On Monday, we enjoyed a fabulous, whirlwind day in the city! We were fortunate that a good friend of Jon’s was willing to put us up in his apartment in Stamford, Connecticut for two nights. We arrived from Cape Cod mid-evening and found a parking spot a few blocks from Camillo’s apartment; as usual, finding parking with the trailer in a city was an adventure. We were assured that it was a safe neighborhood, so we unloaded our bags and hoped for the best.
The girls and I settled in and Jon made us all some grilled cheese sandwiches and salad while he caught up with his friend. It was another wonderful, late night of talking and hanging out.
In the morning, Camillo drove us to the station so that we could take the train into the city. We had gotten a fairly early start and were able to grab some Dunkin’ Donuts and catch the 10:10 train. The girls enjoyed the hourlong ride down, planning what we would do with our day.
We exited at Grand Central Terminal and Daisy was immediately overwhelmed. She got very quiet and big-eyed as we made our way through the crowded station. Once outside, she clung very tightly to our hands as we started to make our way uptown.
Jon became entranced by the farmer’s market around the corner, so we had to stop. It seemed to be a great place to gather items for a picnic lunch in Central Park. We spent about thirty minutes in the market and left with the makings of an awesome picnic- iberico salami, prosciutto, fresh olive bread, truffle tremor goat’s cheese, aged cheddar, blackberries, apples, green grapes, marinated olives, dark chocolate truffles, and apple lemonade. Yum!
With our picnic items in hand, we continued walking towards Central Park, which was about 15 blocks away. We cut across to 5th Avenue and stopped at Rockefeller Center. By then, Daisy was feeling more comfortable. I knew she would want to see the ice skaters, but the zamboni was still on the ice when we arrived. We walked around the Lego Store while waiting for the ice skaters to come out. By the time we left the store, the music was starting up and we spent several minutes comparing the skaters’ skills, encouraging our favorites, and joking about our own, weak ice skating skills.
After watching the skaters for a while, we continued on our way. We made another stop on 5th Avenue to use the restroom in Trump Tower. We spent longer than intended because we became entranced by the many, many fascinating shops and items bearing the Trump name. It was definitely an experience.
Once back outside, we finally made it the last few blocks to Central Park! We walked past hills and rocks and ponds and found a great spot in the grass to spread our picnic. We thoroughly enjoyed our market goodies as we sat in the warm sun. Well… Jon, Mickie, and I sat. Daisy did cartwheels between bites.
Daisy was eager to get a carriage ride, so our next stop was the line of horse drawn carriages. Ian took us on a short and pricey ride around the park. It was quite lovely and we enjoyed the relaxing ride.
After our ride, we decided to head downtown to see the Statue of Liberty, so we hopped on a subway next to the park that took us straight to the South Ferry stop. We had determined that the free Staten Island Ferry was the best way to see Lady Liberty on this trip. It turned out to be a fun journey and the view was awesome.
After our ferry ride, we were all feeling pretty tired. We decided to walk to Little Italy for dinner, and the darkening sky and brisk wind revived us. We walked the mile plus distance along Water Street, up through Chinatown, and into Little Italy. We all really enjoyed the atmosphere of Chinatown and Jon and Daisy spent awhile looking in the shops of different food vendors.
After some research, we finally decided to eat dinner at Aunt Jake’s on Mulberry Street. We had to avoid numerous aggressive restaurant hosts offering all sorts of discounts, free wine, and the finest pasta and desserts to be found anywhere. Mickie decided that, rather than being cat-called, we were being cannoli-called. Aunt Jake’s had no one outside up-selling their food, and we took that as a good sign.
Inside, the atmosphere was modern and warm. We were served cheese breadsticks with our wine and appetizers and, for dinner, we each paired our handmade pasta with the sauce of our choice. I always go for the arrabbiata when it’s an option!
We finished off our time in Little Italy with a stroll down the block to enjoy gelato and cannolis from Cannoli King. We purchased extra cannolis to bring home to Camillo, who had been home studying all day.
We hopped on a subway back uptown, planning to connect with our train back to Stamford at Grand Central. Instead, we exited our subway at the station and Jon randomly decided that we should take the shuttle to Times Square instead of heading home. I was pretty dead on my feet, but I figured that, since the girls may not be back any time soon, we might as well take the opportunity while it was available. So, we took the shuttle and stepped above ground to the sensory overload of Times Square!
By now, the girls seemed quite comfortable in the city; they barely blinked when a cab brushed against us as we crossed the street. After looking around and taking a quick trip to a glittery, three-story Walgreens for new phone chargers (ours have all died), we walked the few blocks back to Grand Central.
We caught the crowded, 9:06 express train back to Stamford where Camillo picked us up. We thanked him with leftover pasta and cannolis. We were all pretty exhausted and slept really well that night.
In the morning, Jon and Camillo went out to pick up bagels while the girls and I packed up. We had a wonderful visit and an amazing trip to New York City. Next stop, Philadelphia!
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