Day Four: NYC

Couldn't have said it better myself.

We went to Norma's, as recommended by Ashley and Tracy. I love breakfast food and so this was a real treat for me. It was sooo delicious. I loved how inventive and unique each dish was. It was kind of inspiring...made me want to "create" in my kitchen too.

We took the Ferry over to tour the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. It was a really moving experience. We got the headset tour, which I really recommend, because if we had just gone there to look at her, we would have been amazed but it would have been a totally different experience. The tour really brought it to life and there were so many interesting facts that I hadn't know, so for me it was definitely worth it, both for the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

And I brought along a little something to keep us company. Magnolia Bakery, loved it! We loved the chocolate frosting...easily the best chocolate frosting I've ever had on a cupcake. (Thanks Ash) And I actually liked them much more than Sprinkles (Sorry Holli). They were more moist and flavorful. We also tried the S'more Cupcake. It was a Graham Flavored Cake, and a Marshmallow Frosting with Chocolate swirls and chocolate in the center of the cake. (The cake was a little dry) It was good, but could have been great...and now I am going to get inspired by their idea and see if I can't make it a little better, I'll let you know. Anyway, I am a fan and maybe we went back later that night and got a few more to taste????

There she is...she was even more Brilliant and Green and Beautiful in person. Thank you to Frederic Auguste Bartholdi and France! It really is a treasure.

Me and my headset!

One of the reasons why he created the statue in copper, knowing that she would turn that green color was to abstain from making it look and feel like another elite statue made out of gold or another precious metal, like commissioned by so many emperors and rulers through the years to declare power and glory.

Love this one of Ace! You are so cute!

I never knew that she was hallow inside and her "shell" is made up of copper the width of two pennies. That is so crazy! She looks directly towards France which was where she came from and was given to us kind of as a strong hint to the French government that they wanted Liberty too, so they were praising us for ours.

I can't even explain this one... it was the wind and the 5th shot my sister was trying to take of me and I just gave her the shot she really wanted! (Mitchy would be proud...that is what we call a "Mitchy face"!)

They emphasized that as an immigrant, how emotional it must have been to finally catch a glimpse of Her as you are approaching America after a long journey from your homeland and how inspiring it must have been for all those searching for a new life.

One interesting story that they mentioned was that on the day that they celebrated the unveiling of the statue, women, who were not allowed to attend, floated around the island in boats protesting that they were not allowed to attend the celebration of our countries "Liberty" that was demonstrated in the form of a Women.

Ellis Island

Because we did the headset tour, we loved this experience. They took us from room to room as if we were immigrants and had to go through the whole process. It was nerve-wrecking and heart-wrenching pretty much the entire length of time each immigrant spent here. But it was also hopeful. There were a lot of really beautiful stories.

Aimee's best friend, Richard, lives in New York and we met up with him. He is so fun and our whole family adores him. I don't think there is a sweeter person on this planet than Richard. And he makes us laugh!

We stopped in at Dylan's Candy Bar.

These two are like two peas in a pod.

We went to FAO Schwartz and of course had to go check out the "Big" piano. These guys, who were in charge of the little "recital" were really good, but so funny because they were so serious about it! They loved their jobs.

We went to Serendipity but it was an hour and a half wait and so we decided to put that off until later because we had another show to get to that we were really excited about...

Yep, Mamma Mia! We were way up in front, so we could see every facial expression. The energy and excitement of that show was incredible. We loved every moment and the time flew by so quickly because we were so entertained. We were all sad when it was over. It was an amazing show! Basically, by the end it turned into a rock concert. There were these 50 year old men in suits in the audience, dancing around and rocking out! It was hilarious.