Thursday Thirteen: Vacation Edition

1. We got a great deal on a hotel room. About 200.00 for three nights at the Sheraton in Stamford, CT. It is less than an hour to NYC on the train.

2. The hotel was very quiet. No kids at all and we had the pool all to ourselves. And, they had a huge hot tub. It was awesome.
3. GRand Central Station is beautiful and so clean. It is very impressive.
4. We walked from Grand Central to the Empire State Bldg. The view from the top are amazing. It wasn’t too crowded and they did search all the bags.

5. From there we walked to Central Park. We stopped at a Cafe and had a slice of pizza for lunch.

6. We got to Central Park and went into FAO Schwartz. The kids loved it there. We had an ice cream in the parlor. A sundae costs minimum 16.00. We all had one scoop. A women next to my dh ordered this giant sundae and literally ate 3 bites and left the rest. Even Dh was surprised at that. It is ultra exclusive around there and we saw so many cars that cost 125-150,000. She doesn’t care if she spends 20 bucks on ice cream. You could just tell she had cash to burn.

7. We did a horse ride in Central Park. It is hard to believe that oasis is in the middle of so many buildings.

8. I almost got run over by a cab. If you are in their way they do not stop.

9. From Central Park we took a cab to the World Trade Center site. There is not much to see. It is all fenced in with photos on the fence. St. Pauls is right across from the WTC and survived intact. A 100 year old tree was leveled and that is what saved the Chapel. This is where all the volunteers were and where the rescue workers came to eat and sleep. They have an amazing memorial inside. It just reduces you to tears….It was overwhelming.

10. From WTC we walked to Battery Park and just missed the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. We then walked and walked and walked to Little Italy. We had an amazing meal at this wonderful Italian restaurant.

11. We took a cab ride back to Grand Central. OMG! This guy was crazy and how we did not get in an accident I don’t know. He was flying and moving and if I was in rush I would have been happy, but I wasn’t. Plus he was talking the whole time on the phone. People talked on phones everywhere all the time.
12. I would never drive in NYC. ANd the people who ride bikes in the city must have a death wish….

13. Lots of security everywhere. We walked by one building and the security guys looked combat ready and mean. We decided not to ask them for directions. You could just tell they were checking you out to see what kind of security risk you might be. It was interesting. We went to NYC when the kids were little and there is definately a different undercurrent in the city now. Which is to be expected, but so sad.

We are home now and getting back to reality……

The purpose of Thursday Thirteen is to meet new friends and spread some comment love. Go over to all things Thirteen to see who is playing.

Technorati