Vacations are filled with wonder and magical things.

In our day to day lives… we have a routine. We wake up, and do what we do. Be it pour a cuppa coffee. Or Tea. Get ready for the day. We get in the car – turn on our favorite station and head out. We know the roads and the route we will take. Already … we have an idea for the people we are going to see.

For the most part. It’s all set out in our minds.

Vacations … Vacations…..on the other hand… are.. completely and utterly different. Vacations are events we plan… we anticipate. We take time off from work. Make sure we cross off our lists. We research. We pack. And then we get there …and oh… then the fun starts.

EVERYTHING is a different story. The plane, checking in, the airport, how to get to the hotel, the check in process and in the back of my mind that question…..what will my room look like? You get in the room…. breathe… I’m here… my room is awesome. Now what? Oh – Now… what will we do these few days in town. After all… vacations is why we work. We work… to relax. We work… to get time off. To vaca. To… PlAy!!!!!!

The only thing on the agenda…………….is……to……………….Explore. Experience. Embrace.

When on vacations. Sensories are in overdrive. The city smells different. The air is a different temperature. Food, is different. And the air, is sprinkled with so many different accents and sounds.

Vacations are so special.

The memories last forever.

Loved… loved… loved New York.

We leave you with this picture of this tree. She had her autumn dress on… teasing us of what her friends (fellow trees) could look like. She was one of a few in her colorful splendor. Each leaf … represented the many options and adventures we could embark on. Each leaf.. teased us of all the endless possiblities.

New York is a wonderful city. Just to think about it… eyes closed… big smiles…. mmmmm.. yummmmy.

Magical.

Delicious.

We had fun exploring and hope that our travel journal will entice you to explore New York to enjoy it as much as we did.

1. A series of rooms connected in a line
2. First made their appearance in New York City in the 1800s
3. Designed to be a solution to urban overcrowding
4. Very narrow
5. Converted into a bed and breakfast (at least the one we were in). Called the Upper Yorkville Suites
6. So Comfy.  A home away from home. Fully equipped kitchen full of yummy treats and goodies – part of the package.
7. So much cheaper than a hotel. So much more room. Such an awesome home base when in New York

Greenwich Village ~ what an awesome place!

Sunday rolls around, first day in the city. We’d just got a glimpse of Central Park. And gotten on a train. When we got off the (wrong) train stop, we emerged from underground into the middle of a pie.

What does that mean? Well imagine a pie you cut into 6 pieces.  And then imagine yourself…. landing.. in the very middle of that cut pie.  Smack dab couldn’t be more in the middle.  So here we were, in Greenwich Village in an the middle of an asphalt pie… and if you turn around there are 6 intersections. That’s where we got off. NO CLUE where we were and couldn’t see the sun… so confusing.

Oh so much fun to wander around and explore the village, see the people.

Phone blowing up – where are you where are you where are you? Finally found the meeting place for our friend who had just relocated from California to New York – Andrew! He proceeds to take us to the four best bars in New York.

… in between all the bunny bar hopping…

… we take a time out… and… we… play with puppies at the neighborhood dog park.  Yup… that’s what we did!

A day full of laughs. Good friendships. Sunday football. PIZzZzzAA for free.. (which the bouncer gave me the scoop on and we had first dibs)… new people we met.

Oh so much fun.

I fell Off the Wagon. It was $5 for a pitcher of beer. We had sssshhheeverrrall….

what?

Someone had to taste it!

There are a total of 86 libraries scattered through New York and the Bronx that make up the NYPL.  That’s a lot of books.  And a heck of a lot of dewey cards.

1. Never leave home without your subway map.
2. If you can’t find it – there’s a map inside the train.
3. If you happen to get on at 1 am on a Sunday night… know that there are “express routes” which means the train will fly past stops and you might end up at 125th street in Harlem.
4. Learn which side of the train you want to get on – one means uptown and the other means downtown.
5. If you get on the wrong one, you can always get on the other and come back.
6. Some train stops look pretty cool (like Bowling Green in Battery Park)

New York Stock Exchange

And at his feet – a photo shoot – we were trying to figure out for what?

And at his base – a flutist played. 

Our country is pretty free.  Is it not?