While some may be strolling around the streets of London during half term, fifty students from Gumley House Convent School were lucky enough to experience the highlights of New York City for a history trip in the space of four days! Being one of those lucky fifty pupils to experience such a trip, I thought I’d share with you five essential activities in order to fulfill the perfect New York adventure.
1. You would have not fully experience New York if you don’t at least go on a water tour of the Statue of Liberty.
Unfortunately, due to hurricane Sandy we were unable to actually walk on the Liberty Island as the Island's utilities, backup generator, and power systems were destroyed. It is estimated that repairs to both Ellis Island and Liberty Island may be as much as $59 million. However, we were fortunate enough to get a water taxi that would drive us close enough so that we could take pictures of it or even with it! By the time that the water taxi was moving away from the Statue of Liberty I could practically no longer move my hands and my hair was all over the place so – if you are planning to go on the water taxi remember to tie up your hair and wear very thick and warm gloves!
2. The lights of New York City will not inspire you until you visit the top of the Empire State Building at night!
We booked our tickets to the 86th floor; if you paid extra you could see the view on the 102nd floor but I think everyone had enough wind for the day especially after the water taxi! While you’re up 320 meters in the sky, you become oblivious to everything else around you, as though you have entered your own fantasy world. You forget about all your worries, what you’re going to eat for dinner and even the extreme wind! High above the city that never sleeps, on the 86th floor observatories after dark, is where the real magic starts.
3. If you want to go to a great restaurant, Bubba Gump is the one, but don’t go if you haven’t seen the movie Forrest Gump!
Bubba Gump in New York City is located in the heart of Times Square, with the amazing view of Broadway and all the billboards and marquees, as you overlook the hustle and bustle of Times Square while you dine. The whole restaurant is based around the movie “Forrest Gump.” I felt very out of place since all of my peers have watched the movie so many times and knew all the answers to the questions that they were asking and I hadn’t watched it even once (even my dad told me to watch it many times before)! If you have watched the movie – no, the restaurant is not just shrimp based, they have particular foods that are very familiar to us such as; fish and chips so, there is no way you will not enjoy the food and atmosphere around you!
4. When I say New York, what is the first thing you think of? Yes, it is Broadway!
On our last full day in New York we made a last stop to ‘CHICAGO – The Musical.’ CHICAGO has everything that makes Broadway great: a universal tale of fame, fortune and all that jazz; one show-stopping song after another; and the most astonishing dancing you've ever seen. Personally, the amazing range that the singers gave when delivering their particular song blew me away. Whether you're looking for your first Broadway musical, whether you've seen the Academy Award-winning film and want to experience the show live on stage or whether you've seen it before and want to recapture the magic, CHICAGO always delivers.
5. What’s the point of going to New York if you’re not going to go on a shopping spree?
You have probably heard of Fifth Avenue and Soho in Manhattan - shopping central! Streets filled with all the designer shops you could dream of, one next to the other! Well, you’ll most likely be with family or friends and have more flexibility in the area that you shop in whereas we had a limited radius around Seventh Avenue. Which, in fact, wasn’t bad at all – we came across shops like American Eagle, Forever 21 and of course, Victoria’s Secret. After three hours of shopping, we all met outside Macy’s, and my close friend described the scene as “a sea of pink,” nearly everyone had at least one Victoria Secret bag on their hands! I suppose you could say it was a successful afternoon of shopping for the Gumley girls.
Overall, I guess you could say that I had a brilliant time in the Big Apple, and I will definitely be visiting again – most probably for more shopping time because three hours for a girl is unquestionably not enough! But also for the infectious atmosphere and people that I just couldn’t get enough of.
