New York City!

On Tuesday we took the train into New York City.  We left the house at around 8.15 and Keith dropped us off at the station in New Haven.  The train was 90 minutes and it was a time to snooze and just enjoy the relaxation, and of course people watch the commuters.  

We arrived at Grand Central Station at about 10am.  It was smaller than I expected but very spectacular.  We were not the only ones taking photos.

We stepped outside and our first impressions of New York were that it was exactly like you see in the movies, complete with the yellow cabs.

First stop was Starbucks, then off we went for a day of walking.  Jesse was really wanting to visit the Empire State Building so we walked in that direction.  We stopped at the New York Public Library for a photo op.  Unfortunately, it was under renovation so we didn't go inside.  Jesse took this opportunity to take a photo with the Lions.

When we got close to the Empire State Building we were harassed by street hawkers trying to upsell our visit to include some other New York attractions.  We resisted and chose to take the elevator to the 86th floor.  It truly is a beautiful building.  The queues were quite short.  The view from the top was incredible.

Next, we had an errand to run for Holly - we had to find a store on Lexington Avenue.  We wandered along marveling at the buildings until we found our destination - a truly wonderful deli filled with all manner of spices and ingredients - my kind of store.

We had an excellent curry next at an Indian store next door and headed down to sample New York pizza.  I didn't partake of course but Andy said it was very different from any other pizza he had tried.  He said the base was like roti.

We visited the Rockerfeller Centre with the huge Christmas tree and the ice skating in front.  It was very busy here.  Jesse liked the Lego store there very much.

The next stop was to visit the Apple store and Central Park.  We wandered back along Fifth Avenue looking at the Christmas decorations and shop windows.  They were absolutely stunning.  

The Apple store is just a large glass box above ground with a glass elevator going down to the underground store.  Andy (and Jesse) was in heaven.

We didn't stay too long as it was very busy so we wandered across the road to Central Park where we saw more ice skaters and the horse and carriages you see in the movies.

We walked back to Grand Central Station and caught the train back to New Haven.

All in all, it was a fantastic day - it was the day before my birthday but as it was my birthday in NZ we decided that it was the best birthday ever!

On Wednesday we drove back home to Mississauga - stopping at Niagara to show the kids the Christmas lights.  We got home about 9.30pm, very tired but very happy.  Photos are in the gallery.

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