2008 Woodie Awards
NEW YORK: land to many giants
Amanda Andreen
Issue date: 2/5/08 Section: Travel
New York is home to many giants: the victorious NY Giants, giant skyscrapers, a giant statue, giant bridges, giant pretzels, giant hot dogs, and giant musical productions. That said, any venture to New York City is bound to be one monumental occasion, and so too was mine last year.
Arriving in the city at 3 a.m. one Saturday morning, it only took seconds for the infamous saying that NYC is "the city that never sleeps" to ring true. Crammed into the backseat of a taxi (my first NY taxi ride of many), adrenaline pulsed through me as our cab driver proceeded to get out of the car come close to blows with another driver over who's turn it was to merge into the right-hand lane. I never heard so many violent profanities in different languages at one time before.
Once on Manhattan Island, we made our way to Times Square. A hub of fluorescent lights and mayhem, in the center of all the action we arrived at our hotel, which stood adjacent to the glowing Coca-Cola marquee and next to the Legally Blonde Broadway, show. A world all its own; the lights, action and smells mystified and excited me.
Throughout the duration of our Manhattan adventure, I experienced many firsts. My first NY hot dog, my first time hailing a cab on my own, my first time getting lost in a such an overwhelming city, and the first time I had the opportunity to see so many historical and famous places.
The thing about New York is that there is so much to see and do, that it is nearly impossible to capture it words, and see it all in under a week. Our first night in the city my group of companions and I made a list of all the things we wanted to do and see. Then, we attempted to organize the locations geographically and maximize every minute of every day. Forget sleeping-we were in New York, and who knew when we were going to be back there again-we were going to try to do it all.
Day one began with a privately guided limousine tour of the city to get our bearings of how to navigate the island. I must say if you have the money, seeing New York through the sunroof and windows of a private limo, complete with bubbly and beverages galore, is hands down the way to go.
Arriving in the city at 3 a.m. one Saturday morning, it only took seconds for the infamous saying that NYC is "the city that never sleeps" to ring true. Crammed into the backseat of a taxi (my first NY taxi ride of many), adrenaline pulsed through me as our cab driver proceeded to get out of the car come close to blows with another driver over who's turn it was to merge into the right-hand lane. I never heard so many violent profanities in different languages at one time before.
Once on Manhattan Island, we made our way to Times Square. A hub of fluorescent lights and mayhem, in the center of all the action we arrived at our hotel, which stood adjacent to the glowing Coca-Cola marquee and next to the Legally Blonde Broadway, show. A world all its own; the lights, action and smells mystified and excited me.
Throughout the duration of our Manhattan adventure, I experienced many firsts. My first NY hot dog, my first time hailing a cab on my own, my first time getting lost in a such an overwhelming city, and the first time I had the opportunity to see so many historical and famous places.
The thing about New York is that there is so much to see and do, that it is nearly impossible to capture it words, and see it all in under a week. Our first night in the city my group of companions and I made a list of all the things we wanted to do and see. Then, we attempted to organize the locations geographically and maximize every minute of every day. Forget sleeping-we were in New York, and who knew when we were going to be back there again-we were going to try to do it all.
Day one began with a privately guided limousine tour of the city to get our bearings of how to navigate the island. I must say if you have the money, seeing New York through the sunroof and windows of a private limo, complete with bubbly and beverages galore, is hands down the way to go.
Be the first to comment on this story