A Decent Bite of the Big Apple

We returned from NYC two days ago and I've been meaning to fire up the blog ever since. Truth be told, I had great plans to blog DURING the trip, but there really wasn't time - and that's a good thing!

On the drive up to New York, the first thing that struck me was the tunnel in Baltimore. 

 I had a flashback of all the times we drove through the Harbor Tunnel on our way to my grandmother's house - very excited to be leaving Frederick and going SOMEwhere, ANYwhere. I flew on a plane for the first time at 24 years old. Other than a few car and bus rides up and down the East Coast, I was almost completely inexperienced in terms of travel.

Contrast that with my dear children, who have had the good fortune to visit many, many places. I am often just as excited as they are when embarking on a trip, since I doubt I'll ever take these opportunities for granted. 

I did obsess a bit over planning the details of the trip, but I think it paid off. We managed to stay on budget and still see a LOT. Tony did his usual fabulous job of selecting just the right hotel. The location and decor of the adorable Kimberly Hotel were big pluses, but the over-the-top win for me was our personal balcony overlooking 50th Street - and even all the way to the East River. Here are the girls enjoying the view from just outside our living room (aka their bedroom). 

We arrived a bit later than planned so basically dumped our luggage, changed clothes and rushed off to begin our adventures. First stop - Rockefeller Center and Top of the Rock. Here we had our first encounter with big crowds and not so polite New Yorkers, but it was worth it and having our first glimpses of the city be from 70 stories up was pretty novel. 

Next we wandered towards Times Square and our dinner destination, which as luck would have it was directly across from the Broadhurst Theater and a performance of Anastasia. It was fun to see the girls so excited about their first show in NY and this show did not disappoint. It was fabulous! Afterwards, we had the memorable opportunity to experience Times Square at night - what a hoot but SO MANY PEOPLE. It took us a while to work our way back to our hotel.

Day 2 had promised to be rainy all morning so we did not rush out the door. Then, nearly miraculously, just as we emerged from our hotel at about 8:45, the rain stopped and was soon followed by sunshine. An unexpectedly beautiful day. After another incredibly rude experience at breakfast (I knew to expect it, but it still just seems so unnecessary), we made our way to our day-long rental bikes. It was hilarious trying to figure out how to actually bike up Fifth Avenue towards Central Park without getting killed, particularly with two teenagers who have NOT spent a lot of time on bikes.

Once we got into the Park and got the hang of the bikes...blissful. A nice breeze was blowing and there was a great bike lane just for us to enjoy the greenery with the tall buildings of New York as a backdrop. Our first stop inside the Park was The Met, where we parked (and locked) our bikes and quickly made our way inside. Thereupon the girls realized this was THE Met and asked if we could take photos on the steps outside, a la "Gossip Girl." Sure. 

We enjoyed several areas of the Museum before hopping back on our bikes and going "around the horn" of the Park before heading south down the west side. Next we popped into the Museum of Natural History for a bit. Bummed that the butterfly pavilion was not open but we did get to see some well done exhibits before heading to our next stop. 

Here we left the relatively safe confines of the Park in order to bike to the Hudson River waterfront to take park in a Circle Line Cruise (touristy, yes - worth it, yes!). We dodged insane amounts of traffic and I have to be honest, it seemed that the vast majority of people we encountered - pedestrians and motorists alike - HATE bicycles. We were not wanted on the street or on the sidewalk. We did see bike lanes fairly often - but more often than not the cars used them to double park. It was just a bit stressful, but we made it! Fortunately the riverside had a great actual biking/walking lane and the last part of our ride was very enjoyable. 

We hopped onto our loud, tacky boat and savored every moment once we located the bar. One adult beverage perked up the adult members of our party. Once we set sail, things continued to improve - sunshine, river breezes, and some pretty spectacular views of the city, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, etc. It sure beat trying to see it all by bike! 

After our cruise we began the LAST leg of our bike journey - we were all grateful to return to the land of the pedestrians afterward - but those bikes really gave us an opportunity see and experience more. In the moment it was a bit nerve wracking, but looking back, we all agree it was a lot of fun and a unique way to experience our chunk of the city. After dinner in a fun Irish pub, we dragged our sweaty, exhausted selves back to the hotel and promptly collapsed.

On Sunday we lucked out with another gorgeous day. Before heading downtown, we walked less than a block in an attempt to experience "real" New York bagels at Ess-a-Bagel. Don't get me wrong, the bagels were damned delicious, but I think if we knew that we'd be in line for over an hour, we probably would have cobbled together some kind of Plan B. Did I mention that the bagels were delicious?

Next the girls took their very first NYC subway ride, from Grand Central all the way south to the Battery. We emerged to sunshine, breezes, and lovely water views. We spent some time wandering around the Battery before making our way to the 911 memorial and museum. There are no words to describe how moving an experience it was. Both the memorial and museum are SO WELL DONE. So many details just right. So evocative. It brought back so many memories for Tony and me, while enlightening the girls about what that day was like. While neither of them had been born yet - they were both being carried by their birth mothers on 9/11. 

After that sobering experience we took a leisurely stroll towards Chinatown, stopping to let the girls shop a bit on the way. We made it to Chinatown just in time for a late lunch at a "semi-famous" dumpling shop that will soon be moving from Chinatown to Chelsea. Really? The shop was crowded and we were seated with three white women who we think were a grandmother, mother, and daughter - ranging in age from maybe 70 down to 30. While we jumped right in to order a number of dumpling dishes and soups, they spent a great deal of time studying the menu and letting grandma try to practice with her chopsticks. By the time our dumplings started to arrive, they had made their choice - fried rice and FORKS. Noooo! While waiting for their food, they couldn't disguise their curiosity over our family (why is that white woman with those Asians?) and our enthusiasm over the food (while devouring it all using chopsticks - proficiently!) It was equal parts awkward and entertaining. It's how we roll.

After lunch we really enjoyed wandering through Chinatown and especially the park area, filled with Asian elders playing mah jongg, dancing, singing, and just getting OUT. The girls happily slurped down some legit bubble tea and Tony's day was made upon finding one of his favorite childhood snacks: Black Bean Hopia. ("Same wrapper!")

A bit tuckered out, we subwayed back to our hotel and took a bit of a siesta before heading back out. Actually while the girls "siestaed" Tony and I took the opportunity to visit the hotel's rooftop bar - a SUPER cool area on the 30th floor with a fully retractable roof, where we enjoyed sunshine and adult beverages before heading out on our next mission: to scale the Empire State Building in time for sunset.

After a quick dinner - and catching the tail end of the Pride Parade (yay!) we got to go to the front of the ESB line with our CityPasses (go us!). It was very crowded at the top, but doable. Claire set up a sunset over the Hudson timelapse on her phone and had to keep an eye on it for about an hour - but it was worthwhile! A great way to end our last full day in the city.

On Monday, while my family slumbered, I slipped out a bit early and made my way back to Rockefeller Plaza to try to set eyes on my "friends" from the Today Show. Yes, I'm a dork. I stood in a large crowd for just over an hour, but was rewarded just before the end of the show when Matt and Hoda gave me some great photo ops. : )

Afterwards the rest of the family joined me and we headed south to explore Grand Central Terminal and the market. Before that, we stumbled onto a food place I had wanted to try: Urbanspace Vanderbilt. What a COOL place to eat. So many unique choices and the girls were in heaven. Afterward, we did make it to Grand Central Market and had fun exploring before wandering back to our hotel and starting our drive home. 

As much as I enjoyed the trip, just the experience of driving cross-town was enough to make me want to go HOME! I can definitely see why cars in the city are a bad idea - feet and subways rock!