Exploring New York

On Monday, the day after the marathon, Mr B, CJ and I met up with KT (from Melbourne)and her hubby for a farewell breakfast as they were heading off to Vegas that afternoon. It had been lovely to catch up with them on the other side of the world and share experiences. Later Mr B and I packed our bags and headed off to a guest house on the East side of  NY. Our room was several floors up but fortunately our host met us and helped carry our bags. Our Canberra friends were on the floor below us which was great. That evening the five of us enjoyed a great middle Eastern meal together in our new local area.

We had another week in NY but as it was CJ's last night on Tuesday we decided to go to a show. We took the subway to Times Square that day and bought cheap tickets for Kinky Boots. The five of us went together and found it lots of fun. Later we finally had our celebratory drink at a pub nearby.

It was sad to say goodbye to CJ next day when she flew off to Paris. 

Over the next few days we explored New York City, Madison Square, took long walks in Central Park, browsed the shopping centres and enjoyed a beautiful meal at Brasserie Les Halles in Park Avenue, where famous chefs have trained, with our daughter Em and her fiancé who arrived in NY a few days before we left. They had been celebrating her 30th in Vegas!

We had a great time exploring Greenwich, SoHo and the Chelsea Markets. We walked the High Line on a very cold day which required buying a beanie first! We had lots of lovely meals with our Canberra friends including one memorable one in Little Italy. We also had an opportunity to spend some time with Em & Court, shops, pubs and meals.

We spent a long time at the Guggenheim  Museum but our favourite visit was probably the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). (Thanks for the recommendation LL). Coffee has improved so much in the past four years when we were last in NY. I have enjoyed many great coffees in NY this time and some beautiful meals.

On our last full day in NY, a week after the marathon, I went for my first run - an 8km undulating run with Mr B, taking in some of the north side of Central Park and a few hilly detours. It was pretty and I felt happy although a little sad to know we were leaving this great city next day.