our weekend in NYC

This vacation, for whatever reason or the other, was one of those vacations that Jared and I have been talking about constantly for the two weeks since we've been back. Maybe it was the vibrant pace of the city, maybe it was the old architecture, or maybe it was just the excitement of wandering a place so different than any other urban city, but we fell hard for New York City...

When anyone asks me what our highlights were, not only am I first at a complete loss for words, but then I end up spewing out things like how much I loved the city at daytime and at nighttime, how easy and convenient the subway was to use, how nice and helpful New-yorkers were, how the architecture of the city was all different, how Times Square just took your breath away, how quaint the walk-ups were, how much I loved that we walked everywhere and packed on the miles each day (we walked close to 33 miles in 3 days!!), how no matter where you walked there was always something interesting to stop and see... how, um, Christmastime in NYC is pretty much the most magical experience in the world... and the list just keeps going. So from West Village, to SoHo, from Chelsea, to Brooklyn, Greenwich village to Central Park, here is our "3 days in New York" in pictures. In no particular order. Since they do it 10 times more justice than words! Fasten your seatbelts, guys... I am making no promises that you will get through this post without a bathroom break.... ;) 

The Rockefeller Center | the christmas tree | the "top of the rock" 

And that view of the Empire State building? We were crazy excited when we looked out hotel room window.... 

Times Square, in and around | daytime and nighttime it took our breath away!

This block+ long LED billboard just blew us away. Sometimes you needed sunglasses to look at it it was so. bright! Google has it "rented" 24/7 for the first month of it's installation and it was so cool to see rotating Google earth images. It's size is incomprehensible until you actually see it.

The dichotomy of Greenwich village, the east/west village and Chelsea from the bustle of Midtown and downtown | the walkups | strolling through cafes with our beloved friends.

Lucalis pizza in Brooklyn. Jump on the subway, it's a must if you visit! We were so desperate that we ordered to go and sat outside in 30* weather to eat. True minnesotans we are, but worth every. freezing. finger.

Wandering 5th Avenue | Broadway | south Central Park | the Plaza hotel

seriously. the church architecture along 5th Avenue.... 

Brooklyn bridge | by day and by night

Wall street | Trinity Church | Staten Island ferry | Statue of Liberty 

What a change the sun lowering in the sky and a few clouds makes on the city....

Visiting this iconic FRIENDS building | Amanda & Skyler in heaven :)

Washington square Park | walking the High Line in Chelsea | Grand Central station | Museum of Natural History

the high line: a railroad line converted into a rare "green space" in and around the fashion and residential district of Chelsea.

our grasp and subsequent love of the subway system | public transit system

Macy's | Santaland and my first (ever) visit to see Santa!

the Freedom tower | one world trade center & memorials

This was emotionally reminiscent of our time on Oahu at Pearl Harbor this summer. This spot in the city is sacred, and they have done such a wonderful job of honoring this place, the people, and all who lost their lives here on 9/11. It is beautiful and moving.

the infinity pools as the foundations of the two towers, surrounded by the names of those who lost their lives. the last time I was here was the spring immediately following 9/11, and there was still much rubble and chaos around ground zero. it was so wonderful to be back and see the change, although there is still much construction to be done.

If you made it to this last picture I applaud you. This trip was just so much fun and so jam-packed with things we did that I just could not narrow down my pictures, as hard as I tried. 

We spent three days in Manhattan, walked an (almost exact) total of 33 miles, only took one taxi (from our Midtown hotel to the Newark, NJ airport), drank lots of coffee, and crashed hard every night as a result.

We cannot wait to go back to this city. It was a wonderful, active trip that we enjoyed as a family of three ;) Thanks for the wonderful vacation, NYC!