NYC I love U!

I am not sure why it took so long for us to visit this amazing city, but it took over 15 years after living practically next door to finally go there. Although, I admit, I was aware that it is an incredible metropolis with a worldwide reputation for some of the most exciting entertainment venues and museums but somehow it always felt too far away. Really, it is no more than a seven-hour drive.

Going to NYC for Spring break was a spontaneous decision. After our son Andrew returned from NYC with his grade 7/8 class he suggested we go there the following week. After a brief discussion, we agreed to go and as it turned out was the best decision we made collectively as a family.
He was our tour guide and we spent the next three days following in the footsteps of his class, minus going to the UN. However, we added more tourist activities which he didn’t have time to do with his class on his previous trip. Here he is at the Empire State Building!

My first impressions of NYC was that it is clean, energetic, and friendly. I’m not sure if it was because it was one of the first hot, sunny days, but New Yorkers as whole are a pretty friendly bunch. We were there right smack in the middle of it all for St. Patrick's Day Parade. There were millions of crazy, happy, fun lovin people on the streets!

The only criticism I have is where are the public toilets! Fortunately, we found Starbucks had one but others found it too. The line up was about 45 minutes because it was St. Paddy's day and tons of people where in the same predicament.

All in all, it was a very memorable trip, the highlight of which for me was seeing Lend Me A Tenor, which was playing at the Music Box. After the play we went to the Empire State Building, by then after midnight, to see the city lights. It felt very ‘sleepless in Seattle’. Magnificent!

The following are some images (click to enlarge) of the trip…