NYC TRIP REVIEW!

Long time, NO post!! I am so happy to be back blogging and even more excited to share with you-all about my amazing NYC trip. I have never been before, so this experience was incredible and pretty much life-changing. The whole city was hectic, but showed me a new way of life that is normal to most New Yorkers & definitely not normal for us Midwesterners lol. We were told we were being "too Midwestern friendly" and that we said "Excuse me" way too much, but HEY that's not a bad thing right:) In today's post, I am going to share about my favorite broadway show I saw, my favorite restaurant, 2 favorite museums/tours I went on, and finally a little recap at the end of other places we visited!

Hope you enjoy this & maybe can get a few tips for your next upcoming NYC trip!

BROADWAY BABY...

For our first night in NYC, we went to see Mean Girls on Broadway. The show was so entertaining and kept me on high alert the whole time, despite being extremely jet-lagged and sleep-deprived (waking up at 3 AM to go to the airport is not my strong suit). It had so many funny moments and the music was INSANE. Never have I ever been a broadway girl, but DANG those performers have a gift y'all. I will warn you if your not of a 15+ age or so, the show does have some suggestive content and bad language, but it is definitely just a part of the whole kind of show/movie that Mean Girls is. Overall, I would give the show a 10/10 for costumes, singing and entertainment appeal in general. GOLD STARS for Mean Girls!

My first real NYC broadway experience was so amazing, and I wish I could see a show everyday. We also saw Lion King on Broadway which was also fabulous, but I was exhausted and wasn't able to stay awake in the slow parts (DON'T HURT ME haha). That being said, the music was also wonderful & the costumes were so intricate with massive animal costumes that looked real life. Another experience that was so unreal was a Broadway workshop we did with a member of the Lion King chorus, we learned the correct words to Circle of Life (a South African chant) and got to do a Q&A session to learn more about the behind the scenes of show business. Joel, who was the main leader of the workshop, had previously worked with Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus (SO COOL!) Let me just wrap this segment up by saying, I LOVE BROADWAY!!

THE GOOD EATS

The same night as we went to Mean Girls, we got to experience the insanely fun Ellen's Stardust Dinner. I highly highly recommend checking it out for breakfast or dinner, but be prepared to stand in a crazy long line around the block, or go on a week night if your in town. Luckily, we had a group reservation so we only waited 20 or so minutes. Inside, the waiters and waitresses were ALL singers and let me tell you, they could all be on Broadway. So many famous performers have worked there and been cast along the way, which was also a really cool fact I learned! I had a hamburger & fries for my meal and I thought it was delicious, as was the ice-cream we had for dessert. I would say you are really paying for the show/experience and not so much the food, but I still really enjoyed it! SO PLEASE if your in NYC, check them out!

HONORABLE MENTION (dessert edition):

While I was in Chinatown & Little Italy, we discovered other tourists holding some amazing little desserts called Cannoli's. Now let me say, we do have cannolis in Kansas, but nothing like these in Little Italy. We went to the Cannoli King, and YES I did spend 5 dollars on a small cannoli, but boy was it the best 5 bucks I've ever spent. SO, if your in NYC and particularly the streets of Little Italy, I urge you to invest in a sweet ricotta pastry with chocolate chips and powdered sugar, that will leave you feel like your actually in BIG ITALY (sorry that was cheesy).

TOURS I WILL REMEMBER:

EMPIRE STATE BUILDING-

First up, I would like to talk a little bit about the Empire State Building experience/self-guided tour that we did on our 3rd day in NYC. We actually got to perform a few patriotic pieces on the steps leading to the actual tour which was really neat, and then headed up through a security checkpoint and a few other levels to actual get to the Observation Deck & upper floors. The elevators had shows inside (if you've been there you'd know what I was saying), that actually kind of reminded me of the Tower of Terror show on the ride, that sets the scene for the drop. Apparently when your on the 81st floor, you can feel the swaying of the building, but I definitely didn't feel that. I loved being at the top and seeing the NYC skyline and the city that I now LOVE so much! The building was so cool & so was the gift shop which had many fun ESB specific items.

9/11 MUSEUM & MEMORIAL-

My other favorite museum we visited while in NYC was 9/11, which had a major real-life impact for me, and was extremely emotional for much of my group. I loved getting to understand better the event that happened almost a year before I was born, and I was very touched by the whole museum. I can't imagine the courage & strength it took those individuals to try to halt the attackers and the many firefighters and law enforcement that risked their lives, and lost them, to save so many strangers. Walking through the many faces of those who lost their lives, some who were under the age of 18, was so saddening and made me even more thankful for my life I lead each and every day. The exhibits and actual artifacts were very insightful, and the fountain memorials where the North and South tower once stood were such beautiful reminders of those who were lost that day in 2001. I highly recommend you stop by this landmark when in NYC, even if just for an hour. P.S. look out for white roses in the names of the memorial fountains... it's those people's birthday, so stop by and remember/pray for them if that is something important to you, like me.

A MEGA LIST OF ALL THE PLACES I ATE, VISITED, AND SAW:

FOOD:

*Dallas BBQ

*Heartland Brewery Chophouse

*Macy's Food Court (okay I just about died in this Macy's & SAXS FIFTH OMG)

*Brookfield Place (food court-kind of fancy FYI)

*John's Pizzeria

*Shake Shack (at the LaGuardia airport & YUMM, sidenote: now at the Plaza!!)

All of these places were delicious & I had no complaints, BUT ALSO please note most of the actual restaurants we went to for dinner- had set a set meal for us, so I'm sure they have many great other options, I didn't get to try!

OTHER TOURISTY SPOTS:

*American Museum of Natural History

*Staten Island Ferry

*St. Paul the Apostle

*Museum of Modern Art

*Radio City Music Hall

*Rockefeller Center/5th Ave.

*Lincoln Center - Metropolitan Opera (I highly recommend you go fully well-rested... it's a long one!)

*Central Park (you have to go no matter the season!)

+ a few other spots along the way

ALSO..... TIME SQUARE!!

How could I possibly forget to talk about the most insane section of NYC?! From my first walk into Time Square, I immediately was taken aback by the crazy colors, lights, and people everywhere, walking like they had a mission. I loved the mega stores like the Forever 21, H&M, etc. that were nothing like our local mall stores! I especially loved the billboards that highlighted all the shows to see & the performers in the square. If you go to NYC & don't go there, what are you doing SIS?

OVERALL, it was the trip of a lifetime with some of my BFFs, that I will never forget! I loved every minute of the NYC lifestyle & the fast pace city life. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go on this vacay and I hope you enjoyed this lengthy blog posts with my opinions & recommendations! For more of my daily stories from NYC check out my Instagram- NYC highlight & for my outfits throughout the trip: check out my feed!!

XOXO, LovedbyRileyB

#travel #lifestyle #nyc #trips #favorites #2019