New York Part 2: Midtown Manhattan

*disclaimer again: our houses are occupied so don't rob us lol*

Today we went to Midtown Manhattan and walked farther than I have walked in my life.  We got there at like 10:45, and left at 11:11, and only stopped a few times: a few minutes in Central Park, a few minutes on the library steps, a few minutes to eat Pizza, and then like an hour for dinner.  I am so sore!  My ankles and knees and foot bones are all swollen.  It was like that thing where you know if you stop you won't be able to get back up and go. PHEW!

This is probably going to be the longest  blog ever, but I feel like every block we walked we would see something else that was famous and interesting!

First thing, we headed to the train station in Morris Plains.  We arrive to find that they are all setting up for a parade!  The town (and all the towns here) are adorable.  They are just like off movies where all the houses are old, there are little town centers, and you can probably walk everywhere.  We parked and paid for it by sliding our money into little slots that I assume a guy comes and checks once a day.  It was $3.  I taped up my feet knowing there would be a lot of walking. We bought our tickets and boarded the train.  The thing about trains here is the train guys still come around and punch your tickets with hole punches.  You'd think they'd have scanners by now!  It was about an 80 minute ride to New York with several stops on the way, but great views of little towns.

Parade watchers

The way to pay for parking

Here comes the train!

We arrived at Penn Station, which is literally right underneath Madison Square Garden which just blows my mind.  We proceeded to walk and walk and walk and see everything and more than what I am posting the pictures of haha.  IT WAS HOT AND MUGGY. ICK!  It was sunny for most of the day, until randomly out of nowhere a thunderstorm downpour happened for like a half hour.  It was crazy and super wet.  We took shelter as did everyone for that time in anywhere you could get under.  That managed to soak my shoes for the rest of the day.  Andy's cousin Iris just graduated from NYU and still lives here for the rest of the summer so we met up with her for dinner at the 3 monkeys bar which was SO GOOD.  Then had cupcakes at a famous bakery Magnolia (as heard of in the famous SNL sketch song "Lazy Sunday").  We went to times square twice too, once in the day, and once to see the neon at night which was really cool!

I am going to caption each one in case you don't know ;)

Popping out of Penn Station is Madison Square Garden

idk what that is but I've seen a million pics of it by other people 

Us with the empire state building

The famous 5th Ave

The NY public library

Chrystler bldg

Grand Central station

Inside of Grand Central

It is hard to see, but inside Grand Central they have constellations on the ceiling

St Patrick's cathedral

Outside of St. Patrick's cathedral

A view from a couple stories up Trump Tower

Central Park

An inside of Central Park

Carnegie hall had a ton of construction...like half the city

The Famous Original Ray's pizza

I just LOOOOVE NY style pizza

Broadway!

Times Square

There's the ball that drops on New Years!

Radio City Music Hall

30 Rock!

Here's where the famous christmas tree goes, haha!

Rockefeller Plaza

That was a lego store with all colors of legos

My favorite network :)  Where's Kenneth? lol

The flash storm

The United Nations Headquarters

We ate here

Andy walking with Iris

Sooo good from Magnolia Bakery: Lemon and chocolate

Times Square

Times Square

The biggest post office ever....it was longer on the other side!

The screen at Penn station

Let me briefly describe the way to get home.  They don't announce the tracks the train will be on until 10 minutes before it leaves...you just buy a ticket for a time.  There are mobs of people around these screens waiting until the second the status changes from "on time" to "Boarding track 3" or whatever.  The second it changes, huge mobs start darting for the tracks, it was hilarious!

Today was so fun and I am so glad I had the opportunity to come here!  We are also so grateful that Andy's mom was able to watch him this week because it would have just been miserable for him (and us) to have to take him everywhere.  I miss him so much, but am happy that we have the technology so that we can skype him at night.

We are leaving New Jersey tomorrow morning and have no idea where we are going!  All we know is we are ending up in Boston eventually this week!  I actually like New Jersey.  They call it the garden state and that is very obvious why at this time of year.  If it wasn't for the awful accents and the way they are kind of blunt and rude, I wouldn't mind if we ever had to live here.