A view from the Empire State building
I was so excited to finally be visiting New York. I lived in Chicago for 6 years and then a year in Virginia and never managed to make it to New York. So, when my hubby announced there was a History conference (RSA) in NY this year I was hell-bent on going over with him and bringing the kids with us.
I feel very lucky to have a wonderful friend living on Long Island, and even luckier that she was willing to have us stay for the week! We went into the city everyday for four days and walked our legs off. I remember the first time I came out of Penn Station and my eyes boggled at all the bright lights of the massive t/v screens that are pretty much in your face attacking every sense. Seeing a couple large screens on the sides of buildings near Penn Station was just preparation, however, for Time Square…OMG! I thought it was going to be a small corner of Manhattan when in fact Time Square takes up about 4 corner blocks. I want to give you an idea of the great time we had visiting NYC and pictures tell the best story. However, I have reserved all the food pictures for another blog seeing as there is too much to say about the food we ate, drank and drooled over.
For now please take a look at New York City from our perspective and if you have never been or are planning on going then take note: Manhattan is very big so work out the subway (not scary at all), buy a good pair of good walking shoes and soak up all the atmosphere around you. On every street there is something new to discover, I swear the city never sleeps.
Time Square
Proberly the BEST toy store I have ever been in (of course it was in Time Square), this Transformer was just one of the many giants around the store, excitement all round.
Alex and Optimus Prime
It was freezing while we were there but nothing was going to stop us, especially when the sun came out. I am jumping for joy AND trying to keep the circulation pumping around my body seeing as it was like walking into an ice storm on the way back over the bridge. Totally worth a visit though, not everyday is going to be -10 in the wind!
Brooklyn Bridge
A stroll through Central Park is wonderful, especially with such a beautiful city backdrop, I’d love to see it when all the leaves are on the trees (another reason to go back).
Central Park
Walking across the park brought us to the Met where we spent a couple of hours, we could have spent a couple more. However, I really, really wanted to go to the Guggenheim which was just up the road and there are only a certain amount of hours you can coax kids to look, learn and appreciate art. The Guggenheim was as good as I imagined it to be, I love the building as much as the art inside, although, I think the collection in Venice was much more breathtaking.
Guggenheim #3 and check out my very cool new flares!
Daunia walked around with us for the first couple of days and didn’t seem to mind us oohhing and ahhing at the sights. She was even patient enough to take us for a stroll around the waterfront where we got to take a look at Lady Liberty. I had to laugh at my naivety, when she pointed out the dot in the distance as being the Statue of Liberty. After a good giggle and the wind ripping into us, I took a snap of the family and Daunia with the statue way off in the background. Note to self, next time we will ride on the Staten Island ferry for a better look!
Baker boys and Daunia with Statue of Liberty off in the distance
I also highly recommend a stroll on the High-Line; the boys loved the Natural History Museum and a must is the 9/11 Memorial site. It makes you stop, think and reassess the things you think are important in life.
New York is full of life, bustling streets with 101 things to do and see. Daunia very kindly sorted us out with a night at the theatre, we went and saw STOMP which was better than I was expecting and a lot funnier too. The days were long and jam-packed with sights so it should not surprise you that on the train ride home to Long Island the boys chilled out.
Long Island train ride
Next time it’s going to be all about the food, so stay tuned.
Italy Take Two 