Sunday morning we started our day with complimentary Starbucks from the hotel and a quick bagel from the deli next door to our hotel. Incidentally, we stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott on 40th and Fifth Avenue. It was in a perfect location for the adventures we had planned this trip.
The New York Public Library was less than a block away and St. Patrick’s Cathedral was about 10 blocks.
We got to St. Patrick’s early so we had lots of time to sit and watch others come in. The cathedral is huge and most of mass can be viewed on the screens located throughout the body of the church.
From there we went to Rockefeller Center where this giant inflatable ice skater resided. More importantly, we found Nintendo NYC.
They had the new Nintendo Switch game console that Mason has saved and saved for. They are hard to come by and when they come in stock, they fly off the shelves. This was Mason’s first opportunity to lay his hands on it and he was in heaven.
It was a bustling two story shop and had we not had plans for lunch, I bet Mason would have stayed a few hours or more.
Other sights nearby included Radio City Music Hall and the NY Yankees Steakhouse.
We met Chrissy and her mom for a wonderful reunion lunch at a simple deli. Chrissy was in town from Phoenix for two weeks for surgery and her recovery was going very well.
After lunch we went to Grand Central Terminal. That’s when Kim joined us.
Walker would have loved the open air Apple store that was on the second floor of GCT.
Mason had to have an afternoon ice cream and s’mores macaroon from Jacques Torres.
Fresh fruit stands reminded me of both life in Mexico and life in New York. Oh, how yummy tropical fruit tastes with lime and chili!
We took the train downtown to City Hall and walked across the Brooklyn bridge. On such a beautiful Sunday afternoon, it was really crowded.
I love how you can look through the slats on the bridge and see the water when you walk across.
Apparently the need for the sign was real and often disregarded.
When we reached the end of the bridge, we walked across Cadman Plaza toward the subway. Many a Friday night I used to take the subway to the bridge, cross the Plaza and land on our friends’ doorstop on Middagh Street. Across the street was this firehouse. They were first responders on 9-11.
The building looks the same but the painting honoring the fallen firefighters is long gone.
Keeping in mind that Mason loves noodles, I was happy to find Totto Ramen in Hell’s Kitchen. YUM! We got there just in the nick of time ahead of the crowds and sat at the counter were we could watch them prepare our dishes.
Mason ordered Totto Champon (their signature paitan soup with thick straight noodle, stir fried nappa, bean sprout, shrimp, squid, fish cake and pork belly), Kim had Curry Paitan (curry added to the original broth, wavy noodles, half of a seasoned boiled egg, scallions, bean sprouts, and onion) and I had Vegetable Ramen (original straight noodles in seaweed and shiitake mushroom base soup topped with seasonal vegetables and Yuzu paste). It was FANTASTIC!
It was light enough and early enough to make the walk back crosstown back to our hotel through Times Square and Byrant Park. No one would doubt that we covered a lot of ground. Each step made for an awesome first day in the city.
Wow….I am impressed by your NYC skills.
I would be overwhelmed by it all. I was there when I was Mason’s age, but never have been back……having moved away from the east coast.