Day Four: Downtown to Uptown

We're back to the trip... sorry for the sidetrack.

We slept in...again. and headed out for the day.

First up, breakfast at a local bakery before jumping on the subway downtown.

We got off at the World Trade Center and checked out the glorified construction site, the new Freedom building as well as the preview of the finished site. We then walked (in the wrong direction) but stumbled upon a fireman's rally that was just forming. We are talking hundreds of firemen pouring in carrying signs. It was kind of fun to get caught up in all of it.

Once we got headed back in the right direction we were off to Wall Street.

We visited the typical sights of the street- the New York Stock Exchange, the trinity church, federal hall, the works. The street was bustling with business men and tourists - so people watching was prime.

We continued to head South and visit the bull and then on our way to Battery Park we stumbled upon a street market (if any of you know me, I love a good street market). We took a gander and then headed on to the park - it's a neat park along the water, views of Lady Liberty, and the city behind you - it was refreshing to walk around as well as take a break.

Then being the high class tourists we are, took the free Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty as opposed to actually pay to go see it. It was a beautiful day to be out on the water, get amazing views of the city, and see the lady herself. It's always so fun to see the iconic statue.

For lunch we decided to hit up the famous Shake Shack (you may or may not have heard of this, but if you have seen Something Borrowed they frequent the eatery for lunch). It's a pretty happening place. We showed up at 3:30 and even then there was a line over 75 people long - but we waited! It went pretty fast and we were glad that we did. The food was delish (although I did not like the shake - uck), the park setting was charming, and the notoriety of it all is always fun.

We continued our journey uptown - all the way uptown and braved the streets of Harlem. It is quite an experience to walk the streets and feel like the only two white people (and tourists) in any direction for blocks!

We luckily made it out alive and headed down the Upper West Side (personally one of my favorite area's of New York). We stopped by Columbia (we had to for memory sake and in remembrance of our fabulous travel agent Jake), we stopped by Tom's and thought of the Seinfeld gang, and on to Riverside Park - one of the most charming parks, right along the Hudson River and lined with quiet residential streets. After walking blocks and blocks through the park we found a McDonald's for a frozen strawberry lemonade (I highly recommend them if you haven't already had one)

We took the subway a few stops south to make one more stop at Magnolia's to grab some treats and enjoy that area of New York again. We stopped by the temple, sat on the bench of the median (a prime location for city views) and listened to a band playing just outside Avery Fisher Hall. It was one of those magical moments of the trip - I loved it.

We decided to continue to enjoy the beautiful weather and walk the rest of the way home (another 25 blocks) - it was a good decision. Traveling on foot allows you to see and feel so much of the city. We loved it - but our feet not so much. Getting back to the room at night to get cleaned up and ready for bed was one of the most rewarding parts of the day. We slept like rocks.

My dear Maga was also worried that we need to make sure to take advantage of New York cheesecake while in New York - and Cameron did just that. He devoured the Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake with chocolate cookie crust from Magnolia's (twice).

Maga - we thought of you both times!

I keep wanting to say at the end of each post that this was one of my favorite days - but they all were. I did really enjoy everything that we got to see by foot this day - it was a lot.