New York

We are back from a whirlwind weekend in New York City, we arrived Friday morning and left Sunday morning. We came in on I-80 through New Jersey and through the Lincoln Tunnel into NY. It worked out perfect because our hotel was right around the corner after the tunnel. We were able to park out car and pretty much forget about it. The mass of traffic getting into the Lincoln Tunnel was pretty comical, we just tried to blend in and do what everyone else was doing. Which was, ignore any solid white line and don't let anyone in front of you! Just kidding, because we did let people in front of us.

We, of course, arrived too early to check in and after a few hours of wandering around Times Square(which was a 5 minute walk from out hotel) and still no room available we decided to go ahead with our schedule and go check out Central Park. The only reason we wanted our room was to change clothes, mostly me. Andrew wore sensible jeans and a t-shirt while we drove. I, on the other hand wore my stretchy, REI yoga pants. Not exactly what I want to wear walking around in public. At least there were people more outrageously dressed and I felt better after a while.
I wanted to see the Belvedere Castle, the Alice and Wonderland, and Balto statues so we set off.





There were a lot of people climbing on the Alice in Wonderland statue, so it was hard (impossible) to get a whole shot without a child in it. So, I settled with some close-ups, which actually look kind of cool.
It took us forever to find Balto, but I was so excited when we did! I love Balto, the movie, the story(which is true) and I'm pretty sure my love for huskies is rooted with Balto.




After a few hours and several miles of walking in Central Park we tried to get a subway back to the hotel. Well, I made us get on the wrong one and we went farther away. We wound up walking back to the hotel. ugh. I was very sweaty and very grateful for my yoga pants and this point.

We got back to the hotel a little after 3 and we were able to check in right away. As soon as our luggage was brought up to us I jumped in the shower.


Our hotel was the brand new, recently opened Yotel. It's a modern "pod-style" hotel, the rooms are small and well-designed for maximum space.


The Yotel has a robot that stores luggage.


The bathroom is sectioned off by a curtain and glass shower doors with a texture-y sticker that blocks the view. The bed moves up and down, which is great for watching TV. I think my favorite thing about this hotel was every floor had a gally with a coffee machine that served hot cocoa, cappuccinos and espresso. Yes, I had double shots of espresso several times while I was there.


After we both showered and rested for a while we got out our computer to find a place to eat. We settled with a place called Mr. Biggs Bar and Grill, partially because it was one block over from the hotel. It was delicious. Andrew had a reuben and I had a turkey, avocado and cranberry sandwich.


After dinner we ran back the hotel (it started to rain during dinner) and we watched TV for about 20 minutes before I fell asleep. We woke up early and rested the next morning, ready for Harry Potter! But, I'll talk about that later.