New York City over Thanksgiving

Following tradition, my parents flew up to Maryland to visit us over Thanksgiving break.  The kids had two half days at school that week followed by a long five day weekend.  

We decided to have Thanksgiving dinner on Wednesday because of our weekend plans.  All the dishes were a success and it is a meal I love, including all the leftovers.  

We enjoyed a pirate treasure hunt, and playing at a playground on the walk. 

Apples to Apples was a fun game that everyone could play and have fun with, without a learning curve.

Karina and Lydia have both participated in a bunch of online piano competitions and done very very well with many awards.  Karina's performance in one competition garnered her the opportunity to play piano at Carnegie Hall in New York City!  We decided this was an opportunity not to be missed.  Karina was super nervous, but agreed.  The piece she entered in the competition was "June" by Tchaikovsky, but she performed Maple Leaf Rag by Gershwin for her Carnegie Hall debut, since the Carnegie performance was months later and she didn't want to relearn the Tchaikovsky piece.

We headed to NYC the day after Thanksgiving, where she would play that night.  We traveled the same day as the performance so she could practice piano in the morning.  

Times Square was bustling with people.  The weather was nippy, but at least there was no rain, and it wasn't overly cold compared to how it could have been.  We couldn't get Derek to cooperate for pictures unfortunately.

We walked by the Rockefeller Christmas tree.  It was ready to go, but they don't turn on the lights until early December, even though they put all the lights on well before then.  

Backstage at Carnegie Hall:

Waiting for the show to begin in the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.  I didn't realize Carnegie Hall consists of three stages/auditoriums.  Karina did great and we're proud of her.  After her performance, I could finally relax and enjoy the other performances.  I was on the edge of my seat before that. 

Unfortunately, they did not allow recordings of the performance and while they took photos that families can download, all her photos look the same: Karina sitting in front of a piano while playing it.

Outside Carnegie Hall:

In the reception area of our hotel two blocks away from Carnegie Hall:

New York City Center, a performing arts hall with cool tile work on the exterior, was right across from our hotel.

The next morning we rode the subway down to Battery Park and took a ferry to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

It was a chilly ride with the wind blowing.  The NYC skyline and Statue of Liberty are so iconic.

I was lucky enough to get us tickets to walk up to the crown.  There are three types of tickets: to the base, to the pedestal, and to the crown.  After getting to the pedestal, there are an additional 162 steps on a super narrow winding spiral staircase to get to the top.  It was pretty claustrophobic, but fun too.  My mother decided to wait for us at the top of the pedestal.  The view from inside the crown isn't that amazing, and the glass isn't as clear as it should be, and it is cramped, but we made it up and got the experience:-)

Mimi and Karina walking down the narrow circular staircase:

We took some more photos from the pedestal:

And then at the base:

Next, we took the ferry to Ellis Island, where immigrants first arrived when they came to the United States.  Mimi's grandmother "Lena" Johannesdatter Lien sailed from Samnanger, Norway and arrived at Ellis Island in 1917.  She also met her husband "Louie" Eriksen on the boat!  He, a Dane from Copenhagen, worked on the ship.  Lena was supposed to be an au pair for a Norwegian family, but married Louie instead.  

We finished the day with some sightseeing through Manhattan.  Trinity Church is an Episcopal church opened in 1846 and sits opposite Wall Street.

One stop was the 9/11 Memorial.  We didn't go inside, but we walked by the footprints of the twin towers that were attacked and now all that remains is a waterfall into each footprint with names of those who died engraved around the perimeter.

The next morning, we started the day in Central Park, but walked by the Plaza Hotel first.  On the drive up to New York, the kids watched Home Alone 2, and Kevin stays at the Plaza Hotel, so it was worth a walk by, and it did look fancy.  The doormen denied us the opportunity to enter if we weren't registered guests; it seems the wealthy who stay there prefer not to be tormented with tourists poking around the lobby.

I loved walking through Central Park with the lovely nature trails, and views of the city.  

After voting, the kids decided to go ice skating at the rink in Central Park.  None of us are very good at it, but I think they kids had fun, even if there were a few falls. 

 

For lunch, we took a chance on Ellen's Stardust Diner.  I knew it was very popular and hoped our wait wouldn't be too long (and it wasn't).  It is a 50's diner where the servers are all aspiring Broadway performers/singers.  In between waiting tables, the waiters take turns singing songs!  They were incredibly talented.  They said many of the past waiters had indeed gotten jobs on Broadway, off-Broadway, cruise ships, etc.  I don't envy the life of a struggling artist, but I am glad we got to share in their talents as they performed for us in the restaurant.  Both Lydia and Derek said this diner was the highlight of the whole weekend.

Some of the singers:

    

My parents treated us to a Wicked performance on Broadway.  It was amazing and this was Karina's favorite activity of the weekend.  We made sure to watch the movie when we got home too. 

It was a wonderful weekend.  I think for the adults, their favorite activity of the weekend was Carnegie Hall and seeing/hearing Karina perform.  Both Karina and Lydia have since been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall again, and both of them said no...  Lydia was especially adamant in her refusal.  Maybe in a few years they will change their mind.