New York Travelogue

I'm going to try to make this post short because we are all so, so tired. We started off our day by taking the subway into town. Here are a couple of pics:




Afterward, we tried to go to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, but all we managed to do was purchase tickets--the line was a huge turn-off! We still have our tickets, so we're going to try to use them early tomorrow morning and beat the crowd. One interesting thing about being in that area is that we got to witness the filming of a TV show. I don't know which one it was; all I know is that some "bouncer" prohibited us from walking along a certain path so that the background actors could do their thing (which I could do just as easily--wanna pay me to walk?).

Anyway, we made our way into the financial district and Sevak was giddy as a schoolboy. Actually, I'm exaggerating. He was very interested, though!


Pay no attention to the man behind the horns.


The New York Stock Exchange

We then paid a visit to Federal hall, home to the first Congress, Supreme Court, and Executive Branch offices. It was also where George Washington took the oath of office as our first president. Here's the man himself:



And here's Sevak posing as a colonial fellow:



Sevak was able to get a picture of the ceiling:



Here's the position he assumed in order to get the shot:



We somehow made our way to the Brooklyn Bridge,



Times Square,


(I don't know if this shot is technically "in" Times Square, but close enough)

and finally, the Empire State Building.



View from top:



By the way, Empire State Building = Rip Off. The line was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo long (yes, it was that long), and the top was very crowded. Furthermore, my legs got tired from standing, but all the bench-like window sills were lined with anti-sitting weapons:



I guess it's good that we were at least able to "check it off" from our list of tourist spots.

We got really weary of all the walking/standing, so we took a little break in Central Park.





At one point, we laid Rose on her little mat and she enjoyed reaching over and pulling grass out. This little game caused her to get some dirt under her fingernails, which I still can't get out.

Here are some other random pics:


Sevak with a knock-off Statue of Liberty (we'll get the real one tomorrow)


Rose enjoying one of the many fountains New York has to offer (there were really cool ones near the Ellis Island ferry and in Central Park that little kids were playing in)


Again, pay no attention to the man behind the horse. This photo was taken outside the Museum of Natural History, because they're doing an exhibit on these lovable equine creatures:



So far, New York has been pretty cool. The people have all been really nice. I can't figure out if they're generally friendly, or if our baby brings out the best in them. Seriously, I was not prepared for the amount of people that would come up and start chatting with Rose. And, of course, since she can't chat back, she answers vicariously through me. Today I must have said at least 10 times (in a high baby voice), "I'm 4 months" or "yes, I am a good girl." I don't mind, though--it usually gets us a seat on the subway or even a shortcut through the Empire State Building line. P.S. I appreciated that gesture, but I wish it could have been a "longer" cut--we only skipped in front of about 30 people in a line full of 30 billion people. Again, though, I shouldn't complain--it's the thought that counts. Anyway, this post was longer than intended, but I hope you enjoyed.