Eli visits NYC!

Nephew and New York Notes
through completely new eyes

My nephew, Eli, came to visit me this weekend. Walking through Central Park, we passed John Lennon's memorial site and many spots full of fall color. Rockefeller Center was preparing the Christmas tree. We went down to Ground Zero of the World Trade Center site, which is just basically a rather organized construction pit. It will be interesting, though, to contrast that image to what is suppose to replace it - which is still in flux. We then went up to Times Square for diner at John's Pizzeria and then to Madame Tussaud's wax museum. Eli and I had fun playing with the celebrities. Walking around Times Square at night is really amazing, something I tend to avoid given crowds and such since I live here. But seeing it through the eyes of someone who is looking at it for the first time is rather amazing. We popped into the Toys-R-Us store to see the indoor Ferris wheel and the amazing displays of Lego - Empire State Building complete with King Kong! After stopping briefly at home, we walked down Broadway on the Upper West to Lincoln Center to see the Chagall's at The Met. We also stopped in to see the prices at Tower Records which is closing :( Day 1 complete.

Day 2 started with a trip to Battery Park to get tickets for the Statue of Liberty. Unfortunately they ran out of tickets at 8 a.m. so we could only take the ferry out to the islands but couldn't go into the Statue. We grabbed breakfast before standing in line for an hour to catch the ferry, first to Liberty Island and then to Ellis Island. Tons of tourists pack the upper and lower decks of the ferry, both coming and going. Walking the grounds was interesting but it would have been better had I planned ahead of time and got tickets to tour Lady Liberty. Eli was a trooper and was happy just walking around both islands. We then took the subway up to Chinatown for a late lunch/early dinner. Eli was brave and ordered frog's legs! Adventurist soul. We walked up through Little Italy and Mulberry Street. We stopped for gelato, Eli got pistachio. I decided to show him Washington Square Park, Union Square and the Virgin Superstore, and then up to Madison Square Park, the Flatiron Building, and the Met Life Building. Of course we had to get custard and fries at The Shake Shack! Bryant Park was also just a stop away with the Public Library and ice skating rink. Eli heard about the wooden escalators at Macy's so we found those relics and rode them to the basement. Eli is quite knowledgeable about escalators given Schindler is based in Clinton. We walked through Times Square again and up to Columbus Circle to get a view of Central Park South, the traffic, and the stars being put up in the Time Warner Center.

We only had the morning of Day 3 since Eli's flight was leaving at 12:40 p.m.. We went to The Empire State Building but soon the ground was completely covered in clouds. Eli was surfing the wind outside along with the pigeons. Still a good time despite to weather. We headed home via the Times Square subway transfer. Off to the JFK airport to end a whirlwind tour of NYC! I'm so glad he was able to stop over for a weekend dramatically different than Clinton, NC.