Hines Happenings: NYC or Bust!

For years my brother and sister and I have been talking about doing a sibling trip, but it's never worked out...until this month! We decided to go to NYC, a city I have never really visited. My goals for the weekend: drink some good coffee, eat some really good food, sit somewhere pretty and see a couple of cool things. My brother, trip planner extraordinaire, said these were attainable goals. :)

Day 1 we drove up from VA, arriving by lunch time when we checked in our with overly aggressive AirBnB hostess. Our experience with her was really the one downer of the weekend. Oh well.

After finally escaping her long-winded tour of her tiny apartment, we headed south to Central Park for lunch. The food and view were a bit disappointing, but we were glad to be there anyway. Next we took the subway a few stops south and walked the High Line. It was cool, but super crowded, so we bailed on that and headed for a snack. I can't remember what these amazing french pastries are called, but they are meringues filled with delicious flavors! So decadent!

Next we headed for the Staten Island Ferry. My parents lived on Staten Island back in the early 70's so we wanted to take the ferry for familial reasons, as well as to get some views of Lady Liberty without taking a special tour. It was a great choice and we really enjoyed the ride and the "drive by." We also got an amazing view of the NY skyline. I never expected to "fall in love" with the city that never sleeps, but I have to say that she really captured my heart!

Lady Liberty at sunset. Beautiful!!

After the ferry ride, it was getting darker and later, but we really wanted to walk at least partway across the Brooklyn Bridge before dinner. We were not the only people with this idea. It was crazy crowded, but we did get some great views despite all the people!

Manhatten at sunset.

Onward we dashed to Little Italy where we found, not surprisingly, delicious food! Sooo good! Followed by amazing Italian desserts. Hooray!

From here we really did have to dash as we had tickets for Top of the Rock. We barely made it in time (actually, we were late, but there's a buffer!). The views were so fantastic. Loved it! And it's really quite something how close to the very top of the building you can get!

Day 2 started in basically the best way possible (that is, after escaping our crazy AirBnB) with bagels, cream cheese and coffee. A-MAY-zing!

Since it was raining, we next hit the Met. We only had about two hours, which is definitely not enough for an in-depth viewing of anything, but it was still very enjoyable and I'd love to go back sometime. A few of the exhibits were a bit underwhelming, but we were quite tickled by this glass-covered taxidermied deer...

Next was a hunt for real NY pizza. We finally found what we were looking for. SOoo yummy!

Next goal: walk a LONG way through Central Park. We succeeded. It was a much better experience than our little view of the Park from the day before. We saw all kinds of famous and quintessential things. Such fun, but our feet were definitely done by the end!

The one place that was on my "must do" list that we hadn't been was Ground Zero. The older I get, the more 9/11 effects me each year. I think it's because I can relate more and more to the parents who lost children and children who lost parents and the spouses who lost their partner. I was surprised at how emotional I was at our visit, but I am really glad we went.