New York, New York...a helluva town!

We recently spent 5 days in NYC between Christmas and New Years Eve.  I have to say that I've had a longing to go back for several years and this trip scratched one of those deep itches! Although I grew up on Long Island and not "the City", New York is my favourite place in the world and I have been fortunate enough to live and visit quite a few.  Although it is almost a cliche, NYC has a vibrancy that is unmatched and a magnetism that draws me in every time.  

The proverbial icing on the cake was the fact that Helene and the boys (now 6 and 9 years old) were also with me and we all had a blast! It was the first time that our children visited New York and even they were super excited to go without knowing very much about it except what they see in movies and what we told them before leaving.  It came close to feeling like we never left France given the sheer amount of French tourists we overheard while there.  Clearly, the Euro-Dollar exchange rate helps and then of course there is Abercrombie....a magnet for the French (and non-French) in and of itself.  We visited the their store at South Street Seaport and dear Lord, I kid you not the lines to pay were 20-30 minutes long!  Masses of French, Spanish, American and Japanese were on a buying frenzy.  I could tell you that I'm above all of that type of "wannabe" fashionista symbols but alas, we exited with 2 fair sized shopping bags filled with clothes...hoping that by sheer virtue of wearing these clothes my "abs" would magically improve :-)

Of course, we did all the typical "tourist" attractions while there...ice skating in Rockefeller Center, horse carriage ride through Central Park and a trip to the top of the Empire State Building on a clear crisp winter day.

We also indulged in the local "delicacies"...pizza, griddle pancakes, burgers, street vendor pretzels and more!  I know, I know...not very healthy but it was a vacation after all.  

We did have a trying experience with our hotel which will certainly fill up my next post.  Looking back now it was actually bordering on the surreal but it could not and did not dampen the thrill of seeing the City again after so many years and reliving the excitement through the eyes of our children.  I cant wait to go back again!