NYC Trip Report - Day 2

We woke up Sunday to beautiful clear skies and a very pleasant temperature. We decided to make this our Central Park day. This is the place we were looking forward to most. The irony of going to one of the largest cities in the world to go hang out in the park was not lost on us. We are fans of outdoor activites and "natural" surroundings. The park was awesome as expected. We spent almost the entire day walking around the Mall, the paths, the ponds, Belvedere Castle, Conservatory Gardens, Bethesda Terrace and Angel of the Waters Fountain, the carousel and still didn't see half of what was there. You see alot of things that you recognize from movies and television shows. It was also very interesting to see the different people running, walking dogs, skating, listening to free concerts, sailing boats, playing on the lawns and having picnics. We would love to come back for walks in the Spring and Winter.

Late in the afternoon, we went to the top of 30 Rockefeller Center to check out the views and watch the sunset. Based on negative reviews, we skipped the Empire State Building tour and went with positive recommendations to do TOP OF THE ROCK. You don't go up quite as high, but the lines are very short and the view is more central to Manhatten. I would say it was worth the visit. I didn't realize how old (for American buildings) that some of the skyscrapers were. I guess I need to start watching some more History Channel. Just what I need, another reason to watch TV.

Stacie's cousin recommended Tony's for dinner. It is a family style Italian restaurant near Times Square. Our meal of Ravioli Bolognese was fantastic. It is now one of those places that we crave. We are going to try a place here in Atlanta to see how it measures up to the quality of pasta and pizzas we got used to during our stay.

We enjoyed our day of site seeing and good eats. Maintaining our usual active vacation status, we walked over 16 miles for the day. We did go to bed by 10 PM though. So much for the city that never sleeps.