The Big Apple

Like I mentioned in the last post, we spent spring break on lots of airplanes.   We flew with the girls to Georgia and spent a couple of days in LaGrange with Mimi and Poppy and Shoo Shoo.   Then Peter and I headed back to the airport to fly to New York City for a few days while the girls stayed behind at Mimi and Poppy's.   We had the absolute best time.   Neither of us had spent any significant time in New York, so we were really excited to explore it together, just the two of us.   Here are the highlights......

We ended up taking a super early flight on Monday morning because our original flight was already delayed Sunday night.   This worked out great because we were in the city and had dropped off our bags at the hotel in time for lunch.   We stayed in the financial district, next to Battery Park.   Freedom tower was just across the street.   

We headed over to the fanciest food court I'd ever seen to join all the Wall Street folks for lunch in the sunshine.  

Then we strolled along the Hudson through Battery Park.   It's hard to see, but the Statue of Liberty is behind Peter.

And that is Jersey City or Hoboken.   Not sure which, but it was a cool view.  

We took lots of selfies with the big city buildings.   That's Freedom tower in the background.  

We had perfect weather which made us both fall in love with the city.   We also ackowledged that it wouldn't be nearly as magical when the temperature is 95 degrees or when it is 20 degrees with dirty snow and ice everywhere.   

Monday night we had reservations at this little French restaurant in the West Village.   Beforehand we had cocktails on the tiny back patio of a spanish restaurant, but I forgot to take any pictures.  

After an amazing dinner, we headed over to hear some music at a little place called  "The Bitter End."   Lots of famous people have performed there but we weren't so lucky and ended up hearing a rock and roll band with a lead singer named Val who was most definitely at the bitter end of her career.    We will always be able to laugh about that performance though.    

We decided to walk home instead of taking a taxi or the subway because the night was so beautiful.   Since it was a Monday, everything was pretty quiet and there was a full moon.   

And we couldn't get lost because all we had to do was keep heading toward Freedom Tower.  

Tuesday morning we slept in and had breakfast before checking out a couple of the city bikes to use for the day.   This was the best decision because the weather was so nice, we didn't want to spend anytime in the subway.   

For most of our rides, we were on this riverside bike path which was lovely.   But once we turned into the city traffic, we definitely had to up our concentration game.   Potholes, buses, garbage trucks, other cyclists, pedestrians, skateboarders, and a myriad of other obstacles were constantly popping up in our way like a video game.   But we survived and it was a great way to really experience the city with all of your senses.   

Our first stop of the day was the Empire State Building.   It has been a dream of mine for years to go to the top so we were pumped.   Until we saw the line.   And then we were a little less excited.   But then we saw Doogie Howser and his family and that made the line waiting more fun.   And right after we took this picture, we thought our 20 minute wait outside was the end of the line and we would be heading up on the next elevator.   Until we rounded the corner and saw another enormous snaking line.   Peter luckily went over to an attendant and asked about the wait.   She told us it was at least two hours and that there were lines to come down from the top too.   But then she said the magical words, "Or you can buy a VIP pass and skip every single line."   All of you who know Peter Mallory know that he whipped out his credit card before the attendant had even finished her sentence.   

And two minutes later, we were on the 80th floor looking at this.   

And this.   

And then one minute after that, we were on the 86th floor looking at this.  

Skipping lines make us so happy.   

The views were just as amazing as they are on the movies.   

It was so fun checking off this bucket list item with this guy.   

From the outside.  

After the empire state building, we left our bikes parked and walked to Times Square.   

It too, was exactly like in the movies.......super loud, crowded, and a total sensory over-load.   

We kept walking toward central park and passed Radio City Music Hall and some of the television networks.  

Until we finally hit Central Park for a much needed rest from the crowds.    We spent the rest of the afternoon riding our bikes to Chelsea and having delicious pizza and beer.   Then we rode back to the hotel to rest and shower before our evening out.  

We had tickets to the musical, "Come From Away" and it did not disappoint.   It tells the true story of a little town in Newfoundland that hosted over 30 diverted planes during the 9/11 attacks.   The story was so uplifting and the music was phenomenal.   

In the lobby they had this big board where you could place a pin representing where you came from.  

Of course, we registered for the Hamilton lottery every day we were in the city.   Big shocker:   We didn't win.   But Come From Away was also  great way to experience Broadway.  

Wednesday we slept in (sleeping past 8 am for two days in a row was something I haven't done since Sarah Avery was born.  It was glorious!!!).   And then we headed over to check out the 9/11 memorial.   I don't know what I was expecting exactly, but I found it to be so haunting and so beautiful and so incredibly precise in its representation of the tragedy.     The names of the victims, the immensity of the pools, the inward motion of the water that so accurately mirrors the falling of the towers.......it was all so much more emotional that I expected it to be.   I found it to be a lovely tribute.   

Apparently people place flowers on the victims names on their birthdays.  The sadness is palpable.  

After the memorial, we headed to Wall Street.   Here is the New York Stock Exchange. 

After strolling through the financial district, we took the subway to the Upper East Side.   Central Park up here was so much more spacious and peaceful than it was in midtown.   We walked around for a little while and checked out the fancy buildings.  

Then we followed all the men in hard hats into this little deli Peter had discovered for lunch.   It was tiny and busy and hurried and delicious.   We loved it so much, I'm going to post this very unflattering picture of me because it is the only one we have and we don't want to forget our magical little lunch that we had here.  

After lunch it started raining so we decided on a whim to see a movie.   It is something we never do at home and it was fun.  Although the movie we saw, Life, was pretty gruesome and I would not recommend it.   After the movie the sun came back out so we decided to walk towards our hotel on the high line.   The high line is a pretty new walkway that was created on top of the old above ground train tracks.   It is at least a mile long and since it is a couple of stories above the sidewalk, it is a great way to see the city without having to deal with the busy streets.

We loved this walk.  

After our walk, we came home to our hotel for a rest before dinner.   We were super lucky and received an upgrade so we had a suite with this Hudson River view.   

That night we stayed in the financial district and hit up a gastropub for dinner.   That little bulldog was named Clementine and she was our dining companion.   

We strolled back to our hotel through the Battery Park and soaked in all the city lights one last time.  

This was the nighttime view from our hotel room.    Then it was off to bed for an early morning flight back to reality.   

Meanwhile, back in Georgia, Mimi and Poppy and Shoo Shoo made sure that the girls had a great time.

Shoo Shoo had lots of Easter Eggs so the girls had several indoor and outdoor hunts.  

Susannah was the hero and made sure Sarah Avery felt safe and comfortable the whole time we were away.  

The girls spent one afternoon with their cousins.    

Thank you Aunt Margaret!

They had a ball with Margaret, Emma, Andrew and Preston.   Thank you guys so much for showing them such a good time!

Mimi and Poppy did the majority of the entertaining though.   And they did an amazing job.   I think the highlight was the butterfly center at Callaway Gardens.   

When we saw the girls, the first thing Susannah told me was that a butterfly had landed on her head.  ;)

And Poppy had more fun that he seems to be having in this picture.  ;)

The girls were so excited about the binoculars they got to buy at the gift shop.   Mimi braided Susannah's hair every morning too.   It looked adorable, but I still can't figure out how to do it.  :)  

And that was spring break 2017.    Thank you Mimi and Poppy, for making it possible!   We all four made memories to last a lifetime!