New York, New York - Day 1

It's hard to boil our trip (taken back in May!) down to a blog post - so it'll be two or three.  I didn't end up bringing my good camera on the trip, so the pictures are a mix from my point-and-shoot camera, and my phone.  (Mostly from my phone.)  It was a great trip.

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Times Square, which was the perfect location for someone new to New York. 

Walking from the cab to the hotel

Walking from the cab to the hotel

We were a couple hours past lunch when we arrived, to food was the first order of business after checking in.  We asked for a good place to eat, and John's was recommended.  It wasn't too far, and it was a great first meal in NYC.

Watching the pizza being made

Dough twirling at its finest

Our perfect pie

The ceiling in John's

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to figure out what we wanted to do that evening. 

Our room had a wraparound view - beautiful!  Here's looking to the right...

... and to the left, straight to the river.

Looking down from our room

We decided to head out to Grand Central Terminal and then see if we could catch a Broadway show that night.

Times Square as we left the hotel

Times Square

On our walk to Grand Central

Grand Central was beautiful.  We walked around a bit and looked through the specialty foods market before heading back to Times Square.

Gorgeous windows inside Grand Central Terminal

 

We stood in line at the TKTS booth in Times Square to see what kind of tickets we could get for a same-day show.  We were pretty open as to what we would see.  A very outspoken guy who worked for the booth recommended Rock of Ages to us.  He said it was hilarious, we would be laughing, singing, and having a blast, and we wouldn't regret going.  He also said that it was playing in the smallest theatre on Broadway - about 700 seats - and felt like a very intimate experience, which was part of the draw.  He was right about everything, and we LOVED it.  (One random highlight - while waiting in line to go into the theatre, I heard a guy behind me (American, mid-to-late 20's) ask the person he was with, "What's LA Law?")

Highly recommended!!

Times Square as we returned to the hotel

It's so bright, loud, and crowded that it feels like it's still daytime in the middle of the night

That was the end of Day 1!