Summer in New York

Me and the fam were lucky enough to spend a few days in New York, en route to Cape Cod, during the summer holidays.  The first time for all of us.  It was very exciting and exhausting. 

It was hot.  Very hot.  So hot I actually wore shorts outside.  Here I am in Central Park wearing actual shorts.  Blazing hot summers and I are not natural bedfellows but the heat was so intense that you were too exhausted to care

42nd Street

Times Square

We visited the 9/11 Museum.  I was a little reticent at first but I found it tasteful and very moving and not at all gaudy or nationalistic.  Housed beneath the site of the twin towers the exhibits were built around the actual foundations of the buildings.

Miss 8 wasn't so interested after a while and my little man was very vocal with his unhappiness at being confined to his pushchair, that I spent most of the time in the cafe with them, bribing them with cake.  It was a long day.  27 degrees outside and absolutely heaving in Battery Park so we forfeited the Statton Island ferry idea and jumped in a cab.  I think we were all glad to get back to our hotel that night.

Found time to stop and photograph this famous piece of the Berlin Wall that was on display nearby

On our last full day I managed to spend 10 minutes at Hell's Kitchen Flea Market, just as it was packing up.  I would have loved to have spent more time in this area just looking around, walking down a few blocks to see the legendary Chelsea Hotel.  Alas, the mister and I had to sacrifice a lot of what we would have liked to see and do on the altar of parenthood.  It wasn't easy keeping two hot and bothered kiddos happy.

I loved how easy it was to buy fresh produce on any street corner, even in the more downmarket areas.

A New York subway

We had breakfast out every morning 

We spent most of the first day in Brooklyn which was great.  Such a pretty place full of tree lined Victorian terraces that I just didn't get time to photograph.  We also discovered the joys of Shake Shack, best fast food ever, and the Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory

It all seems like so long ago now even though it was only at the end of August.  New York was amazing.  So big, so very very big.  Everything was super sized and loud and noisy.  The buildings towered over everything and they reflected the sun like giant mirrors.  I can see why some people find it overwhelming.  We actually found it very welcoming.  Not the greatest place to go with kids. Very long queues in and out of JFK after a very long journey don't make for happy kids.  Subway stations are virtually inaccessible with a pushchair and are far too hot, crowded and fast paced that we had to get cabs everywhere.  So much we didn't get to see and do that we wanted to.  I think we're gonna save that for when the kids are older and we can escape on our own.  But we all had a great time and it was a nice stop on our way to Boston for a relaxing week in the Cape.  I'll post more on that soon (when I eventually get around to it) 

xxx