NYC continues

Our second full day in NYC was yet another scorcher. There were record highs set during our stay and you could definitely feel it. Considering we have become spoiled with milder temperatures and almost no humidity it was tough to take. [We overheard people talking about how the subway got up to 120 degrees...at least the cars have A/C!]

We grabbed brunch at a neat place called Cafe Mogador.  It came highly recommended from a former lab mate of Kevin's who lives only a couple hours from the city. Once again we were very pleased with our food choice.

It was tough to leave and head back outside but we wanted to make our way towards the Empire State Building and check out some other buildings along the way. We were looking forward to seeing Theodore Roosevelt's birthplace but unfortunately we had to settle for the plaque outside the building since it was temporarily closed :(

Our first good view of the Empire State Building during our walk around town.

The Met Life Tower near Madison Square Park

The famous Flatiron Building. It was fun seeing buildings we'd seen numerous pictures of or seen from movies.

A random giant head in Madison Square Park.Officially titled 'Echo' by Spanish artist Jauma Plensa. It was a pretty cool sculpture to find in the middle of a tiny park.

Getting closer to our destination. The cool building in the foreground in Marble Collegiate Church. I didn't recognize it from anything right away... I just thought it was a cool building.

We bought our tickets ahead of time to go up the Empire State Building but there was still a little bit of a wait to get into the elevators to take us to the 86th floor. The view, however, was fantastic and we enjoyed using our map to point out various famous buildings.

Can you find the Chrysler Building?

Facing South. If it had been slightly less cloudy/smoggy you would be able to make out the Statue of Liberty from here.

Kevin trying to find a few landmarks from our map.

We skipped going up to the 102nd floor. I mean, is the view any better 16 floors up?

We'd been outside walking most of the afternoon and wanted to get out of the heat for a little more. We stopped at a really cool brewery called The Ginger Man. They actually had a ginger beer which was interesting. We ordered a flight so we could try several different beers without committing to an entire pint.

After our break we wandered into Times Square. Our hotel was nearby but we hadn't gone into it yet. It really was incredible. The signs are so big and there are so many lights...even during the day. We did get to see the naked cowboy.

Almost to the red steps near where they they drop the ball at New Years. This photo is often seen in pictures and movies too!

Once we reached the red steps we were able to purchase our discount Broadway tickets. We both enjoyed the Phantom of the Opera movie and Kevin in particular really loves the music so we figured this was our chance to see it live. The 40% off tickets were still expensive but we were happy we went.

Phantom was so different in comparison to Jersey Boys but it was wonderful still.

I'm glad we decided to go. Bonus was that it got us out of the heat for a little longer!

The sign was blocked from construction but I still wanted a picture

After grabbing pizza at John's Pizzeria which was recommended to us and just happened to be right across the street from Majestic Theater (Was also fantastic by the way) we had to call it an early night. We had an early train to catch in the morning.

Penn Station wasn't far from us by subway. We had a 7 hour train ride up to Buffalo where we were meeting up with Kevin's brothers before heading to Westfield, NY where Kevin's parents had a rental house off of Lake Eire. The train ride was interesting. It was much more comfortable than an airplane and the view was incredible at times. I did get a bit restless towards the end and the bathrooms were pretty disgusting by the end of the trip.

Check out the Amish family in the picture...that was strange to see in person!

New York City was fun and I would like to go back (in fall or spring perhaps) but we were ready for the more laid back portion of our trip.