Day Two New York City: Morning

The street to the right of our hotel. This was the direction we walked every morning.

Solution for a small parking lot....go UP

Columbus Circle

I'm also a sucker for clocks

Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle

Bouchon Bakery in the Time Warner Center, a favorite of mine

macarons and other yumminess

Some of the treats available. I can vouch for the Pecan Sticky Bun from another trip...divine

my favorite scone of all time, bacon and cheese with a chocolate macaron. The other is a Chocolate COVERED chocolate macaron. How could I say no to that?

The bathroom at the Time Warner Center has CNN in the mirror!!!

Axelle, Reagan and Laurel

A Waffles and Dinges truck. We were too stuffed to try it, but I will one day.

I absolutely adore the mosaic animals lining the walls at the Museum of Natural History subway stop

love how the body and tail go out onto the floor

Walking toward the Museum of Natural History

Reagan and "Rexie" of Night at the Museum movie fame. He says Rexie is smaller than he thought it would be.

Central Park

I have no idea why the lake is sooooo green

beautiful Bow Bridge, one of my favorite things about Central Park

crossing Bow Bridge

Axelle, Laurel, Travis, me and Reagan hanging out on Bow Bridge

Christy, Axelle, Laurel, Travis and Reagan

Loeb's Boathouse, a yummy place to eat

One day I'm going to take a carriage ride in Central Park

Bethesda Fountain

Making a wish and throwing in a coin

Yoga

I'm not sure if these benches are purchased or sponsored, but we really enjoyed reading the plaques that were placed upon many of them.

what a wonderful memorial

awwww

Strawberry Fields...a memorial to John Lennon

Crossing the street to the Upper West Side

The house where John Lennon was shot

walking on the Upper West Side

Levain Bakery...worth waiting for

Axelle, Laurel and Reagan patiently waiting

Four cookie choices...plenty for me

Chocolate with Peanut Butter Chips and Chocolate with Chocolate Chips...my favorites

We checked the weather last night and today was going to be our coolest day of the trip. It was a perfect day to go to Central Park. We decided to go in the morning to take advantage of the coolest part of the day. We started our day at Columbus Circle and breakfast in Bouchon Bakery located in the Time Warner Center. After breakfast, we rode the subway up to Central Park and while walking down to the entrance, we ducked into the Museum of Natural History so Reagan could see the dinosaurs in the lobby. We walked a lot in Central Park, passing Bow Bridge and The Boathouse and Bethesda Fountain. We got a little turned around trying to find our way out, but that didn't keep us from our next stop, Levain Bakery. We walked past Strawberry Fields, a memorial to John Lennon and his former home where he was shot on our way to the bakery. Levain Bakery has the biggest, yummiest cookies that I have ever eaten in NYC. If they don't serve them to you warm off the baking sheet, ask for them to be warmed up. Oh my, they are soooo yummy.

Distrikt Hotel: New York City

right next to a Staybridge Suites

Front lobby

Complimentary iced teas in the afternoon. Complimentary coffee in the morning.  Two computers are also located here in the front lobby for guest use.

carved walls in the elevator

Real plant mosaic in the lobby

Bistro and Bar...did not dine here so I can't say anything about breakfast

complimentary brownies on check in

spacious rooms with two queens

nice products in the bathroom

every night we had a card on our bed with the temps for the next day and chocolate

The Distrikt Hotel is located just off of Broadway near Times Square. It is in a perfect location for the subway and everything we wanted to see. The beds were wonderful, the rooms were clean, and plenty of hot water for all three of us staying in our room. I would definately consider this hotel again as an option on my next trip to New York City, especially because they give you brownies when you check in ;)

Arriving in New York

Christy and her niece Laurel

arriving in NYC!!

first glimpse of the skyline

getting on the subway to go to Yankee Stadium

the new Yankee Stadium

Laurel, Axelle, Travis and Reagan

 

Today I am going to New York City with Travis, Christy, Reagan, Christy's niece Laurel, and our french cousin Axelle Jude. This is Axelle's second trip to the United States and she has always wanted to go to New York City. Travis asked if I might like to hitch a ride and come along and of course I said yes! Travis is a pilot and owns his own plane. He and the crew picked me up in Oak Grove at the local airport. Our trip to NYC was pretty uneventful, but we had no idea that arriving in rush hour traffic could make a 20 minute ride turn into an hour and a half to get to the hotel. During that ride was when I discovered that I had dropped my phone at the airport. Thankfully, someone picked it up and turned it in and they agreed to hold it for me until I get back. Because of our travel delay into the city,  Travis's well intentioned plan to go to a Yankees game did not turn out quite like he planned. We missed a good part of the Yankees vs. Braves game because of the delays, but we got hot dogs and crackerjacks anyway and it really was a fun experience in the new Yankee Stadium. Tomorrow we have an action packed day planned. Until then….