Yesterday, I went on a field trip with R’s second grade class to Grand Central Terminal. We had a wonderful day exploring the many treasures that the 100 year old train station has to offer- whispering corners, the longest track (#34), interviewing Staff Sergeant Perez & Specialist Westchester who were making sure the station was safe, talking to the Station Master, exploring the many shops, standing and staring in awe at the beauty of the architecture, learning about the history of the terminal and finally just soaking in the energy of the hustle and bustle of tourists and residents moving through the space. It was a great trip and I am again reminded of how incredibly lucky we are to live in the city and that our children can go on these awesome adventures at school. Here are some pics I took while we were exploring. Hope you enjoy them. I promise that I will try and find some time to actually do some writing soon! The last two months of school have filled the calendar- Eeek! Paul, I promise to write more, no really I do!! 😉 Have a fabulous Wednesday and I am sending out some extra positive vibes today… just because =)
Posts Tagged ‘Grand Central Station’
Wordless Wednesday: Field Trip To Grand Central Terminal
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged field trip to grand central terminal, Grand Central Station, grand central terminal, Life in NYC, Living in Manhattan, pics of Grand Central Station, positive vibes, transportation, Wordless Wednesday on May 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »
I’m Bored!
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged beating boredom, Grand Central Station, Heard NY, keeping sane while the kids are home on break, Life in NYC, lifestyle, Living in Manhattan, Maritime Aquarium, Mommy Poppins, NYC Parks Dept, planning with the kids, Spa Castle Queens, Spring Break, The Croods, Things to do during Spring Break in NYC, Time Out New York Kids, Whale Exhibit at AMNH on March 25, 2013| 3 Comments »
It is that time of year again… the week and half of Spring Break. And while it is a welcome break from homework, test prep, homework, afterschool activities, homework, test prep, making lunches and the hustle and bustle (nagging) of the morning rush to get out the door it also means that it is time to entertain or at least occupy the kids. What mother or father doesn’t cringe at the whiny kid voice of “I’m bored!!”?? Seriously, it is worse than nails on a chalkboard. In my mind “I’m bored” translates to “I’m spoiled” because seriously, most kids I know including mine, do not have it too rough and have plenty of things to do around the apartment 😉
But, that being said, I really do look forward to planning some cool activities for the kids and I to do over Spring Break. I mean we live in NYC, how freakin’ bored can we be????!!! We will be spending part of the break out of the city as we head to Washington, DC. on Friday for a long weekend and we are all pretty excited. This is the first time we will be there as a family and we can’t wait to explore all of the amazing sites. It seems to be a pretty popular NYC ‘weekend away’ destination as we know at least 5 other families who are also going to DC for the weekend. Until we head out on that adventure I have planned a few fun things to do in the NYC area for the next four days. If you are racking your brain for some things to do, take a peek or feel free to share your own ideas. Also if you have any MUST DO’s for Washington, please share those as well. Most of all, Happy Spring Break, have fun and don’t forget your patience, sanity and if all else fails, reach for the wine 😉
My Spring Break Ideas:
*visit the new Whale Exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History -the AMNH never disappoints and we can spend a couple of hours there or most of the day, plus Shake Shack is right around the corner- YUM!
*we are going to spend a girls day shopping, the girls are at the age where they are actually excited to browse through the racks of clothing and they both need some new clothes for spring. We may even pretend we are tourists and head on into Times Square & mid-town to go to American Eagle 77 Kids, American Girl and other shops on 5th avenue. Mommy might need a drink at lunch 😉
*this week at Grand Central Station (that is turning 100 years old this year) there are many cool events including performances by “Heard NY” where dancers dressed like beautiful horses give two performances a day in the grand hall. Definitely not something to miss.
*we will be going to see “The Croods”. Looks like a hilariously fun family movie, one that I am actually looking forward to seeing.
*we will also be getting ready for Easter by visiting Michael’s and getting dye and decorations for eggs, that is about as crafty as I get. And of course, we will have to visit Barnes & Noble because everyone needs a new book to sit down and read when the weather is crummy- we are expecting snow today!!!!
*hopefully the weather will start warming up and we can do one of our favorite activities in the city, exploring parks and playgrounds in different neigborhoods- www.nycgovparks.org
*if we are feeling especially adventurous we can do some day trips out of Manhattan, a friend of mine just told me about the Spa Castle in Queens where children are allowed to go with their parents to enjoy the hot/cold tubs and relax. Now that definitely sounds like my kind of mom/daughter day! Maybe I can even sneak in a massage…
*another quick trip is to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT. Just jump on the train and you can walk from the station to the aquarium. Norwalk is a pretty waterfront town to explore with great shops and restaurants too!
*a couple of great resources when looking for things to do with kids in NYC are: Time Out New York Kids and Mommy Poppins, they always have up to the minute ‘what is going on in the city’, be sure to check them out for ideas, including neighborhood specific ideas.
Worst case scenario, we will just have to get out and pound the pavement… you never know what you might find on the streets of NYC! It is always an adventure… and I am sure we will be able to find one! 😉
Wordless Wednesday: Looking Up From Grand Central to the UN
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 42nd Street, Chrysler Building, Cipriani, Grand Central Station, life in Manhattan, living in NYC, Pics of NYC, Pictures of Manhattan, Tudor City, United Nations Building, Wordless Wednesday on February 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »
On Saturday we decided to explore a new neighborhood. We hopped on the subway to Times Square and then transferred to the shuttle over to Grand Central Station. From there we walked East toward the UN. We then made our way back uptown with an early dinner stop at Dos Caminos and of course a little treat from Dylan’s Candy Shop. It was a great day of exploring. Here are my pics of the beautiful tall architectural wonders from Grand Central Station to the United Nations. Hope you enjoy =) Â Have a fabulous Wednesday!
Wordless Wednesday: A Trip to Upstate New York
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Day trips from NYC, Escaping the city, Grand Central Station, Upstate NY on July 27, 2011| 1 Comment »
To escape a bit of the heat the girls and I accepted a very generous offer to go and hang out at a friend’s house in Upstate New York. It was a nice break from the unending humidity in the City. We had a wonderful time and here are some pics from our mini- adventure. Enjoy and have a fantabulous day 😉
This Week’s Random NYC Observations
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Beer, Commuters, Costumes, Curtains, Grand Central Station, Hallowe'en, Neighbors, New Yorkers, NYC, Observations, Superman on October 8, 2010| 4 Comments »
New Yorker’s love to share, in fact sometimes there is a little something called the over-share.  If you have ever walked down a crowded Manhattan street stuck behind a woman in a heated conversation with her delinquent boyfriend you will know exactly what I am talking about.  There is very little privacy in this city but that doesn’t mean that you have to share EVERYTHING.  The bedrooms of our apartment look out into the various rooms of the apartments across from us. There is a small gap between the windows. Picture a U shape.  An extremely tiny U shape.  There really is only about a distance of 10 feet between the windows.  Thus, the importance of CURTAINS. Especially, if the neighbour directly across from your (meaning our) bedroom has a very healthy porn habit and a HUGE computer monitor.  Dude, I don’t care if you watch porn, but really, why don’t you get curtains?  HE doesn’t seem to mind that every apartment building along our wall can watch him, watching porn.  Ewww.  I mean all I really want to do is open and close my window in peace.  I guess if he doesn’t mind, I shouldn’t, right??
While I am on the topic of over-sharing I also learned this week that you should always tip your limo driver WELL. Â Yesterday, at a street corner I watched a woman exit a super -stretch white limo and proceed into a fancy, schmancy door man building. Â The driver who was still recovering from carrying in her numerous large travel bags proceeded back to the limo yelling “Hey everyone, Miss Rich Bitch just gave me a $7 tip, oooo… a whole $7, what could I possibly do with that much money??”. Â Yikes, I guess they didn’t teach that woman proper tipping etiquette at her private school OR the driver any tact in “limo driving 101”.
Hallowe’en is right around the corner.  Apparently NYC takes this festivity extremely seriously.  I guess this is the day where it is acceptable to be as crazy and outlandish as you want to be without any consequences.  However, I am not really sure how this differs from the other days of the year 😉  In NYC Hallowe’en is definitely NOT just for kids, in fact, there seems to be more events for adults being advertised than for children. Costume shops are sprouting up all over the city.  The other night on the way to yoga, I had a disturbing experience where a large gentlemen dressed as bunny tried to lure me into a store.  It was definitely a “my mother told me never to take candy from strangers” moment.
The City of Ottawa could learn a thing or two from the road workers of New York. Â This week we have had to endure the re-paving of the street outside of our apartment. Â I say endure because they re-pave at night. Â Hear that Ottawa? Â In the middle of the night, so they do not have to disrupt millions of commuters during the day. Â So, needless to say, it has been a bit loud but hey, what’s one more thing to get used to listening to as you try and lull yourself to sleep at night? On the sleep note, I have learned that the city of New York DOES sleep. Â But only during the hours of 4:00 and 6:30 am. Â If you happen to find yourself awake at that time (damn bladder) it is actually very peaceful and almost eerily quiet.
The BEST thing that I found out about this week is that you can buy beer -to -go at Grand Central Station.  So, if you are a commuter that takes the train, you can grab a beer and settle into your seat, pull our your book and casually sip away during the trip home. How incredibly civilized. It almost (ALMOST) makes me want to move out of the city 😉
Oh ya, that also means that I visited Grand Central Station on the way to go and see Ron at work. Â I absolutely LOVE this building and every time I walk in I am awestruck by its incredible beauty. Â It really is a wild experience to just stand there and let the people pass you. Â Everyone is on a journey to somewhere. Â No wonder soo many movies have been filmed in this amazing building.
I finally visited Ron’s office building this week and I have to say I am a little bit jealous. Â No wonder he loves his job and is happy at work. Â Who wouldn’t be want to come in and sit in an office with this view everyday?
I have to admit I did have a “Holy F, I live in NYC” moment again this week.  I was walking down the street and it just hit me out of no where.  I am NOT visiting, this IS where I live.  All the crazy adventures are mine to own.  And hey, I might just be adding a little craziness of my own right back into the city. After all, I am the woman walking around taking random pictures and mumbling about the value of curtains. 😉
Enjoy the weekend! I wish all my Canadian friends a VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!