Staycation continued!

New York is such an amazing city and home to The Plaza Hotel. This historic landmark, built in 1907, has recently been renovated and restored to its Gilded excellence. Nope, our family did not stay at this hotel (are ya kidding??) but I did get you a peek inside...

The welcoming facade...(you just feel the need to hail a taxi in front here!)

The famous Palm Court, home of high tea...shall we enter for scones and coffee??
The salon...let's read the paper curled up under a palm!
The gilded staircase up to the famous bar...(I did hop up there for a soda!)
Then it was off to the Museum of Natural History...
GumGum, famous from the Night at the Museum movie with Ben Stiller, is located in the back of the museum in the Margaret Mead collection. Truly, my legs could have fallen off trying to find him for my little one to see. The museum's exhibits are vast and you could really use two days to explore. Except when you have an energetic 7 year old those two days are encapsulated into one. If a forklift could have picked me up and taken me back to the hotel, my calves would have been thankful!

Now my girls were hungry so it was off to Bryant Park for lunch. This is the park that houses the famous fashion tent shows...the tents are set up on this lawn. My son, who attends college in Manhattan, was able to get into one last winter and said it was amazing (he meant the food, not really the fashions...)

And to my glee, there was Joyce Carol Oates giving a reading of her newest book My Sister, My Love in the "Reading Room" section of the park. This is where the NY Public library, each day at lunch, portions off a section of the park and lines the perimeter with carts of books for lunchtime reading. JCO is a prolific writer and Princeton professor. We grabbed salads from 42nd Street and sat and listened to her speak. I was mezmorized. The girls and my husband were rolling their eyes at me and planning the next leg of our excursion. (And boy, were my legs thankful for the rest! New Yorkers walk everywhere!!)

They decided we were off to Rockefeller Center...

In winter, this is home to the famous ice rink but in summer it houses a restaurant ...you can see the umbrella tops...

A gorgeous fountain nearby...

Ah, just what was needed at the end of the day...respite in a lovely room...
I'll take an iced tea, please! When's dinner? Hee-hee!