The first time was with my high school. That was great for all we got to fit in. We went to the top of the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center (this was before 9/11). We watched performance artists in Central Park, shopped in Chinatown, and saw Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. Good times.

The second time was to see a friend. We went out to the bar where Saturday Night Fever was filmed, and also to Ground Zero. Then we got into a horrible screaming match at dinner (talk about scenes from a New York restaurant!) and didn’t speak to each other for the rest of the time I was there. Good times.

The third was with my mom. It was her first trip there and she was taking a workshop. So, while she was busy during the day, I got to walk around by myself. That was my favorite. New Yorker’s are some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met! At night, Mom and I walked around, ate in Little Italy, took the Staten Island ferry (on which they sell super cheap beer, btw), and went to the top of Rockefeller Center. Good times.