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New York City

A Walk on the Brooklyn Bridge

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Brooklyn Bridge

On the evening of our second day in New York City, we decided to take an excursion over the Brooklyn Bridge. A friend had told us that Grimaldi’s, located under the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn, has the best pizza in the city. It’s coal fired pizza (cooked in a coal-burning oven at 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit), and that intrigued us. Apparently the dough recipe is 100 years old.

It was 8 o’clock when we started out from our hotel in the Manhattan Financial District. We were a little concerned that the bridge might be empty because it was a Sunday night, but the concierge at our hotel had assured us that there would be plenty of people out and about. And boy was he right! The bridge was absolutely packed. And the walking path is extremely narrow. If two people walk shoulder to shoulder, others are barely able to pass. The other half of the path is reserved for bikers, who whizzed by, in the dark, like they were training for the Tour de France. 

The view of the Manhattan skyline from the bridge was spectacular! I only wish we had had newer smart phones to take a better quality picture. As we walked, we talked about the fact that there is a Cold War era bunker inside the bridge. It was recently rediscovered after being forgotten for many decades. The general public knows that it exists, but the exact location has not been leaked, although it is believed to be under an arch on the Manhattan side. Apparently it is still filled with 70-year-old supplies. Perhaps someday they will open it to the public and give tours.

We arrived at Grimaldi‘s pizza after a two-mike walk to find that there was a line and a 30-minute wait just to get inside the restaurant. Must be good pizza, we thought. We decided to stick it out, and Little Buddy was very well behaved as we waited over an hour before tasting a bite of pizza. But it was well worth the wait. That pizza was like none we had ever had. Below are links to my other NYC posts.

Wall Street and Times Square

Korean BBQ and Saks Fifth Avenue

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

NYC Themed Art

Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

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Little Buddy New York City Skyline

Our second day in New York City was spent at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. We took a ferry to Liberty Island, where we enjoyed lunch on a bench along the water, admiring the beautiful view of Manhattan. There were several hundred people on Liberty Island, but the atmosphere was surprisingly calm and serene. Definitely not something we expected to find in the Big Apple.

Sadly, we weren’t able to go inside the Statue of Liberty. Touring the crown and pedestal requires a reservation several months in advance, and the torch has been closed since July 30th, 1916, when it was damaged by the Black Tom Bombing. The bombing was done by German agents in order to destroy United States munitions that would be sent to the Allies during World War I. The U.S. was still neutral at that point.

The only people who have access to the torch are National Park Service employees. They have to climb a 40-foot ladder to access the floodlights that light the torch. Have any of you been inside the statue? What was it like? Perhaps you even know someone who climbed up to the torch a hundred years ago?

Ellis island was the highlight for me. We walked through the main building, where the immigrants arrived, with an excellent tour guide. It was interesting to hear that only the steerage passenger set foot on Ellis Island. The richer folks had their inspections on the ship and were dropped off right in Manhattan.

The photo above shows the main hall, where the immigrants were processed. Below are the stairs that they were sent down after inspection. One row was for those who were cleared to enter the United States. One was for those who would be detained on the island. In that case, immigrants would have to decide whether the entire family would stay together on Ellis Island together, at their own expense, or whether the rest of the family would leave the detained individuals behind and begin to make a life in America, with hopes of reuniting. If the family’s sole breadwinner was detained, the others would not be allowed to enter the country until he or she was released. The government wanted to make sure that immigrant families had the ability to earn money and feed their children.

The third row was for the immigrants who would be sent back to their home country, expenses paid for by the company that owned the ship that had brought them. We were intrigued to learn that that is still the case. If you fly to another country and are not allowed to enter for whatever reason, the airline is responsible for taking you home.

Through the doors at the bottom of the stairs is the area known as the “Kissing Post,” where family members and friends were reunited.

Near the main hall, the tour guide pointed out a pillar covered in historic graffiti, written by immigrants who were detained at Ellis Island.

Do any of my American or Canadian readers have relatives who passed through Ellis Island? Our tour guide said that 40% of United States citizens do.

Wall Street and Times Square

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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.

Trinity Church

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.

Cheesecake from Junior’s

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.

Baby’s 1st Plane Ride

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We just returned home from New York City. Little Buddy did great. As expected, the plane ride was the most difficult part–the poor thing was restless and wanted to crawl. Thankfully, each flight was less than two hours, although on the way home, we sat on the runway for an hour before it was our turn to take off. That was rough.

When we disembarked in the Big Apple, I told Mr. Handsome that although Little Buddy was squirmy, it could have a whole lot worse–Little Buddy didn’t scream, which was a huge blessing.

On both flights, we had our own row of three seats, which was wonderful. We flew Southwest, an airline with no assigned seats, and were able to board after the frequent flyers but before the majority of the passengers. The flights weren’t quite full, and no one sat down next to us. I’m pretty sure they would have rather had any other seat on the plane than the window seat next to us. They probably would have rather sat in the bathroom than next to a young couple with a squirmy baby. And we were completely fine to have everyone avoid us. The extra room made the flight much more enjoyable for us and Little Buddy.

On the way home, we tried to get him to sleep but were unsuccessful, even though he was very tired.

When we were about to land, I put him in the baby carrier to keep him safe in the event of a crash landing. And you know what? The minute we hit the ground, he was out. Everyone around us laughed when they saw him, his head cocked to the side and fast asleep.

Do you have any funny travel stories to share?

NYC Themed Art

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Brooklyn Bridge painting

On Saturday, I told you all that we had just sent a bunch of Mr. Handsome’s paintings to a venue in New York City. Several of you asked to see the paintings that we sent. Below are pictures of the New York City themed art that my husband created with the venue in mind. We also sent a variety of other paintings, including musical instruments, a cow, and a few abstracts.

My favorite is the one at the top of the Brooklyn Bridge. If you enjoy history as much as I do, you have probably seen old photos of the bridge. I suggested that my husband create a painting that looks like a vintage photograph, and I think he accomplished that beautifully. The second painting is of the full Manhattan skyline, with the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge on either ends. The third painting is the Empire State Building, and the fourth is a smaller skyline with the bridge.

New York Skyline painting

Brooklyn bridge painting

Sending Paintings to NYC

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Most of you know that Mr. Handsome makes oil and acrylic paintings as a hobby. We have enjoyed traveling around the Nashville area to different art shows and town festivals to sell his works of art. He has also displayed his paintings at coffee shops and other venues across the city. He started with landscapes and has since branched out to a variety of other subjects, including musical instruments, ships, abstract paintings, animals, and skylines. And for Christmas, he painted a portrait of me.

For the past couple months, he has been working on paintings to display at a venue in New York City. After many nights spent burning the midnight oil, he finished yesterday. This afternoon, we packaged the paintings up into three large boxes and dropped them off at UPS. It was kind of bittersweet to say goodbye to two dozen of his best paintings, but we are hopeful that some will sell. And it’s exciting to be able to say that he displayed his art in New York City. Little Buddy enjoyed laying on a blanket on the floor while daddy did many of the paintings.

Phantom of the Opera in Nashville

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AreThe Phantom of the Opera live on Broadway you familiar with The Phantom of the Opera?

This year, I had no idea what to get Mr. Handsome for his birthday, but I wanted it to be special. I keep a list on my phone of gift ideas for him and other family members, and I had quite a few ideas for small presents in the $10-$15 range but nothing amazing.

For a while now, he has been wanting to see the live Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera. He saw it (both live and in theaters) as a teenager and loved the music, but it’s been a while. His two youngest sisters went this spring while they were in New York City for a choir trip, and they have been talking about it ever since.
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#NeverForget

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Four years ago, my parents and I visited New York City. Our trip only lasted two days, but we made use of every minute we had in The Big Apple.

On the first day, we strolled through Central Park and Grand Central Terminal, ate lunch at the Plaza Hotel, enjoyed a delicious dessert at Georgetown Cupcake, took a ferry to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty,  rode the subway to Hoboken for more treats at Carlo’s Bake Shop, and absorbed the magic of Time Square at night. Over a 12-hour period, we walked all the way from 86th Ave on the Upper East Side to the southern tip of Lower Manhattan.

The next morning at 5am, we braved the rain to be in the background of NBC’s TODAY Show in Rockefeller Plaza and had a quick chat with anchor Ann Curry. Then we power-walked over to ABC Studios to catch the end of Good Morning America, where we came face-to-face with country music star Carrie Underwood.

Our next stops were Trinity Church Wall Street, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the Empire State Building, the United States Branch Bank, and the New York Stock Exchange.

Two hours before heading to the airport to catch our flight home, we visited one final attraction, the September 11 Memorial at Ground Zero. Although the museum was still under construction, simply standing on the grounds of the World Trade Center was a humbling experience. We passed by the Survivor Tree and peered over the railings of the reflecting pools, which were built within the footprint of the Twin Towers.

May we never forget the 3,000 men and women who lost their lives during the terror attacks of 9/11 and those who risked their lives to bring thousands more to safety.

What are your memories of September 11, 2001? For those of us who were old enough to remember, the footage of the airplanes flying into the Twin Towers will forever be ingrained in our minds. We must always pay tribute to that day, for as Winston Churchill once said, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Life in the South

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If you live along the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, you’re in for some serious winter weather. More than 30 million people, including the entire populations of Washington D.C., Boston, and New York City, are bracing themselves for blizzard conditions, with the nation’s capital expecting up to two-and-a-half feet of snow.

Here in Tennessee, we’re experiencing the early stages of the massive winter storm “Jonas” that is headed for the East Coast. For us, the snow will taper off this evening, with 3-6 inches of accumulation forecasted.

This is normal winter weather in the Midwest (where Mr. Handsome and I are from), so we were puzzled to hear that every single one of my husband’s dental patients had canceled their appointments for today and tomorrow.

Just another positive of Southern living…more snow days! Our relatives back in the Midwest are going to be jealous.

Here’s something to make you laugh: 

*The top picture is one I took in my family’s backyard several years ago, and the bottom snapshot shows what it looks like outside our front door this morning.