Our Final Night in NYC

We went back to the hotel, got our bags packed and ready to go, and then left to see the city at night for the final time. We decided to walk back to Rockefeller Center, get some coffee, and watch the people ice skating. It was so nice to just relax. We'd had a wonderful time in NYC, but both of us said that we were very ready to see Eli. I actually did very well while we were gone. I only checked in twice a day-once in the morning and once at night. I missed him like crazy, but I was so glad Josh and I got to have some couple time together.







We left Hotel Edison at 3:30 AM sharp, made it to the airport bY 4:15, and were on our plane by 6:00. After a stop in Dallas, we finally landed in Baton Rouge. Only a two hour drive separated us from our little man. We quickly got something to eat and hurried home. Eli was outside waiting for us when we got home and it was so good to see him. It looked like he had grown so much while we were gone! He was so tired (and we were, too!) so we all took a long family nap. Ahhh, it felt GREAT to be home!!

Chinatown and Little Italy

After our wonderful lunch overlooking the water, we set off in search of more sites from downtown NYC. We headed north to Chinatown, Little Italy, and Soho. On the way, we passed some really neat buildings.

Statue built to honor Benjamin Franklin

Another view of the Brooklyn Bridge
(I definitely want to walk across it the next time we go!)

City Hall
(So big I couldn't even fit all of it into the frame!)

The court house

We finally made it to Chinatown and it was craziness! Poor Josh! He said it was worse than the fair and if I wanted something that bad I could just go buy the real thing :) He didn't want any part of the back alley deals. It was like stepping into another world, especially when we walked down Fish Lane (my made up name for the place). There were TONS of raw fish everywhere and it didn't really smell that nice, but it was neat to see.

We made our way through Chinatown as quickly as we could (probably not fast enough for Josh!) and walked to Little Italy. This is a place we'll go back to when we return to New York so we can eat at one of these nice Italian restaurants.



We did pass by Lombardi's (supposedly the original pizzeria) and even though we had eaten just two hours before, I felt like we had to try the pizza, so we did! We shared a small pepperoni pizza. (Can you tell I like pizza just a little? I only ate it every single day we were in NYC!) It was definitely a very different tasting pizza, nothing like I had ever eaten at home, but I liked it. After two pieces I was stuffed!




We left Lombardi's and continued our trek north through Soho. We didn't spend much time here because we were so exhausted by this point! We found a subway, hopped on (we learned our lesson this time!), and rode back to our hotel. We needed to get packed since we were going to have to leave the hotel at 3:30 in the MORNING the next morning!! We definitely didn't want a repeat of the adventure we had just getting to NYC!

Downtown New York

After our ferry ride, we headed north to the financial district. Everything down here felt so different than around Times Square. It wasn't as crowded for one thing! And it was very quiet. You didn't have the hustle and bustle of mid-town NYC. We both liked it a lot.



Walking down the cobblestone roads was like being transported back in time. It had such an old world feel to it. We were able to see the NYSE (New York Stock Exchange) from a distance. You couldn't even get close to this building because of all the security. Once again, the architecture on these old buildings was phenomenal!




Just a few buildings over from the NYSE, was Federal Hall with a statue of George Washington. These steps were the site where George Washington took the oath to become our first president.



This is Trinity Church. We didn't get to get any closer to it, but you can tell, even from a distance, how intricately beautiful it is.


We continued walking north and we came to South Seaport Street. Back in the day, this was where all the fishermen would come in with their catch of the day and unload the ships. There were several large boats docked that you could walk on and see, but the most famous attraction down here is a pier called Pier 17. They took an old barge and converted it into several restaurants, stores, and shops. Josh and I needed sustenance so we took a break here and ate at one of the restarants at Pier 17. It was so relaxing! We had a table overlooking the water and it was so peaceful sitting there. We lingered as long as we thought we could, then gathered up our things, and made our way to Chinatown.

Views from our table

Brooklyn Bridge

The Journey to Get to Lady Liberty

Thursday morning came bright and early. We woke up promptly at 9:00-again- got dressed, and finalized what we were going to do on our final day in NYC over breakfast. I wanted to go downtown and try to do as much as we could. My list of things to do downtown included: riding the ferry, seeing the Stature of Liberty, seeing the financial district, going to Chinatown, Little Italy, and SOHO. A pretty long list, but I knew after what we had already done that we would be fine trying to squeeze all this in!

We had talked to a nice NYC couple over supper the night before and they gave us some tips on using the subway system to get downtown. They made it sound so simple, but it proved to be a little more difficult than Josh and I expected. The lady told me that we had two options to get downtown; we could either take the 1 to South Ferry or we could take the 4,5 to Bowling Green. Both of those would get us close to where the ferry was and that's where we wanted to start our day. What the lady failed to tell us and what we failed to realized after looking at the map was that all the subway lines crossed at some point. I thought that we had to find a 4.5 station to get to our location, but that wasn't true at all. Needless to say, Josh and I did a lot of pointless walking just to find a station that had 4,5 on it when we could have gotten on about 5 or 6 train before that and then hopped to the 4,5 once we were down there. Oh well...live and learn!

While we were trying to find the 4,5 station, we passed St. Patrick's Cathedral again and I got some more incredible pictures. I would love to go inside this cathedral the next time we visit. If this is what the outside looks like, imagine what the inside looks like!



We FINALLY made it to the station we were looking for, boarded the train, and settled in for the ride. It took maybe 10 minutes for us to get downtown and it wasn't scary at all. I never once worried about our safety.


Our first stop of the day was Battery Park. We noticed a huge line and hoped that it wasn't the line to board the free ferry to Staten Island. We didn't have time in our jam-packed schedule for waiting! Luckily for us, all these people were waiting to PAY to ride the Liberty ferry that takes you to the Statue of Liberty for the tour. All I wanted to do was to get a picture of Lady Liberty and ride the FREE ferry :) Before we got on the ferry though, I did get my picture made with the Statue of Liberty. She wanted to charge me $5 but I bargained with her and she took $2. I was pretty pumped about that!

The Lady Liberty ferry (not the free one)

We walked to the Staten Island Ferry building and boarded the ferry. Apparently lots of people must have read the same guide book I did because there were lots of tourists on the ferry doing the exact same thing we were. Fighting for a spot at the back of the ferry wasn't fun, but we managed and I was able to snap a couple of pictures of the Statue of Liberty.

The ferry we took for free :)
It takes about 30 minutes there and 30 minutes back. You don't go to the Statue of Liberty, but you do get to pass right by her. Plus, you can sit down, relax, and enjoy the views of the city from the boat. It was actually very relaxing!