A Double Decker Day!

We booked the Liberty tour/ferry, NBC Studios Tour (tomorrow’s excursion) and Gray Line’s Bus Tours all online months before our trip. The early purchase guarantee’s a spot and for the Red Double Decker - a sweet deal. We found an amazing prize for a 72 hour All Tours Package. Today we are cashing in on those tickets. Our first hour and a half ride would be around Uptown. Not many people were catching the 9:30 AM tour which allowed us the upstairs first row coveted seats. Since we live in Florida, it did not occur to us (well, at least to me) cool weather could still be present in late March. I soon discovered why our deal was so sweet… because it’s so COLD! We did fine though. And aren’t vacations supposed to help families get closer? Today we definitely did – literally and figuratively! The Uptown Loop took us to Harlem, Central Park, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and Metropolitan Museum of Arts to name a few. If you are not familiar with a hop on/hop off tour, you can get off at any stop and then catch the next bus 30 to 60 minutes later to continue on the loop. This one we decided to ride it through and soak up the sights.

Once we completed the Uptown Loop, we found the Downtown Tour. We were determined to eat lunch at another famous NYC establishment – Gray’s Papaya. We were pleasantly surprised to find out one of the stops on this loop is directly to this hot dog haven! They live up to their reputation, and again recommend it for anyone visiting the West Side of Manhattan. Make sure you have cash! It is the only means of currency they take. If you visit their flagship location and are a movie buff, you might recognize the store front from “Die Hard with a Vengeance” and “You’ve Got Mail”. I did not think we were going to get Morgan out of there. She devoured almost three full hotdogs!

After literally running to catch the next bus to avoid another 30 minute wait “forcing” us to devour more food, we hopped right back on the Double Decker for our next stop of the day - The World Trade Center Memorial/Museum. It was closed when we first found the site, and we just felt so compelled to “pay our respects”. Upon entering the first exhibit, memories flooded my mind of when the world stood still. A heavy sadness came over me, but I was anticipating it. But nothing could have prepared both Scott and I as we entered the Wall Exhibit. There on display was a sampling of all the photos and memorabilia honoring those who lost their lives that day. Within seconds I had lost it. An uncontrollable sobbing welled up within me. I had been transported right back to that very day, with emotions fresh and raw as ever. Thankfully tissues were available. We overheard a courageous volunteer sharing her son’s story, a fire fighter, who was supposed to be off of work that day. Each time she tells the events, a question is asked of all who are in the room, “Where are you from?” And so far to date, no one from NYC comes into the museum. It is too much for them to bear. Scott and I couldn’t even utter a word to describe our feelings without tears welling up. I can’t imagine what it feels like for a true New Yorker.

To distract ourselves from the pain of the past, we entered a store right across from Ground Zero called Century 21. This best kept secret is crammed full of designer items for all ages. It is also crammed full of customers of all ages. I lost Scott while searching for the woman’s department. Note of advice – DO NOT bring children if your intent is to do some serious shopping. It is impossible. If you see something you like, grab and hold on to it for dear life. I just glanced at a dress which sent out an alarm to a nearby shopper who swooped in to snatch it. Scott found an English Laundry shirt he could not live without, and then we were off to hop on the next Downtown Loop bus.

Our tour bus took us to New York’s Harbor where yet again waited for another tour – The Brooklyn Loop. This bus was not a double decker, but did relish the idea of staying warm. Points of interest on this ride would be the Botanic Gardens, Fulton Mall, and the Brooklyn Bridge. We were surprised Coney Island was not in the mix. Quite frankly it was not a good tour. Nothing against Brooklyn! Our tour guide actually put us all the sleep. In fact, we desperately wanted to return back to the hotel and call it a day. We were zonked! Our only excitement on the tour was when we passed a film crew for "Law & Order".

Side Note: We do not recommend Gray Line’s Bus Tours. Some of our guides were incredible, but others were hard to understand due to thick accents and/or were not very interesting. Other competing companies had 15 minute pick up times due to more buses.