New York

We recently spent a weekend in New York City. We had been ashamed that we hadn't been there yet, because it's only 90 miles and a two-hour train ride away from Philly. It was easy to get there and back via the New Jersey transit system. Now we can proudly say we've experience the splendor and chaos of New York. We spent most of Saturday at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where we were dazzled and puzzled by all that modern art has to offer. They had an especially cool furniture exhibit; and we loved the Design and the Elastic Mind exhibit, which showed how design allows us to absorb the amazing amount of information available to us in the "information age." Below is a video of the flight patterns in the United States.




Next, we went to the Top of the Rock viewing deck at the 70th floor of Rockefeller Center. Here are the northern (Central Park) and southern (Empire State Building and downtown Manhattan) views.


















After enjoying a lovely evening at an Italian restaurant in the East Village, we saw the sights in downtown Manhattan on Sunday: Wall Street, Battery Park, the World Trade Center site, New York Stock Exchange, and Trinity Church, a historic Episcopal church that was built in 1846. Here is the view from Battery Park, where you can see the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island -- next time we'll visit in the summer and take the ferry.

We look forward to spending more weekends in the big city of New York. It is staggering in scale; but the history and museums alone make it worth the visit. A perfect weekend trip for anyone who visits us in Philly! (Sorry, couldn't resist the plug.)