We awoke to a rainy day:( but the forecast said it would clear up so we had faith. We took our time getting ready, then finally armed with hats, umbrellas and light jackets, we headed out. First stop was Levain bakery for the most amazing cookies ever!!

We continued along Broadway and found our way to Tom’s Restaurant from Seinfeld and took a few pics. We had some yummy bagels at Absolute Bagels to try to balance out our cookie tummies! We headed to the Museum of Natural History – but the lines were unreal, so we decided to skip it. Back to Central Park, where we walked through and made our way to Strawberry fields and the Imagine Mosaic. So beautiful. (All weekend, the kids were playing this “follow on the straight line game” — it got interesting in traffic. Rob and I joined in for bit, but mainly loved watching them play this game!)

We headed back up to Columbus where we walked to the LDS Manhattan temple. We were able to go to the third floor where the meetinghouse is and rested a bit – so nice to feel welcome in these chapels/meetinghouses wherever you go!

We finally headed to Time Square! The crowds! The M&M store was super busy, and we checked out the Toys R Us store and the amazing ferris wheel! We finally got out of the crowds and headed to New York City Public Library. Across the street was Chipotle so we had a late lunch and tried to rest our weary legs.

After this late lunch, we walked to get a better view of the Empire State building, and then back along 5^th where we hit the American Girl store! Zandra wished she were a few years younger…

Rockefeller centre was next on our list. I couldn’t believe the ice rink was up! We checked out the Lego store too and then say NBC.

St Patrick’s was under a lot of construction, but we stopped in and they were having mass. We continued along 5^th Ave, admiring the high-end shops, and a quick stop in the Trump Building before we made it to FAO Schwartz! We found the big piano, and then Rob and I crashed on some stairs while the kids went around and found some things they wanted to buy (they had their September allowance money and their own money). We were zonked, but they were still excited to be in this toy store!

After the goods were purchased, we crossed over to the Plaza hotel and wandered a little – but there was a big gala, and we certainly couldn’t blend in.

Crazy enough, we headed back to Time’s square to see it late at night, with all the busy lights! We then tried to figure out how to get back to our weekend home! It took a few looks at maps, asking people, and a bit of a sketchy subway ride and walk, but we arrived, completely exhausted, having walked 34km!

Dinner was a gourmet canned soup and Mr. Noodles, enjoyed in front of a Gilmore Girl’s episode! We all crashed and slept pretty soundly….ready for more exploring….