New York City, Part I

Well! I hope that your summer has been going fantastic so far - the weather really has been top notch. We arrived back in Toronto on Sunday morning from our week-long trip to visit Patricio's family in New York(!), just a short drive from Manhattan. The visit was a nice balance of spending time with his aunt, uncle, cousins, and extended family, and getting to know New York City for the first time.

I've divided our trip into a couple of parts, because there is just so much - so, so much. These photographs are from the first day that we arrived, which includes walking The High Line, visiting Chelsea Market and Hook & Ladder 8, and riding the Staten Island Ferry.

We arrived at the Port Authority Terminal at 10:00 am, after a 12-hour overnight bus ride. I think that our lack of sleep made that first day all the more surreal that we were actually in New York City (that took a few days to sink in)! We were picked up by Patricio's aunt, uncle and little cousins, and we all went straight to The High Line, which is an elevated railway that was repurposed as a "linear park" in 2009, stretching out for over a mile. It was a beautiful first introduction to the city - to still closely experience the towering structures and industrial buildings, to look down on the streets and see the constant flow of yellow cabs, but from within a peaceful pedestrian walkway and garden.





I spy with my little eye some pretty cute little guys.






Our first New York "meal" was a Rhubarb & Lemongrass shaved ice (yum!) from People's Pops.







After eating lunch at Chelsea Market, we walked all the way to Hook & Ladder 8 in Tribeca, which was the exterior of the fire hall in both Ghostbuster's movies. I can't remember if I've mentioned that Patricio is a die-hard Ghostbusters fan from childhood, and that this trip could have been titled "An excuse to visit New York locations where Ghostbusters was filmed." Patricio was basically speechless and grinning like a little kid (and his aunt and uncle very thoughtfully bought him a Hook & Ladder 8 t-shirt!).




Before heading to dinner (at Basta Pasta), we went on the Staten Island Ferry (which is free and gives a great view of the south end of Manhattan and a decent view of Lady Liberty).







The perfect end to an eventful first day: Watching the sun set as we drove home through Manhattan.