New York, New York - part 6

We walked to church from our hotel through the streets of Brooklyn.

 

 

I really liked the row houses.

 

 

We had pizza for lunch at Grimaldi's, under the Brooklyn Bridge.

 

We had to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge because it is just the iconic thing to do.  I loved it so much.

Thank you, my adorable husband, for letting me join you on this trip.  I would always rather have experiences and memories with you than "things" from you.  Much love.

New York, New York - part 5

We went to the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes Christmas Spectacular on Saturday morning.

 

 

 

It was magical.

 

 

 

Dave and I agreed this Dance of the Tin Soldiers by the Rockettes was our favorite.

 

We went back down to Ground Zero because Dave hadn't had a chance to see the 9/11 Memorial.

 

 

We ate lunch at an Indian restaurant in the Financial District.  The Mango Lassi was yummy.

 

 

 

 

That evening we took the subway up to Harlem.  We met Scott and Jodi Lunt there.  They had gotten tickets for all of us to see a jazz concert the Apollo Theater.  We all ate at Sylvia's (famous in Harlem for their soul food).  The evening of jazz music was amazing, and included Aaron Neville whose voice is as smooth as "buttah".    We all loved it!

Afterwards, we took the subway back to Brooklyn, where we stayed the last two nights of our trip.

New York, New York - part 4

Dave's meetings weren't until a little later in the morning, so we both ran over to Rockefeller Plaza to watch the Today Show.  We had our "half second of fame"  with Al Roker.  (Dave is in the middle and I am on the far right).  Luckily, Ashley took this off of her TV and sent it to us.

 

 

Willie Giest.

 

Savannah Guthie is in the black coat and blue dress.

 

 

Then Dave went to work and I did some more exploring, starting with Bryant park.

I was going to ice skate there but decided against it. 

I ate lunch at the Carnegie Deli - a latke with applesauce and part of this cheesecake.  The pickles were so good, too.

I rented a bike and rode around Central Park for a while.

The tree at Rockefeller Plaza was put up that day, but not yet decorated.  But the city was starting to get in the holiday spirit.  It was so fun.

My grandkids would have loved the Lego store.

I absolutely loved the New York City Public Library.  It is elegant and massive.

That night, Dave and I ate at "Eataly".  They make their own pasta right there.  The Ravioli was out of this world.  Then we went to the Broadway musical, "Matilda". It was hilarious and a lot of fun to watch.

New York, New York - part 3

I was by myself again this day and evening, too, as Dave was over on Long Island all day.  I had an early lunch in Korea Town.  Jia Jiamung and Tang Su Yuk.  It was as good as what we ate in Seoul. 

 

 

 

Then I walked from 32nd Street up to 89th Street to the Guggenheim museum, in the pouring rain, no less.  I learned a valuable lesson:  check before you go.  They were closed that day.

 

 

So I walked back down a few blocks to the Metropolitan Museum.  I had been there a few years ago, but you can't really go wrong seeing this place more than once.  Only downside:  since it was rainy, half of New York City had the same idea to visit the museum that day.  It was very crowded.

 

 

I took the subway back to our hotel.  And I decided to explore Herald Square since we had been staying right there.

 

 

 

Our hotel was right across the street from the original Macy's on 34th street.  (You know, the one in the movie, "Miracle on 34th Street"  and where the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade ends every year)

 

 

They boast that this is the world's largest department store.  Nine immense floors of merchandise.  I absolutely loved the wooden escalator's, wooden and marble floors, etc.  It was like stepping back in time.

They have their windows all decorated for Christmas.  I loved it.

New York, New York - part 2

I headed out again by myself the next morning, since Dave was in meetings.  I had booked a Central Park walking tour. 

 

 

 

"I recall, Central Park in Fall . . . "  It was sublime.

 

 

 

 

The tour ended in front of the Dakotas, where John Lennon was shot.

I zipped over to the Theater District and went to the musical, "On the Town".  It was classic Broadway.  The singing and dancing were wonderful.  I sat next to another girl who was by herself as well.

That night, the company, Fossil, invited me to join with Dave for a dinner at Wolfgang's.  We walked over from our hotel.  The Empire State Building is less than a block away from our hotel, in fact we could see it out of our window.

New York, New York - part 1

Dave had a week long business trip in New York City and I tagged along.

 

I had signed up for several  "New York by Foot" tours before we came.  We got to New York on a Monday evening and our hotel was in Midtown at Herald Square.  I headed out bright and early the next morning (by myself, since Dave had meetings all day) on the subway to meet up with my first tour, which began on Wall Street.

 

There were twenty five people on our tour.  Only the tour guide (in the red cap) and I were from the United States.  It was a very international group.

 

We started at the site of George Washington's inauguration on the Federal Building on Wall Street.

We went over to the Trinity Church.  In the graveyard there are buried historic people like Alexander Hamilton and Robert Fulton.

It was a beautiful church.

Then we walked over to the 9/11 Memorial.  On our way we passed this memorial dedicated to the 357 firefighters who died on that day.

There is a somber, yet hopeful feeling where the World Trade Center towers once stood and so many lives were lost.

One World Trade Center, which opened the day I was there, is now North America's tallest building.

This pear tree stood between the two towers and was buried when they fell.  But somehow it survived and was nursed back to health.  It was almost destroyed again during Hurricane Sandy.  It is a symbol of hope.

We went over to Little Italy for lunch.  I loved every bite of these two slices of pizza.

 

 

 

Little Italy in Manhattan is actually part of Chinatown. 

 

The tour ended at the Highline in Chelsea.  This area used to be the meatpacking district and the elevated train tracks which had become an eyesore were made into a walking park.

 

 

There was a great view of the Hudson River, looking across to New Jersey, from the Highline.

 

After I got back from my 7 hour tour I was invited by some of Dave's business contacts to go to dinner with them at Carmines.

The dessert was called the Titanic.  Even though there were 5 of us, we couldn't finish it.