Following Edge

There is something interesting or even renown every few blocks in Manhattan. You could walk half a mile in Portland to find something remarkable, and you'd better know where you're going.

In Manhattan, we started our first day by walking a block to Broadway and heading a few blocks East to St. Patrick's Cathedral (a recommendation from Catherine, the ticketing agent). The cathedral was overwhelming, with practically every inch covered in amazing stained glass, incredible carved scenes, and life-size statues of saints.  However, the most notable thing was that, in the handful of blocks we walked to get there, we went by Carnege Hall, Radio City Music Hall, and Rockefeller Center... without even trying. Of course, we’ve been surrounded by the names and images of these places in the media all our lives, but never seen how small they really are in person.

Then, we left St. Patrick's Cathedral, had a bite to eat and walked the handful of blocks to Times Square. There, we peeked in at a CNN reporter reporting live on the stock market, spent over an hour shopping and riding the ferris wheel in the Toys R Us Times Square store. Lauren was in heaven, as you can see in the picture.

Now, if the first thing about Manhattan is that it's jam-packed with things within a few blocks, you'll find yourself walking a few miles as you constantly head off to see the next amazing thing "just down the block". By this time, Anne Marie's feet were killing her (remember, her walking shoes and most clothes are in a bag in Portland), so we walked a few blocks, of course, to the uptown portion of the fashion district and got some new All Stars for her. Then, we got on the subway to return to the hotel, discovering that the subway entrance was right on the corner of the hotel.

Tomorrow, the subway instead!