“But mama”, she said with tears streaming down her face while cupping my face with her small hands, “choose Arizona, why didn’t you choose Arizona?” 

An emotional last day and night in Arizona gave way for a day of travelling and arriving to New York City. Wow. How I have missed a big city. The smells, the sound, the never ending action and commotion. Big eyed we strolled around experiencing the city and the myriad of people of any shape, color and age - how refreshing after Scottsdale! After dinner at an excellent Italian restaurant (family friendly according to the concierge; yet not a crayon in sight and, modestly priced according to the same guy and yet almost double of what we would have paid for in Arizona) with the "best pizza ever!" (according to the pizza expert young Mr. Persson) we fell into bed, exhausted.

This morning we woke up to Alicia Keys singing "New York" in stereo: from the TV as we watched GMA, and live through the hotel window as she was singing at Times Square only a block away. We strolled down to the same square and found the police all over the place trying to get a guy in a red shirt down from a lamp post, protesting from one thing or another. 

Coffee and croissants at Starbucks made our breakfast and we took the no. 1 train to Battery Park and the Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty ferry. It was hot and we had to queue but so very nice to experience the city from the sea and see her close up. We never bothered to wait in line to climb up but enjoyed the view of her and the surroundings from down below. 

Did I mention it was hot? But nice hot, humid hot, hot that you can actually enjoy even when you are not in the pool. Coming back, nicely sun burnt we had some more New York pizza for lunch and made our way to the 9/11 site. Eerie. And so very sad.

We were living in Tokyo in September, 10 years ago. We were ready to go to bed but wanted to check CNN before just to see if anything major had happened and boy had it. We watched  in horror as the second plane flew into the South Tower and mayhem broke out, tears streaming down my face. Needless to say, we didn't sleep much that night. Everybody knew someone who had been there or knew of someone who knew someone..... As much the attacks destroyed it didn't only bring America together, it brought the world together creating an awareness about as Amanda said when I tried to explain it to her: "The bad guys".

My choir in Phoenix, Carolyn Eynon Singers (www.carolyneynonsingers.com, have been invited to sing at the memorial service in NYC this fall; I so wish I could join them if they decide to go. I already left my heart in San Fransisco and now a piece of my heart is in New York as well..

Our day continued...

We made our way to the subway and back uptown to Rockefeller Center were we met with Ulf's former colleague Derek and his lovely wife Helen for drinks. How very civilized to sit down at a nice place and having absolutely perfectly behaved kids!

It could have been the promise of checking out the Lego store across the street afterwards...

Strolling back to the hotel we passed the only Nintendo store in America....need I say that we had to make a stop there as well. Marcus was in heaven and impressed the store clerk with his swift fingers and ability (at the mere age of eight) to play, to just get it! 

An hour or so later, a quick shower at the hotel and a nice dinner followed with steak and seafood and then it was time, we couldn't avoid it, we had promised and there was no turning back: We went to Toys R' Us. Extremely happy kids with amused parents (we had wine with dinner after all); we went on the ferris wheel (inside the store!) and all!

Nobody had trouble sleeping - wonder why?