tizimatt.info

We finished off our Summer with a BANG: a long weekend in New York City! I planned the trip because Cinzia and family were stopping there to visit an old friend on their way home from South America. Erroneously thinking it was an holiday weekend, I figured it would be fun to meet them there. Keegan would be thrilled about seeing his cousins and I was very excited, beside the chance to spend time with my sister, about going back to the City, a place I really like but I have not visited in 15 years.

It turned out that it was not a holiday weekend after all, but by then we already bought our tickets, so we went for it. Cinzia was arriving, conveniently, on a Thursday, so I took a red-eye flight in Thursday night, and had the chance to spend the whole day Friday visiting the city with them. And I survived their Tour-De-Force. Matt and Keegan flew in the following day.

I had a good flight, and was even able to sleep about 4 hours. I arrived around 7am, and easily made it to the hotel with the subway. We chose a place that was very close to Cinzia’s friend, in the financial district. It was off Broadway, yes the famous Broadway, but way south of Times Square.

It turned out to be an amazing hotel, opened a few months ago, with a large room and a pretty affordable rate for NY.

I was able to check in even if it was only 8.30am, and relax in my room. It was beautiful!! I really liked the mural on the wall.

I met everyone about an hour late, after enjoying my complementary hot breakfast (!) and we quickly headed out. The first place we went to was the 9/11 Museum, just a short walk away. The first thing you see of the new WTC is the One Trade Center Tower, originally dubbed Freedom Tower. In fact you can see that tower, pretty much from most of Manhattan. At 1,776 feet tall, One World Trade Center  is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the fifth in the world. Its height in feet is a deliberate reference to the year when the Declaration of Independence was signed.

The first thing I noticed in New York was the incredible amount of construction everywhere, and the WTC was no exception. I guess they are building a new pedestrian connection that will also host shops and restaurants. From what is visible now, it will be stunning.

We immediately went in the museum. It was completely underground, since they wanted to incorporate the existing footprints of the Twin Towers within. To say it was overwhelming is an understatement, both for its sheer size and for the poignancy of the exhibits themselves, which included many artifacts—including part of the beams from the towers, an entire firetruck, pieced of airplanes, and personal effects— recorded calls, diagrams, videos, etc. The unidentified remains of the victims are also buried there, in a private part of the museum, behind a beautiful art installation. One of the volunteers on staff that day, was a first responder, a construction worker that came over to help after the attack. He talked about his narrowing experience, including talking on the phone with a woman stuck on the upper floors. He also shared the joy of finding a survivor under the rubble the following day, thanks to a cadaver dog. It was very touching. We spent many hours inside, just absorbing everything.

Outside the museum we admired the park: lots of beautiful trees, including one of the surviving trees form that day, and many peaceful resting places. The most impressive features, or course, are the memorial pools, built on the exact footprints of the towers. They are made by cascading waterfall the disappear in the darkness.

All around the pools, the name of the victims are carved in a way to leave space to place a flower within the name itself.

view from the top. Not my image

We spent so much time at the museum, that it was already lunch time. After a quick lunch, we headed to mid town, intending explore the city a bit, and then visit the MoMA. Waked and visited we did, including Fifth Ave, Rockefeller center and other famous places, but when we went to the Museum, we were surprised by the huge crowd snaking all around the block. It turned out that it was Free Friday Night, so we turned back.

We finally headed home, exhausted, and after a quick refreshing, I headed over Cinzia’s friend Micaela’s apartment. The apartment was pretty, modern as I like it, if a little small. We had a wonderful dinner on the roof deck, celebrating my sister’s 50th birthday. Micaela is a great cook, and she prepared lobster sauce pasta, Ahi with sesame seeds and of course salad. A chocolate cake completed the evening.

I went to bed completely spent, and I soon headed to bed. I had a nice rest, while Matt and Keegan were flying. Unfortunately, the subway had a different schedule on Saturday, so they ended up way off course, and ended up getting a cab. It was nice to see them. We headed for breakfast, and quickly met everyone. It was a very happy reunion! We did not waste any time, however, and we soon jumped on the subway. Keegan had a love/hate relation with it.

My favorite part was the Courtesy Counts campaign we saw everywhere.

I thought that maybe Keegan may enjoy the MoMA, since it is basically a Hall of Fame for famous artists, artists he read about it. So, we bravely took him with us. I have to say he was pretty good for the first hour as we admired the famous painting, including Starry Night by Van Goth, or one the beautiful pieces by Gaugin. He liked to hear the story behind the paintings and artists, so I had to dust off my remote memories of art classes.

I really like Klimt.

The next couple of floors tested Keegan’s patience (and ours with his whining) and we finally went to get some lunch. While Cinzia and Sandro went back home to pack, the cousins headed to our room and we all hung out for about an hour, mainly playing Minecraft. Sadly it was time to say Goodbye, but we were so glad we got to see them, even for a short time.

Once they left, we all planked in bed and took a sublime, 3-hour, nap!

When we got up, it was late afternoon, and against his complaints, we dragged Keegan out for a walk. We started at the WTC: I did not believe Keegan would handle the Museum, and I think I was right. Even without the visit, he talked about the Twin Towers, the attack and death A LOT.

someone did not want to take a photo

From there, we walked toward the Hudson river and took a beautiful walk along the river. It was almost sunset, so it was even more magical.

When we reached Battery Park I was surprised to see a stunning sculpture, honoring the Korean War soldiers.

The original World Trade Center Sphere sculpture, that used to be in the middle of the center, has been relocated right behind it. You can still the damage that it suffered that day.

Despite the complaints, we kept walking: we really did not have choice since we were half way from our hotel, and I wanted to see the Financial District. With the promise of a pizza, we dragged Keegan along. Of course there is a Moore street! It seems like every city has one.

The New York Stock Exchange looks very awe-inspiring, with the dramatic lighting, and of course it is located right off Wall Street.

On the other hand, the Federal Reserve building, modeled after renaissance palaces, does not look like much. It is, however, by far the largest (by assets), most active (by volume) and most influential of federal Reserve. he Federal Reserve Bank of New York maintains a vault that lies 80 feet (24 m) below street level and 50 feet (15 m) below sea level, resting on Manhattan bedrock. Currently, it is reputedly the largest gold repository in the world (though this cannot be confirmed as Swiss banks do not report their gold stocks) and holds approximately 7,000 tonnes (7,700 short tons) of gold bullion ($415 billion as of October 2011), more than Fort Knox. (Wikipedia). To think we were sleeping only blocks away from all that gold…

We finished the night by eating pizza and watching movies in bed, and then we all crashed, exhausted, but ready for the full day ahead.

We started the day with a large breakfast, and we left early for the Empire State Building. We could see it right away as soon we go out of the subway.

We walked past the famous Madison Square Garden, where Duran Duran had their famous concert in 1984, the one described by my favorite book, which is very much responsible for teaching me English.

We bought a combo ticket, so it included also a simulated helicopter ride, narrated by Kevin Bacon, highlighting all the sights of New York as seen from the sky. It was a fun and unexpected experience. We were very surprised by the short wait…The Empire State view is just as you expect it: familiar and spectacular at the same time.

From so far high, the famous yellow cabs look like toy cars.

After the tower, we walked to the Highroad Park. It is an urban park built on an elevated, abandoned railroad. It is very crowded but also very beautiful.

It affords beautiful views of the city and some great street art.

Unfortunately, someone was loudly complaining, so we only got the chance to see a small part of it, missing the best part, overlooking the Hudson. Oh well, a reason to come back to NYC.

It was already lunch time, so what says New York more than a hot dog stand? It is amazing how many there are…

After lunch we took the subway and headed to Central Park. The first spot we stopped was of course 1 72th Street, the Dakota Apartment Building, where John Lennon was killed on December 8, 1980. I have few memories of my childhood, but I do remember that day, and how my sister’s friend was so distraught by what happened. It was a holiday for us, and she came over and gave us the news.

We crossed the street and headed to the park, where a tribute to John Lennon stands right at the entrance, in the Strawberry Field section.

The park is huge, so we only saw part of it, but we wanted, for sure, to see the statue of Balto the dog. Keegan read a story about him at school last year, so it was a must….but finding it was not as easy as we though. Add a bathroom emergency, and the difficulty of finding a restroom and we had a few tense minutes. We finally found it and took the mandatory photo.

We then headed down 5th Avenue and went to the Rockefeller Center. We lured Keegan with the promise of an amazing Lego store and possibly a present. The store is, in fact, right in front of the center, and it is amazing.

The logo in the window is created by thousands of mini figures painted in the familiar white, red and yellow colors.

We perused the store for a while and, sure enough, there was a full wall of Star Wars Lego. We promised him a souvenir, and we marked a few of them down: I really did not want to bring it back on the plane, and besides, each set was at lest $10 more expensive than Amazon. Keegan made one of the sets come alive: the Cantina that nonni gave him for Christmas.

My favorite part was the color separated bins of bricks… can I have one for my house, pretty please???

Once we made it out the store we went to see the Square and statues. I loved comparing the real thing with the Lego version.

The Atlas Statue

30 Rockefeller and its square

One other thing I really enjoyed in new York, was seeing vehicles that feature so prominently in movies and TV. For example, a NYPD car (they chose and interesting motto: Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect…hum, not sure it fits) and a firetruck.

It was already mid afternoon, but we still had one thing to do: the Statue of Liberty. We took the subway, that should have been a direct shot to the Pier…but nothing is never so easy on the subway. This time the line was interrupted because of construction, so we had to get off and wait for a shuttle, that took forever to come. When we finally sat down on the air conditioned bus, we could enjoy the ride across Manhattan. We passed the Trinity Root, a bronze cast from artist Steve Tobinof of a sycamore root from the WTC. I could not get a picture, but this is what it looks like.

We even passed  Raging Bull statue in the Financial district: another check on the list of things I wanted to see. Once again, not my photo.

We finally made it to the Pier, and headed to the free Stanton Island Ferry. It is really cool: it runs every 30 minutes, it passes really close to the Statue of Liberty and offers great views of Manhattan, and all without paying a cent. Private companies offers similar tours for lots more. We were lucky to board in the late afternoon, so we enjoyed the sunset from the bright orange ferry.

 

Once arrived in Stanton Island, we had dinner. Keegan did not like the restaurant menu, so we got him some New York pizza, and he ate it like a real New Yorker, folded in half. It was pretty good.

Afterwards, we could have our dinner too. We ate at the restaurant right on the Pier, on a terrace overlooking Manhattan. The food was great and the view unbeatable. Thank you to Star Wars Angry Birds on Matt’s phone, we enjoyed an almost peaceful evening. We caught the ferry back when it was already dark. Keegan was really tired and we enjoyed a magical view of the city all lit up.

When we finally made it to the hotel, we all crashed immediately. Our flight was in the mid-afternoon, so we were able to do more sigh-seeing. It was getting stifling hot and humid, but we still pressed on. After an abundant free breakfast, we headed out: first stop was the Brooklyn Bridge. On the way we found this really cool, tiny, urban park, with interesting sculptures.

We even passed in front of the courthouse, and saw throngs of reporters in front: it turned out that Tom Brady, the football player, just left his hearing for his role in “deflategate”. Too bad we missed him.

We finally made it to the bridge: cars, bicycle and pedestrians are kept separate, with cars running below, so you can leisurely walk on the old wooden walkway. The view is impressive.

Just as we were wondering about bridge maintenance and construction, we saw 2 workers climb up the cables, quickly and with agility. It was scary just to look at them. They, however, briskly walked all the way to the top, and disappeared from sight.

Despite Keegan’s wish of “seeing as much as we could since it was our last day”, he quickly got tired of walking in the heat. We were able to drag him to Confucius Square and Chinatown: not that impressive, compared to San Francisco Chinatown.

Then we walked to the adjacent Little Italy. Again, not very impressive, nor particularly well signaled. However, when we saw the fliers for San Gennaro celebration, we knew we had arrived.

It was an interesting contrast to see the Italian establishments at the bottom of the traditional New York outdoor fire escapes.

We also walked by Engine 55 in Little Italy, one of the busiest in Manhattan. It is also famous because successful actor, writer and director Steve Buscemi worked there between 1980 and 1984 as a New York City Firefighter. What I did not know is that the day after 9/11, despite his success and fame, Steve Buscemi rejoined Engine 55 to help in the rescue operations at the WTC for several days. He worked 12-hour shifts alongside other firefighters digging and sifting through the rubble from the World Trade Center looking for survivors. Very few photographs and no interviews exist because he declined them. He wasn’t there for the publicity. (you can read the whole article here). I have always admired him as an artist, and now I admire him even more as a human being.

After Little Italy we could not push Keegan any more, and it was getting late, so we headed back to the Hotel to grab our bags. This beautiful arrangement welcomed us in the lobby area.

Keegan got to enjoy his last New York ice cream of the trip. They are everywhere, just like the hot dog carts, and they serve soft serve ice cream, single and double, with all sort of toppings. I have to admit they are delicious, and even Matt and I indulged in them occasionally. I think that ice cream trucks were one of his favorite things of the trip for our little guy; that and the hotel, that he liked because it was “so fancy”.

I loved the huge clock at the hotel entrance.

It was time to leave. We boarded the subway, and this time we made it to the JFK Airport without any problems. We were all hot, tired and cranky, which made the waiting particularly challenging. Once on board, though, Keegan settled with his movies and I was even able to catch a short nap.

We had a wonderful time overall: New York was as beautiful and fun as I remembered it, even if there were obviously many changes since my last visit 15 year ago: lots of new building, no more Twin Towers, and towing a sometime disgruntled 7 year old around. However, I loved it all: I got to see lots of places I never been before, and I checked basically everything off my list.

What a wonderful way to conclude the Summer season. Now, let’s gear up for a new school year! Not much to wait: Keegan’s class started bright and early the following morning. Wow, is already a second grader!!

Comments are off for this post

Since we went to Italy really early this year, we had basically the whole summer ahead of us when we got back. The coldish June left the place to a really warm July and August, with more than one heat wave, completed by high humidity. My favorite weather…

Keegan spent the first 5 weeks at his regular school, attending Summer Camp. He loved it! They got to choose 4 different classes each week, and so they had a lot of different activities to do. Some of his choices: Lego, Field & Track, Music and Tag. Some of his friends were at Camp as well and this enhanced the fun.

He spent the last three weeks at different camps at the YMCA. He was a lot less enthusiastic about those, but considering they were Robotics, Lego and Waterpalooza, I don’t think anyone will call CPS on us for torturing him.

After camp, of course, we still had time to enjoy the good weather. We were able to schedule a few playdates, so we went to different parks as well as Inflatable World, where, once again, Keegan enjoyed the HUGE water slide.

We also went to visit the great exhibition about the Maya at the Natural History Museum, allegedly the largest ever in North America.

Just like the King Tut exhibit, it was mainly based on faithful reconstructions. The replica, however, were excellent, and visual effect augmented the experience.

Multimedia stations gave us an in depth look at several aspects of the Mayan culture. They even rebuilt an ancient rubber ball, the May being one of the first civilization documented to be playing ball. Sometimes it was a life and death match. Man, it was really heavy.

One station allowed us to choose a Mayan name, and wrote in the ancient language. Guess which one is which?

Well, Keegan chose Blue Jaguar, I chose Radiant Sky and Matt chose Star Shield. You could also try to add typical Mayan embellishments to your photo. I chose to adorn myself as a noblewoman.

We had the chance to celebrate our friend Dave’s 40th birthday. Jennifer threw a great party for him, with catered Mexican food and a huge cake. Happy Birthday Dave!

They also rented a karaoke machine and the guests took turns singing aloud. Of course I skirted it.

We got to see them one more time. They decided to stay at the Princess Resort Hotel for a night, right on Mission Bay, and invited some friends to join them in the afternoon at the beach. They rented a paddle board and the kids took turns trying it.

For as fun as paddling while standing up was, the boys (of all ages) found a much more fun game to play: standing on the board, they were trying to catch a football. I have to say that in many attempts from kids and adults alike, we only got a successful pass. Keegan gave it a shot too. He almost caught it one time.

We made it to the beach exactly 1 time, on a warm but foggy early morning. We were very grateful for our usual marine layer, since we were again in the midst of a heat wave, and the cloud were the only way to survive. Matt went surfing with a friend, but frist gave Keegan his first surf lesson.

See? He is a natural! The rest of the time he had a blast body boarding, and the Ocean was so warm, even I got in and played n the waves.

Thank you to modern technology, we kept in touch with family, this was our favorite Selfie: keegan doing “Macho Man”.

Part of the beauty of the season is to admire such a lush surrounding: even in the mist of a 4-years drought, beautiful flowers and plants are everywhere. And we can’t forget the wildlife: birds, butterflies, lizards and of course hawks. I think this year we had two new babies, but it was almost impossible to see them. However we did have a close encounter with one type of hawk. It came crashing against our glass, and ended up resting, disoriented, on our patio for a while. Quite majestic…and yes, it soon flew away unharmed.

We also had momentous event: Keegan lost his 4th tooth.

Even more momentous, however, was our midsummer date, that lasted from mid- afternoon to night. So many hours of freedom! Such a rare occurrence! So, what did we do with ourselves with all that time?

We went first to the horse races at Del Mar. We bet on a few horses, and we even won one race, so we only lost a few bucks. It is always fun.

The main reason we went to the races, though, was the free (with races admission) concert afterwards: Offspring. Yes, we saw them before, more than once, but it is always a fun concert, and you can’t beat the price. Being on a Saturday night we could not refuse. We had a lot of fun.

As always, the summer seemed to go by way too fast, and with September approaching, Keegan was more and more nervous about the new school year, since he did not know which teacher he would get and which of his classmates would be with him. We found out just a few days prior the starting day, and while this calmed him down a bit, he was still nervous, and so were we. Let’s cross our fingers for an happy new school year.

Comments are off for this post