NYC on cruise control

My recent trip to New York City was really great. (yea, I'll think of a better opening sentence when I'm getting a paycheck for this stuff.) I spent three days and two nights last weekend in Manhattan, and it was well worth the time and money spent. This trip was unique from the others I've taken this year, in that it was one big tour, meaning everything had already been planned for those signed up. Bus, hotel, meals, sights.This was a good and bad thing. Good, because normally when I travel, I am the one planning basically everything, which means hours of gathering addresses, printing out directions, making reservations, getting phone numbers, etc. Bad because most of the time, I rather enjoy planning my own itinerary. I will admit though, it was nice to just kick back in the coach and let the driver and the guide worry about navigating a mammoth bus through the bustling streets of New York, while keeping on schedule. I will also say here that they did an excellent job, so well done to Thomas Tours. I saw a hell of a lot of things in the three days I was there, so I am almost completely satisfied with the itinerary. Of course, you do still remember the things that you didn't see. The only things I wanted to see, and didn't, were the Empire State Building (there just wasn't enough time), the Flatiron Building, Grant's Tomb, and Grand Central (because we saw it early in the morning from the bus, and I was sleeping unfortunately.). This is what I did see: Central Park, Columbus Circle, Time Square, Broadway, Wall Street, the Brooklyn Bridge, U.N. Headquarters, Madison Square Garden, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Harlem, 5th Avenue, Little Italy, China Town, the Meat Packing District, Rockefeller Center, Battery Park, the Waldorf, Trump Tower, Radio City Music Hall, and Ground Zero. I dare you to beat that in three days.

I won't go into a whole ton of detail about the trip, because there is just too much to tell. There were some points of interest though. Fist off, in Battery Park, (southernmost tip of the island) there is a sculpture that once stood between the WTC, and which now serves as a charred and battered reminder of 9/11. In front of it burns and eternal flame. I have now seen two of the world's eternal flames. (the other I saw at the Peace Light Memorial in Gettysburg). When I was in Rockefeller Center, I searched for, and found the Croatian flag, and once again, just as when I had watched the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and I saw the Croatian representatives in the parade of nations, I felt a great lump rising in my throat. The spirit of that country to rise and take its rightful place within the international community continues to move me. Wall Street wasn't even on the itinerary. I ran 7 blocks in the rain from where we were stopped. I saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, and it was excellent. I also saw the spot where John Lennon was shot, and viewed his tribute mosaic in Central Park. And finally, Time Square was astounding. I kept looking up, not quite believing I was actually there. Before I went there, I always thought of New York as just a huge urban sprawl, with little character. I never paid it much thought. After being there, I now am quite infatuated with the city. The diversity, the significance, the culture, everything seems to be there. It was more than I ever expected, and this has caused me to give serious thought to perhaps going to college there. After all, with the huge media market, there is no better place in the world to be an English student of Journalism. We will see. *this post should be longer. But its 2 am, and I'm tired. Also wanted to keep it short.