Getting to Know NYC with Friends and Family

[Maryanne]Oh Boy, it’s been a while since we posted and I finally find time to catch up a little.

Kyle and I have both been busy, what with work, searching for our next boat and general day-to-day chores.  Indeed it was some time before Kyle and I even had matching days off to spend any time together; quite a tough start to the year.  Luckily we’ve had all that broken up with visits from friends and Family, and even a couple of weekends with just the two of us sightseeing and exploring more and more of NY.

Kyle starts a Gurning Contest with another Dummy! While exploring around Times Square

My sister (Sarah) is a schoolteacher and head of science at a secondary school in the UK.  Teachers get 2 weeks off around the Easter break as schools close, and Sarah spent some of that time to bring our Father over to NY to visit and explore.  They came for a week, and I took a day off work so we spent a good 3 days together before I went back to work and left them to explore alone.  And we crammed SO MUCH into those 3 days.  We’d all purchased NY City Passes and were determined to milk them!

·      A sunset boat cruise to view the skyline and the statue of Liberty.

·      The ferry to view the Statue of Liberty up-close, and also soak up the facts and exhibits at the amazing museum on Ellis Island

·       Madame Tussaud’s: that I was not looking forward to – but it was much more fun that I recall from visiting decades ago.  Now-a-days all the exhibits are touchable and you can pose with them – no longer behind barriers or ropes.

·       Grand Central station with audio tour (fantastic);

·       Radio City music hall stage door tour (fantastic, complete with real Rockette to chat to and pose with!);

·       Rockerfeller center tour.  Kyle and I both love hanging out at the Rockerfeller center.  The ice rink was still there until the 22^nd April, but the flowers and ‘channel’ area were all beautifully set for Easter (bunnies, eggs, etc.). and we were in the area again for the Easter Day parade where NY finest and all, parade around for the day in fancy (expensive, or crazy) hats and costumes.

·       Bodies Exhibit (loved it – again, great for Kyle to see it, a bit ghoulish for some). 

·      A Right to the top of both the Empire State Building and the Rockerfeller Tower (top of the Rock), and so much more...

Out and About in NY City

Aside from our time in NY City itself, we took our guests to a famous local restaurant (called Valenca) just a few blocks from our house. It is famous for its “steak on a stone” (you cook it yourself at the table), and people come from NY just for this restaurant and dish, we love the Sangria they have there.   

With the remaining week my father and sister visited yet more of NY and have some amazing memories.

Later we had our good friends Kate and Mark from VA visit, and we revisited a few of our favorite places, and also found time to go to the theatre to see Channeling Kevin Spacy – a really well done play that has Kyle still chuckling now.  Unfortunately for the actors it wasn’t so busy, maybe only 20 people in the audience, and that really makes no sense as it was great entertainment.  We also found a nice Italian restaurant in the home of the old and original Improv (comedy club) where so many famous comedians once performed. We took a tour of my new workplace, and relaxed about in the parks and rested up with a trip to the very grand Campbell Apartment (now a bar) in Grand Central Station to sample a drink or two

A leisurely day in NY City with friends. Thanks to Kate for the pictures at the NY Times.

Later Still Kyle and I found we had an unscheduled weekend where we’d both be home (not working) and we made the most of it with Kyle meeting me after work on a Friday evening for a nice meal, a walk in Central Park (full of flowers, and so much beauty), before spending the evening at The Comic Strip Live on upper East side; a very late night for us, but quite wonderful.  On the Sunday we took a trip to Brooklyn with no real plan in mind, and fell in love with the neighborhood, with its brownstone streets, beautiful parks and of course, the famous Bridge.

More local to home we’ve discovered an amazing family run bakery that specializes in delicious and calorie-laden treats!  Mostly Portuguese pastries, all made fresh on the premises, and with hours from 3am – 9pm, pretty much always open (at least any time of day I’d care about!).  I’d avoided it for a while but couldn’t help to notice the long lines (queues) that seem to be constantly out the door – that stuff is GOOD and the locals know it!  They sell coffees and even have outdoor seating so you don’t have to wait to get home to eat up and enjoy.