A Fabulous Day in the Big City
Friday was an excellent day in Manhattan. We slept in a minute and then started our day with a delicious breakfast of omelets, potatoes, and toast at a deli. This is our favorite way to start the day in NYC. After breakfast, we headed downtown to do some exploring. Eric and I really wanted to see the Fearless Girl statue on Wall Street and while we were down there we thought we would explore Battery Park and the World Trade Center as well. We started at Battery Park. The last time they were here the city was doing major enhancements to the Park so there were construction walls everywhere. It was really fun to see all their enhancements - it's a really beautiful park! We stopped and got a picture by the Castle where my great-great-great-grandfather, Andrew Christian Nielson, came from Denmark on his way to the United States. I reminded Eric here that despite what the results from Ancestry.com said, I am freaking Danish.
Our next stop was the Fearless Girl. I have conflicting feelings about this statue. I LOVE that she represents women in business, one of my passions. However, I don't like that she is defying the Bull, a sign of a healthy economy. Overall, I think she's a good thing to get people talking about women in business, so I took a few pictures with the Fearless Girl. Eric put a picture on Instagram and my Mom texted a picture of Skylee being a Fearless Girl. It made me reflect on the world that we are leaving for our nieces. Will they enter a world of business where 50% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women? I hope so, but we have a lot of work to do before that can happen. Overall, I hope that we leave this business world better for our daughters and nieces than the world we live in now. I am fortunate in my career to never have had my gender hold me back. I work for several very strong women in the industry and I consider myself very lucky. However, I have been to countless dealerships where women aren't so lucky - and it reminds me how much work we still have to do. It gets easy to feel comfortable when I'm not the one who needs help. The fact that this statue made me think about my role in the future ultimately made me decide it's a good thing. I hope I can be fearless when staring down this business world.
On our way to the World Trade Center, we stopped at the Trinity Church. This has been under construction the last few times we were here, so we wanted to see it. I love how peaceful churches are, even when they are in the middle of the Financial District in NYC. I read some of the Catholic Prayers and opened their hymnal. As it turns out, the Catholic Church has way more Christmas hymns than Mormons do - I'm pretty jealous. I love Christmas hymns. We also wandered around the cemetery and saw Alexander Hamilton's grave. We didn't even know he was buried there, so it was pretty cool to run into.
We headed to the World Trade Center. I remember when I was in Israel we went to the Holocaust Museum and there is a building dedicated to the children who perished in the Holocaust. It's a really beautiful memorial where they have lights for each child and someone reading the names of the children. Our tour guide challenged us to pick one name and think about them while we were in the building. I try to take this same mentality when we visit the 9/11 Memorials and think about one name that is written. I imagine their life, their family, their work, and all the things that made them who they were. And I remember how tragedy and selfishness took it all away from them. I find that focusing on one person makes it easier for me to remember 9/11 without feeling overwhelmed.
Our final stop downtown was the Oculus. I watched the construction of this over the years and wondered what in the world it was. Since we were going at a leisurely pace, I thought it was time to find out. It was actually a really cool shopping mall with awesome architecture. And there was a subway station inside, which took us uptown to our next destination, Central Park.
We got off the Subway above the Met and took a leisurely stroll through the park. It was a beautiful day. We stopped at Cleopatra's Obelisk and the turtle ponds. We talked about all the fun times we have had in Central Park from visits to the Met, ice skating in the park, and just walking through. We love Central Park. By the time we got to the bottom of the park we thought we would just keep walking. We were headed to Rockefeller Plaza so we walked down 5th avenue. We were surprised to see the Apple Store moved into where FAO Schwartz was (we are still upset that is gone), to make room for a new Apple Store that will open in 2018. We walked in front of Trump Tower where there were people with machine guns guarding the doors - ugh. We stopped at the American Girl Doll store mostly to use the restroom, but also to remember my childhood. I really love that store.
Our visit to Rockefeller Center was pretty short. We talked about doing the Top of the Rock and then decided against it. We instead wandered over to Magnolia Bakery to get cupcakes and then headed over to a street truck to get Halal Food for lunch. We at the Halal food first and it was great! The cupcakes were also delicious, however, they weren't as delicious as I had imagined them to be. We had heard that Magnolia Bakery has the best cupcakes in NYC and we have wanted to try them for a while. I had Devils Food and Eric had Red Velvet. They were good, but they were not as mind-blowing as I was hoping for.
Our next stop was the New York Public Library via Bryant Park where we took a break to relax in the sun. Eric went to the library once when I was working in New York, but I had never been there. It was so cool. There was a section on genealogical records, which of course made me think of my Grandma. She loved genealogy and actually would do family history work at the BYU Library before it was accessible online. I figured she would love this place. I found the New York City records for the Daughters of the American Revolution. I know my grandma was a member, and I've often thought I should be too - I don't really know what it does, but it seems pretty cool. There is a big part of me that truly believes that the purpose of all our technology is to find our ancestors. I find it fascinating that it seems like most people have the Spirit of Elijah that makes them want to connect to their ancestors. It's pretty powerful if you think about it. Also - I figured out that my ancestor, James Tucker, was an ancestor who fought in the revolution. Thank you Family Search app on my phone. Seriously - the purpose of technology is to connect us to our ancestors.
The New York City Public Library also has the original stuffed animals that inspired Winnie the Pooh. That was really cool to see because little Skylee Dallas loves Winnie the Pooh. I texted Kristin a picture to show Skylee. I love it when I find Disney in NYC. I also found a bag that said We Should All Be Feminists. This is something I firmly believe in because we ALL have to work together to get to equality for women. I'm lucky to have a husband who may be more of a feminist than I am. The New York Public Library was seriously gorgeous I loved the ceilings and the art. I'm so glad that we went.
After the library, we went down Library Way. This is the two blocks from the Library to Grand Central Station. There are quotes about books on the sidewalk - it was really fun to read. We walked through Grand Central Station, one of our favorite places in all of NYC. I love the hustle and bustle of our modern world clashing with the gorgeous architecture of the past. We usually just stay there for a few minutes and just watch - it's really fun.
Our final stop for the evening was the Lion King musical. We had talked about seeing this the last few times we were in New York but decided to splurge this trip and see it. It was excellent. The costumes were incredible. I loved the African elements and the animals and the music. The actors were amazing, as they always are, and the singing blew the roof off, especially the Circle of Life. They Live in You was particularly moving - especially after our moment at the Geological Library. It's my favorite song from the musical. I seriously loved everything about the play. It really reminded me of a piece of art - everything was so intricate and detailed.
“You have forgotten who you are and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than what you have become" - The Lion King
After the show, we stopped for a slice of cheesecake and then went to bed. It was a fabulous day in the Big City.
Comments
Post a Comment