Thanksgiving: New York Style (Part 3)

Saturday Morning:

Well, as always, we had grand plans of waking up early and getting a move on into the city.

But seeing as how we went to bed at 6:30am

and I've been fighting a nasty cold for the last month

(Thanks multiple nanny jobs)

We slept in a bit and headed into the city around 1pm.

I'm a big fan of walking.

Like, taking the stairs instead of the escalator, elevator, etc.

so we arrived at Penn Station

and walked approx. 20 blocks north to Central Park.

(we ended up walking about 55 blocks total that day. i win.)

I adore Central Park.

Having majored in City Planning,

I have a soft spot for city parks.

I'm a city girl at heart- always have been,

but I grew up in a small town,

and sometimes I crave the silence only nature can provide.

City parks can give a piece of that.

Central Park.

^ Meet Clementine ^

After Central Park, we met up with the Boy's mom and friend

made a quick stop at St. Patrick's Cathedral 

Then it was off to Chelsea Market.

My personal opinion?

A bit contrived.

It was a neat place, but it felt like the whole space was trying to hard.

Like a hipster wannabe

(and trust me, living in MN I have plenty of experience with hipster wannabes)

We ventured up to the 

The High Line Park

and then down to the Chelsea Piers.

Next stop?

Picking up the Boy's Aunt.

She lives in the Village,

where Friends was filmed

and blocks away from Brooke Shields and Sarah Jessica Parker.

New York is funny like that.

We went Little Italy 

(or what's left of it!)

ate some spectacular dinner

met up with the Boy's Uncle

Grabbed desert and coffee at a small cafe'

and then had a little night cap at a small bar

I also had an intriguing conversation with the Boy's Aunt 

about City youngsters and breaking poverty cycles

When we all got back to the hotel 

(around 1am)

we pretty much went straight to bed.

Exhaustion and our hangovers had got the best of us. 

 The above building was designed by the same architect that designed the

Weisman Art Center on the U of MN campus.

Guess who??

Sunday Morning: 

We actually woke up at a decent time!

And jumped on the LIRR,

navigated the subway system into Brooklyn

and then walked back into Manhattan via the 

Brooklyn Bridge.

It was glorious.

After the Brooklyn Bridge,
we walked to the site of the new Trade Tower,
which you can see being constructed in the picture above!
I was hoping the Memorial Site would be finished
but it was not.

So instead we made a quick stop at Saint Paul's church:
The oldest public structure in NYC in continuous use
and also where people started many spontaneous memorials after 9/11.
It was moving to see notes, pictures, posters, etc
from those who has lost loved ones and those sharing their sympathies.

The boy desperately wanted to check out Chinatown,
so we walked (have I mentioned how much I love walking?)
north to Chinatown and stopped in a small deli to get a sandwhich.
We didn't have much time before we had to hop on the subway back to Penn Station to catch our train
But, we did find some neat little streets.

Sadly, Chinatown was our last adventure in NYC.
We boarded the LIRR back to Queens and drove to the airport to catch our flight.
As we flew over the sparkling city lights,
I silently vowed that I would be back sooner rather than later.
And with my mother this time,
as she has never been in her 53 years of life.
She and I are so much alike,
and I know she would adore the city [almost] as much as I do.

The boy and I received an open invite from his Aunt,
to come and stay with her whenever we wanted.
 I warned her to be careful what she said,
because I have every intention of taking her up on the offer.


Beautiful NYC,
I will see you soon.