NYC with the Family

As part of my repatriation vacation Betty, Chris, Nick, and I took a few days to get reacquainted utilizing New York City as a backdrop. We can now attest to the stories about how hot it gets in NYC in August, but we are still big fans of the big apple. I will admit that it is no Paris, but there is a certain mystical air about Manhattan that is not matched anywhere that I have been yet.

The trip into the city was very pleasant. We took the train from Beacon NY into Grand Central Station then a quick cab ride over to our hotel. We stayed just one block from Times Square at The Milford Plaza, a great location and a very nice hotel at a reasonable price. We got to see the Empire State building after having lunch at John's Pizza on 42nd st just around the corner from the hotel and housed in an old church. The stained glass ceiling and clear story windows are still in place and the food is quite good. We thought they should change their slogan from "No Slices" to "Heavenly Good Pizza" but that would probably be just a bit of an overstatement anyhow so we didn't suggest it.

Buying the tickets online for the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty turned out to be brilliant. We got to skip a huge line at the ESB and got to tour the museum and the observation deck at the pedestal of The Statue of Liberty, although the lines were long, and they no longer let anyone up to the crown, it was still worth it once. Our favorite part is still Ellis Island, more on that in the next Bright Side. Of course there are pictures available of the trip, click the link to the right.

The city, although hot, was great to walk around in. Betty and I walked from miles each day and had plenty of time to enjoy the city and sample some of it's famous eateries along the way. We left with many things left undiscovered so undoubtedly we will return to the greatest city in the world at a cooler time, and absorb even more of the spirit of New York that can't be seen, felt or explained, it has to be experienced.