New York City Girls' Trip / Nelson Notes

New York City Girls' Trip

9.06.2019

Remember when I wrote a blog post about performing my violin in Carnegie Hall? And remember all those silly pictures I shared of my siblings and me having a fun time and making awful faces? Well, this is the post where I share the rest of the story and pictures. Are you ready?!

This trip to New York City in July had been planned months ahead. It all began when my mom joined the Millennial Choirs and Orchestra in Boise and encouraged me to join as well because they were going on tour to play in Carnegie Hall -- pretty much every musician's dream venue. Of course, the plan snowballed to include my sister. And so a girls' trip to New York City was born! We spent a few days exploring the city, performed in Carnegie Hall, and then hopped on a plane to Indianapolis to visit my brother Joe and his wife Karmen for two days. It was sooo much fun! (Even more amazing, you'd never know my sister battled breast cancer just over a year ago would ya?)

Thanks Mom for putting this all together. It will for sure be a special memory that I will cherish for a lifetime.

New York City is like Disneyland without the magic. If something has been done before, it's probably been done in NYC. It was HUGE and overwhelmingly busy, loud, and crowded. It was hot and smelled in some places but overall was pretty clean. But the thing I think I liked best was how friendly it was. Sure, there were folks trying to hustle us for business. But after a day, I learned how to handle that okay. People were everywhere. However, they weren't afraid to smile or begin a light conversation. It was pretty neat and a night and day difference from the vibes I got in So Cal back in May.

Anyhow, no trip can run entirely smoothly, can it? That's what makes traveling such an adventure; we get to see new things, eat at new places (+ gain a few pounds), enjoy new experiences, and roll with the punches! So instead of giving a play by play of our trip, I'll just list the SWEET experiences as well as the SOUR ones that made up our refreshing lemonade of a trip!

THE SWEET STUFF:

(It obviously far exceeds the sour.)

:: Eating at Stardust Diner the first night! It was basically the best of broadway shows + a meal.

:: The pastries at Carlo's

:: Gelato from Grom (with my cousin Kathleen! We also stood in line behind Jenny Oaks Baker. So we basically ate dessert together, right?)

:: Becoming gluttons at Holey Cream. Think donuts + ice cream + toppings.

:: Edible cookie dough from Do! Enough said.

:: Tre Giovani for lunch. AKA authentic Italian.

:: "Change your face!" an inside joke that began when we were taking pictures.

:: The lights and people watching in Times Square

:: Central Park! Oh, that was probably one of my favorite spots in the city. We saw giant bubbles and fountains. Lauren and I danced to some street music. We rode a carousel. The park had the best relaxed vibes right there in the middle of the city!

:: The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island were humbling to see and learn about in person.

:: Crossing the Brooklyn Bridge part way

:: Shopping at Zara

:: Getting together with my cousin, Kathleen in NYC!!!

:: Rehearsing at the LDS church/temple in Manhattan combined with all the MCO instrumentalists

:: Performing in Carnegie Hall (Of course!)

:: Running/walking down 25 flights of steps in the dark of our hotel because the electricity was off

:: Seeing the lights of the city from the top of the Empire State Building at night!

:: Badminton games in Joe's backyard

:: Dance Off game late into the evening

:: Going to a free cooking class and eating some delicious hot biscuits

:: Dinner at Convivio in Carmel, Indiana (Yum!)