NYC on foot...

Last weekend I took the bus to NYC and met up with two of my sisters and my mom (who flew in from Michigan, Wisconsin, and Arizona). My sister Stephanie had a conference there and we all took advantage of her hotel, the Marriott Marquis in Times Square...thanks Steph! Everyone else had flight delays on Friday so I was the first to arrive. After checking into the hotel, I wandered over to the Museum of Modern Art and joined the crowds for the free friday evenings. The next three days were spent walking, and walking, and walking. But how else do you see and hear and smell the city? I'm surprised I didn't walk the baby right out of me. We went to the Met and had a hard time finding our way out of the Egyptian art. We checked out the crazy Cai Guo-Qiang exhibit at the Guggenheim. We walked from nearly one end of Central Park to the other. We saw a fabulous brand new production on Broadway of Macbeth, with Patrick Stewart. Intense and creepy and bloody and dark. Awesome. We had brunch one day at a great little cafe in Greenwich Village and then walked through Soho, Chinatown and Little Italy. Erin and I liked how the Chinatown in nyc really reminded us of China, especially the smells (love that old cabbage and fish smell) and crowds. We stopped into the New Museum, which is a very interesting building. We took a break to enjoy our cupcakes (from Magnolia's) and pastries and watch a soccer game at Columbus Park, with some lovely Chinese music in the background. Then we made our way to Brooklyn and ate the most delicious pizza at Grimaldi's Pizzeria, which is under the Brooklyn Bridge. We decided we hadn't walked enough, so we took an evening stroll across the Brooklyn Bridge, which was an amazing view of the city at night. On our last day, we went to Rockefeller Center and went up to the "Top of the Rock" for a great view of the city, although a bit windy and cold. We also went to St. Patrick's Cathedral and the NY Public Library and Grand Central Station and then enjoyed some Thai food. Hooray for New York! But I must say it was nice to come home to the quiet streets of D.C.


The view from our hotel room.


Top of the Rock.


Brooklyn Bridge