The Big Apple

Ahhhh. . .. The Big Apple. How could I resist a trip there with my parents and brother? And so, after a red eye flight, we rubbed our red eyes and put on big smiles for The Today Show, then jumped on a double decker bus for a delightful narration of the city. We hopped off in China Town to bargain for t-shirts, bags, and hats, took pictures of ground zero, St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Wall Street, Radio City Music Hall, and pretty much every tourist site available.


Next, we made our way to Rockefeller center to go to the Top of the Rock. It was beautiful to look out on the city. We timed it just as dusk was approaching, so we could see the city at day and night.



Of course, Broadway left us "dancing through life" with nothing but "happy talk" for these amazing musicals.


Since I haven't made it to Egypt yet, we were lucky to visit the amazing Egyptian exhibit at the Met.


Ah. . . . . life on a double decker bus.


How could we not get a picture of the"Big" piano at FAO Schwartz?


My friend Rustin hooked us up with all of the latest and greatest places to eat. This is a picture of the huge cookies he raved about, although we brought my parents back hard,little, dry ones from the supermarket for a little fun. My dad groaned at the thought of us paying $4 for each small, dry bit of gunk. My poor mom tried to be extra positive about them, but she was fighting a losing battle. We were all grateful to pull out the huge, chunkers of delight.




It is pretty evident in New York who is a tourist, but why not make things even easier. We all donned on these fabuolous I love NY shirts, that my mom and I thought would be darling for a family photo. (And do they not look great?) My dad and brother gave in, and we smiled as our little tour group roamed around the fascinating Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.


Our shirts were so moving that this street performer played a song just for us, New York, New York.


You meet all kinds of people in New York. Which means we shouldn't have been surprised when Bartholdi the sculptor of The Statue of Liberty plopped down at our table to visit. Unfortunately, I got the giggles and ended up with a stomachache from laughing so hard. I would tell you what was so funny, but as with most hilarious events I'm not sure the hilarity of the situation can be adequately expressed.



Of course, I had to get a picture with my fame. I even threw caution to the wind and bought a necklace there. Mind you it was up on the third floor, the one floor which only causes small gasps at the price, rather than fainting.




A visit to New York would not be complete without a trip to Central Park. I love the sanctuary away from all the busyness. Central Park is beautiful and huge, although it is only the 3rd largest park in New York. (Those tour buses help get all the facts for you.) We spent a whole morning there and were grateful for a small sprinkling and slightly cooler temperature, compared to the heat wave of 100 degrees with humidity that New York happened to have while we were there.


Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge at night was a must.

Finally, we threw our hands up and said goodbye to New York City and headed to upper state New York, which is another story for another day.