Manhattan Adventures

Manhattan is like a whole other world compared to San Diego with the most obvious being cityscape and landscape. San Diego is a mountainous desert while NYC is lush but relatively flat. Our downtown, while lovely, could never convey the sheer scale of Manhattan with its huge skyscrapers and tree lined avenues. And of course, Manhattan boasts Central Park which is incomparable.

My hotel was The Benjamin, located at 125 East 50th Street, which is about three blocks east from Rockefeller Center.

At the time, tennis champ Serena Williams was staying three floors above us and my dad actually spoke at length with her father and rode the elevator with her twice. Retired Dallas Cowboys football quarterback, Troy Aikman, was also at the hotel and surprise, surprise, my dad had coffee with him while awaiting their cars. How my dad manages to meet and see these famous people while I don't, is truly beyond me.



Day One:

Yay! I finally got to meet face to face with Barbara of Happily Forever After. At first, I wasn't nervous at all about meeting her, but when I recognized her coming through the entrance of the American Museum of Natural History, my nerves fell upon me. Truly though, I had nothing to fear. Within moments we fell into easy conversion and looking back, I don't remember much of the museum except for the topics Barbara and I touched on. Seriously, if not for the interruption of the day ending, I think we could have talked for several hours more. Funnily enough, we really didn't talk much about books. Instead we talked about New York, husbands and family, our personalities, and just how fantastic it was that we finally got to meet.

Before we knew it though, the day was over and the whole thing was kinda of bittersweet. When would we see each other again? Would it be a year from now? Five years from now?? But hey, RWA is coming to NYC in a couple of years and I think that's a great excuse for me to make another trip across the country. Now if only I could Barbara to come my way....I have plans of tempting her with Disneyland. *wink*

In all honesty though, it truly sucks that we live so far apart. I don't have many female friends. I can't stand the games that women play. For me, I need someone who is up front and genuine and Barbara is that and more. I truly count myself lucky to have met her against all odds and to have discovered so much in common.





Day Two:



















Sigh...the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

LOL! I literally dragged along my parents for six hours in the MET. No square inch was left unscathed from my mission to see all.

This is how it went: Me, "OMG, there's a second floor!". My Dad, "OMG, there's the exit!". Alright, so I took a little flack from my disgruntled parents but how often does one get to visit a museum of this quality and magnitude!

One exhibit that I particularly loved was the Johannes Vermeer Exhibition. For those of you that have seen the movie The Girl with The Pearl Earring with Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson will be familiar with this seventeenth century artist. Specializing in domestic scenes of middle class life, Johannes Vermeer's oil paintings are incredibly life-like. While the painting of The Girl with The Pearl Earring was not on exhibit, another famous one was: The Milkmaid.


The Girl with The Pearl Earring

The Milkmaid

Here are some other paintings that I loved:


The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David, 1787


Wheat Field by Vincent van Gogh, 1889

I also loved the exhibit of European Sculpture and Decorative Art:


Bedroom from the Sagredo Palace, Venice

Tapestry Room from Croome Court, French

Some fun pics:


My mom getting a little frisky with the Greek statues

My mom and I in the Armory

Me and a Sphynx

Day Three:

Saturday was the worst in terms of the weather. When I checked before leaving for New York, there was a 20% chance of rain during the week. Now in San Diego, 20% means it ain't gonna happen, so I naturally assumed it worked the same in NYC. Nope! Apparently 20% means that it WILL rain. So there I was in my sandals while everyone else was wearing boots. Typical VFG luck.

My parents and I basically traipsed through some flea markets in Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea before making our way to Union Square.

The name Union Square does not derive from federal or labor unions, but rather that it bonds two major thoroughfares: Broadway and 4th Avenue. It's also celebrated for it's majestic bronze equestrain statue of George Washington.

There's also an amazing market called the Union Square Greenmarket that is held year round on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Needless to say, the square was bustling while we were there.


Day Four:

The weather was GORGEOUS!! Finally, a beautifully sunny and warm day to enjoy Manhattan. That morning my dad and I left my mom at the hotel while we made our way downtown to Ground Zero and the Financial District.

First, let me just point out that one cannot fully experience New York City without taking the Subway. It's glaringly obvious that San Diego's public transit system isn't the best. It doesn't help that San Diego and its North, South, East and West county areas are miles apart. With a city that's spred over several miles in each direction, you can't necessarily blame the lack of a timely transit system. On the other hand, New York City, while vast, is also compressed into a very small space making public transportation pretty incredible. What would have been a twenty or plus dollar cab ride from midtown to the Financial District, was only eight bucks there and back for two people on the subway. Niiiiice.

It's a little eerie being underground nearly four stories. Trains can run above or below you depending on where you're going. There is also all kinds of humanity to view during your journey. It's definitely a feast for the eyes. The subway can also be confusing when it's your first time, but by the journey back, my dad and I were old pros. ;)

First stop in the Financial District: The World Trade Center, aka Ground Zero. I've been wanting to pay my respects to the people that survived and died in our country's most devastating domestic attack since the moment it happened. Alas, it would take me eight years, one day and ten hours to finally make it.

Everyone knows what happened that day and rather then revisit the immense tragedy of it all, I want to instead show you the future.

The Memorial

THE MEMORIAL will remember and honor the nearly three thousand people who died in the horrific attacks of February 26, 1993, and September 11, 2001. The Memorial will consist of two massive pools set within the footprints of the Twin Towers with the largest manmade waterfalls in the country cascading down their sides. They will be a powerful reminder of the Twin Towers and of the unprecedented loss of life from an attack on our soil.

The names of the nearly 3,000 individuals who were killed in the September 11 attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania, and at the Pentagon, and the February 1993 World Trade Center bombing will be inscribed around the edges of the Memorial pools.

Summary from National September 11 Memorial and Museum Website

In the afternoon, we spent the remainder of our time in New York at Central Park. We came into the park from the Upper West Side at the historical sight of John Lennon's home and the sight of his murder, The Dakota.


The Dakota

Me and my parents at The Lake in Central Park

Bethesda Terrace

My parents and I have lunch at the historic Loeb Boathouse

And that concludes my adventures in Manhattan, New York. Sigh...it's good to be home. Thank you to everyone who left well wishes for a safe trip in my last post announcing my trip to NYC. You guys are the best!!