Mummy & Monster take Manhattan

This week Mummy and I were able to sneak away for an overnight in NYC; Mummy had a conference and I just wound up tagging along.We left Tuesday afternoon and headed into the city, driving, which was still new to me, having only ever done it with once before. We farmers traditionally drive to the train station and take a train into the city. The drive to Astoria, where we stayed with Sarah & Joel (at their great apartment), took less time than the entire train process (driving to station, waiting for train, taking train in, catching subway) and provided us with lots of time to chat.

Driving in we encountered some rain, but it managed to hold out enough so that Mummy, Sarah, her Mom (who was also visiting) and I could go for a walk through Astoria Park, where we were able to admire the Triborough and Hellgate Bridges (I think those are the right names...?) Met up with Joel and went to a fun place for dinner where we all tried different things, sharing our food; felt like a really good and communal way to eat!

Wednesday Joel showed Mummy and I to the subway and we all headed into the city for our days' (mis) adventures. While Joel was at work and Mummy was conferencing, I managed to see and do the following things:

• Ate breakfast in Union Square—even admired the pigeons
• Saw City Hall (from a distance)
• Walked through Trinity Church and its' Cemetary
• Walked down Wall Street past the New York Stock Exchange
• Saw the Federal Building where Washington was inaugurated in 1789
• Walked through Financial District
• Saw where the 9/11 Memorial is being errected
• Made it out to Battery Park and saw the Battery Park Library, which just went green
• Mummy and I met up with my cousin Jessi and had lunch with her at Grey Dogs (the location near Union Sq.) YUM! (Now I've gone to two locations of Grey Dogs. Lunch was great, but I think I love their breakfasts more).
• Walked to Washington Sq. to see the mini Arc de Triumph
• Went to Sweet Revenge with the cousin, for cupcakes and coffee (they are known for their pairings: every cupcake has a suggested wine/beer to go with it).
• Walked tons more to Amy’s pastry shop for treats for my housemates

I had a very busy day walking/subwaying around NYC (mostly) alone. Are you ever alone in that city?! First time I've taken on the city by myself and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Really felt more at home there; this is because Sarah let me borrow her super helpful map. (Streetwise Manhattan--check it out if you are ever going to be in the City; totally worth it!)

I loved our time in the City, but one of the first things I said to Mummy upon arriving back in the sticks was, "look, you couldn't see the stars in the City."