New York- Rainy Wednesday, part 1

Wednesday started out drizzly...but not too cold...so we made our way down to Chelsea to go to the Doughnut Plant.  I saw this place on Food Network's "The best thing I ever ate" like two years ago and have been telling Lauren to go try this peanut butter and jelly doughnut.... so she brought us there!  And yes, it was worth the wait...homemade blackberry jam infused in a fresh yeast doughnut topped with a homemade peanut butter glaze...mmmmmmmmm....

Then we made our way down to battery park to see Lady Liberty...which was awesome...

Then we made our way down to the financial district, got to cross Wall Street....

We were headed that way to see the 9/11 memorial site... it was very peaceful, and it was a really beautiful memorial.  The most amazing thing to me was just to be there on those same streets that survivors were running down that day, to be on those same streets that were covered in dust and debris from the fallen buildings, and to understand how close together those buildings are...I have a better understanding for what that day was like there.  I will always remember how that day felt for me, but I have a different understanding for what it was like for those there.

The water poured out in lines similar to the lines the aluminum made on the twin towers, only these went downward into another pool, which poured out into another pool for which there was no bottom...as if down to infinity...

There were new buildings under construction just outside the memorial...

The rain almost made the memorial more beautiful that day...

New York, the Second Day

So on our second day in New York, we got up and had coffee with Nick and then made our way to Chinatown...this photo of the Starbucks was really the only Chinese looking building...

 the parking in the city was amazing...here they had the cars stacked 4 high!

 Lauren took us to an amazing deli for lunch, Katz's...this is a picture of Lauren's rueben....we wouldn't have had to eat for the rest of the day except that Lauren had us walk about 7 miles, so we could eat dinner...

 this is an archway in Washington Park...it's seen in  a lot of New York set TV shows...

 the mosaic work in the subways were so pretty....

 and of course we had to go to Macy's!

 this was one of the decorated windows....

and this is the fashion district....

Then that evening we ordered Indian food in at Lauren's apartment and then took the subway to the Target in Queens, which I didn't bring my camera to, so I'll have to see if I can swipe some from Sarah...

Astoria, New York

Before I start in on our 2nd day in New York, I thought I would show Astoria, or more specifically, Lauren's neighborhood. This first picture is of the front door to Lauren & Nick's apartment...

The view looking east-ish down the street


The view heading West-ish... in strange case of foreshadowing, the girl in the distance is carrying the exact umbrella that Sarah will purchase later in the day, as the one she is currently holding will eventually leak on her head... maybe that is what she is gazing at...



Beautiful church at the corner...


A view of the street as you round the block


Around the block the other way...you can see the grocery store


This cracked me up...not the only one we saw parked like this... hope they have good brakes...


This is 2 blocks away, Steinway St...it has stores, christmas trees, coffee, and street vendors... and also where one of her subway stops is...




These are from another part of her neighborhood... I loved how the stores poured out onto the sidewalk...the produce always looked so pretty and delicious, and there was always fresh flowers... they would even leave bins of bottled water on ice out on the streets. It was a very trustworthy feeling...

And the other subway stop near her house (she lives halfway between two)... it was neat because it was above ground...

New York, New York!

Inspired. That's how I feel right now. I am 3 days out from my first ever visit to New York and I miss it already. I look at my photos (all 700 of them) and feel like I'm reminiscing with an old friend. New York welcomed me with open arms, and breathed it's life into me.
Before we even landed, I was in awe of the city. As our plane descended and broke through the clouds, we were greeted with a view of Manhattan that was breathtaking... we realized as we passed over Times Square what we were looking at. I grabbed my camera in time to capture Central Park below us...



We took a cab to Lauren's apartment, which was everything I dreamed, and then she took us to eat at a place in her neighborhood. The night was still young, so she said we could go see the Rockefeller tree, which would be beautiful at night. This is our first time on the subway (which we ended up riding so many times I can't even count!)
Lauren knew her way around so good it was crazy...I think she planned her subway exits by the shock value we got...the picture below was the first thing I saw as we came out of the subway...it was New York




The night was still kind of hazy, which made the skyscrapers and the lights look amazing...


This was one of the windows of Bergdorf Goodman...they were so incredible in person, these pictures don't so justice, but yes, they were kind of weird....


Some things were just neat because I've seen them on TV or in movies...here's Trump Tower...


One place I wanted to see was St Patrick's Cathedral...and it just happened to be on our way! It was so massive, and yet so small compared to the buildings around it...






One thing Lauren and Sarah would not do is stand outside the Today Show...so I made sure to look through the Today window while we were at Rockefeller Plaza...


The first view of Rockefeller Center was amazing...

and up close with the rink...


The Library...


And we ended the night catching the subway from Grand Central Station.
And that was just the first night...