NY Pt.3

After a few days in NY we were missing our kiddos! So before we ventured out into a very full day of sight seeing we had to stop by the famous FAO toy store! I remember going here as a little girl in San Francisco and falling in love with the humongous Barbie section! It was so fun to be back, getting little toys for my boys. Chelsea and I got the boys the cutest little bunnies from the book Guess How Much I Love You, a classic and favorite in my house. After a few little unexpected tears from Chelsea were shed (missing her baby) and then laughing hard about it after, we agreed we have to take our kids with us when we come again when they are older, they will die when they see this store. And when we have little girls one day, we will take them to the American Girl store around the corner to get them custom dolls. (Sigh) Will I ever have a little girl of my own?

Nice life-sized toy man was a good sport taking pictures with us ;)

View from 5th Ave. outside the store near Central Park. Soooo pretty!

After leaving the store we ventured toward our first Subway experience! In trying to take the Subway all the way to lower Manhattan to catch the ferry, we ended up in Brooklyn and all over Manhattan! The Subway is so tricky, there are like ten different colors, ten different number systems and ten different letters that all go in different directions. So matching up the right number with the right color and then the right letter is a maze of confusion. Thanks to helpful (and unhelpful) people we finally found our way to the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty! Other than that the Subway is fun, not scary at all, maybe at night it could be...

On the ferry getting closer and closer to the Statue of Liberty!

We had such a fun time on the ferry! It reminded me of Seattle, except it was sunny! The views of the city  were so breathtaking!

The statue of Liberty herself! Not quite as big in person as I thought it was going to be surprisingly. The history and meaning of this landmark is so incredible and I will never forget seeing it! Piece by piece she was put together, so long ago. How they built it I will never understand without the technologies we have today. What an amazing gift.

After the ferry trip we headed towards the 9-11 memorial sight. The moment we stepped into view I got chills. Standing feet away from where the tragedy hit was emotional for me. The new trade center being built is one huge skyscraper, which stands taller than the rest when viewing the city skyline.

Inside the memorial store there were videos of testimonials and news clips from that day, a timeline of events, and the remains of items left from civilians and workers for display.

The church behind me was not touched during the whole aftermath that occurred across the street when the towers collapsed, amazing!

I'm so glad we took the time and had the opportunity to visit the 9-11 memorial sight. It was so strange walking the same streets that others did on that day when there was ultimate chaos, screaming and dying. My heart ached for them. The memorial they built is amazing. It's a downward waterfall pool in the exact spots where the twin towers stood called Reflecting Absence. This title is really powerful.

After visiting the memorial sight we headed towards Little Italy, while taking a little stop in the best store ever, Dean and Deluca! We fell in love with this store and could have stayed in there for hours! The food, flowers, culinary supplies, home decor, bakery and fresh fruits and veggies made it hard to ever leave :) A kind worker gave us samples of the strangest looking but equally sweet tasting fruit we had ever tried before called Litchi, from China. Yum!

Little Italy was so cute! We were walking down the streets of little Italy expecting a wide range of other cultures and we were so pleasantly surprised when we heard so many people speaking Italian all around is. It was so cool because it really felt like we were in a small part of Italy. Guys were calling out to us in Italian and we would just reply " Ay yay yay!" Lombardi's is famous for it's pizzas but more so because they were the first pizzeria to open in America in 1905! How awesome is that! The pizza was amazing and while we sat in that cute, small, stuffy pizzeria eating our last dinner in NY, I couldn't help but feel so grateful for the country I live in, to be sitting where it all started and where so much of our history today was created.

I miss NY so much! It was one of the best trips I have ever been on and I couldn't have had a better experience with anyone other than my bff Chelsea! We can't wait to go back, but until then we are planning our next adventure! I love you New York!