The Raddisson Lexington, where we stayed, a few blocks from the Chrysler building in Midtown Manhattan.
The hotel lobby
Our tiny room (this was the first of 2 rooms we stayed in there, and the second one was bigger, but it's a long story)...
On Friday night, we headed to Lombardi's Pizza in Soho, the oldest Pizzaria in New York (opened 1905). Don't know that I'd ever had coal oven pizza before. It was delicious.
After dinner we headed over to Times Square. Take note of the photo bar at the top of the blog. Those are separate photos that Jim took while in Times Square and then used Photoshop to create a panorama. Pretty cool, huh?
Here's a quick video panorama as well...
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Saturday was the big day! Although the weather prediction was for rain (as seen here), it ended up being nice all day with not one raindrop, so we lucked out...
After hitting up the in-hotel Starbucks, we met our guide in the lobby and headed out on our private tour through Real New York Tours. Although it ended up being pretty history-based, we still saw some interesting stuff. Here's George Washington in front of Federal Hall (once the Capitol building).
The N.Y.S.E...
Front view of the Stock Exchange...
This was our first visit to Ground Zero which right now is pretty much a construction site. This is the new Freedom Tower going up. We were able to visit the Memorial Preview Site where they had models of what the area will look like when completed
One more shot of the Freedom Tower going up...
At Washington Square Park (you can see the Empire State Building through the arch)...
All ready to go out to dinner at the River Cafe in Brooklyn...
My Brooklyn Bridge dessert complete with candle and Happy Birthday plaque (made from chocolate of course)... No, they did not sing, thank goodness.
At our table... I really loved this place.
Outside the restaurant... It was so cute.
After dinner, enjoying the view from outside the restaurant...
After dinner, we walked back to Manhattan across the Brooklyn Bridge, which was something everyone should experience once in their life. I wanted to go for a celebratory beverage, so we got changed and headed over to Rockefeller Center and went to the 'Rink Bar' which as you can guess, is set up where the ice skating rink is in the winter. We each had one delicious but very expensive drink. Ask me about this!
30 Rock...
From Rockefeller Center, we hopped over to Radio City for a few minutes...
What a great Birthday! On Sunday morning, we hopped on the Subway (we did a LOT of subway riding- practically pros now) and made the hour long trip out to Coney Island. First stop, Nathan's, an institution in the world of Hot Dogs (home to the annual National Hot Dog Eating Contest on July 4th).
Next stop, Luna Park on the Boardwalk, as we made our way to the Cyclone. Love this shot...
Looking at the beach from the Boarwalk. Was surprised to see a "real" beach in NYC.
The famous Cyclone, a Roller Coaster mecca...
Waiting in line...
If you've never ridden this, I can't quite explain it. I was expecting it to be tame, but it was not at all. The drops were fast and steep and the whole thing was much more intense than the Thunderbolt at Kennywood (my gold standard in wooden coasters). I still like the Thunderbolt better, but this is certainly an interesting ride...
After we got back from Coney Island, we headed to Toy Tokyo in the East Village so Jim could check out their Robot selection. He found a tin friend to bring home. Next stop was the Mac Store on 5th Avenue. You can hardly see it, right? This huge glass box is all that sits above ground, with the actual store under the street.
We had some time to kill so we strolled around a bit and stumbled across a Bastille Day Festival with lots of yummy french food vendors.
Next stop, Luna Park on the Boardwalk, as we made our way to the Cyclone. Love this shot...
Looking at the beach from the Boarwalk. Was surprised to see a "real" beach in NYC.
The famous Cyclone, a Roller Coaster mecca...
Waiting in line...
If you've never ridden this, I can't quite explain it. I was expecting it to be tame, but it was not at all. The drops were fast and steep and the whole thing was much more intense than the Thunderbolt at Kennywood (my gold standard in wooden coasters). I still like the Thunderbolt better, but this is certainly an interesting ride...
After we got back from Coney Island, we headed to Toy Tokyo in the East Village so Jim could check out their Robot selection. He found a tin friend to bring home. Next stop was the Mac Store on 5th Avenue. You can hardly see it, right? This huge glass box is all that sits above ground, with the actual store under the street.
We had some time to kill so we strolled around a bit and stumbled across a Bastille Day Festival with lots of yummy french food vendors.Here's Jim enjoying a crepe...
I couldn't pass up a strawberry tart from Payard. Too delicious...
Next on the agenda was Circle Line Harbor Lights Cruise, so we headed down to the piers...
Now this was a cool looking boat...
With the tour leaving dock at 7pm we had great sunset lighting for some nice shots...
Love how this one has a red, white and blue sky...
This one's the Manhattan Bridge...
After the cruise, I insisted we visit Juniors in Time's Square for a piece of their famous cheesecake...
Next on the agenda was Circle Line Harbor Lights Cruise, so we headed down to the piers...
The boat was nothing fancy but the tour was great...
Now this was a cool looking boat...With the tour leaving dock at 7pm we had great sunset lighting for some nice shots...
Love how this one has a red, white and blue sky...
Of course, the Brooklyn Bridge...
At the bottom and to the right of the bridge, you can see the back of the River Cafe where we had dinner on Saturday (it's actually on a barge)
This one's the Manhattan Bridge...
After the cruise, I insisted we visit Juniors in Time's Square for a piece of their famous cheesecake...So worth it - a great way to end the day...
On Monday morning, we rode the Subway to Herald Square for a stroll through Macy's... This Macy's had no less than four, yes four Starbucks INSIDE the store. Can you believe it?
Love those wooden escalators...
Next on Jim's agenda was a stop at a great guitar shop, so we headed to Rudy's in Time's Square and it did not disappoint. They had a large selection for being a fairly small place. They also had some vintage guitars on display that were for sale. If only we had $29,000, we could have brought one home! :)
One more pass by Rockefeller Center on our way to the next destination...
Which was Central Park. Here's the whimsical Alice in Wonderland Statue...
Miniature sailboats on the pond...
Taking a break...
We wandered through Shakespeare Garden...
It's strange that it can be so quiet in the park when the city is bustling just beyond it's boundaries...
After enjoying Central Park, it was on to the subway and then the bus to head back to the airport. It was sad to leave but our legs had reached their maximum limit on walking for 3 days. I don't think I could think of many better ways to spend celebrating my 30th. Thanks to Jim for putting up with my plan and going along happily with every minute of it!
Love those wooden escalators...
Next on Jim's agenda was a stop at a great guitar shop, so we headed to Rudy's in Time's Square and it did not disappoint. They had a large selection for being a fairly small place. They also had some vintage guitars on display that were for sale. If only we had $29,000, we could have brought one home! :)
One more pass by Rockefeller Center on our way to the next destination...
Which was Central Park. Here's the whimsical Alice in Wonderland Statue...
Miniature sailboats on the pond...
Taking a break...
We wandered through Shakespeare Garden...
It's strange that it can be so quiet in the park when the city is bustling just beyond it's boundaries...
After enjoying Central Park, it was on to the subway and then the bus to head back to the airport. It was sad to leave but our legs had reached their maximum limit on walking for 3 days. I don't think I could think of many better ways to spend celebrating my 30th. Thanks to Jim for putting up with my plan and going along happily with every minute of it!
2 comments:
Wow, you really packed a lot into three days. That subway ride out to Coney Island is enough to put me out of commission for the rest of the day!
That looks like the best birthday ever! Happy Birthday!
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