This week we hit a few of New York’s iconic attractions.

First, we took the subway out to the Bronx Zoo on a cool but sunny fall day. The Bronx Zoo is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States. We loved the Wild Asia Monorail, which took us through a 40-acre area that recreates the mud wallows and pastures, forests and riverbanks of Asia. As we traveled along the Bronx River, we saw Siberian tigers, Indian elephants, and rhinos. Another favorite was the Congo Gorilla Forest which is home to 20 lowland gorillas. After this exhibit we decided that gorilla watching in the Congo or Rwanda is now on our list of places to visit. All in all we were impressed with the Bronx Zoo and would highly recommend it.

On another day this week we braved a rainy and cold day and walked across Central Park to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We’d heard the raves about the Met, the largest museum in United States, but we really didn’t comprehend the magnitude of it until we stepped foot inside. From Egyptian temples to arms and armor and from Asian art to European masters, we were in awe at every turn throughout the vast building. A few of our favorites included two sets of King Arthur VIII’s armor: one set from when he was in fighting condition and one from when he was much larger. We were also impressed by the taxidermic deer covered with glass orbs, created by a Japanese artist. Of course, the impressionists stole the show, as there is nothing like seeing an original Van Gogh, Monet, or Matisse.

Today we took the free Staten Island Ferry across the bay to a highly recommended restaurant. Brunch is a big deal here in NYC, so we decided to partake. We dined at Beso, which was just steps from the Ferry Terminal. For a fixed price of $25 each we had sangria, soup, steak and salmon, and two desserts. It was a great way to spend the afternoon, topped off with great views of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan from the ferry.

In the past week we also finished our concert-going streak by seeing the classic 80s band Foreigner in an acoustic performance at Carnegie Hall. While we are fans of Foreigner, the visit inside Carnegie Hall was worth the price of admission. Then, on Friday evening we ticked another New York classic off the list when we saw Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden. Bill Joel is the only artist to have a residency at the arena, and he’s done over 33 sold out shows over the past few years. Needless to say, he was incredible.

Marathon week has officially kicked off and our next week will be all about the race. Yesterday we attended another free fitness class sponsored by Dr. Jordan Metzl and the Central Park Conservancy. Yoga for Runners is an annual event to launch the marathon activities, and we had a great day for the outdoor stretchfest. We followed that up with the Poland Springs Five Mile Marathon Kickoff Race in the park. The race started and ended at the Marathon finish line and the bleachers, signage, and pavilion are all up and ready for next week’s big event. You can watch Steve and over 50,000 other participants run 26.2 miles through all five of NYC’s boroughs, finishing in front of Tavern on the Green next Sunday, November 6. It will be broadcast on ESPN2. Our next blog will be a special marathon edition.

Have a great Halloween everyone and thanks for reading!

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We are half way through our New York City adventure and time is flying. Each day we experience something so new and amazing that it’s hard to remember everything. Here’s a summary of the highlights of the last week or so.

On a beautiful fall Sunday we took a cruise up the Hudson River to check out the fall colors. The two and a half hour sail north took us past the Cloisters, Sing Sing prison, and Younkers. Our destination was the Bear Mountain State Park, where we enjoyed brunch and the fall colors. The Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Giants, and the New York Knickerbockers made the inn at Bear Mountain, and the adjacent athletic facilities, their training headquarters in the 1930s. The lodge was considered one of the finest examples of rustic Adirondack architecture in America upon its opening in 1915. During the sail back to the City the boat hosted an Oktoberfest with German food and live music. It was a pleasant day out of the City.

We learned during one of our earlier tours that the famous auction house, Christie’s, is open to the public. Antiquities and collectibles in rotating displays are available to view and even handle prior to each auction. We were lucky enough to drop in on the last viewing day of “The Golden Age of Baseball” collection. The auction, held the following day, featured baseball memorabilia from the earliest days of the game.

Steve got to hold a bat used by Shoeless Joe Jackson, which sold the following day for $583,500.

One tourist activity that we’d yet to do until this week was to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on foot. On one of the last warm days of the year we took the subway to Brooklyn and walked back into Manhattan, enjoying the views along the way. The bridge links the two boroughs and is considered an engineering marvel. One tradition is for couples to hang a lock on the bridge and throw the key into the river below as a symbol of their love. With so many locks affixed to the bridge, the integrity of the structure was being compromised. On October 7, the City began a campaign to discourage people from leaving their locks of love. You’ll see in the pictures a few remaining locks, as well as the signs discouraging the practice.

After we crossed the bridge we headed to Katz Deli, known as the place where the famous scene in When Harry Met Sally was filmed. We had the best rueben on the planet, while sitting in the spot where the famous line, “I’ll have what she’s having,” was filmed. From there we walked through the Lower East Side to another landmark, McSorley’s Old Ale House. Established in 1855, McSorley’s is New York’s oldest continuously operating saloon. It’s served beer to historical figures including Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Boss Tweed. The bar was not open to women until 1970. They only serve two kinds of beer: light and dark. Of course, we tried both!

Yesterday we connected with the father of one of Steve’s former Skyline teachers. Karl and Marian live just outside of Queens on Long Island and were our hosts for the day. We explored famous Long Island locations including Jones Beach and Southhampton. After our day on the island, they drove us back into the City. The day gave us a different view of the area and their hospitality was unforgettable. We are grateful for their willingness to show us around.

In addition to exploring new territory, we have been taking advantage of the rich music scene here in New York. In the past week we caught one of our favorite Arizona/Rocky Point bands, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers at a local music venue. We had front row seats and loved being up close to the guys, who we’ve seen live in Mexico several times. A few days later we saw Bon Jovi at the Barrymore Theater on Broadway. We were given these tickets after we attended the Good Morning America taping where Bon Jovi promoted his new album. At the intimate, invite-only show, the band played the new album and a few favorites. We felt lucky to be there. Tonight we are seeing Foreigner launch their acoustic tour at Carnegie Hall. Finally, on Friday the concert extravaganza continues when we catch Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden.

The City is now in full-on Fall mode, with changing leaves and Halloween decorations popping up everywhere. See the photo of our building decorated for Halloween. The skating rink at Rockefeller Center is now open and the first holiday market opens next week. Stay tuned for more adventures as we head toward the New York City Marathon and the holidays in the coming weeks!

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Over the last few weeks we’ve sought out some very typical New York experiences, and we’ve discovered some that we never would have expected. The hard part is remembering them all! While the pictures help to tell the story, I’ll attempt to summarize the highlights of our last few weeks in the Big Apple.

Each day we add one more thing to the list of new experiences, with a few days off here and there to recuperate. In the last few weeks we have seen two more Broadway shows courtesy of the lottery system. We saw Kinky Boots and On Your Feet, both for less than $40 per ticket. Kinky Boots is the Tony-award winning musical featuring music from Cyndi Lauper. On Your Feet presents the story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan and features their latin songs. We loved both shows and are now holding out to win the lottery for Hamilton. We’ve been entering the Hamilton lottery almost every day but have yet to win the coveted $10 tickets. You can be sure we’ll let you know if that miracle happens.

One day we took the train out to Coney Island to see the beach and have a legendary Nathan’s Famous hot dog.

It was a cool day so the boardwalk and beach were not crowded, and we were able to check it out without the summertime hoards. After having a dog right where they have the annual 4th of July hot dog eating contest, we decided that the $1.50 Costco hot dogs are way better than Nathan’s! Still, it was fun to see the amusements at historic Luna Park and have a beer at Ruby’s on the beach.

One evening we participated in the New York $1 Slice Pizza Party, a benefit for the non-profit Slice Out Hunger. Crazy as it sounds, we stood in line for several hours with hundreds of other New Yorkers for the opportunity to buy $1 slice pizza from some of the city’s best pizzerias. We met new friends and walked away with 20 slices of the city’s best pizza, which kept us fed for a week. Living here for three months allows us the opportunity to participate in unique events and we’re trying to take in as many as possible.

A few years ago when we were in Geneva, Switzerland we toured the United Nations facility there. Since the UN is headquartered here in New York, we figured we should tour it and compare. You’ll see in the pictures that we were able to go into the General Assembly and Security Council chambers.

Since both of these international bodies have been active lately (Paris Agreement on climate change and peace-keeping missions in Haiti and Sudan), it was humbling to see where the important work takes place.

Steve is continuing to train for the New York Marathon, which is just three weeks away. You’ll be able to watch it on ESPN on November 6. The entire city is gearing up for the big event which will include nearly 60,000 runners from across the globe. We are seeing television advertisements that include marathon running tips, and the subways are plastered with posters hyping the event. As part of his preparation, Steve ran the Rock and Roll Brooklyn Half Marathon last weekend. I am still struggling with plantar fasciitis and sat that race out.

Early this week we took in the annual Columbus Day parade on Fifth Avenue. This enormous celebration of Italian heritage features bands, floats, and a ton of politicians. We saw Mayor Bill de Blasio, Governor Cuomo, and Senator Chuck Schumer. There were even groups from Italy who participated in the parade and Italian media who covered the event.

On Wednesday evenings the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem hosts Amateur Night. The American Idol-like talent show has produced some incredible acts. In fact, Ella Fitzgerald was the first winner in 1934. We were lucky to be able to snag third row tickets to this week’s competition. The singers were really incredible but the audience favorite was a dancing sumo wrestlers from Japan. We’ve got video if you really want to see it! We preceded the show with dinner at Sylvia’s which is the classic soul food restaurant in Harlem. While founder Sylvia Wood passed away in 2013, her legacy continues with live R&B music and classic southern cooking.

In the past few weeks we’ve attended the filming of a few more television shows. At Live with Kelly we saw Ben Affleck who was promoting his new film The Accountant. Fred Savage was the guest co-host. What amazed us most was how unscripted the show was. There’s only one take and what you see on TV is exactly how it goes during the filming. Kelly Ripa really knows how to carry a show. Then, while we hadn’t planned on returning to Good Morning America, we heard they were interviewing Jon Bon Jovi. We figured, “what the heck.” The bad news is that the Bon Jovi interview was pre-taped, so we didn’t get to see him. Instead we saw animal expert Jack Hanna, along with baby snow leopards, a lesser anteater, a sloth, and a penguin. The highlight, however, was that everyone in the audience was given a ticket to an “intimate album launch party” with Bon Jovi at the Barrymore Theater. It appears it was worth the effort to get down there at 6AM and stand in the cold for 90 minutes. We are hoping the email with the concert tickets shows up early this week. The show is scheduled for next Thursday.

Finally, in between these events and excursions we are finding time to just enjoy the city. Some days we just pick a park and sit. We watch the people, read our books, and enjoy the wonderful Fall weather. The leaves are just beginning to change and the temperatures are expected to be in the 70s this week. We’ve got more adventures planned and will fill you in the next time around.

We love all of your comments and questions and are honored to share this incredible experience with you!

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