a long layover in new york

I'm currently in New York to spend the long weekend with the husband, which got me thinking about my last trip to NY that was only 3 weeks ago. It wasn't planned, I was supposed to just be passing through. On my way to enjoy this Europe trip with my sister, we had a quick layover in New York. Well flights got delayed and then cancelled and it turned out that we were stuck here fore nearly a day. But I can never be stuck anywhere. 

We basically had two options…1.) stick around the airport and complain OR 2.) make the best of it. I think you can guess which one we chose. 

Not wanting to see my little sister unhappy, we completely ditched the rest of our group and went out to enjoy a day in the city. I'm not one to be spontaneous, but it was for my sisters sake. So I spent a bit of time pouring over subway routes and google maps to plan this NY day for us. My sister wanted to go to the Empire State Building and I realized that I had never actually up to the top myself, so it was perfect for us. Even if it was winter and freezing up there! 

And since we were already on 5th avenue, may as well do a little sightseeing and shopping. Am I right? 

My sister told me that her favorite part of our Europe trip was actually the layover in New York, which is a huge compliment as our time in Europe was spent with a tour group. But this day in New York was just the two of us.