New York!

Earlier this summer, I found out that Julianne and Toni would be in New York for the month of October, doing research for their doctorate degrees and staying with a friend of my parents. Then, it turned out that my mom and dad would be in New York for a week in October to go to Macy's meetings. And they had an extra bed in their hotel room! I thought it would be so fun if Audrey and I could go to the city for a few days, and Neal was on board. (Thanks, Neal!) I booked flights and bought theater tickets, and away we went!

We flew to LaGuardia in the afternoon on Thursday and went to Julianne and Toni's temporary home on E 88th Street, about three doors down from the Guggenheim and about fifty feet from Central Park. The location couldn't have been more ideal. Julianne met us there, and we quickly set out for a sunset walk through the park! We enjoyed the views around the reservoir and ended up at Belvedere Castle to take in the view.

We met Toni for dinner on the West Side, at a tiny little Italian place called Celeste. Audrey couldn't believe that it was so small! She quickly got used to the cramped quarters of just about everything in New York, though. After some yummy food and gelato, we took the cross town bus back to the apartment and went to sleep.

The next morning, it was quite rainy, so we took a quick walk down Fifth Avenue to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we spent some nice, quiet moments with some of the world's treasures.

Audrey really wanted her picture taken with this statue of Artemis, her favorite Greek Goddess.

After the museum, we hopped onto the subway and went downtown a bit to Grand Central Station. I think it's such a beautiful place and a must-see for any first timer!

After lunch at Le Pain Quotidien, we headed back out into the rain and walked over to the Public Library. Audrey knew that the lions outside were named Patience and Fortitude. Did you?

And since we couldn't actually get any books at the library, we next went to the Strand, a bookstore that is endless. Audrey picked out a couple of books and we said a quick hello to Julianne's friend, Thelma. We went across the way to Fish's Eddy, one of my favorite shops, before heading over to meet my parents at their hotel on 37th Street, very near Herald Square.

We went a few blocks away to Koreatown for dinner, then strolled through Times Square looking for Haagen Dazs. It was so fun to see Audrey hand-in-hand with my Dad in New York. The first few times I went to the city, it was to tag along with Dad on one of his many trips to his New York office. Once, he took Stephanie and me all the way to New York to see Cirque du Soleil, and another time, we came for a quick stopover after a trip to Bermuda. Needless to say, New York reminds me of my dad, and I love that he got to share it with Audrey, too.