Yesterday was Mr. A’s 29th birthday (only one more year to 30 baby).
For his present, I surprised him with a weekend trip to New York.Luckily, one of my bridesmaids lives in New York and she’s been begging for visitors for months.Since Mr. A has also been begging to go back to New York for months, I figured I could knock down two birds with one stone.
Our trip started out Friday around 1 where we boarded our Megabus caravan at Union Station for the 4 hour ride up to New York.
The ride was cheap and easy.It cost me $50 for the both of us so I really can’t complain.
With traffic we ended up being about 45 minutes late so we didn’t get there until close to 7 pm.I don’t blame Megabus at all it was just the expected consequence of arriving in NYC at the close of the business day.
Luckily, my friend Lisa (who let us crash with her) was able to meet us at the bus drop off near Madison Square Garden.We took the subway up to her apartment to drop off our bags and we headed out to dinner.
We were so tired and hungry that we forgot to take our camera to dinner.But trust me when I say Shake Shack was freaking AMAZING.Besides having gourmet style burgers, hot dogs and crinkle fries, they sell signature shakes and custards as well.I got a peanut butter shake with hot fudge sauce, aka heaven in a paper cup.
Needless to say, I already looked up their other locations and found out that there are two in DC (Dupont and Nationals Stadium). At least now I have a reason to go watch the Nationals.
We ended up not finishing dinner until close to 10pm so we opted just to head back to Lisa’s apartment and crash, which turned into a 4 hour gab fest.It was so nice to be able to hear about her new life and job in New York.It’s really amazing to watch your friend’s dreams come true right in front of your eyes.
Even though we stayed up super late the night before, we headed out to downtown super early the next morning so we could get in a full day of sightseeing.
We started off in the financial district with a stop at Federal Hall.
Built in 1700, this building served as the first capital building for the US.
It was also the place where George Washington was first inaugurated as president, hence the GW statue.
Many of the most important initial pieces of US legislation were heard in this building including the Bill of Rights.
Immediately to the south of Federal Hall is the New York Stock Exchange. 
This was the first time I had seen it in real life and I have to say it’s much small than it appears on television.
A few blocks down the street is the famous Charging Bull statue.
The bull symbolizes aggressive financial optimism and prosperity, very fitting for the Wall Street district.
We headed a few blocks south to Battery Park to get a look at the Statue of Liberty, a sight neither one of us had ever see.
Before we reached the end of the park, we saw this giant deformed sculpture.Intrigued by its obviously damaged exterior, we walked over to the sculpture’s plaque and found out that it had originally been displayed in the plaza of the World Trade Center.
Before the current World Trade Center Memorial was built, this sculpture served as an impromptu memorial, placed in Battery Park 6 months to the day of the attack.Originally designed as a symbol of world peace, the sculpture certainly has taken on a much deeper meaning.
We finished our walk through Battery Park and finally made it to the water’s edge, directly across from the Statue of Liberty.
Even though we were far away, the Statue’s enormity could still be felt.It’s an all-day activity to visit the Statue so we decided that seeing it from here was good enough for now.
We then headed over to the World Trade Center Memorial a few blocks to the northwest.When we arrived, we learned that only those with passes can access the memorial.
Womp. Womp. Womp.We literally had no idea.You can find the tickets here.They are free but they help maintain crowd control.
The rest of the area is still under major construction, which is so odd to witness nearly 11 years later.
We were able to see the newest World Trade Center tower being built. This tower seemed enormous to me, even though it’s nowhere near as large as the original towers.
We were also able to see an artist’s rendering of what the memorial will look like when it’s finally completed.Each fountain stands in the footprint of the original twin towers and they both take up 1 square acre.
There was also a bronze firefighter memorial across the street from the new World Trade Center construction.
With all this sightseeing, we had worked up an appetite and decided to head towards Time Square for some lunch.
Since we were in New York, we thought it was only par for the course that we had pizza for lunch.Lisa knew just the place and took us over to John’s pizzeria,We had the standard margherita pizza and it was a great New York City pizza.
At only $18 for an 8 slice pizza, I would definitely recommend checking out John’s.It’s also conveniently located next to a few of the Broadway shows so it would make a good pre- or post-show meal.
With some food in our bellies, we headed back to Time Square to the TKTS booth to purchase some last minute deeply discounted Broadway tickets.
TKTS only sells day of Broadway tickets to select shows at anywhere from 30%-50% off the face value of the ticket.If you aren’t particular about your seats or the shows that you see, this is a great way to see Broadway on a budget. The show offerings change frequently so make sure to check and see what shows they have before you head over to their ticket booth.
While the line to buy tickets is massive, you can usually get through it in about an hour.
When we were there, TKTS was selling tickets for Broadway hits like Sister Act, Spiderman, Memphis and Godspell as well as off Broodway productions like Rent and Avenue Q and even a few plays.
We opted for evening tickets to Avenue Q, having heard about its hilarious off color banter. For orchestra level seats, we ended up paying $60 a ticket (around a $60/person savings).
With our tickets purchased, we took some respite from the cold and purchased some cupcakes from Magnolia’s Bakery and then headed into the inside mall at Rockefeller Center.
Mr. A had a chocolate chocolate cupcake and I had a red velvet.Both were incredibly delicious and reasonably well priced ($2.50 each—much less than what we’ve spent in DC).
Since it was getting close to dinner, we checked out Urbanspoon for a nearby restaurant.We decided on Stecchino, a Mediterranean inspired bistro with a 95% approval rating.
Urbanspoon was definitely right on this one.I opted not to take pictures since it was Mr. A’s birthday dinner (the pictures tend to ruin the ambiance) but I would highly recommend this restaurant. We all had uniquely different and delicious dishes in a cozy, modern atmosphere.
Once dinner was finished, we headed over to the theater for Avenue Q, only a few blocks away.
Obviously, we couldn’t take any pictures of the show but it was hilarious.The show features a mixture of puppets and live humans, tracking the coming of age of a new college graduate who moves to NYC to find his purpose. The musical mocks young adults in their search to find themselves. It is incredibly politically incorrect, including satirical references to Sesame Street, puppet nudity and profanity.With featured songs like “The Internet is For Porn” and “Everyone Is a Little Bit Racist,” I was doubled over in full belly laughter. If you are easily offended, this is not the show for you.But if you like a good sassy, touch-in-cheek cultural commentary, you will love this show.
I think Avenue Q definitely lived up to its reputation (it won a Tony for Best Musical in 2004).So if you have a chance, I definitely recommend taking a break from the seriousness of Broadway and watching this laugh a minute show.Avenue Q was the perfect way to end Mr. A’s birthday weekend.
We headed home after the show to catch some much needed z’s since we had an early bus back to DC the next morning.
Birthday Boy Sleeping On The Bus Back Home
Our Sunday was pretty uneventful since it mainly was just our trip back home on Megabus (which got us home safely and quickly—no complaints here). Mr. A and I both agree that a trip to NY was a great way to spend his birthday.Many thanks to our wonderful friend Lisa who was such a gracious host and willing travel guide.It’s pretty awesome that we have a friend that will literally see any Broadway show with us (can’t find those easily).So thanks to Lisa and NYC for making Mr. A’s last birthday in the 20s one to be remembered.Now I only have 364 days to plan his big 30th birthday surprise…I better get started.
