My first interactions with The City were brief. Mostly my father driving us through it as a kid to get from point a to point b. Then I started taking my friends to Long Island over the summers and more fun began. My dad would take us to the Empire State Building. To the Statue of Liberty. To the Twin Towers. To my friends and I that was pretty freaking cool. I got older and was able to convince my parents to allow some solo trips into the city. With friends of course. These started out as day trips in on the train. I'd show off my Manhattan know-how. Show my friends the sites. Always your typical touristy areas. Rockefeller Center. St Patrick's Cathedral. Radio City Music Hall. Empire State Building. Ground Zero. My college offered an insanely cheap way of seeing the city. Ten bucks round trip. If you were lucky you may be able to swing a free trip if there was a way to tie it to a class. I jumped on this each and every time. Exploring Central Park, Tiffany's, Chinatown. Times Square. All Sex and the City locations I could find. Later on I would take my sister in. We would spend the night. Going in to different shops. Walking from Ground Zero uptown and back. Soho. The Brooklyn Bridge. I 'discovered' Magnolia Bakery in 2006 and was amazed. South Street Seaport. Little Italy. Eataly (I could dedicate a whole post to how awesome I think this place is). All the main attractions. My Manhattan is pretty much your basic guidebook experience. I took Letty in once and that went well. Navigating the subways with a stroller is much easier in Manhattan than say DC. In my opinion.
I was pretty proud of myself for driving in The City. Twice. It was a three man operation. No doubt. I focused on obeying the general rules of the road (even if I was the only one). My brother was my directional guide as well as general commentator. My sister-in-law Ashley made sure I was informed about any car doors/pedestrians/pigeons that could cross my path. But for this country bumpkin once it was done I had a little added swagger in my step. I don't want to do it again though. I'll stick to the train and my feet thanks.
I'll never run out of areas I want to explore. The High Line. Brooklyn. More of Central Park. The museums. Restaurants times a million. Always something new there. I hear there is a place called the Museum of Sex. So there's that.
//island of manhattan as seen from ellis island\\
//i'm a baby in central park\\
//there were flags or "
gates"\\
//day trip with the sister\\
//magnolia bakery\\
//waiting on the path train with kerri\\
//street side dining\\
//two different trees. two different years\\
//ferris wheel inside the store\\
//st. patrick's\\
//empire state building\\
//view of the wtc station from our hotel room\\
//this girl got around her first year\\
//south street seaport with
holly\\
//baby girl sees times square\\
And that's that.
