New York New York!!!!

Andrew and I have always had the motto that we should try to see as much as we can when we travel to new places. We both would hate if we visited a place and didn't get to see ALL of the major tourist attractions. I hate regretting anything.
We are very lucky that the kids are so resilient, they are used to our crazy ways and as long as Maddy has her scooter, she can keep up with us :)
We stayed in Queens, as the prices in Manhattan were beyond insane, and took the subway in every morning to the city. It was only 4 or 5 metro stops to Grand Central so it wasn't a big deal.
Our first day we spent the morning meeting up with my good friend Dimple with her husband and little guy Kingston. We hung out at Madison Square Park by the Flatiron Building and also had a nice lunch at the famous Shake Shack! This place is insane, the lineups are unreal but people come every day and wait in line. There is actually a website where you can get a live stream to check out how long the lines are.
I think we had four full days in New York, and I have to admit that we basically crossed everything off our list. We saw Penn Station, Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, United Nations Headquarters, Brooklyn Bridge, the new World Trade Center (in construction), Wall Street, New York Stock Exchange, Battery Park, Staten Island, the Statue of Liberty (also still under repair from the hurricane), Rockefeller Center, Trump Tower, Central Park, the zoo, and FAO Schwarz and the stores along Fifth Avenue.
We spent one full day at the Central Park and it was really fun. Of course I took the kids to the zoo. I think my favourite part was the penguins!
We spent one day in Brooklyn, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and hung out on the other side at some parks. We also visited the famous toy store FAO Schwarz, where Maddy spent a couple of hours picking out a toy.
I think our experience would have been quite different if we didn't have the kids with us. Of course it's fun when Maddy sees pictures of the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty and yell "I've been there before!", but it would have been fun to experience some of the restaurants or see a show on Broadway. I believe Andrew and I will definitely make a point of going back someday.
New York, you were fun, you were crazy (particularly some of the folk we saw on the subway), you were loud, you were bright, and you were crowded. It's a totally different life. Happy to cross it off my list!!!!
Until next time.