East

We arrived in New York City late in the evening. I was thrilled to have found a reputable car service that provides car seats to drive us from LaGuardia Airport to our hotel in the Financial District in Lower Manhattan. Taking the subway with our luggage and a baby would have been a nightmare, especially because it wouldn’t have been a direct route. When he’s not taking shuttling common folk like us to and from the airport, our driver drives for a number of famous people, including actress Sarah Jessica Parker. We had a great time hearing about all his adventures.

The hotel staff was kind enough to put us in a handicap accessible room so the baby crib would fit. We were grateful for the extra space, although the room was still only the size of the stateroom we had had on our Mexico cruise. I can only imagine how small the regular rooms must have been! Space sure if limited in the Big Apple.

Our first morning was spent wandering around Wall Street and the Financial District. We stepped inside Trinity Church, although the main sanctuary was closed for renovation.

Trinity was chartered by King William III in 1697. Founding Fathers John Jay and Alexander Hamilton attended. Hamilton, the United States’ first Secretary of the Treasury and the man credited for establishing a national bank, is buried in the church’s graveyard. Some of his children were baptized at Trinity. The current Trinity Church building was completed in 1846. The first burned down in 1776, and the second was torn down in 1839.

We walked past the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on a Saturday morning, and there was a huge, orange advertising banner stretched across the iconic windows. On Sunday, it was gone. Mr. Handsome wonders if they put it over the windows for security while people are in the building and then pull it up on weekends.

The cobblestone near the NYSE made Wall Street feel oddly quaint, although it proved to be a bit problematic when I was trying to push the sleeping Little Buddy in his stroller without waking him.

Later that day, we ventured up to Midtown Manhattan on the subway. I experienced the subway during a visit to New York City almost ten years, but I didn’t remember it being so confusing. “Everything about that was terrible,” Mr. Handsome stated after we were safely above ground.

Taking the stroller on the subway was a bit of a challenge, but not as much as I had expected. We were able to find elevators most of the time, and when we couldn’t, it wasn’t too difficult to carry the stroller up or down the stairs. And Little Buddy always smiled and laughed when we picked it up.

We had already become accustomed to the slower pace in the Financial District, but the minute we stepped out onto the street in Midtown, we realized that this was a very different place. People everywhere. Heavy air with a lack of oxygen. Every time we crossed the street, it seemed like there was at least one car that almost hit us.

But Times Square was spectacular, as was the chocolate mousse cheesecake from Junior’s (a recommendation from a friend). The best cheesecake we’ve ever had, hands down.

That evening, we had two very unique experiences. We walked through Saks Fifth Avenue and ate Korean BBQ. Not at the same time, though. I’ll write about that later.

• 

•