Monday, January 27
Unfortunately Margo headed out shortly after breakfast :( My flight wasn't until 8:40pm, so I had some time on my hands. I checked out of the hotel and left my luggage with them, then got the subway to St. Paul's Chapel. The chapel is the oldest surviving church building in Manhattan and miraculously didn't even have a broken window after 9/11, despite being right across from the WTC. The building served as a place of rest and refuge for the recovery workers, and there are lots of moving photos and stories on display.
I did a bit more shopping at Century 21 (got some great bargains!), got lunch, and was on the subway back up to the hotel when I got a text to say that my flight was going to be delayed. There were seats available on the 5:30pm flight though. I went back to the hotel, made all the phone calls to rearrange my flight and cab, then was off to JFK. I got there in plenty of time and slept most of the flight back. We were the only flight in the arrivals hall at 4am! Paul collected me, we were back at our place by 4:45, and I got about 3 more hours of sleep before Gemma was up. It was so great to see her!
I am so thankful for a wonderful getaway and quality time with my sister. Thanks to Paul and his mom for looking after Gemma to make it possible!
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Friday, January 31, 2014
NYC- Day 5!
Sunday, January 26
Our first stop of the day was for delicious breakfast at a restaurant in Greenwich Village called Oatmeals. They served oatmeal with almost any topping/mix-ins imaginable. The reason we were in that area was for a walking tour with Real New York Tours that we had booked ahead of time. We were early, so we explored a bit on our own first and found the Friends apartment building and Carrie's apartment from Sex and the City.
We met up with our tour and spent the next four hours walking and learning about New York from our incredibly enthusiastic and informative tour guide. We walked through Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown, the Financial District, and ended near the World Trade Center site. It was very cold but worth it!
A charming little private court in Greenwich Village
Washington Square Park
The headquarters of the New York City Police Department from 1909 to 1973. It's now luxury condominiums, and Tommy Hilfiger owns the dome!
Little Italy
The New York State Supreme Court Building, seen in many episodes of Law & Order and Blue Bloods!
After the tour we refuelled and warmed up with a quick slice of pizza, then met up with my friend again for coffee before we went to the 9/11 Memorial. It's so hard to imagine what happened there, and it had changed so much since we were last there in 2006.
We headed back to our hotel to thaw out, then went to Grand Central Station to grab some dinner. Unfortunately while we were there, Margo got a text to say her flight back the next day was cancelled :( After a long time on hold with the airline, she finally got on a different flight leaving out of Newark around four hours earlier than her original one. So, we headed back to the hotel and rearranged the cab to take her to the airport and whatnot. We watched tv and rested our poor feet for the rest of the night!
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Our first stop of the day was for delicious breakfast at a restaurant in Greenwich Village called Oatmeals. They served oatmeal with almost any topping/mix-ins imaginable. The reason we were in that area was for a walking tour with Real New York Tours that we had booked ahead of time. We were early, so we explored a bit on our own first and found the Friends apartment building and Carrie's apartment from Sex and the City.
We met up with our tour and spent the next four hours walking and learning about New York from our incredibly enthusiastic and informative tour guide. We walked through Greenwich Village, SoHo, Little Italy, Chinatown, the Financial District, and ended near the World Trade Center site. It was very cold but worth it!
A charming little private court in Greenwich Village
Washington Square Park
The headquarters of the New York City Police Department from 1909 to 1973. It's now luxury condominiums, and Tommy Hilfiger owns the dome!
Little Italy
The New York State Supreme Court Building, seen in many episodes of Law & Order and Blue Bloods!
After the tour we refuelled and warmed up with a quick slice of pizza, then met up with my friend again for coffee before we went to the 9/11 Memorial. It's so hard to imagine what happened there, and it had changed so much since we were last there in 2006.
We headed back to our hotel to thaw out, then went to Grand Central Station to grab some dinner. Unfortunately while we were there, Margo got a text to say her flight back the next day was cancelled :( After a long time on hold with the airline, she finally got on a different flight leaving out of Newark around four hours earlier than her original one. So, we headed back to the hotel and rearranged the cab to take her to the airport and whatnot. We watched tv and rested our poor feet for the rest of the night!
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NYC- Day 4!
Saturday, January 25
Macy's, which was around the corner from our hotel, was the first stop of the day for a little shopping. We then headed to Chelsea Market, an enclosed urban food court/shopping mall. After a delicious cookie we walked a bit on the High Line, a linear park built on a 1.45‑mile section of the elevated former New York Central Railroad. It was pretty cold, so we didn't walk too long!
We got the subway back to near our hotel, and had our lunch a bit backwards. We first had a s'mores Belgian waffle from a Wafels and Dinges stand, then stopped at a deli to get sandwiches to take back to our hotel. We ate, warmed up, and rested a bit before heading to Times Square again. We had a look in a few stores, including the Hershey's store and M&M World.
It was snowing lightly at this point, so we made our way to Central Park. We watched people skating and walked around in the snow. It was quite pretty!
Our next destination was the New York Public Library and Bryant Park. The library was beautiful, and the park had another ice rink!
We headed back to our hotel for another warm up, then walked to a nearby Indian restaurant for dinner. On the walk back, we looked in a couple of stores, including Lord and Taylor, and stopped for a couple of drinks in the Irish pub across from our hotel. Our bartender was from Mayo- about an hour and a half from Paul's hometown! What a small world!
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Macy's, which was around the corner from our hotel, was the first stop of the day for a little shopping. We then headed to Chelsea Market, an enclosed urban food court/shopping mall. After a delicious cookie we walked a bit on the High Line, a linear park built on a 1.45‑mile section of the elevated former New York Central Railroad. It was pretty cold, so we didn't walk too long!
We got the subway back to near our hotel, and had our lunch a bit backwards. We first had a s'mores Belgian waffle from a Wafels and Dinges stand, then stopped at a deli to get sandwiches to take back to our hotel. We ate, warmed up, and rested a bit before heading to Times Square again. We had a look in a few stores, including the Hershey's store and M&M World.
It was snowing lightly at this point, so we made our way to Central Park. We watched people skating and walked around in the snow. It was quite pretty!
Our next destination was the New York Public Library and Bryant Park. The library was beautiful, and the park had another ice rink!
We headed back to our hotel for another warm up, then walked to a nearby Indian restaurant for dinner. On the walk back, we looked in a couple of stores, including Lord and Taylor, and stopped for a couple of drinks in the Irish pub across from our hotel. Our bartender was from Mayo- about an hour and a half from Paul's hometown! What a small world!
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NYC- Day 3!
Friday, January 24
We packed up our bags and got a taxi up to our hotel where we would be staying the next three nights, the Holiday Inn Express in Herald Square. (I would definitely recommend this place- it's quite new, centrally located, immaculately clean, has a free breakfast, and is very reasonably priced!). We were quite surprised that we were actually able to check into our room, so we dropped off our bags, had a couple minute rest, then headed to Rockefeller Center.
Our first stop in Rockefeller Center was the Top of the Rock observation deck. It was again a crystal clear day, so we got great views from the 70th floor!
Looking north toward Central Park
The ball was still in Times Square!
Looking south with the Empire State Building in the background
We headed to the NBC store next (had to check out the 30 Rock and The Office gear!), and while we were looking around, an employee asked us if we would be interested in seeing Jimmy Fallon's monologue practice. Um, yes please! For each show, he practices the monologue in front of a small audience and decides which material to keep. We got tickets and were told to come back later that afternoon.
To fill the time before we had to return, we took the aerial tram to Rooselvelt Island (again, to get some great free views!), got lunch at Five Guys, walked around Rockefeller Center a bit more, and got delicious Magnolia Bakery cupcakes.
We headed back to the NBC store, where we were taken to the Jimmy Fallon studio. It was really fun to see the studio and hear him give the monologue. We were so lucky to be in the right place at the right time earlier in the day!
After the monologue practice, we headed to the Museum of Modern Art, which has free admission on Fridays after 4. We didn't stay too long, but we saw some of the major artists' paintings.
Van Gogh
Monet
We then headed back to the hotel, had a bit of a rest, then headed to a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen called KTCHN. Margo had gotten a Living Social deal for dinner, and it was delicious! 4 courses plus sparkling wine- yum! We headed back to the hotel and crashed again. We both said we wish we had pedometers to see how much we walked each day!
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We packed up our bags and got a taxi up to our hotel where we would be staying the next three nights, the Holiday Inn Express in Herald Square. (I would definitely recommend this place- it's quite new, centrally located, immaculately clean, has a free breakfast, and is very reasonably priced!). We were quite surprised that we were actually able to check into our room, so we dropped off our bags, had a couple minute rest, then headed to Rockefeller Center.
Our first stop in Rockefeller Center was the Top of the Rock observation deck. It was again a crystal clear day, so we got great views from the 70th floor!
Looking north toward Central Park
The ball was still in Times Square!
Looking south with the Empire State Building in the background
We headed to the NBC store next (had to check out the 30 Rock and The Office gear!), and while we were looking around, an employee asked us if we would be interested in seeing Jimmy Fallon's monologue practice. Um, yes please! For each show, he practices the monologue in front of a small audience and decides which material to keep. We got tickets and were told to come back later that afternoon.
To fill the time before we had to return, we took the aerial tram to Rooselvelt Island (again, to get some great free views!), got lunch at Five Guys, walked around Rockefeller Center a bit more, and got delicious Magnolia Bakery cupcakes.
We headed back to the NBC store, where we were taken to the Jimmy Fallon studio. It was really fun to see the studio and hear him give the monologue. We were so lucky to be in the right place at the right time earlier in the day!
After the monologue practice, we headed to the Museum of Modern Art, which has free admission on Fridays after 4. We didn't stay too long, but we saw some of the major artists' paintings.
Van Gogh
Monet
We then headed back to the hotel, had a bit of a rest, then headed to a restaurant in Hell's Kitchen called KTCHN. Margo had gotten a Living Social deal for dinner, and it was delicious! 4 courses plus sparkling wine- yum! We headed back to the hotel and crashed again. We both said we wish we had pedometers to see how much we walked each day!
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NYC- Day 2!
Thursday, January 23
That morning we were the crazy tourists who took the subway over to Brooklyn, then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan in the freezing weather. We had the bridge almost entirely to ourselves! It was a crystal clear day, so we had fantastic views.
After grabbing breakfast and coffee to warm up, we took the subway to SoHo and did some shopping, then explored Little Italy and Chinatown. We had yummy pizza at Lombardi's in Little Italy, then had rice pudding from a place called Rice to Riches for dessert. We had stumbled across this place 8 years ago when we were in NYC with Mom and Dad, and we knew it had to be on our itinerary this time! We got rocky road and raspberry to share.
Next stop was the Staten Island Ferry. We took advantage of the free way to get great views of Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and lower Manhattan. Unfortunately we weren't quick enough to get the immediate ferry back to Manhattan, so we had to kill half an hour in Staten Island. There's really nothing to do there on a freezing January afternoon!
Ellis Island
After our ferry trip, we made a quick stop back at the apartment, then took the subway to Grand Central Station to get dinner. We walked through Times Square, doing a bit of shopping along the way, ate some amazing Junior's cheesecake, then headed to see the Broadway show 'Once'. It was amazing. If you get the chance, see it!
We got the subway back to the apartment, then crashed again after a fun, full day!
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That morning we were the crazy tourists who took the subway over to Brooklyn, then walked across the Brooklyn Bridge back to Manhattan in the freezing weather. We had the bridge almost entirely to ourselves! It was a crystal clear day, so we had fantastic views.
After grabbing breakfast and coffee to warm up, we took the subway to SoHo and did some shopping, then explored Little Italy and Chinatown. We had yummy pizza at Lombardi's in Little Italy, then had rice pudding from a place called Rice to Riches for dessert. We had stumbled across this place 8 years ago when we were in NYC with Mom and Dad, and we knew it had to be on our itinerary this time! We got rocky road and raspberry to share.
Next stop was the Staten Island Ferry. We took advantage of the free way to get great views of Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and lower Manhattan. Unfortunately we weren't quick enough to get the immediate ferry back to Manhattan, so we had to kill half an hour in Staten Island. There's really nothing to do there on a freezing January afternoon!
Ellis Island
After our ferry trip, we made a quick stop back at the apartment, then took the subway to Grand Central Station to get dinner. We walked through Times Square, doing a bit of shopping along the way, ate some amazing Junior's cheesecake, then headed to see the Broadway show 'Once'. It was amazing. If you get the chance, see it!
We got the subway back to the apartment, then crashed again after a fun, full day!
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NYC- Day 1!
On Tuesday morning (4am!), I got back from a wonderful 5 night getaway in New York City with my sister, Margo. I'll recap day by day.
Wednesday, January 22
I departed Dublin airport at 10:50 am. It was so bizarre to be in the airport and only have to look after myself! I read an entire book on the flight over (I think only the second or third since Gemma was born!) and arrived in JFK airport around 1:30pm local time. Margo had arrived into Laguardia a couple of hours earlier and had made her way to a Starbucks near my friend's apartment, where we were lucky to be able to spend our first two nights. I got a car there, and we met up around 3pm.
After a quick sandwich and coffee, we met my friend at her apartment, dropped off our luggage, then hit Century 21 for a little shopping. I think we were a bit overwhelmed after travelling all day, so we didn't spend too much time there. We went out for dinner to a delicious Italian restaurant in the South Street Seaport, then crashed!
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Wednesday, January 22
I departed Dublin airport at 10:50 am. It was so bizarre to be in the airport and only have to look after myself! I read an entire book on the flight over (I think only the second or third since Gemma was born!) and arrived in JFK airport around 1:30pm local time. Margo had arrived into Laguardia a couple of hours earlier and had made her way to a Starbucks near my friend's apartment, where we were lucky to be able to spend our first two nights. I got a car there, and we met up around 3pm.
After a quick sandwich and coffee, we met my friend at her apartment, dropped off our luggage, then hit Century 21 for a little shopping. I think we were a bit overwhelmed after travelling all day, so we didn't spend too much time there. We went out for dinner to a delicious Italian restaurant in the South Street Seaport, then crashed!
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Sunday, January 12, 2014
17 Months
Gemma was 17 months old on Friday! I feel like this past month has been all about language and comprehension for Gemma. Here's a rundown of the new things this past month!
-Gemma started saying 'mommy' very clearly and regularly. She also says 'auntie', 'cookie' (from the book 'The Best Mouse Cookie', we do not usually feed her cookies!), and 'wa wa' (water). I'm sure she's said more, but I just can't remember them at the moment!
-When asked, Gemma will tell you that the cow says 'moo', the sheep says 'baa', the horse says 'neigh' and the dog says 'bow wow'. She also helps read the Sandra Boynton book, 'Moo, Baa, La La La', and says most of the animal noises at the right time.
-Gemma points to the following body parts when asked: head, hair, eyes, ears, nose, teeth, mouth, tummy, arm, leg, and piggies (toes).
-She likes to follow directions, help, and put things where they belong. When we were in Louisburgh over Christmas, she would carry her dirty clothes from her room to the washing machine in the kitchen at the other end of the house. She would also carry her dirty diapers (only the wet ones!) from the bedroom to the garbage in the kitchen. She knows where most things 'go' in her room and likes to put them there. She was also very good at giving things to granny, auntie, etc over Christmas when asked to 'take that to...'
-Gemma has 2 more teeth- the bottom ones on either side of the front 2. We're now up to a total of 12- 6 on top and the matching 6 on the bottom. I think more are on the way though, as she's been very drooly with red cheeks lately!
-She is loving playing with her new toys from Christmas- a play kitchen, dishes, doll stroller, and puzzles. She's also more into her books again since getting back to our place. Two favourites at the moment are 'Dear Zoo' (a lift the flap book), and 'There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Spider'- both Christmas gifts.
-Gemma has moved from the baby room to the wobbler room at creche! She now sits at a table and chairs for meals and naps on a nap mat! She continues to have to give hugs and kisses to all the other kids when we leave.
-Speaking of kisses, she now kisses her kitchen goodnight instead of the Christmas tree!
-Gemma continues to like to climb. At Paul's parent's house over Christmas, Paul and I slept in the attic bedroom, which has something called a Stira up to it; it's like a folding attached ladder. Gemma would climb up it every time she got the chance!
-Her appetite varies a bit from day to day, but overall Gemma is a good eater. She tried a tuna sandwich for the first time, and ate the whole thing in no time. Over Christmas she also got special treats of chocolate biscuits (cookies) and Milky Buttons (small white chocolate discs) for the first time. Needless to say, she loved them!
-We're still on two naps a day, but I think we're getting closer to one. It sometimes takes quite awhile for her to fall asleep, and sometimes the naps can be quite short. Night sleep is still great. Usually at least 12 hours a night!
-Gemma is so much fun. Everyday Paul and I talk about how lucky we are to have such a wonderful little girl.
Most of the photos from the month were taken over Christmas, but here are a few more!
Looking at photos from our trip to MN on the computer
Helping with laundry!
Before Christmas, we went to 'The Live Crib' (they call the nativity the crib here) in Dublin. There were two sheep, a donkey, and a goat. Gemma loved looking at the animals!
Playing with her new dishes from Grandma Brenda
Gemma has her purse, keys, and bracelet. She then told me, 'bye bye'!
Playing with her kitchen. She found these red shoes in her closet and had to wear them for two days (before I hid them away)- they were a bit small with no support or grip, so she kept slipping! Typical girl putting fashion ahead of comfort!
Helping in the real kitchen. Note the red shoes again!
Riding her car- she has gotten very good at steering and propelling herself!
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-Gemma started saying 'mommy' very clearly and regularly. She also says 'auntie', 'cookie' (from the book 'The Best Mouse Cookie', we do not usually feed her cookies!), and 'wa wa' (water). I'm sure she's said more, but I just can't remember them at the moment!
-When asked, Gemma will tell you that the cow says 'moo', the sheep says 'baa', the horse says 'neigh' and the dog says 'bow wow'. She also helps read the Sandra Boynton book, 'Moo, Baa, La La La', and says most of the animal noises at the right time.
-Gemma points to the following body parts when asked: head, hair, eyes, ears, nose, teeth, mouth, tummy, arm, leg, and piggies (toes).
-She likes to follow directions, help, and put things where they belong. When we were in Louisburgh over Christmas, she would carry her dirty clothes from her room to the washing machine in the kitchen at the other end of the house. She would also carry her dirty diapers (only the wet ones!) from the bedroom to the garbage in the kitchen. She knows where most things 'go' in her room and likes to put them there. She was also very good at giving things to granny, auntie, etc over Christmas when asked to 'take that to...'
-Gemma has 2 more teeth- the bottom ones on either side of the front 2. We're now up to a total of 12- 6 on top and the matching 6 on the bottom. I think more are on the way though, as she's been very drooly with red cheeks lately!
-She is loving playing with her new toys from Christmas- a play kitchen, dishes, doll stroller, and puzzles. She's also more into her books again since getting back to our place. Two favourites at the moment are 'Dear Zoo' (a lift the flap book), and 'There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Spider'- both Christmas gifts.
-Gemma has moved from the baby room to the wobbler room at creche! She now sits at a table and chairs for meals and naps on a nap mat! She continues to have to give hugs and kisses to all the other kids when we leave.
-Speaking of kisses, she now kisses her kitchen goodnight instead of the Christmas tree!
-Gemma continues to like to climb. At Paul's parent's house over Christmas, Paul and I slept in the attic bedroom, which has something called a Stira up to it; it's like a folding attached ladder. Gemma would climb up it every time she got the chance!
-Her appetite varies a bit from day to day, but overall Gemma is a good eater. She tried a tuna sandwich for the first time, and ate the whole thing in no time. Over Christmas she also got special treats of chocolate biscuits (cookies) and Milky Buttons (small white chocolate discs) for the first time. Needless to say, she loved them!
-We're still on two naps a day, but I think we're getting closer to one. It sometimes takes quite awhile for her to fall asleep, and sometimes the naps can be quite short. Night sleep is still great. Usually at least 12 hours a night!
-Gemma is so much fun. Everyday Paul and I talk about how lucky we are to have such a wonderful little girl.
Most of the photos from the month were taken over Christmas, but here are a few more!
Looking at photos from our trip to MN on the computer
Helping with laundry!
Before Christmas, we went to 'The Live Crib' (they call the nativity the crib here) in Dublin. There were two sheep, a donkey, and a goat. Gemma loved looking at the animals!
Playing with her new dishes from Grandma Brenda
Gemma has her purse, keys, and bracelet. She then told me, 'bye bye'!
Playing with her kitchen. She found these red shoes in her closet and had to wear them for two days (before I hid them away)- they were a bit small with no support or grip, so she kept slipping! Typical girl putting fashion ahead of comfort!
Helping in the real kitchen. Note the red shoes again!
Riding her car- she has gotten very good at steering and propelling herself!
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