this used to be the most exciting city in the world.

New York used to be a place that made me come alive. I was in love with the possibilities, the crowds, and the lights. Now? Not so much. I suppose that I have changed a lot over the last several years. At any rate, my mom and I took a bus trip to New York fairly recently. As I mentioned in my last post...there was a lot of anxiety about it on my end. Turns out, that anxiety was justified, because I came down with COVID shortly after returning home. I am still sick at the time of writing this, but am trying to get my life back on track to the greatest extent possible. So, it is time for an overdue post about New York City. 

Day One. The first day was a very long travel day, where we spent hours and hours and hours on the bus. It all started very early, where we drove to the shuttle bus pick up location, then transferred to another bus that took us all the way to New York City. There were a few stops along the way for food and such, but it was more or less an uneventful journey. A lot of driving. A lot of hours on the road. We arrived at 8:00 p.m. or so, checked into the hotel, and briefly went to the Disney Store in Times Square. I loved everything at the Disney Store, but my goodness, the prices! There was an Oswald collection available, so a few items were purchased that night...just not nearly as many as I wanted. All in all, it was a long and exhausting travel day.

Day Two. The second day was a stressful one. My mom had purchased tickets to see Anthony Rapp's Without You (I adore Anthony Rapp. He's such a talented actor and singer. He also stands against abusers and does the right thing...even when it is difficult. He is truly remarkable) but her phone refused to work in the United States. The tickets were in her email, but it wouldn't let her log into her email from another device. Apparently she didn't have enough information about herself to prove her identity! Sigh. It was such a frustrating experience. We ended up contacting my brother back home and he was able to sign into her email from the family computer and forward the tickets to me. But for a while, it was unclear whether we would be able to attend the performance. So, for much of the day, I was stressed and unable to enjoy what we were doing. That being said, we went on a bus/walking tour of the City with a really good guide. It was a good way to get an overview of things. 

On the plus side, Without You, was incredible. I loved it. It was a one man show based on Anthony Rapp's book of the same name. He shared stories about his time in Rent and the health issues his mother faced at that time. It was a painful, beautiful, raw, and powerful show. Though my mom described it as the most depressing show she had ever seen...I viewed it very differently. I was truly honoured hear Anthony tell his story in this way.  It was so moving. It was so meaningful. 

Day Three. Another day that did not go as planned. It started fairly early with a (very long) boat tour of New York. This was something organized through the tour company we traveled with and was not something that my mom and I would have done otherwise. It was almost three hours. Eesh! After the long boat tour, we took a cab to a discount high fashion store, Century 21, but that process was frustrating. It took ages to get there and back and actually getting a cab was a nightmare. It wasn't really worth the cost or the time it took, but I did find some products from the Lauren Conrad Beauty line. I'm not sure that line even exists anymore, but I was able to find a few items for only a few dollars. (Expect reviews on those products at some point here on the creation of beauty is art.) After that, we went to see the Broadway musical, New York New York. I wasn't sure what to expect from the performance, but it was incredible. My mom loved it as well. New York New York had great sets, a fantastic cast (including Colton Ryan), and a stellar soundtrack. It was a really good way to end the day. 

Day Four. Our last non-travel day in the city was jam packed. We started off by lining up outside of Sweeney Todd to see if there were any tickets available at the box office. Lucky for us, there were. It was a Broadway musical that my mom and I really wanted to see because it starred Josh Groban. We were able to get tickets for a matinee performance. So, we went to do a Radio City Music Hall tour beforehand. It was wonderful. The theatre was incredible and we were even able to meet a Rockette! It was really neat. Then we went to see Sweeney Todd. The cast was fantastic, because it had Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford, and Jordan Fisher. Unfortunately, my experience was not amazing. There was something about the seats that hurt my back. I was in so much pain that I couldn't fully focus on the performance and was desperate for the first act to end. It was disappointing that something I was so excited about was not something that I was able to be all that present for because I was hurting so much. Ahh well. At least we saw it. After that, we went to FAO Schwarz to do some shopping, and then went to Ellen's Stardust Diner for dinner, where the waiters sang and performed. It was loud...but very fun. 

Day Five. The last day was another travel day home. It was long and not all that eventful, but we did stop off at the Cracker Barrel before crossing back over the border. I always love their gift shop and was able to find a few items to take home. 

There you have it! All of the New York City highlights (and a few lowlights as well). Though I can't say the COVID that came home with me was worth it...at least I was able to see some Broadway shows and spend time with my mom.

Have you ever visited New York City? Do you have any future travel plans?