Day 2 in the Big Apple started off a little shaky, but it ended with a bang, the bang of a chandelier that is Our itinerary originally included a trip to see the Today Show like any good tourist would, until I found out Rachel Zoe was a guest on the Regis & Kelly show. Then I made it my mission to get to R&K and stand in line for tickets, so we got up at the crack of dawn and endured an EXTREMELY hot subway ride only to find out the Regis & Kelly was taping without a live audience (assuming because of Labor Day). So no Rachel Zoe for me and no Today Show because it was already too late. So we trekked across the street to Starbucks and I sulked while we figured out what else to do with our morning. After a quick stop to see the Lincoln Center we headed down to Battery Park via subway to see the Statue of Liberty:

Between the ferry ride and waiting in line to go through security, our little exploration of Lady Liberty took the better part of our first day.

The view of Manhattan from the ferry was breathtaking:

Even if the ferry ride was a little chilly:

Just call me the Statue of Fashion-y:

(Wearing: Old Navy Scarf, F21 Jacket, Coach Sunnies, HUE Tights, NY&Co. Jersey Dress, Nine West Boots)

After waiting in line for what seemed like forever, we finally got to go inside the Statue of Liberty. it was well worth the wait for this first time New Yorker:

After our date with Lady Liberty, we headed back on the ferry to Manhattan to get our Broadway tickets and see the World Trade Center site. We also walked through Battery Park to see the sculpture that was saved from the 9/11 attacks at the World Trade Center. This was probably more sobering and emotional than seeing the site itself:

We decided to try out the TKTS booth for discount Broadway tickets down at the South Seaport, so we also checked out the pier while we were in the area.

From the Pier there was a great view of the Financial District, which reminded me a lot of the Queen City:

After scoring tickets to the show we wanted, we trotted up Wall Street to the WTC site:

Construction was well underway on the new memorial building, but it was still quite emotional to walk around (just days before the anniversary) just trying to imagine what people felt on that day. I remember even thousands of miles away in my Intro to Business class being scared and sad and leaving class and talking to my mom all day while watching the news footage:

Since Century 21 was right across the street, we decided to pop in and see what all the hype was about. Honestly every person on the streets seemed to have bags and bags of clothes from there! I must say, it wasn’t my kind of place. Too many people, too much disarray and my lack of patience took us right out the door very quickly:

By this point we were pretty worn out and starving since it was way past lunch so we headed back to the hotel with a stop in Greenwich Village for lunch. Several people had raved about John’s Pizza in Greenwich, so we thought we would give it a try. I was also told the I would just LOVE Greenwich Village, but I can’t say the area I saw around NYU and Bleeker Street was up my alley. It reminded me a lot of Asheville and a little bit of Charleston, but we saw lots of interesting people and shops! Perhaps I missed the ‘good’ parts? After chowing down, we were back to the Millenium Broadway for a nap and to get ready for our show on Broadway!

Stay tuned for Bright Lights, Big City: Day 2.2 ON BROADWAY