NYC Day 2

Roy had a full day of work, so the kids and I were on our own to take on the city!  I had a long list of places to go and an even longer list of places to take them to eat!  First up was breakfast from a street cart.  They were so excited to choose their croissants and muffins and donuts!  We took them to go on our subway ride.

The kids' number one request of things to do on the trip was to see the Statue of Liberty.  I figured they wouldn't be pleased with just the view from Battery Park and I worried that the Staten Island Ferry would the too long and not get close enough to satisfy their desires, so I decided we'd spend the money and take one of the boats out.  It worked really well to do the Water Taxi since there were two other places on their list of stops we needed to go as well.  We started at Battery Park and took the ferry over to DUMBO.

I had originally thought of walking across the Brooklyn Bridge with them, but I was worried it would be too cold or would take too long in our jam packed day!  In the end, the weather was spectacular, but they really enjoyed the Water Taxi ride!  We had some time to kill before the restaurant opened for lunch so we ended up walking up to the bridge and walking halfway across and back!

And then it was time for Grimaldi's.  I was excited to take Leighton to the original since we all love the one here so much.  We had been a couple times when we lived there but never with Leighton.  The owners had a tiff a few years back though and split into two restaurants so the actual original is now called called Juliana's and now the *original* Grimaldi's is next door.  I had decided I would take them to Grimaldi's because of the name, but had read reviews that the other with the *real* original oven had better pizza.  The pizza was fine (but I think the one here is better!) and the kids were excited, but the service was so bad, it made me grumpy!  The kids didn't notice though (the bad service or the grumpy mommy!) so no problem-o!

We had some time before the Water Taxi was coming, so I took them to ride the carousel (wasn't there when we used to go!) and to Jacques Torres for a chocolate!!

Someone names Lleyton carved their name here!  Not a common name to see around! 

And then we got on the Water Taxi.  Our first stop was in Red Hook, and I think Riley must have asked sixty bajillion times when we'd see the Statue of Liberty closer.  And then the moment arrived. Riley literally couldn't take her eyes off of it!  She would turn for a picture and then stare some more. It was so sweet.  I was glad that the time, effort, and money spent on getting her out there was more than worth it for her reaction.  Leighton loved it too, but this was really Riley's BIG moment of the trip!

The Water Taxi then took us on a little tour up the Hudson.  Leighton was really taken with the fact that he could see different states on either side of him!  We also saw the Fireboat.  I had gone out on it on a field trip when I was teaching, and Leighton has a book all about it.  I was so happy to show him the real thing!!!  We got off the Water Taxi at the stop right by the school I used to teach at and spent some time wandering and then relaxing in the school garden.

NY to the left and NJ to the right

Fireboat!

Then it was time to meet up with John in his classroom.  We were so lucky to get to see him for the second time this year (he and Chris came to visit for the Final Four in March).  We spent a couple hours at the school walking the halls and chatting with all my old coworkers and friends.  It was lovely to see them all.  I have no idea why I didn't take pictures of me with them though.  Duh!

We ended up at the school longer than I thought, so it was getting close to dinner time, but I had promised them a lot of little fun foods in the neighborhood as we walked to where we were meeting John for dinner, so I kept my promise!

First up: Rocco's for a fresh filled cannoli, which I wasn't convinced they'd love so I let them also choose a cream puff or cookie, too!

Next: A slice of pizza from Joe's (Leighton voted this one the best of the trip!).

A pickle on a stick!

Lastly: Pommes Frites.  The original location was burned down in a fire, and they've reopened.  Lucky for me it was in the perfect neighborhood for our afternoon food tour.  And they did a great job to make it feel like the old one, which pleased me.

So, now I had too full kids and a dinner date with John, lol!  We walked through Washington Square Park (at night again, so no great photos!) and up to Max Brenner in Union Square.  We decided that I'd eat with John and then they could have dessert.  It worked perfectly.  There were SO many fun sounding desserts, but we finally narrowed it down to two they could share.  The chocolate pizza (because remember we promised Leighton to eat pizza as often as he could on this trip!) and the syringe!

We said bye to John and hopped on the subway to Times Square.  I thought we'd be there for just a quick look but I couldn't tear them away!

I think after an hour and a half we finally started back to the hotel.  I originally planned to grab a cab, but I told the kids we needed to get out of the busy area first.  And then we came across pretzels on the street and they were now hungry.  And saw Radio City all lit up.  And then we were at Rockefeller Center again and could watch people skating.  And by then it was not worth it to even get in a cab.  So we walked the rest of the way.  These two walked a lot today and did awesome!