Okay to save time and Adobe Photoshop work, I uploaded the majority of pictures to an album at www.dotphoto.com. Here's the link: New York pictures. If it doesn't work, let me know and I'll figure something else out.
To sum up my thoughts on New York City (keep in mind, we stayed completely on Manhattan island except for the airports): it's a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. So if you don't want to read the rest of my ramblings, keep that thought in mind, check out the pictures, and you're done for the day. *winks* If not, here's my journaling for our trip:
- I know a lot of people live and visit NYC but I still wasn't prepared for the unimaginable amount of human beings there. I grew up and now live in a town of about 2500 people in the Midwest. In NYC, there are people everywhere! I have a weird sense of always being aware of those around me so the mental crush of feeling so many humans was a tad overwhelming.
- They say New Yorkers are rude. After some thought, I realized that the majority of people were only rude outside. Indoors, most people were normally polite. I guess indoors, you have a good sense of the type of people in that particular building and being nice won't get you mugged in most circumstances. Still I felt silly being the only person on the street saying "excuse me" as I brushed past them.
- The Waldorf was so cool. We had a few different hotel options with Greg's frequent traveler points and when he mentioned the Waldorf as one, I had my heart set on it. I mean, how awesome is it to say that I've stayed at the Waldorf? And we paid no where near the prices listed on their site and one night was free so don't worry that we're eating ramen noodles for the next month. hehe A note on the pictures, Greg asked for a higher floor (we ended up on the 27th) but then we got a room with a view of an air conditioning unit. LOL
- Times Square, a ton of people but neat to say I've been there. Same with Grand Central, Rockefeller Center (the ice rink is below ground level and much smaller than I excepted.) Also walked past Radio City Music Hall, NBC Rainbow Room, New York Public Library (with the famous lion statues, didn't get a picture though), and Frank Lloyd Wright's Guggenheim Museum.
- Rent was an awesome show and I highly recommend it (although it's been out for 8 years so chances are I'm the last of everyone to see it, lol). Moving Out was very good too, there's no dialogue so Billy Joel's music and excellent dancing were the focuses. The costumes were more revealing than I thought necessary (and I'm not a prude! lol) but skin sells, I realize that. Plus we had seats really close to the stage, it might not have bothered me so much if we had been further back and I couldn't count the dancer's ribs.
- Empire State, just because... It was so cold though. I'll admit the view was better than the Sears Tower. I've resisted comparing NYC to Chicago (my favorite big city) so far here. It's easy to do because Chicago is often called the Midwest's NYC. Chicago's Michigan Ave to NYC's 5th and Madison Ave. Sears Tower to Empire State. Etc... I'll go out on the limb and say I prefer Chicago. The people are nicer, the pizza is better, and I always root for the Cubs. *smiles*
- WTC and Ground Zero. At first I wasn't sure I wanted to go there. I still can't put into words how I feel about 9/11. For those who don't know, Kyle was born that day. We were at the hospital at 8 that morning, Greg flipped the Today show on at 8:30, just minutes before the first plane hit. And then we watched the events the entire day (Kyle was born at 7pm). I guess the hardest part for me was when the buildings fell and I realized that I had just watched over a thousand people die in seconds. How does one describe that feeling?
The site was very peaceful when we were there. Of course it's 2 1/2 years later. What surprised and amazed me is that there's a little chapel and old graveyard beside it. That this little church (built in 1766) has survived so long and in the face of such a tragedy gives me hope. Maybe I'll try to express my feelings and thoughts about 9/11 another day.
- Central Park wasn't exactly what I expected but then again it's still winter for all gardening purposes so the park wasn't at its best. Plus like I said I'm from the Midwest, a field of grass and some trees aren't that impressive to me. We had brunch at the Tavern on the Green there in Central Park. The food was decent and the restaurant was something to see although the fact that it used to be a sheep barn was a little weird.
- I had to see St. Patrick's Cathedral. As I tried to explain (badly) to LostInNY, it's some weird need for Catholics to visit very big and fancy and old churches. Very cool though.
- Public Transportation (ha!) Okay I've been on the subway/trains of DC so no real surprises. We did see a couple of um, poets and people looking for money but it seems if you keep your eyes averted, they don't bother you. Plus remember, we stayed on Manhattan island so I'm sure we missed most of the interesting characters out there. It was fun ease dropping on other people's conversations although only the non-English speakers seemed to talk (other than above mentioned "poets") so I really didn't hear anything exciting. Taxi drivers were as crazy as I expected although the NYC blocks are shorter so there wasn't the same race that Chicago taxi cab drivers do to hit 60mph before slamming on the breaks at the next light. Merging was insane though. Geez, just pick a lane and stay there! lol
- For staying on Park Avenue right in the middle of the shopping district, we didn't do any shopping at all. I did browse Saks Fifth Ave and found an awesome pair of Jimmy Choo shoes for $435 (which I did not buy). We walked/rode past some other big names places (FAO Schwarz, Tiffany's) but I never did see Macy's.
- Things we missed: the Statue of Liberty (did see from a distance from the Empire State building and the plane ride out of the city), all the museums (we weren't in a museum visiting mood and the Metropolitan Museum of Art was closed on Monday, the only day we thought about going there), Little Italy, Chinatown, SoHo and anything off of Manhattan island including the Bronx Zoo, Coney Island, etc. New York is a big place! Plus we have to save something for our next trip there. *smiles*
So there you go, my vacation. I missed the kids very much. As Greg can tell you, I fondly cooed over all babies and toddlers (well, the ones that weren't screaming). Now I can get back to my normal boring blog with laundry and broken garbage disposals and temper tantrums. hehe
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