, Rosencrance and I were so full that we had to hang out in a Starbucks until we felt we could move again. This gave us time to people watch. It’s fun to see the crazy and intriguing New York residents compared to the tourists. The tourists ran around confused and in awe of everything, while the New Yorkers rushed from place to place with a purpose. My favorite person was the man that walked around with a cat on his head, wishing everyone a happy spring and laughing at their amusement over his cat.
Once we could walk again, Rosencrance and I ventured around Times Square again and went to random shops such as the Disney store, the Hershey store and little street vendors that had their shops decorated in bright lights. The store that I liked the most, though, was a little Broadway store that sold song books, shirts, mugs and other random gems of Broadway past and present.
By the end of the trip, Rosencrance and I were dead tired and ready for bed, but it saddened me to watch New York grow smaller and smaller as we left it behind. It’s a wonderful city full of different types of people and undeniably a place where dreams can come true.