Ben has been so swamped at work for the last several months and has been traveling weekly since Christmas, so when his boss suggested that Belle and I accompany him to NYC for the Valentines weekend, we quickly booked our tickets.
Our flight left at 7:05am so we were up and ready long before the sun. Belle always wakes up happy on travel days and was so excited to get dressed and head for the airport while it was still dark. We had a quick and easy flight to Newark and were greeted with a car service who dropped us off in Midtown Manhattan before noon. Our hotel was not quite ready for us, so we checked our bags and hit the streets. We were located in a great part of the city, 6th Avenue and 54th Street, so we were only one city block from Times Square one direction and 5th Avenue shopping the other. Just 5 blocks north was Central Park and the infamous FAO Schwartz and a few blocks north of that is the M&F offices where Ben spends most of his time. After a quick lunch at the Trump Tower, we decided we would spend our first few hours at the toy store and found ourselves back to the store more than once during our stay.
Belle was in awe of all three stories of fun and was able to paint in the craft area and happened to be on time for the story hour. She immediately picked out a dog to bring home and after a few days of begging, she once again adopted a new friend. We also enjoyed the yummy section called FAO Schweetz where I actually made a few purchases for Ben and myself.
Once our room was ready, we checked into our hotel and ate a quick dinner in the lounge before calling it an early night. After a long day of travel, Belle was exhausted and Ben and I were happy to let her sleep it off while he and I relaxed watching a Pay-Per-View movie. Morning came quickly and we were once again ready to hit the streets.
We started our Valentines Day on 5th Avenue where we drooled over all of the sparkling gems at Tiffany's New York before taking a carriage ride through Central Park. Isabelle was so excited to cuddle up and take a horse ride and although we were approached by members of PETA with signs telling us we were abusing the animals, we had a wonderful time seeing the park. Afterwards, we ate dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner in Times Square, where all of the waiters are from Broadway shows and sing and dance while they serve. Strangely enough, we recognized our waiter and after talking with him, discovered he was also a BYU Grad and we had actually been to one of his performances before in West Yellowstone. What a small world! We finished the night at "30 Rock" where we enjoyed very hot chocolate at the NBC studios. While we were trying to get Isabelle strapped back into the stroller, people started lining up behind us. I finally asked what they were waiting for and they told us that we were actually first in line for the taping of SNL. Obviously, we (mostly Belle) were not up for a late night of fun, so we gave up our accidental place in line and headed back to the hotel, tired and cold from a great holiday.
When Belle woke up much earlier than we wished, Ben decided to let me sleep in and he and Belle bundled up over their PJ's and enjoyed some yummy pancakes from a nearby shoppe. Once we were all dressed and ready for the day we headed north and walked about 20 blocks through Central Park to the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Belle and Ben shared a hotdog from a vendor on the way and we saw most of the sights in the park as well as a million people walking dogs.
I was definitely the most excited to attend the museum and once we arrived I quickly grabbed a map and plotted a plan to make sure we saw all of the paintings I hoped to see. My favorite exhibit was the European Impressionist section where we saw painting from the likes of Renoir, Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Cezanne, etc. Ben preferred the Modern Art with pieces from Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, etc. Belle preferred anything with animals in it and said "there are a lot of nuders in here!" After a long day, and temps in the low 30's, we decided to grab a cab on the way home and ate a very NYC meal of Ray's Pizza in our room.
One our final day in the city, we decided that it was due time for a little shopping. Of course with the Empire State Building just a block or so from Macy's New York, we first rode the elevator 80+ stories and quickly viewed the city from the most romantic place in the city. It was so cold at the top that our visit was short stayed before we hit the 8 stories of Macys. After realizing we would never be able to shop the entire store in one day, we bundled up and walked home through Times Square. At nearly 8:00pm with 38 degree weather and no nap, Belle was still not ready to go back to the hotel when Ben and I finally peeled her away from the noise.
We were able to grab a bagel from our favorite spot, Ruppert's Hello Deli next to the Ed Sullivan Theatre before we took a long and uneventful 4:30 hour plane ride home. I think Belle and I are finally now thawing out and were so glad to come home to near 80 degree weather in South Texas. We were so cold the entire time we were in the city and all three of us had a cold with earaches, runny noses and sore throats over our break. Ben and I both really enjoy NYC and the madness that goes with it and I think we have now created another major fan with Belle. The bussier the better for her! While watching Sesame Street this week at home, she shouted out "Look mom, NYC!" We really have been blessed with a wonderful little traveler and we wouldn't be able to take and enjoy so many trips if she wasn't so pleasant to travel with. She is already pushing for a trip to Houston to go see her Grammie and Grandpa and since Ben's break is over, he will be back in NYC on Monday, we may just point our car in that direction.
