Tuesday, March 5, 2013

A Very Long and Picture Filled Post

John & I have returned from a long weekend in NYC.  I must say that I am amazed at how much I enjoyed myself, even taking into account my sore feet & back that are probably going to  be with me for a while now after literally walking miles hither & yon in the city each day.  Honestly, while we were there we caught a TV interview with a 102-year-old man who was in better shape than I was!  Much better shape!  The last full day after walking a total of about 6 miles ... not really a lot when you think about it ... John hailed a cab to take us back to our hotel & I literally had to hold onto my pant leg & pull up on it in order to lift my leg/foot to crawl into the cab!  Pathetic!

John has been wanting to visit NYC for as long as I can remember so this trip was really for him.  I was not looking forward to it very much.  I imagined that the city would be dirty, that we would be taking our lives in our hands whenever we left the presumed safety of the hotel, & that all the people would be rude.  It was totally the opposite. The city was clean, I felt safe shuffling along the streets with my big purse hanging over my shoulder, & the New Yorkers couldn't have been more friendly!  It was delightful!

NYC is gigantic!  I knew it was a big city, but it was bigger than I could've imagined.  We would have to make several more trips there in order to see everything there is to see. We had great weather.  Cold, but rain free.  It even snowed a few flakes on Sunday!

On Thursday morning we flew to Baltimore, took the Amtrak train to Penn Station, & then walked to our hotel which was located in Times Square.  Our room was very nice.  We had a lovely view of 8th Avenue from one window & a likewise lovely view of the Hudson River & New Jersey from the other window.  

On Friday morning we visited an aircraft carrier, the Intrepid.  I was really excited about this for several reasons, not the least of which being that my brother served on the Intrepid when he was in the Navy during 1959-1961.  As we walked around the carrier I thought about how my brother had lived there & had walked in the same places where I was walking.  It felt kind of weird being there & thinking about how he had been there so many years ago & who ever thought that one day I'd be there as well.  



We were surprised to find that our hotel was located just about a block away from the famous Actor's Studio.  John, who loves old movies & movie stars, was very thrilled about this.  It was sadly a little ratty looking which is a real shame.  I don't know if it's still an actor's studio but if not they should give it a nice makeover & make it into an actor's museum of some sort.  
We then walked to the upper west side seeing many sights along the way.  I should be embarrassed to admit this but my goal was to visit one particular Food Emporium where they supposedly sold Laderach chocolate bark imported from Switzerland. This is the best chocolate I have ever had in my life.  Unfortunately I did not realize that there is an upper west side & an upper east side & so we were on the totally opposite side of Central Park than we should have been.  No big deal though ... we saw a lot of nice sights & landmarks along the way & experienced our first NYC cab ride for which my feet & back were very grateful!

On Saturday we visited Rockerfeller Center, St. Patrick Cathedral (lots of construction going on there), FAO Schwartz (I was so ticked seeing the large stuffed Peeps!), & we found the correct Food Emporium which sadly no longer carried the bark   : (   We also went to a yarn shop called Strings.



The owner & sales clerk at Strings were very nice but I did not buy any yarn there.  We then walked through Central Park over to the Dakota. 

Our last stop of the day was another knitting shop, Knitty City.  This was by far the best knitting shop in the city!  I bought some nice yarns which I will show you in another post   : )  
We hailed a cab to take us to an Irish pub which had delicious fish & chips! 
On Saturday we decided to walk south.  We visited Grand Central Station, the Empire State Building, the famous Macy's, & then walked/shuffled far south to a tea shop, a CD store, & then to Purl Soho ... another knitting shop.  Yes, that's another bag of yarn loot you see me holding there   : )  



On Sunday night we saw a Broadway musical.  To be more precise, it was the opening night for the previews.  I really don't know what the difference is between opening night & opening night for previews, but the show, Kinky Boots, was fantastic.  

I tried taking a few photos from our windows that night.  In no way do they capture the real thing, but here they are anyway.   



We really had a wonderful time & it was good to get away from the devil's playground for a while   : )   We are looking forward to returning again one day.  

26 comments:

pam said...

You very brave soul. Looks like a good time was had by all! Can never go wrong with more stash!

Simply Victoria said...

Looks like a wonderful trip! Thanks for sharing it with us. I've never been to NYC but a friend was just there last week and walked her feet off too.

Kendra said...

Looks like you two had a wonderful trip!

Thanks for sharing the great pix!

Kendra

Deborah said...

Looks like you had a great time in the city. I love New York City. Every time I go I see things that i haven't seen before.

jennifer768 said...

Wow!You sure are braver than I am my friend.It looks like a fantastic trip and I so enjoyed the pics.Glad that you had a great trip and made it safely home.Hugs,Jen

marly said...

Holy crap the Intrepid and cathedral are enormous. Looks like everything is bigger there! Maybe a whole week next time?

TheCrankyCrow said...

Well, well, well...looks who's living the life of the rich and famous!! December was San Francisco, February is NYC....what will April bring??? Yikes....Can't remember when I was out of town (going to the Emerald City for Little Crow's surgery and follow up appointments DOES NOT COUNT!!) - let alone out of state. Truly - it's been YEARS since we have been able to take a holiday of any sort....at least 8 or 9??? You are a lucky one my friend. (Ya know, that teaching position in Hong Kong is sounding more enticing....)

Did a little catching up here (forgive my wayward absences??? things have been a bit bumpy....) Sounds like all sorts of misery with your second root canal infection too....but, healed by now??? Did you get to the dentist to do what they needed doing - or will you need a new root canal altogether??? And the very bad thing is being properly tamed and channeled by a competent???

Have you finished that noose yet? Think you might have actually found something very, very, marketable.... ;o)

Hugs my friend ~ Robin

Krista said...

Looks like you had a whirlwind tour of the Big Apple and saw lots of it's great sites! Glad you had such a great time!

Siobhán said...

I'm so glad that you had such a fantastic time! I loved seeing the photos. My dad was from NYC, born & bred, and he'd often drive us up for a day trip. I loved it--the NYC driving--not so much, even though I did it once or twice myself. Knitty City--I must tell my knitting crazed DD about that shop!

cucki said...

Looks like you two had a wonderful trip!
Thanks for sharing the sweet pictures x

Chris said...

Looks like an amazing trip!! I am going to try and get Rich to do a trip like this soon!

Lisa said...

Wow you took great pictures. I live here in NY and your pictures are better than any I ever took. I also think you did more here than I ever did. Glad you had a great time here. New Yorkers get a bad rap but truth is we are all pretty nice.

Vickie said...

Hooray! You two had fun. =) I am so glad.

Mii Stitch said...

Wow, I am so so envious!! Your pic are great & I can't wait to see your little purchases ☺

Trace4J said...

What a wonderful trip friend.
So many wonderful places. Beautiful photos.
I can't wait to see the yarn.
Woolie hugs
Trace

Love the new header..lol :)

Peggy Lee said...

I never had the desire to visit NYC but now I think I've changed my mind. Beautiful pictures!
Love those peeps. So funny.
Sounds like you got a LOT of walking in.

Vicki said...

I enjoyed all of your photos, looks like you guys had a fantastic time in NYC. I've never been, but I've always wanted to go. Thanks for sharing so many photos and taking us along on your adventure!

bettyj said...

my girls were in NYC this past weekend too. They went with my sister in law and my niece. They saw 4 broadway plays, have no idea what they saw, but they had a wonderful time too. This was Amanda's first trip. The rest have been several times.It is on my bucket list. I bet the time on the Intrepid was spellbinding.

butterfly said...

Looks like you had a real good fun time.
It is good to get away , also good to get home , hugs.

Carol said...

What a great trip, Shirlee!! I love a city vacation because of all the walking--you never gain weight on those kind of vacations :) I'm glad you were able to get away for a little R&R--you deserve it after the past few months...

Melody said...

Looks like you had a great trip!

It's good that you found some knitting shops. Did you look for any cross stitch shops?

Pam in IL said...

Looks like you had a wonderful trip! I'd love to visit NYC and see the sights. Thanks for sharing.

Kaisievic said...

Oh, how TraderVic and I loved NYC. I am so envious! What a great time you had. Thanks for sharing with us all.

Catherine said...

What a fun trip!! Thanks for sharing!

Sally said...

Fantastic photos Shirlee. So glad you had a great time.

Anne said...

Lucky gal! You got to go to New York!!!! I'm so jealous! It looks like you two had a splendid time and who wouldn't?!! Lovely photos of you two!!