Rockefeller Centre, NBC and Goodbye New York

T'was the last day in New York. All was noisy and wild in the downtown core as the five Ottawans hopped into a taxi, heading to the NBC studios and Rockefeller Centre.

However, just before the tour, a quick stop at FAO Schwartz, for a check-up of Evelyne, by Nurse Amanda. After the clean bill of health, wash, flu shot and change of diaper, off we go to NBC studios.

The kids loved the NBC tour, which included a short history video featuring the early days of the network along with its numerous flagship tv programs (i.e. Friends, Seinfeld, Leave it to Beaver, Bonanza, Tonite Show, Saturday Night Live...). Jeremy volunteered to participate in a mock news program as the "Weatherman" while his anchor sidekick, a 6 or 7-year-old boy read the news. Jeremy did a fantastic job reading off the teleprompter and pointing to the various spots on the "invisible" map of the US. We had a sneak peek inside the studio for hot breaking news, because they had forgotten to close the door. :) The woman anchor was getting ready to go to air, to cover the tragic Viriginia Tech massacre. We also sat in the Saturday Night Live studios, which are very small. The studio was built to allow for perfect sound accoustics, not one wall touches the floor or building structure, the entire studio structure is suspended...somehow. After the NBC tour, we headed to the Rockefeller Centre, expecting a view from the top of this beautiful building. But nyet. No view and to the kids' dismay, it was an architectural and historical tour conducted by an older historian who measured about 5 feet tall She tried to make the tour appealing for the kids, but to no avail.However, one hour and 15 minutes of culture is not going to kill the kids, right? They've had such fun in all the stores and tours, that's not much to ask. It was a great tour for the adults, because she provided gems of historical information that provide a greater understanding of the era in which the building was constructed. After the Rockefeller Centre, we had to return to the hotel to pick up our luggage and head off to the airport. Well, try to catch a cab that can carry 5 people, at 4:15 p.m. on 5th avenue. You would think it's a breeze. Ah, no.
While trying to hail a van-cab, Francine was caught in the middle of 5th avenue, surrounded by cars, with a messenger cyclist narrowly missing her, screaming obscenities to her, while a car driver yelled out to her "Hope you have good insurance". That was fun!
We finally got one after 20 minutes and headed to the hotel where we promptly picked up suitcases and hailed a van-cab in about 2 minutes. Off we went to the airport, checked in in plenty of time. The only "ick" was Kathy and Francine being searched physically by the security folks. The police officer asked Rosie not to touch any of "mommy's" luggage and to just retrieve her own, and "all will be alright". It was a random search. We ate our pieces of pies from last evening's dinner at the diner, and then had a quick dinner at the "New York Rock" bar and restaurant. The flight was a bit delayed and as a result, the flight wasn't even an hour -- the pilot never coasted once and just vamoosed to Ottawa. Departure was at about 9:10 p.m. and we arrived in Ottawa at 10 -- not bad eh!
So we're back in Ottawa, sleeping in our own beds, and glad to have had a good time, despite the torrential rain. We lived a historical time in NY, in that a record was broken as far amount of rain that poured over the city.

Kathy's report on Day 5

Granny and I toured the town and saw all the sights. We checked out all 8 floors of Macys and Granny got a great deal on some sweaters. We also managed to find Grannys honeymoon hotel. The place has changed from 60+ years ago but it was fun to find it.

Could of had free tickets to David Letterman sow tonight but Francine was with the kids at FAO Schwartz so I passed on the tickets. We thought we might try to find some last minute ticketsd to another play tommorrow afternoon but we also want to ensure we allow lots of time to get to the airport as all flights from La Guardia are hours late.

Oh well another day in NY to enjoy.

See ya soon!

Kathy

Toys R' Us and FAO Schwartz

Day 5 - Flight delayed because of crazy weather

GrannOFy:
RIGHT NOW MY BACK LEGS ETC ARE REALLY DRAGGING AFTER WALKING UMPTEEN BLOCKS BUT WE REALLY HAVE HAD A WONDERFUL TIME AND SEEN SO MUCH. THE WEATHER IS A BIT COOL AND FINALLY IT STOPPED RAINING. LAST NIGHT, WE WENT TO ELLEN'S STARDUST DINER WHERE WE HAD GOOD ENTERTAINMENT WITH AN 85-YEAR-OLD MAN DANCING IN THE RESTAURANT WITH HIS CANE. WE ALSO SAW A GROUP OF AUSTRALIAN GIRLS AND I THINK ALL THE WAITERS WERE SINGING TO THE GIRLS. THE KIDS AND I TOOK A CAB BACK TO THE HOTEL WHILE KATHY AND FRANCINE STAYED BEHIND A BIT, AND WALKED HOME IN THE COLD RAIN. TODAY, WE TOOK A CAB TO TOYS' R US AND WALKED TO MACY'S. THERE WAS A BIG FERRIS WHEEL AT TOYS'R US. OUR FLIGHT IS POSTPONBED -- AT NO COST -- TO TUESDAY NIGHT!

Day 4- Wet Sunday

Sunday, wet day in New York. The gang (minus Francine) went up to the Empire State Building in the pouring rain. Afterwards, onwards to Macy's for souvenir shopping. At 3 p.m., it was a wonderful play at the Neil Simon Theatre -- Hairspray. What a hoot! Lots of laughs. Rosie, Jeremy and Francine hung out by the Stage Door to ask the various performers for their autographs. Alexa Vega, one of the Spy Kids in the movies bearing the same name was one, as well as
Ashley Parker Angel (a hunky guy) were great to provide Rosie with autographs. Alexa even took a photo with Rosie. Afterwards, we headed for dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner (see photo) where waiters and waitresses perform and belt out songs for their patrons.

We're back in the hotel room, exhausted, wet, and brain dead. Tomorrow is our last day and apparently Ottawa is getting 20 cms of snow. Could there be a possibility of staying yet one more night in NYC....we'll soon see. Stay tuned.

Times Square, M&Ms and Statues

Day 2 and 3 reports

Jeremy:
On Saturday, we visited the Statue of Liberty(the green lady) and took many pictures. We were smart and took the Statten Island ferry instead of the Lady Liberty tour which saved us 4 hours! I had a snow cone which was very cold. We are about to go out for the night tour later tonight. Still 2 days to go!

Kathy:
I think we travelled miles today and my feet are paying fir it with some blisters. We have held out on shopping as the day was full of sunshine and the tour gudies have warned us that it is going to snow and rain tommorrow and Monday so we plan to check out Macyès, Toyrus and the souvenir shops. We ate luch outsider at a cafe and it was great. Granny forgot the bus titckets at the hotel so I had to do some backtracking first thing this morning but Granny us enjoying all the sights.

Granny:
JEAN; WE HAD A VERY BUSY DAY FROM EARLY MORNING TILL NOW AND THE NIGHT TOUR IS STILL COMING UP. I HAVE ENJOYED EVERY MINUTE OF IT TIRED BUT IT IS GREAT. WE ARE STILL THINKING ABOUT THE NIGHT BUS TOUR. SOON YOU SOON. LOVE TO ALL.

Rosie:
Hey Yall! Today , our first tour guide wasent the best tour guide ever . If you wanted at the end of the tour , you could tip the guide and the bus driver . So we did not tip her , when my cousin got out , she tried to trip him . Then , we went on a ferry to see the statue of liberty . We got some good shots. We are gonna do all of our shopping tomorow and monday because its going to rain .
See yall in 2 days!
Rosie

Francine :
My Creativity Workshop started yesterday and wow, what a course! The diversity of the participants is amazing! We are 18 people from all over the world, from various professions, backgrounds and interests. We have an attorney from Washington, D.C., the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce of Guatamala, artists, university professors and a 72-year-old grandmother who recently achieved her doctorate in social studies. Amazing group. The workshop is being held on the 35th floor of a condo highrise on 2nd avenue, close to the United Nations. We are given assignments that focus on shaking up grey matter in our heads, and on removing the dust resting on the creative side of our brains. Our work consists of drawing, writing, interviewing and acting. Our instructors are top-notch. And we have assignments. Our classes end at 1:30 p.m. which gives us plenty of time to tour and hang out in NYC. We're having fun visiting although it is a tad cold. Today, Saturday, was beautiful but cold. Tomorrow, sleat and snow and 90-miles per hour winds are supposed to shake NY. So the gang is planning indoor activities.
Anyways, more news tomorrw. It's really nice to be here.

Granny, Kathy and Jeremy have arrived!

Safe and sound!
Here's Jeremy:
We made it to New York and we are about to go for an expedition of New York At 1:00 we will be going to the circus.talk to you later(ttyl)

Star reception in the Big Apple

Hello - Bonjour!
All is well in the Big Apple. This morning's freezing rain in Ottawa meant de-icing of the plane, which meant a longer wait on the tarmac which meant we lost our arrival slot to NYC, which meant we had to circle around the city for half an hour....which meant we arrived two hours later than expected.




Downpouring of rain upon arrival. Major rainfall which has stopped about an hour ago. And but still a beautiful city! The hotel is okay, but it has seen better days. Lots of British folks staying here. It is safe and secure. We have yet to see the pool since we only checked in 15 minutes ago (at 3 p.m.). But we're about to accomplish this mission in the next few minutes.


Today, Rosie and I met up with all kinds of famous people. We were even invited to a Celebrity cocktail party. Wow! Brad, Angelina, Beyoncé, Rachael Ray, the Spice Girls....and more. It was really fun!

We went shopping because it was too wet to walk around. So we went to this huge M&M Chocolate Factory store, the humongous Toys' R Us, Gap and Swatch watches....

I am now wearing a watch for the first time since September!!!!

More later - hugs to all.