Rockefeller Center
As for my trip to New York City - wow... what a great place! I really think that NYC could be a fun place to live for while (if we didn't have kids). It was really awesome to see my sister, Liz. I had just seen her for when she came here for the state fair (did I forget to post about that?) but this was the first time I've been on her turf in a while. She has a great apartment with a great workout plan included - it is a 5th floor walk-up! On street level around her apartment are some interesting shops and restaurants - a miniature dog store, several ethnic restaurants (German, Greek, East Indian), and I'm sure more that I just didn't see because, frankly, my senses were a little overwhelmed the whole time I was there. The first day I walked around in sensory overload! Truly! I was almost numb....
I told Liz when I got there that my trip was more about seeing her than trying to take in the touristy spots. I think we did a good job of balancing the trip. I loved spending the whole time with her and seeing her life as it is now, but we did get around to see a bunch of fun things! And, man, did we walk!! We walked everywhere! Miles and miles. But it felt wonderful. The weather was a little on the chilly side, but a jean jacket (and, of course, a new scarf) made it perfect.
The first two days of my trip were sunny and beautiful! I was amazed at the life that NYC held! The day I flew in, we had reservations to be in the audience of the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show. I love his show. I think it is hilarious. (you can see Liz and I in this clip - Let's spin that wheel of carpet samples!) It seemed a little less finished in person but when we watched it later, it seemed somehow that all the rough edges had been sanded off.... amazing TV work! Since the show is taped in Rockefeller Center we walked around that and, to tell you the truth, I know we saw Grand Central Station and Time Square but the order in which we saw them is a blur.... I was just a bit overwhelmed. So much so that I think Liz was a little concerned for my safety around zigzagging taxis.
Here's my offering to the chocolate lovers out there!
The second day (after a wonderful experience of my body waking up naturally!) was fun-filled too! Central Park, a Broadway show, the NYC Library, a New York slice, rice pudding at the hippest little shop I've ever seen, Canal Street, Chinatown, and Top of the Rock... whew! It was a busy day! Central Park was better than I would have ever imagined. Amazing what they can do in the middle of Manhattan! We took a long walk through and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
After the park, we went a Broadway show, Hair. I'm not sure what I expected, but I was a little flabbergasted. It was pretty risque, but I also enjoyed it. I enjoyed the energy and the music. I also enjoyed the story. It was first released on Broadway in 1967 and I'm pretty sure that it was anti-war propaganda during Vietnam. It was almost like it was a snapshot of American history in that way. I found that very interesting!
I think Liz thought I was a little crazy, but I requested a visit to the NYC library. We walked through it a little and I was amazed by the grandeur of the place. I probably could have stayed a lot longer but, alas, the city was calling. And I had to take this picture! Quintessential NY, right? Chess in the park!
Chess in the park right outside of the NYC Library.
Next, we decided to head down to Canal Street and Chinatown. We hit this awesome, unique rice pudding shop on the way! Yum! And whoever does your marketing, Rice To Riches, BRAVO!!! Their pudding even came with a reusable bowl and spoon! FYI - They take online orders and if you want delicious rice pudding, this is IT!
After rice pudding, we headed to Canal Street and Chinatown for the experience and for goodies of the food and souvenir kind. And I wanted to pick up some fresh fish to pan fry once we got home but Liz said she wasn't walking any closer. I have to admit, it did stink to high-heaven. A couple more scarves, a few steamed pork rolls, and a (too expensive) pendant later, we headed back up to Midtown to go to the....
TOP OF THE ROCK! Now, this was amazing! You can go to the top of the Rockefeller building and get breathtaking views of.... everything! This was my favorite though. Liz and I got there about 10:30pm and we closed them down at midnight. It was drizzly and so we found a relaxing place to lounge inside and just talked, and laughed, and cried too.
Do you see the darker spot in the middle? That is Central Park.
On Sunday morning, Liz and I got up when the alarm went off at 8:30am. (compared to 6am, that's heavenly!) We got in our church clothes and went to the Met. What a great place! I can say that I couldn't focus on much of anything after about the third exhibit, but I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the people watching too! The Egyptian exhibit was one of my favorites for the day.
a Egyptian temple reconstruction
Egyptian model boat and figures found by accident hidden behind a wall in a pyramid - cool!
Bet you're wondering why we put church clothes on to go to the Met. We raced down from the Met to the Brooklyn Tabernacle's 3:30pm gospel service. It wasn't quite what I expected but very fun and worshipful. The Greenes performed and had an awesome testimony about the male lead's road into and through his kidney transplant (donated by his wife!). It was very touching, God-centered, worshipful, full of beautiful music and very humorous too! I'm really glad that we went. It was a great way to meet God during the weekend. After about 2 hours, church was let out and and we decided to head back to the apartment to change, run out for an Indian dinner (that was delicious!) and relax for the evening. Whew! What a great weekend!
On Monday, Liz saw me off at the subway station and I made my way back to the airport. It was a little bit of a close call catching my plane because I got held up at security (the line was LONG and not very organized!). But I got on and everything worked out. Inspired, I took MetroTransit home from the airport too and was home just in time to meet Madelyn getting off her school bus. Home Sweet Home.
Thanks, Liz, for giving up your weekend for me to come visit. It was a blast! Love you.
