Manhattan

The mosaic at the Museum of Natural History subway stop

Sunday, July 10

Today was more Manhattan.  On our way from the airport, we drove through Queens and what we saw was filled with a sea of apartment houses.  We are in Brooklyn which, at least the area we are staying in, seems a bit grittier.  Today we also saw Greenwich Village which was lovely and the rest of Manhattan that we’ve seen is a typical large city.  The subway system here could use some help.  Thank goodness for people being helpful.  One person said that New Yorkers seem to have the attitude that if you aren’t from here, you shouldn’t be here, but she knows that much of their economy depends on tourists.   The maps are only moderately helpful.  The ticket people and the signage are not helpful at all.  The Tube (London) and the Metro (Paris) are much easier to navigate.  Even the subway in Budapest was easier to figure out than this (and it’s in Hungarian!).   We had to take a train, then switch to another train, then we missed our stop and had to take a different train!  First to the Museum of Natural History (see Night at the Museum).  Very cool.   Of course, we didn’t see Teddy Roosevelt come to life (movie reference), and the museum is way too big for us to see everything in the couple of hours we had, but we saw a lot and though it is less interactive than many museums we’ve been to, the children loved it (even those hard to please big children!).   

After that, we walked around Central Park--mostly in the Ramble area.  Then there was a Puerto Rico Day parade--which completely closed down 5th Avenue.  We had to walk through wall to wall people, then found out we had to backtrack to cross 5th and get to Madison Avenue.  Then we went to FAO Schwartz and the children got to look around.  Randy and Annie played “Heart and Soul” on the giant piano upstairs!  Then on to Rockefeller Center, the NBC studios, Radio City Music Hall and Times Square--a bunch of photo ops.  We also saw the “ball” that drops on New Year’s eve in Times Square.  Then we saw the Chrysler Building and the Flat Iron.  Then, of course, Joshua’s dream come true--the Empire State Building!!  More photo ops at Madison Square Garden and the Public Library. 

Central Park

Central Park

Trying out the Big Piano

The girls are in love with Patrick the Pup at FAO Schwarz

Joshua at his shrine-the Empire State Building

Times Square

Then we went to the High Line Park near the 4 (yes 4!) post office buildings.  It used to be a train thoroughfare that was changed into a garden.  They left some of the rails, added paths, benches, and native plants.  There was also art.  To get to the park, you need to take the elevator or climb the stairs.  We walked the entire length.  Then walked to and through the Village to NYU.  One of Annie’s college choices at this time is the Tisch School at NYU.  We found it.  NYU is on Washington Square; Tisch is on the other end of the NYU sprawl on Broadway.  Then the subway back to Brooklyn.  

Annie at NYU

The High Line park