Manhattan and the Food Emporium

Well, my absence can be explained by my trip to New York as well as this PhD annoyance that I have attached myself too. But first to the fun stuff, my trip to Manhattan was great (although I missed D and the cherubs very much).

Highlights of the trip:

1. Ground Zero and the drawing from a child above. It is a storyboard of sorts that shows the Twin Towers being crashed into and then the towers, who appear to be made up of hearts (how incredible is that), falling apart but it is through the flying up to heaven of the hearts. It took my breath away and I am so glad to share it. Through the art of a young child, I was so very touched. The rest of the Ground Zero experience was incredible as well. The St. Paul's Chapel that was right there, and had NO WINDOWS even break, was just goose-bump creating. The church itself has turned into a sort of shrine and has lost a bit of its holy factor (at least for me), it was wonderful to know that the church was such a useful and special place during the days and months that followed the tragedy. This visit should be required for every American, it left me speechless indeed.

2. Seeing Lady Liberty - that was cool, but COLD. We waited in line for the ferry for almost 2 hours, brrr. It would indeed be an awesome sight if you were new to the country and came upon that symbol of freedom after traveling the seas for weeks/months.

3. Seeing a play, November, starring Nathan Lane. While I must admit to being disappointed by the proficient use of the "F" word, mostly during the first act, I also had my feathers slightly rumpled by the negative language surrounding one of the character's adoption of a child from China. Essentially, the President was offensive to every single group you could think of, and that was the point, so while I acknowledge it was on purpose, it still was a good little prodder for how SOME people in society view international adoption "buying", etc. Regardless, it was still neat to see a play up close and personal.

4. Going to the big Macy's. Ridiculously large and when we first arrived they were having a Flower Show and there were gorgeous flowers everywhere! My aunt who went with loved it as she is a major gardener.

5. Going to ChinaTown and Little Italy. I bought no fake purses, wallets, or sunglasses - I didn't find any I liked! It was fine, but I actually think I liked Chinatown in San Francisco better!

6. I LOVED all the little grocery stores, delis, etc., that were on every street corner it seemed, with my absolute favorite being the Food Emporium . Why oh why can't we have one here! I was loving that as it was only a block from our hotel.

7. The Top of the Rock - Rockefeller Center, it was beautiful to see New York at night from up there. The ice skating rink was also cool to see in person, much smaller than it seems on t.v.

Okay, that is all for now, I have finished my assignment for today for school (only 5 more to go this week!!!) and am ready to crash.

All for now,
CC