NYC! Part Two

Our second day in New York had us eating the most delicious bagels ever (this coming from Panera's biggest fan) and then heading to the opposite end of Manhattan to ride the Staten Island Ferry.  We had the outside decks almost all to ourselves so we enjoyed the views of the skyline and the Statue of Liberty.

ferry terminal

skyline

the other ferry

so cold and windy

trying not to blow away

We rode the ferry because it promised awesome views of Lady Liberty for free!  It definitely delivered...

After the ferry ride we made our way over to Brooklyn for our first taste of New York pizza at Grimaldi's.  We arrived about 5 minutes before the opening and were relieved that the line wasn't too long yet.  The pizza was so, so good.  We had little problem polishing off this mountain of pizza.

grimaldis line

so much pizza!

We spent a little time at Brooklyn Bridge Park which is a gorgeous park all around the water with fabulous views of the city.  Unfortunately, the carousel I was so looking forward to, was closed.  Boo!

under brooklyn bridge

To work off a bit of our pizza and to enjoy more awesome views, we walked over the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan.

view from the bridge

Back on the other side, we went to visit St. Paul's Chapel and the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero.  The chapel held really neat stories about the 9/11 recovery and we learned new facts about the attacks.  We visited the memorial pools and saw the new trade center under construction.  I was a little bummed that the museum was not yet opened.

st. paul's chapel

memorial pool

The combination of 25 mph winds and cold weather had us wanting to get indoors at this point.  We unanimously agreed that this part of Manhattan was too crazy for us all so we made our way to Union Square Park and inside to Max Brenner for some hot chocolate and a break from the wind.  I actually tried my first taste of white hot chocolate- it was super yum but was a little too much like straight fondue for me to imagine drinking a full cup. 

We wandered through a few stores here before hugging the twins goodbye as we went to dinner and they headed back to Philly.  Along the way to dinner, we ran into THE Macy's and were excited to see the annual flower show was going on.  The window displays and main shopping areas were decked out in gorgeous flowers.  They had a tent setup outside with a free walk through the display.

toucan made of flowers

M and I shared an early dinner at Gramercy Tavern (#6 restaurant according to NY mag).  I had seabass with spaghetti squash and I'm pretty sure it was the best fish I've ever eaten.  I have been dreaming about that meal ever since...

my seabass

M's pork

We had our dinner early that night because I had surprised Mike with tickets to a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden for his birthday. 

While we didn't get to experience "Linsanity" since Jeremy Lin was hurt, we still got to see the Knicks win. 

the warm-up

those boys were big

newest knicks fans

can you spot donald trump in the front row!?

Our final stop of the night was the Empire State Building to see the city lights at night! 

the lobby

We continued our awesome luck with lines and were two of only like 10 people at the top which was great.  The 25 mph winds were not so great.  It was so cold and windy and the 86th floor was swaying like craaaazy.  At least the views were worth it...

so should have bought this hat

As you can imagine, we were beyond exhausted by this point and were happy to call it a night.