One foot out the door...

New York City 3/7/17 There is something magical about New York City. We all know that. You can't visit the city without soaking in some of the cultural smorgasbord mystique the the Big Apple is famous for.   It's particularly exciting to experience the city alongside an NYC newbie, and witness the head swiveling awe, grins at each street corner, and even the frustration at the sometimes confusing subway system or an overpriced ($9.50) Times Square tourist hotdog (and the realization that you must ask in advance "how much" or simply refuse and walk away when you are handed said hotdog). A lesson was taught, that you venture down side streets and away from the hubbub and see where the New Yorkers eat: hole-in-the-wall, standing room only, 99 cents a slice, New York pizza, as it was in this case. It's also quite amazing how much can be fit inside a layover of 18 hours.  I must, however, give credit to my days as a flight attendant, because I'm certain that not everyone would realize they could actually cram so much in, without having had to do it on countless other layovers, some often shorter.  We may have only spent 5 minutes or so at each location, but my sisters bucket list is now a smidge shorter, and we got 30,000 steps in (thanks Fitbit), so I'd call it a success. I'd also like to throw a nod to Dayuse.com, and more importantly to my super considerate boyfriend for booking a room for 2 sleepy travelers.  I would have been a zombie without having a solid 5 hours of sleep after our red-eye into New York. (I can't sleep on planes because of my chronic back issues). We were able to day sleep upon arrival at 8am, get showered, and check out at 3pm to cruise around before heading back to JFK for our midnight flight to our first stop of the Sisters European Backpacking Journey. In 7 hours, we'll arrive in Lisbon, Portugal.