n.y.c.

Last week Kevin and I traveled alone to New York for a few days.  I had been there only once before and it was a whirlwind visit where I didn't see much of anything, and it was not during the Christmas season.  I've always heard that New York is magical this time of year, and everyone is right - it really is very special.

The first thing I saw when we drove in was the Statue of Liberty.  I couldn't help but think of my ancestors who saw her too.

Partial view of the city skyline.  Driving in I thought to myself, "We're here!" when I saw all the buildings in the distance.  20 minutes later and it seemed like they were still the same size!  Their magnitude is misleading!  Eventually we made our way into the city and took the Lincoln Tunnel into Manhattan.  We weren't there 5 minutes before this pulled up next to us at a red light.  Already I'm thinking this is my kind of place.

We're not in Kansas anymore!  Creepy!

Then we checked into our hotel which was located a block off of Times Square.  Here's the view from our window:

After putting down our bags I immediately started badgering Kevin to show me all the sites.  I think we walked 895 miles that weekend.  Here's what we saw:

Times Square

Rockefeller Plaza

Macy's on 34th Street

 Radio City Music Hall

St. Peter's Cathedral

Sushi!

Rockefeller Center

You're fired!

FAO Schwarz

If nothing else that weekend I wanted to go here.  On the weekends I heard that people stand in line to get inside.  It was very modern and not what I expected, but the store's long history was what drew me in.  We managed to leave without doing too much damage - an ornament, a science experiment kit and two children's books about New York.  And of course we had to see the piano that Tom Hanks made famous.  I tried to convince Kevin to dance on it and he wouldn't do it.  Had I not walked 895 miles that day, made I would have done it myself.  Next time!

FAO Schwarz

The store fronts were all amazing.  Above is Tommy Hilfiger with a huge red, white and blue (and black) bow.

Cartier was my favorite.  The store was wrapped like a massive present.

Gorgeous.

Tiffany & Co. had two handsome greeters standing outside wearing scarves in the Tiffany blue.

Looking at the Tiffany windows made me think of this image of Audrey Hepburn:

It was a fun trip.  We'll have to do it again next year . . . especially the part where we didn't bring the darling children.  We'll wait until they're old enough to walk 895 miles.