Sunday, 02.15.09
After another good night sleep and a good breakfast in the morning we checked out at the hotel and loaded all our baggage on the bus. Then we went back into the city. This third day was the one with the most flexibility in the program and because all the girls on our trip (which were like for fifths of the entire group) were screaming to go shopping again that was what we did.
We saw the huge and very famous Macy’s store, the “biggest store in the world” as a huge poster on a wall claimed and also many other stores of world-famous brands such as Lacoste, Louis Vuitton or Gucci. But also for our budget there were many places to go and so most of us were carrying some kind of bag when we met again two hours later.
After another good night sleep and a good breakfast in the morning we checked out at the hotel and loaded all our baggage on the bus. Then we went back into the city. This third day was the one with the most flexibility in the program and because all the girls on our trip (which were like for fifths of the entire group) were screaming to go shopping again that was what we did.
We saw the huge and very famous Macy’s store, the “biggest store in the world” as a huge poster on a wall claimed and also many other stores of world-famous brands such as Lacoste, Louis Vuitton or Gucci. But also for our budget there were many places to go and so most of us were carrying some kind of bag when we met again two hours later.
This shopping tour was followed by another “adventure” if you want to call it that way: We rode the New York subway, it we rode it actually for quite a while and even had to change the line until we got to our next spot: The MET short for Metropolitan Museum of Art, famous throughout the world for its immense collections of international and American art.
The great thing about American museums is that they are free. Well, almost. Donations of visitors are usual, but for as little as one Dollar we could get in. That meant, of course, that the museum was very crowded but still we got to see some great pieces of art. Unfortunately we didn’t have a whole lot of time and so we pretty much just got a glimpse on a small part of the museum, but still it was very impressive and just encouraged me in my plans to come back one day – with more time at hand.
Right behind the MET is Central Park, New York’s famous green heart and a great place to hang out and forget the rush and speed of the city for a while. We walked through the park, enjoyed the view on the little lakes and the landscaping from a nice tower-like structure and chased a squirrel along the way. After some very pleasing twenty-odd minutes we reached the other end and another famous NYC spot: The place where John Lennon was shot in 1980 and the Dakota hotel where he had lived before. Still the room where he lived is owned by Yoko Ono and she never turns of the lights in memorial of John. There is also in Central Park a small memorial that we visited.
On our way to the bus we passed some more very interesting buildings – and got almost killed by an especially crazy cab driver. Then, right in front of the famous New York Plaza Hotel, we boarded our bus which took us back to Times Square. On the way we drove some time on 5th Avenue, where all the luxury shops of the world fashion brands are located. It was cool to “feel the glamour”
When we got to Times Square it already started to become dark and so the illuminated stores and buildings with all the advertisements looked even more fantastic. We had some time that we could use for shopping and so we visited several really cool stores. First we went to the M&Ms Store, a whole two floor store that sells nothing else but M&Ms, the chocolate candy and all kinds of fan articles around them. You could get like 40 different sorts of candy and even things like M&Ms T-shirts. It was pretty incredible.
Understandably we were done with chocolate for the moment and so we neglected the equally big Hershey’s store and went straight to Toys R Us, but it wasn’t just a regular Toys R US, nothing is regular on Times Square; it was a huge, 4 floor building with and entire ferry wheel inside. We actually considered riding it but the line was too long for our taste and so we left the store again and went to the Virgin Records Mega Store right next door. I, as a German, was especially pleased to discover that the building that held the store was named, in bold letters, “Bertelsmann Building”. Germany on Times Square – yeaah!! Finally we crossed the street, which is an adventurous thing to do just by itself and went to Hard Rock Café, where I did some T-shirts shopping, also we visited the MTV store, where we encountered some pretty cool hats that inspired us to a little change in personality. (-;
Finally, after seeing so much consume, we were ready to eat and so we risked our lives again and went to Planet Hollywood, another famous restaurant on Times Square, all focused on the Movie Industry for dinner. The food was pretty good and inside they had an exhibit of items that had been used in movies, then they were hosting Twilight and so we could see Bella’s (or however that girl’s called) dress, for example.
After this delicious last meal in NYC it was almost time to board the bus and return to Lexington, but one last thing was still missing: Our group picture of course! And so, while our bus driver was already waiting impatiently, fearing to get pulled over by some cop, we were all smile as bright as we could to outshine the advertisement lights at least a little bit. After that picture was taken we all boarded the bus, told Big Apple good bye and started our long way home.
Overwhelmed by all those impressions most of us quickly fell asleep or, like me, enjoyed the movies that where playing. Of course they were all somehow connected to New York, first we watched “Sleepless in Seattle” which is, as the name says (NOT) at least partly sat in New York and later “Big Daddy” which is only set in New York. After those two movies really everyone was asleep, and when we woke up at 7.00 in the morning, we were already back in Kentucky,and a great trip was over.
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