Friday, March 28, 2008

Tan Wong, thanks for everything.

We survived the Chinatown bus! But we happened to sit right below the roof emergency exit, which was mysteriously dripping water on us the entire time.

This was our first view of glorious New York City. (You can maybe make out the Statue of Liberty on the far right.)

So, we got plopped down right in the middle of Chinatown, which was absolutely swirling with people, speaking various languages of the non-English variety. It was chaotic. Add to that the fact that we each were carrying about 4 pieces of luggage and managing two children. And we were starving. Jamie used his Mandarin skills to scout out a restaurant that would actually let us come in with all of our luggage. Thanks, Tan Wong Restaurant. Your food was delicious.

After lunch we eventually managed to hail a cab and all squeeze in. Let me take a moment to say that New York taxi drivers deserve their reputation. They drive nuts! And of course Milo was never in a car seat. I am glad we all survived. Let me add that although the cab drivers need to go back to driver's ed, they were all very nice. Many of them were working to bring their families over from Egypt, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, etc. So hard, that would be.


We stayed at the Millennium UN Plaza Hotel. It was deluxe. The views from our room on the 36th floor were spectacular. To the left was the United Nations and to the right were the Empire State Building and the Chrysler building.



Jamie and I got confused as to whether the Chrysler Building was really the Empire State Building, which tells me that a) we're not true Americans and b) I need to watch Sleepless in Seattle again soon.

Thursday night was spent at trendy restaurant Elmo for Eliza's bachelorette night. We saw Times Square that night too. The lights! The crowds! The bitter cold! It was fun.


"Look to the cookie!" (Delicious, by the way.)

On Friday we met up with my old college roomie, JIll, for lunch at Grand Central Station. She is nearly finished with dental hygiene school in Connecticut. It was wonderful to see her and I am so impressed with her being a brave little west coast girl in a big east coast city. Grand Central Station was maybe even crazier than Chinatown. Maybe.

This is what Ground Zero looks like right now. I was overwhelmed with the vastness of the space and how absolutely terrifying it must have been to have witnessed it.
Us in front of The Bull. As in, "It's a bull market." But isn't it really a bear market right now? I have no idea. I will remain ignorant of the stock market for my whole life and I don't even care.

Ok, I'm done. This post is too long. I'll post wedding stuff later. I'm sorry I'm so OCD about posting every little detail. My blog is kind of my journal, so I feel obligated to write about the trip. And you all got suckered in to it. :)

5 comments:

Wendy said...

Me likey every little detail. ;-) And lots of photos! Now I can pretend I was there, too. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Love it, love it! Thanks for every detail. Please don't apologize. You took great pictures! That last one with us at The Bull reminds me how very, very cold we were at that moment. We were underdressed, and had just walked miles to Battery Park, and were winding our way through the Wall Street area to get the heck out of the cold and into a subway. AG

HWHL said...

No need to apologize! I love all the details.... NYC is a great place (this southern girl really misses living there, even after 20+ years).
It's always fun to see NY through another's eyes.
Your pictures are fabulous! :-)

Ashley Seil Smith said...

faaaancy! i'm so jealous, wish we could go! nate is kind of planning a trip to NY for us this summer, mostly to visit his sister in Albany and also to go to a game at Yankee Stadium since this is their last season there. i love looking at your pictures and reading about your trip!

Sarah said...

Love every picture. How did you manage to get dropped off in Chinatown with all the luggage? And carseats? And children? Now that sounds like an adventure.