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I was the only one out of the four of us who had been to New York City before & I was very excited to be going back again. We spent three days in NYC; barely long enough to scratch the surface of everything this fine city has to offer, but a great time nevertheless. Here's what we did:
Walked the Brooklyn Bridge-This was a family favorite. You can walk or bike the length of this entire bridge. This was smart planning and great foresight, don't you think. You can also see Lady Liberty from there on a clear day.
Lunched in Chinatown-We make it a point to eat in Chinatown in every major city we go to. So far, we have in eaten in Chinatowns in San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver BC, & Washington DC. It was a quite something. Here is a picture of a van pulling up to the curb to deliver fresh whole pigs to their vendor. Of course, McDonald's is still everywhere.
Took a train into Grand Central Station (which the kids were excited to see because GCS is in the movie Madagascar : )-What a gorgeous building! It was clean, picturesque, elegant, and truly "grand." Also, it was not as daunting to get around in as one may suppose. There is a fresh produce/farmer’s market, and the best pastrami & rye sandwich I have ever eaten in my life, I bought in the food court of Grand Central.
Rode the subway numerous times-This was great when it was not rush hour. When it’s not rush hour riding the subway is like "a ride" all itself: fun, new, exciting, fast, etc. But taking the subway during rush hour is . . . well . . . a little unnerving especially with kids. I know people do it every day with children much younger than mine, but those doors sure do open and shut quickly. You need to be ready to enter and exit fast and when you’re doing anything with kids, fast isn’t always available. But children in hand, we made it on and off the subways with no problems, even during rush hour.
Ground Zero Site & Memorial-This was something I think all of us will remember. My son was especially curious about the history of the event while we were in the museum and even after we left. He was only 18 months when it 911 happened and although he hears/learns about 911 annually, visiting the site and the memorial museum made a huge difference on his understanding of the events.
Sat in the park-The parks in NYC are small, but well used. I absolutely loved watching the people in the parks. They were not loitering; they were catching a lunch break, playing ball, using the playground, looking at the artwork, and in general, I saw a lot of smiles. The urban planning in NYC is amazing to me. From the urban parks to the subway/public transportation the space in the city seems so well configured and used.
Shopped on Broadway-The first thing I will let you know is that you can find bargains here just as well as you can anywhere in the U.S. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t shopped here myself. And the bargains are hidden away on some back alley road; they are readily available within about every other store that you walk into.
Dined out for dinner-(courtesy of my brother-in-law): Eating well in a city that is known for its superior cuisine is a special treat and we were blessed to get a chance to dine out (once with the kids and once without ; -)
Metropolitan Opera House-(by the way The Met accepts donations of any amount to enter). The kids especially liked The Armory and the courtyard with statues Greek Goddesses, Cleopatra, etc. (go figure). As you would expect they rotate art exhibits in and out of The Met. When we were there the exhibit was a bamboo structure that two artists had designed right on top of the building. Now the view of the city landscape from the roof of The Met is an unforgettable sight. We climbed on this structure and it took us up another 30 feet (no cameras allowed though) to take in the skyline of the city. In 1983, long before 911, I had gone to the top of The Twin Towers to view the city, and now this! Tell me true, is there any other skyline that can rival that of New York City’s? The skyline of this city renders me speechless!
Not bad for three days huh, and really other than going to The Met, everywhere else was part of the city's history, landscape, & daily life. I also want to mention that we all felt safe in this city. Although there were many, many, many people coming and going everywhere, all of the time, we still felt safe! Even on the subways? Yep, even on the subways. The people hustling and bustling through the city were not particularly sociable or welcoming, nor were they unfriendly or rude. I guess when there are approximately 20,000,000 people living in a city of its size people learn to coexist pretty well.
These are some things we really want to do when we visit again in the future: Central Park-it is a gorgeous park, and although we made it to The Met (which touches Central Park) we didn’t get to spend any time there due to yucky weather; Museum of Natural History; take the ferry out to Liberty Island; take in the sights and architecture of Greenwich Village; go uptown to Harlem to The Apollo or Sylvia's Soul Food; see a Broadway show; & more. Any other suggestions?
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