Playing the tourist in NYC

So we woke up on Boxing Day morning to the sight we had been hoping for all week.....snow! Not just a light sprinkling but about 2 feet of it on the ground. We walked outside & the cars parked on the side of the road were all completely covered, stairs & sidewalks were invisible....& it continued to snow. We had no time to spare though as we embarked on a massive week. You see we had all bought attraction passes that entitled us to admission into about 50 attractions over the next 7 days. So much like when we were in Paris, we made a list of all the must-sees, got the map out & plotted our itinerary.

Photo: I don't think this guy's going anywhere!

First stop was the King Tut exhibition....& what a spectacular exhibition it was. Andrew & I are both fascinated with Egyptian history & artifacts (which is funny cos it's one of the places we havn't been yet!), so we particularly loved this attraction. We couldn't hang about though cos we had a date at Radio City Music Hall for the backstage tour. The famous Rockettes were playing at the Music Hall at the time of our tour so we were even lucky enough to get to sit in one of the VIP booths for the first 10 minutes of the show. It was totally kitsch but even so it was hard not to get caught up in the excitement....in fact it even had us all wishing we could go to the full show. So I guess there is method in their madness in letting us see a sneak peek! The tour continued & we got to see the dressing rooms, costume room (I have never seen so many sequins in one place) & we got to meet a real, live Rockette. I'm not really sure how she manages to walk with her leotard so far up her....um, you know!!

Photo: Insidthe theatre at Radio City Music Hall

Photo: See what I'm saying?!

The day was rounded out by a visit to Madame Tussuad's. It's funny how amazingly life like some of the models are & how terrible & plastic many others are. For example, Ozzie Osbourne is amazing but the Beatles are a disgrace! Anyway, I'm not sure when i'll get another chance to grab the likes of Bon Jovi, Daniel Craig & Brad Pitt on the bum so I'm not complaining. Plus, even though Shawn, Andrew & I had all been to Madame Tussuad's before, it was really cool to see Bec going for the first time. She got really into it, even swinging upside down next to Britney Spears!

Photo: I felt quite comfortable here......


The next day the weather had gone from pretty, fluffy snow to sharp blades of ice whipping through the air threatening to take out an eye. Unfortunately it also meant that our carefully constructed plans were a bit tattered. We were meant to be doing a Gossip Girl tour but it was cancelled & many of our back up plans were closed. We ended up at Carnegie Hall & it was a revelation. I had no idea how historic the place is & how gorgeous it is on the inside. It was also cool walking the halls & being able to name so many of the amazing artists that have performed there over the years. Unfortunately the outside of the building was under refurbishment so we didn't really get a good look at it...but it was snowing so hard & was so cold we probably would have peaked out from our beanies & kept running for the subway anyway!

Photo: Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!


We ended the night on a huge high with a performance of Wintuk by Cirque de Soleil. It was gob smacking. The show had a winter theme & the costumes were all floaty & sparkly & the range & talent of the performers was amazing. They did anything from roller skating & tight rope walking to trampolining & acrobatics. I'm pretty sure we all sat with our mouths open for the entire 2 hour performance.

The next day the weather hadn't improved much. We jumped on the subway & headed out to the ferry docks to catch the boat for the Statue of Liberty...but you guessed it, it was closed! Instead we headed to Ground Zero to check out how much progress had been made since we were there in 2004. Surprisingly it looked quite similar to how we remembered it....a giant hole in the ground! At least now they have agreed on how to use the space & all the surrounding buildings have either been torn down or repaired. I look forward to returning to NY in 2013 to see the new Freedom Tower & gardens......hopefully!!

Photo: This is "The Sphere", a sculpture that was recovered from the World Trade Centre site


But, our day was not over. From Ground Zero we headed into St Paul's Catholic Church where they have a permanent exhibit of photos taken during the days after September 11, as well as thousands of letters & memorials to the many people who lost their lives. It is a very sombre place & we were also there for the daily service that is held at 12.30pm which was extremely emotional. There were many different people from all different cultures & religions in the church during the service & even the babies managed to remained silent for a few moments.

Photo: St Paul's

Photo: Some of the thousands of paper cranes that were sent to Ground Zero from school children in Japan


With the sombre part of the day over (or so we thought), we decided to go & see a new exhibition called Bodies. It is a massive collection of real human parts that have been dissected, filled with different dyes & put on display to show not only how the human body works, but also how some of the choices we make in life effects to our bodies. The most disturbing sight was the healthy lung next to the lung of a smoker. Truly disgusting! Probably the most fascinating museum I have ever been to though.

To end the day it was back to midtown & into the NBC building for a behind the scenes studio tour & a trip up Top Of The Rock next door. During the NBC tour, we got to see the studios of the Dr. Oz Show, The Jimmy Kimmel Show & the set of the old Saturday Night Live studio. It was really cool to see the studios, especially when you see how small they really are but what was cooler was watching the DVD of clips of all the different shows that have been filmed there. Or more importantly, having a competition to see how many you could name!! After the tour, we headed up to the roof of Rockefeller Centre to see the gorgeous New York skyline at night. As with any big city, New York is at it's best when all lit up at night.

Photo: Empire State Building in Christmas colours :)