Friday in the city

This is part of view from our room. 

Breakfast was New York bagel (everything bagel with schmear) at Zuckers. Yum. 

So this pic is super not flattering but so worth posting because Minnie Mouse came out of nowhere to pose. There were tons of characters out in front of the Good Morning America studio. Taping had just finished, so we thought they were somehow related to the show. Uh no. As they approached, we realized these were B rated characters in knock of costumes, posing for pictures do panhandle. I smiled with "Minnie", and then "Mickey" came out of nowhere and in a creepy baby talk Asian accent kept saying, "ok I love you I love you! Day cheese in the middle for you! I love you! as he pushed me between them. Kasey lol'd and took another picture and I squirmed out of their gross hands. We leave and Minnie's sweet "I love you" turns into a deep angry, "hey lady!" I turned around and she throws her Minnie head off and shouts, "we work for tips!" And holds out her hand. I swear I was on an episode of Arrested Development and Tobias and Dupree are going to arrive in their b team costumes. 

We hit radio city music hall, Rockefeller center and Broadway Ave.

We took the train southward and hopped on the Staten Island ferry. 

Quincy's one and only request when I left town was that I "take a picture of Lady Liberty." You got it, Q!  The ferry was awesome. It was a beautiful, clear sky, and we had lovely views of the ny skyline,  statue, Ellis island, and Brooklyn bridge, all for free! 

Photos find do this one justice. It's really a magnificent structure. 

After the ferry we went over to the financial district to see the 9/11 memorial and the new One World Trade Center. I expected this to be full of anger and frustration, or somber and saddening. It was a place of healing. The memorial is well designed and so beautiful. We sat in the shade to rest awhile and took it all in.  It may just be because I am pregnant and we had just been on a stifling hot and crowded subway, and had already walked several miles that day, but I noticed that this is the first of all the touristy places we've been that had a lot of space designated to just sitting.  I think that's one way it feels so different than the other spots. No one ever stops going in Manhattan, but here at the memorial, there is room for stillness, reflection, rest, and recovery.  This wasn't on my original "must do" list and now I am so glad we stopped. Well done, New York. 

Kasey and I got pretty good at reading subway maps and getting where we needed to go the most efficient way. That's what happens when two type A besties vacation together. Greatness! 

One story from today was when we got on a super crowded, humid, dirty (given), 100 degree train. Like, smell your neighbors armpit because it's in your face crowded. A college aged kid looked at my belly and said, "here man, want to sit down?" And a wall street dude totally jumped inbetween us and stole the seat. 

We all looked at each other like, seriously guy? Yep that just happened. 

Leave it to a guy in an armed forces uniform to call mr Wall Street out and offer up his seat to the sweaty pregnant lady.  Mr Wall Street never moved, until a mother and her exhausted 3 year old and an old woman boarded. I asked them, "would you like to sit down?" And then gestured to me Wall Street to get up. He did, grudgingly.  Dude, for grandma? For a little boy? So far, New Yorkers are extreme: incredibly kind and generous, or so rude it's shocking. 

Lunch was amaaaazing! Artichoke pizza to die for. 

Final stop, the main terminal at Grand Central Station. The energy in this space was an amazing experience. Everyone had somewhere they need to be and is in a hurry to get there. It was SO busy, and everyone inside differs SO much from one another other than their one common goal to get somewhere. People were rude, but other people were also very kind to one another. There was good hope for humanity in the main terminal at Grand Central Station. 

Dinner at Max Brenners in the next post...