Hanging in the park

Holly at Tompkins Square Park with Ashwin - having fun on our last day in New York city. Hope we return some day!!

Head on down to the East Village

We started & ended our New York adventure at the East Village - this is the main drag. It was quite a cool place to hang out & we should have spent more time here. There is so much to see in this city & you need more than 5 days to check it out!

Heading on over to the Bronx

We had read about the Bronx Zoo in the Lonely Planet so we checked it out & it was worth the visit. Only problem it was hugely busy with summer camp kids on discount day! We checked out the butterfly house & here is Ashwin being a butterfly.

The windswept look

Who are these sexy boys on the ferry?? Love the hair - no product required just a gentle breeze to create the look.

Tripping to Staten Island

On another hot day in NYC we took the free Staten Island ferry across the Hudson River to check out the lady herself the Statue of Liberty - you can see her faintly in the background. We had all these plans on Staten Island but the connecting bus didn't show so we went & had a smoothie downtown & waited for the next ferry to show. The terminal was cool with a couple of fish tanks to check out, so anyone wanting a free ride & view of the statue catch the ferry over & then back again to Battery Park.

Everybody walk the Dinosaur

These guys are amazing, greeting you as you enter the American Museum of Natural History. This was definitely worth visiting when in New York apart from the art galleries that we missed out on as time was short & we were with a baby & a 2.5 year old. This is something that Ashwin did really enjoy & so did we, which was a bonus!

Here's the hot dog!

This is what they look like frankfurter, white bread & mustard. We wandered down to Central Park & sat by the pond watching the crowds go by. It was also time for Holly to have her feed too. It is a huge amount of ground to cover so we just stayed in the area closest to 5th Avenue & checked out the massive playground & climbing wall & even watched a local ball game while eating spongebob ice cream.

Oh my gawd - what a pretzel!

Now to our bargain lunch $10 for everything which included 3 hotdogs, a pretzel & a knish. I had been told that the best food you can buy is a hotdog so we took thought 'When in New York, do as New Yorkers do' so we tried them & yep they were good - well for $2 how can you complain. Here is Ashwin enjoying a supersize pretzel which was as big as his head! Think James is wanting to grab some too - see the grabbing hand.

A toy paradise

We visited FAO Schwarz on 5th Avenue right next door to the Apple store (which is stunning in it's glass cube!) This is toystore heaven with so many different toys to play with - of course Ashwin loved the cars! I loved the dolls & the cute little stuffed animals. There were massive toy dinosaurs & Harry Potter creatures to put in your New York room?! Probably not a good idea as our studio apartment in Midtown was tiny.

Let's ride the subway

Oh the thousands of stairs to travel to hop a train on the subway & the deeper you go the hotter it gets. The joys of being in New York in the summer :) I had to carry Holly in the sling and Ashwin took one step at a time when we were doing the subway. Anyhow, here is Ashwin finally on the train with his new NYPD toy car - complete with siren (batteries soon to be removed!!) that he just loved to press.

Roar, it's a lion

Ever read Miffy anyone?? Well Miffy sees a lion at the zoo, we saw this lion outside the New York public library - actually there is a pair of them & they are beautiful. This is our first day venturing around the Big Apple & loving it. Unfortunately it was Sunday & the library was closed, which was a shame. Still we got to hang out on the stairs & enjoy the view.

A real New York bagel...

...this bagel cost $10, I savoured every mouthful of the salmon, tomato & cream cheese!! Washed down with real New York coffee, East Coast stylie with a bit of kick. I couldn't believe the price of the bagel but then I realised that they weigh the smoked salmon and add it to the price - thing was I was so mesmerised by the colours of the cream cheese that once the guy said smoked salmon, I was hooked!!!

Cheesy or Peachy???

Delicious peaches are in season now, fresh from the local Farmers Market. Ashwin loves Peaches!

Look out - giant balloon turtle!!

Quick call the LAPD there is a gigantic balloon turtle loose!! This cute little guy was made by a Balloon Master when we went out to breakfast in Menlo Park. This is actually a turtle bracelet, very cute - 'Heros in a half shell, turtle power!!'

Look out, millions of ducks in the river!!

We checked out the Silicon Valley Duck race - you buy ducks for charity & they race down the rapids & the first duck to finish gets the prize. Here are the rubber ducks on their trek down the lake, there was even a mascot 'cool duck' with shades.

Balloon dog please!!!

This lady in the street was making balloon animals for donations & as Ashwin likes balloons we got her to make him a dog. You should have seen him he got so excited, he was jumping up & down watching her make it. Finally he got it & it was his best friend.
The festival was really huge, spread around on all the streets in North Beach & you could even take your pet to be blessed. The kids area was enjoyed by Ashwin & he came home with a stained glass collage card.

Ashwin the photographer

At the North Beach festival as we were having ice cream & listening to some crap music, Ashwin took hold of the camera & took this great shot. Maybe we have a photographer in the making :)

Festival mode in full swing!

This time we are in North Beach, San Francisco! Here's Ashwin checking out the wine list at an Italian restaurant we went to for lunch. The lasagne was so good, I felt like Garfield scoffing it down - delicious!!

The summer festivals begin...

...as we went to the Sunnyvale Art & Wine festival there was some lady taking pics of people with a Polaroid - so this is our latest family pic. Holly is peeping out of the sling and Ashwin is having a cocktail smoothie, which was yum! James loved the Pontiacs on display & I'd have to admit that the American classic cars were pretty special too!
'Hey wazzup inner bogan!'

Amazing! Real Peonys

As I was shopping at the local Whole Foods they had my favourite flowers in season. This beautiful blooms are from Washington & are just so stunning! Finally found some so I could not resist (I have only seen them in this Peony book I have back home). These would have looked so gorgeous in a wedding bouquet too but they were really hard to find in Australia.