New York City JULY 2009 - FANTASTIC TRIP!!!!!!

Hello New York! We arrived to JFK approx. 9 am and grabbed the Air train ($5) to Jamaica station. After you get off the train is when you actually pay for the one way Air train pass and you can also purchase your Metro Pass at the kiosks here (this $27 7-day pass is your ticket to the city!) You have an unlimited ride on any subway or city bus for 7 days. You can go wherever you want to go! If you are unsure what train or bus to take, just ask...every single person we asked for help was very nice and extremely helpful. You will 'SORTA' get the hang of things with public transit after a day or so. Make sure you have a map with you at all times as well as an umbrella! AGAIN, don't be afraid to ask for help!! The entire trip from JFK to hotel approx. 1 hour (rush hour). The hotel will check your luggage if your room is not ready yet. We dumped our stuff and start checking out Times Square. We stopped by Rupert Jee's Delhi for some lunch.....the Letterman Hoagie was delicious!! We then proceeded to kind of just keep walking and marveling at this wonderful city. We walked south towards the financial district to see the World Trade Center site. It was very difficult to look at this massive hole in the ground where these 2 buildings once stood and where so many innocent people lost their lives. So hard to fathom so many people just gone in an instant! We talked to a few people about that day and it is still very raw to many who experienced this tragedy first hand. Again, New Yorkers were fantastic...they would answer any questions we had and were eager to answer more....don't be afraid to ask!!! If you walk by ANY fire stations while in Manhattan, stop to read the plaques and memorials to all the fallen firefighters from 9/11. It just makes the whole experience surreal. These guys are super brave and deserve allot of respect. There are different museums down here that are worth checking out. On the way back to our hotel we took the subway to Grand Central Station (7-8 pm). This station is beautiful and busy!! It is worth seeing. When leaving the station (I think it is 42nd ST or Lexington) look up outside and there is the Chrysler Building all lit up. The hotel is not far from here. We had a romantic walk home.