“How we doing, Austin? You like our city, or are you bored and ready to get back to Austin and your garage bands and such?”
That quote pretty much sums up the entirety of my trip to New York City. It was a whirlwind 24 hours, which doesn’t provide enough time to see much of anything in a city the size of New York, yet somehow I managed to see a ton.
I know this is probably a totally lame thing to do, but when I’m only able to visit a city for a short period of time, I love taking those cheesy double-decker bus tours to see and learn as much about a city as possible. So, that’s exactly what I did this time in New York. Growing up just a few hours from NYC means that I’ve been several times, but I’ve never actually done any of the touristy things you’re supposed to do there. And my friend had never once been to NYC, so taking a bus tour was perfect.
Our initial bus tour guide was ridiculously hysterical–a guy who grew up in Brooklyn and had that New York accent that people love to hate (but that I really love hearing), who cracked jokes about himself, people on the sidewalks, and those of us on the bus. If I could have followed him around for the entire 24 hours listening to his jokes, that’s exactly what I would have done.
But instead, I did everything else. And I mean everything.
The highlights for me were seeing the city from Rockefeller Center at night, photographing Grand Central Station, and walking through New York Public Library. There is so much gorgeous architecture and history in New York, that it’s hard not to get lost trying to take it all in.
The city that never sleeps certainly didn’t allow me to get much sleep. Staying in the heart of Times Square is a great location for getting around if you’re in the city for a short period of time and want to see a lot, but the noise level and bright lights didn’t work so much for this light sleeper. Nevertheless, New York was as lovely and accommodating as ever, and while I was exhausted when I left this time, I’m still very anxious to get back soon.
