New York City

We flew from Athens to Ukraine, and then after spending the night there, we were finally ready to get on our way to America.

Since we had slept in the airport in Athens the night before, we decided to get a hotel for the night in Ukraine. Then in the morning, when we got back to the airport, we found out that our flight was delayed about four hours. So we grabbed some breakfast and sat there and waited until finally we were called to board.

We flew for about twelve hours from Ukraine all the way to New York, and when we finally landed, we cleared customs, grabbed our bags, and headed towards our hotel. It was around 8:00 that night when we finally got to the hotel, and so since it was that late, we just went out and got chipotle and then came back and went to bed.

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We woke up early and went out for breakfast before going on a tour of the upper west side. During this tour we got to stop and see the Cathedral of St John the Divine. Below are a few pictures from there.

Then after looking around in the cathedral, we loaded back on the bus. We then drove over to see the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloons being inflated. It was cool to see the balloons up close, and here are a few pictures from that.

After we had walked around the block, where the balloons were being blown up, and when the tour was finished, we headed to Time Square. There are some pictures from there below.

From Time Square, we went to the Empire State building, and after standing in line for over an hour, we finally got to go up in the elevator. The elevator first stopped on a floor that had a museum on it. We quickly looked around on there, and then got back in line to ride the elevator up to the lookout deck.

After half an hour of waiting for that second elevator, it was finally our turn to ride up to the lookout deck. We crowded in the elevator with 15 other people and then when the doors opened we were finally there! Looking out across the lights of NYC was seriously amazing! Brad and I had gone up in a tower in Vietnam and looked out across Ho Chi Minh, but it was such a different sight, mainly because one we did in the daytime and one we did at night.

We took some pictures on the deck, but they definitely don’t do the sight justice. But anyways, here they are.

After looking around, we got in line to ride the elevator down. By the time we reached the ground level, we were starving. We went to a burger place in Time Square, and enjoyed some very expensive food. Seriously like $20 for a burger that didn’t even come with fries. Then if you wanted fries, it was another $6. The prices in New York City are crazy, but we tried not to sweat it and just enjoy the delicious burgers.

Then since we have to be up really early to get a spot for the parade, we decided to call it a night. So after dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went to bed.

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Our alarm went off at 4:00 in the morning, and we quickly put on about ten layers of clothes. We walked down to Columbus Circle and found a spot right in the front to stand and watch the parade. After standing there for about an hour, the police came by and said that nobody could stand on this block because it was the ‘frozen zone’ (whatever that meant). We were pretty upset because it wasn’t marked that people couldn't stand there, so once we found this out, us and about 300 other people now had to scramble to find new spots.

We quickly walked down a few blocks and then realized that all of the fences already had people standing front row, so we had to settle on standing second row. But that was okay, because we ended up standing next to a few really nice families. We chitchatted with them for about three hours, until finally the parade started.

At 9:00 am when the parade started, we still had to wait about twenty minutes for it to get to us. But even during that wait, it was magical! You could see the balloons getting larger as they were getting closer to us. Then you could hear the marching bands, and finally when they arrived at where we were standing, we could take it all in. Over the next two and a half hours, I don’t think I stopped smiling, as I waved, cheered, and yelled Happy Thanksgiving to the people in the parade!

Here are a few (okay a lot) of my favorite pictures from the parade.

Once Santa passed, the parade was over and it was time for us to head back to the hotel to try and warm up. Seriously, trying to get my legs to move at first was a struggle. I’m pretty sure they were frozen, but once they started cooperating, we were on our way. Then when we got back to the hotel, we went to the hotel bar to have some lunch and watch the football game.

About the time that the game was getting over, it was time for us to go to dinner. We had made reservations at a restaurant that was having a Thanksgiving buffet. So even though we weren’t having a traditional Thanksgiving with friends or family, we were having turkey! The food was a little different than what I have at my grandmas every year, for example they had roasted potatoes instead of mashed, but regardless of that, it was still pretty good.

Once we were so full that we couldn’t fit even one more bite of pumpkin pie in our stomachs, we headed over to Radio City music hall. Here we enjoyed the Rockettes Christmas spectacular, which was truly an amazing show!

Here are a few pictures and a video from there.

It was pretty late after the show got over, and we have an early morning flight, so once it was finished, we headed back to the hotel to pack our things and get some sleep.