NYC

Today Ella and Remi and I went into Manhattan for the day. Matt had to study, Oscar had made plans with friends and Kit just didn't want to come. Ella's been dying to go to the Met ever since she found out that they have Van Gogh paintings there. It all started with the wonderful Doctor who episode with Vincent in it and then she read a book about him and then she saw in the book that there were actual paintings by him in NYC. The weather wasn't quite so hot today so we thought we'd head in.

And I have to say that these two are a really good combination to do things with. They get on really well when it's just the two of them. In Grand Central station.

Ella on a balcony in a new part of the Met - it's a Spanish courtyard. The tiles on the ceiling were amazing.

I always find I get sensory overload in the Met- there is just TOO much there. We had had enough, really, after about 2 hours. So we went out onto the street and had some hotdogs and meandered back down through Central Park revisiting all their favourite sites from when they were little and we used to go into the city all the time.

The Alice statue in Central Park- I love that kids are allowed to climb all over this.

The boat pond where we used to meet for playgroup when they were little.

Their favourite climbing rocks in Central Park- just before you get to the zoo. Remi had to be bribed to go up there with Ella. I remember the days when I couldn't drag Oscar and Remi away- they would be dinosaurs and animals clambouring over those rocks for hours.

We saw this silly window display which actually reads 'Smart has the brains, but stupid has the balls'- stupid stood in front of the words as I was trying to very quickly take a photo as streams of people were walking past. NO IDEA what it is advertising.

We walked all the way back down to Grand Central- our feet were feeling it a bit. Ella and I both had blisters and had to take our shoes off on the train.

I wish we could go more often. Poor Remi had thought we were going to the museum of natural history and as soon as we walked in said " I want to see the animals..." so I'd like to go back and do that with them. We walked past Central Park zoo (which we used to be members of because we went there so often) and Ella wanted to go and see that. And of course there is a Starry Starry Night painting by a certain Vincent at MOMA that we should go and see. I do wish though, that the museums were free like they are in the UK.