family comes to town

Finally, someone came to visit us out in the big city. Over Memorial day weekend Jason's parents and three sisters came, for the first time, to New York. In fact, it was the first time the twins had flown, so this was quite the experience for all.
They arrived early Friday morning with no time to rest. While I went to work Jason took them to Friend of a Farmer for a wonderful breakfast, where they saw a Victoria's Secret model. After a tour of NYU and Washington Square park they walked down to Magnolia Bakery for the experience of their lives. They loved the cupcakes, but the banana pudding was a definite favorite. By that time I was home from work and they were ready for the trek across the Brooklyn Bridge. This was an adventure in itself and I must say they thought the views were breathless. I think they got just about every shot of the downtown skyline they could. Once we were across we walked right into Grimaldi's, no waiting in line, where they experienced New York style pizza for the first time. After checking out the skyline one more time from the pier we were on our way home with blisters already forming.

The next morning we woke up bright and early to catch the double-decker tour bus for our adventure around the city. Now I know some of you might laugh and think it's silly that we took a tour bus, but this is one our favorite things to do in the city. Not only do you get some great shots of the city from the top but you learn all sorts of fun facts along the way. After cruising around the city all morning we hopped off for some burgers and shakes at the shake shack. After the long wait and struggle to find a seat and were finally able to prove that the shake shack was better then In-and-out burger. Then back for a little rest before heading down to check out the lights of Time Square and some family style fun at Carmines. (where everything was big including the titanic dessert)


Because this was so long ago and I can't remember every detail I will leave out the minor details. The next day we were excited to go to a Broadway and everyone was awaiting the experience. Apparently not a lot of shows were showing and our choices were quite limited at the TKS booth. After a decision to see The Spelling Bee we were ready to get our tickets, unfortunately there was on 5 tickets available so we settled for Avenue Q. All I have to say is that this was a HUGE mistake, Avenue Q is the WORST show I have ever seen, after about 45 minutes we were so embarrassed and uncomfortable that all seven of us had to get up and leave. Please tell everyone you know, there is nothing good about this show and I've never been so uncomfortable in all my life. To make up for the humiliation of the show we then went to our favorite chocolate place, Max Brenner, to end the night on a sweeter note.

We spent Memorial day enjoying Central Park, where we toured the great lawn, had a picnic below Belvadere Castle and canoed in The Lake. The next day was back to work for me and shopping for the family. First making a stop at the top of the Empire State Building, then on to some of New York's finest shops, H&M and Forever 21. With a final stop for some more banana pudding they were ready for the long flight home to relax.

All in all they had a great trip, despite the blistered feet, and we loved playing tour guides and showing them all of our favorite hot spots in the city. We can't wait for them to come and back and see us again.