View From the Top

Of the Empire State Building

The kids and I decided to go into New York City and have lunch at a tiny little place on Pell Street in Chinatown. It was a perfectly beautiful day too, 80 degrees, with no humidity which made walking around the city a pure joy.

We headed over to 34th Street to visit the Empire State Building. It was a first for all of us, so we decided to be VIP tourists and do the NY Skyride first. The Skyride was fun, a simulated flight across Manhattan, narrated by six degrees of Kevin Bacon.

Security wouldn't allow the tripod up to the observation deck which made complete sense once I saw how crowded it was at the top! No matter, we squeezed ourselves into little spaces and gazed through the fencing to see the five great boroughs of New York.

This view is looking north to the Bronx and beyond. The Met, General Motors, Trump Tower, the NY Public Library, CitiGroup Center, the Lincoln Building, Grand Central, Rockefeller Center and the upper east side are in the picture according to the map I bought.

It was a really lovely day and much needed. I came home in time to watch the Olympic closing ceremony and was blown away by the non-stop display of theater, art and music. What a fabulous ending to a spectacular Olympics!

For more views from the top, please click here and scroll through flickr!