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USA East Coast
New York 1
May 2012
New York, New Yooooooooork!
May 28, 2012: The big day for the 5 of us!
We take off from Roissy (Paris-CDG) at 8 p.m. on flight XL00010 with XL AIRWAYS, a French low-cost airline that gets us from Paris to New York on the cheap, nonstop... and best of all, with no return ticket!A little under 8 hours in the air and here we are: the city that never sleeps is ours!
After 45 minutes in a limo ("Whoa, this is sooo classy!!!" says Juliette), we reach our apartment on 42nd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenue: 350 W 42nd Street, as they say here.
It's 11 p.m. in New York, 5 a.m. for us, and we collapse into our beds!
The faces look... a little tired!
Empire State Building
Up early at 5:30 — thanks, jet lag! By 7:00, all 5 of us are out wandering the streets of NY, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Breakfast at Applebee's, pancakes for everyone! Then off to the Empire State Building. We're there at opening time, 8:00, no line, straight up to the 86th floor. What an introduction! The view of Lower Manhattan is stunning! Comparing the map in her hands with the view, Alice remarks: "Wait, it's the same city — am I dreaming?!" This building went up in 14 months, 4 floors a week! We sure don't build that fast back in France — you know who you are!
Central Park
You find everything in Central Park, including a man who promises to make you laugh for 1 dollar!As soon as we arrive, the boys bravely set off to get us an awesome picnic from a supermarket 2 blocks away (Man go hunt for Woman!). We take the chance to sneak a little ice cream while we wait for them, in the shade! Juliette finally meets the squirrels she's been waiting for and desperately tries to catch one… There aren't many restrooms in Central Park, and when you're jet-lagged, the restrooms are far, far, far away….
The next day, we take the subway back. Definitely the kids' favorite spot — they go from playground to playground (there are 20 in the park!). We have a great lunch on the shady terrace of the very fancy Boathouse: hamburgers for everyone, except Juju: "How many times do I have to tell you I don't like hamburgers, I like hot dogs better!" Then sunbathing and a nap on the lawn with the Manhattan skyline as our backdrop, followed by a jazz concert on the main path.
Alex, who just watched a breakdancing show, enthusiastically copies the New York moves!!!
American Museum of Natural History
In the afternoon we go looking for somewhere cool at the Museum of Natural History — hooray for AC! The kids are speechless in front of the dinos. A magnificent museum; the wildlife dioramas are awesome. 95°F outside! We stop in the museum courtyard, where the girls cool off again and again in the water jets.We head home in a "tacso" ("No, Alice, it's tacos!") for a long, long sleep.
