I’m anti carrying things around when I travel (or anytime, really). So my little Lumix has been SO PERFECT, especially for trips like this one. If there’s one thing I love, it’s not hauling a big SLR around with me. Thus, all these photos were taken with the Lumix. Though I definitely documented our trip mostly with my phone (see previous post). Anyway. I’m going to try and post captions along with the pictures in this post. Ahem, here we go.
Happy to play inflight trivia again! Dick beat everyone on our flight. I was winning at one point, but not for long…
We stayed in the financial district at the Downtown Marriott. We had a lovely room on the 36th (tallest) floor. This is the view from our window. We were literally next door to the new World Trade Center and had an amazing view of it from the windows next to our elevator.
I read this book and really liked it. I finished it on the flight home and cried a lot. It was embarrassing because I was sitting between two strangers.
Delicious Reuben sandwiches at Katz’s deli.
Of course we managed a few trips to Veselka.
We saw four movies. Headhunters (lame!) at Landmark Sunshine, Bernie (awesome!) at Angelika, A Separation (so good!) at Cinema Village, and Jesus Henry Christ (disappointing) at Cinema Village.
I spent an afternoon aimlessly meandering the island (favorite thing to do!) while Dick took a quiz. I spent most of the time in Soho, but found myself directly under the Flatiron at one point.
We attempted to take a train to New Haven first thing Sunday morning; however, no trains were running in or out of Grand Central that morning. It was mayhem. Eventually we caught a train out and made it to New Haven, fortunately. I spaced it and didn’t take any pictures of our fun dinner with the Landing peeps – Daron, Aaron, Adrienne and Elise. We ate delicious pizza at Bar, where they serve mash potatoes on their pizza – it’s so good! It’s sad we don’t get to hang with those guys more often.
Old stomping grounds… Columbus Circle. Dick used to work around the corner from here. We would meet here nearly daily. Like old times we grabbed lunch at Whole Foods and ate across the street in Central Park. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.
The next series of snaps were taken at my new favorite place – the High Line. So, so rad. I was freaking out the entire time over how much I love it there. Everywhere I looked I wanted to snap away. Here’s what my idea of heaven on earth looks like:
After walking the High Line (in the drizzling rain) we headed to the harbor for a schooner ride along the Hudson. As we were walking we saw this lovely installation through a gallery window. Dick thought it was a real person at first. It made me laugh:
The next series of images were taken on our amazing schooner adventure. It was fantastic. I highly recommend doing this. I’ll certainly add it to my list for future visits.
See that tall building? It’s the new World Trade Center. This view of Manhattan reminds me of Chicago now. Probably because those antenna-looking things on the new building make it resemble the Willis Tower (formerly Sears). Perhaps when it’s finished being built, I’ll change my mind. But in the meantime, I couldn’t help but think of Chicago. Another note about the new World Trade Center – at first I was admittedly disappointed with the architecture. My feelings changed, though, once we visited the 9/11 Memorial (which was also amazing – a must see, for sure). After visiting the memorial I started to feel more of a connection with the new building – can’t really explain why exactly, but since then, it has grown on me and I don’t dislike it anymore.
I was snap-happy, but man, I am so in love with the view in the last picture. The timing of the ride was so perfect. It was a bit drizzly and cold, but so, so perfect.
I’m always a sucker for walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. Unfortunately, the view was blocked for part of the venture this time, but luckily not the entire bridge.
I think the Manhattan Bridge is awesome looking, too. Love that blue. Also, seeing the Empire State never fails to make me happy.
Finally, these last shots were taken while riding the tram to Roosevelt Island. This is a NYC experience that I consider a hidden gem. The views are spectacular and the times I’ve been there’s essentially no line to get on. Plus, it’s free if you have an unlimited metro card. All perks. The first time I went to Roosevelt Island was with Dick on our honeymoon. Since then, it’s definitely one of my favorites to do.
On the way back to Manhattan…
And, that’s it! I didn’t do a good job of capturing all the things and places we saw. But, those were the most scenic.
I felt guilty throughout the trip because I missed this little tyke so much. It was a good vacation for all of us, though. And believe me when I saw he was <i>stoked></i> to receive so many presents from his mom & dad’s trip to NYC. Dick stuffed that backpack full of goodies for Henry to devour once we got home to him. The trip was the perfect excuse to finally splurge on some new Thomas trains – we’ve appropriately added a Henry and a Hank train to the clan.
Phew! I did it! Done with the NYC recap!
